The Sphinx in Orange Converse

Maya's orange Converse squeaked against the gym floor, the sound echoing in the empty hallway. 7:03 AM. Again.

"You're running on zombie time, aren't you?" A voice drifted from the bleachers.

Maya jumped. Leo sat there, legs dangling, headphones around his neck. He was the kind of mysterious everyone whispered about—the sphinx of sophomore year, always watching, never speaking.

"What's zombie time?" Maya adjusted her backpack.

"When your body shows up but your brain hasn't." Leo slid down, his movements fluid. "You've been running early all week. Something chasing you?"

Maya's face heated. "Just... trying to avoid the morning crowd."

The lie tasted like lemon juice. Truth was, she'd been hiding in bathroom stalls since Kylie's party Friday, where someone had posted a pic of Maya crying in the bathroom with the caption #dramaqueen. Now every glance felt like a judgment.

"Hmm." Leo's eyes crinkled. "You know what the sphinx asked Oedipus?"

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?" Maya blurted. "English lit covered it."

"Impressive." He grinned. "But wrong riddle. The real question: What's the one thing everyone can see but no one can fix?"

Maya opened her mouth, closed it.

"Your own reflection." Leo's voice softened. "Unless you stop running from it."

The warning bell rang. Students flooded the halls, a sea of judgment and whispers. Maya's chest tightened.

"Hey." Leo's sneakers matched hers—also orange. "My lunch table's by the windows. No sphinx riddles required."

For the first time all week, Maya didn't run. She nodded, something loosening in her chest. Maybe zombie mode was optional. And maybe the sphinx's real lesson wasn't about riddles at all—it was about finally facing the mirror.