The Sphinx in Room 304

Maya's locker stood like a barrier between her old life and whatever came next. She'd spent the whole weekend dyeing her hair ORANGE—like, actually orange, not auburn or copper—and now she had to face the music at Westwood High.

"Whoa, did you lose a bet?" Leo leaned against the locker next to hers, smirking. He'd been her best FRIEND since elementary school, back when making friendship bracelets was still cool.

"No, I didn't lose a bet." Maya slammed her locker shut. "I wanted a change. Is that a crime?"

"No crime." Leo raised his hands. "Just saying, it's bold. You're gonna give Harris a heart attack."

Harris. The BULL of Westwood High, who lived to make people feel small. Last week, he'd knocked Maya's sketchbook into a puddle and laughed while she scrambled to save her charcoal drawings.

But something about the orange hair made Maya feel different. Tougher. Like she'd put on armor.

Art class first period. Mr. Rivers announced their final project: create a sculpture representing 'truth and mystery.' Maya's mind immediately went to the EGYPTIAN SPHINX she'd read about—the riddle-keeping creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Perfect.

She started building, her fingers covered in clay, lost in the flow. Harris walked past her table and knocked on the desk. "Nice orange hair, Freakachu. You trying to match your clay?"

Usually, Maya would've looked down. Mumbled something and waited for him to leave.

Instead, she looked him in the eye. "Yeah, actually. It's called aesthetic coherence. You wouldn't get it."

The whole class went quiet.

Harris's face reddened. "Whatever." He kept walking.

Leo high-fived her when class ended. "Did you just ROAST Harris? The sphinx thing is actually sick, by the way."

By lunch, word had spread. People were actually noticing her—not in a bad way. Some girl named Sydney asked if she'd help her with her own sculpture. A guy from the soccer team nodded at her in the hall, like, respect.

Maya caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror. ORANGE hair and all.

She smiled.

The sphinx's riddle was: What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? The answer: a human, through the stages of life.

Maya was done crawling. She was walking on two legs now, and she'd foxed anyone who tried to make her feel small.

Tonight, she'd post that selfie she'd been too scared to share. Orange hair, sphinx sculpture, zero regrets.