The Sphinx in the Basement

The bass from upstairs vibrated through the floorboards as Maya pressed against the basement wall. She'd only come to Tyler's party because Bri had literally dragged her there, insisting this was "the night" she'd finally talk to Isaac.

"My social battery is at 2%," Maya texted, knowing Bri was probably upstairs having the time of her life.

The basement door creaked open. Maya's heart did that stupid flutter thing. Isaac.

Except he wasn't alone. Some girl from the soccer team was with him, and they were definitely about to have a moment. Maya felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Why did she always think she was the protagonist when she was clearly just an NPC in everyone else's story?

She retreated into the shadows and nearly tripped over something. A massive **cat** – no, wait. It was a **sphinx**, one of those hairless cats that looked like aliens from another planet. It blinked its giant eyes at her like, *you okay?*

Maya sank to the floor and the sphinx curled into her lap. Its weird naked body was surprisingly warm. "At least someone wants to hang out with me," she whispered.

"What are you doing down here?"

Maya jumped. Isaac stood in the doorway, alone now.

"Just... vibing with this sphinx." She gestured to the **cat**.

Isaac laughed. "That's technically a sphinx cat. Tyler's family breeds them. Super weird, right?"

"So weird." Maya's palms were sweating. Why couldn't she **bear** to just say something normal?

Isaac sat beside her, careful not to disturb the sleeping sphinx. "I saw you earlier by the **goldfish** tank. You were making faces at them. It was kind of awesome."

Maya's face burned. "Just doing my part as the designated fish watcher. Very important job."

Their shoulders brushed. Maya tucked a piece of her **hair** behind her ear, nervous but also... not? Like, for the first time all night, she wasn't overthinking everything.

"I was trying to communicate telepathically," she said. "I feel like goldfish have secret wisdom. They've seen some things."

Isaac's smile reached his eyes. "Definitely. Meanwhile I've been trying to talk to you all night but you keep disappearing."

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah." Isaac picked at a loose thread on his jeans. "I was hoping you'd save me from having to pretend to care about beer pong."

The sphinx let out a tiny snore.

Maya smiled. "I can do that. But you have to help me with the fish telepathy first."

Isaac stood up and offered his hand. "Deal. But just so you know, I'm pretty sure they're just thinking about food."

"Same though."

He didn't let go of her hand as they walked upstairs, and Maya's social battery suddenly felt fully charged. Turns out she wasn't an NPC after all.