The Sphinx in the Hallway

Maya dragged herself through the school hallway feeling like a literal zombie. Three consecutive nights of AP History cramming would do that to a person. Her normally bouncy curls had transformed into a tangled bird's nest of hair that defied both gravity and dignity.

"Nice hat," called Tyler, the junior whose entire personality seemed to revolve around annoying her. "Trying to disappear?"

She yanked her beanie lower over her forehead. "Just focusing on my education, Tyler. Something you might try sometime."

He laughed and kept walking. Maya collapsed against her locker, desperate for any vitamin that could magically restore her depleted brain cells. That's when she noticed it — someone had taped a printed picture of a sphinx to her locker door with a note: "I eat teenagers who can't solve my riddle for breakfast."

The sphinx's painted eyes seemed to follow her down the hall.

At lunch, her best friend DJ slid into the seat across from her. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Or worse — algebra."

"Someone put a sphinx on my locker," Maya whispered. "With a threat note."

DJ's eyes widened. "Ooh, like the Greek mythology creature? That's low-key iconic though."

"It's creepy!"

"Or," DJ lowered their voice dramatically, "it's a challenge from your secret admirer."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "This isn't a rom-com, DJ."

But as the day continued, she noticed more sphinxes appearing. On her desk in English. Taped to the bathroom mirror. Each came with another fragment of a riddle: "I'm always hungry but never eating. What am I?"

By the time the final bell rang, Maya was too curious to be creeped out anymore. She found Tyler by his locker, flipping through his phone.

"Okay, confession time," she said, crossing her arms. "The sphinx thing?"

He looked up, startled. "Wait, that was you? I found one too!"

They stared at each other for three whole seconds before simultaneously sprinting toward the art room.

There, under the artificial lights, half the art club was feverishly drawing sphinxes while a very apologetic freshman explained how her "interactive mythological experience" project had gotten completely out of hand.

"I just wanted to make school more magical!" she wailed.

Maya looked at Tyler. Tyler looked at Maya. They both started laughing, the kind of laughter that comes from being so tired everything becomes hilarious.

"Well," Maya said, finally pulling off her hat and letting her chaotic hair spring free, "at least we weren't eaten by a mythical creature."

"Small wins," Tyler agreed. "Small wins."