The Sphinx in the Kitchen

Marcus stood in the corner of Jordan's basement, nursing a flat Sprite like it was the only thing keeping him anchored to reality. His first high school house party, and he was already regretting the spinach artichoke dip he'd nervously inhaled earlier. He could feel a piece of spinach wedged between his front teeth — a social death sentence that nobody had the heart to tell him about.

That's when he saw her.

Leaning against the kitchen doorway, effortless in a way that made everyone else seem like they were trying too hard. Elena. The Sphinx of sophomore year, as his friends called her — beautiful, mysterious, and seemingly impossible to read. She was currently cradling a red solo cup and watching a drunk junior attempt to solve some riddle she'd apparently posed him.

"What has a heart that doesn't beat?" she was asking, her voice cool and measured.

Marcus's brain short-circuited. He knew this one. His little sister's goldfish had died last month, and he'd spent way too much time explaining the concept to her. A goldfish doesn't have a heart that beats like mammals do — it's different.

Before he could stop himself, Marcus found himself moving toward her, spinach be damned.

"An artichoke," he blurted.

Elena turned, surprise flickering across her face. "What?"

"The answer to your riddle. An artichoke has a heart but it doesn't beat." He gestured vaguely. "Unless you meant something more metaphorical. Like, a goldfish bowl?"

The corner of her mouth twitched. She set her cup down and really looked at him for the first time.

"You have something in your teeth," she said, but not unkindly. "And you're wrong about the riddle, by the way. The answer was 'a deck of cards.' But your answer is... more interesting."

She reached out and gently tapped the spinach from his teeth with her fingernail, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I'm Elena."

"Marcus."

"Well, Marcus," she said, her eyes dancing with something that made his stomach do that terrifying, wonderful flip-flop thing. "Since you clearly know your vegetables, want to help me rescue that goldfish before Tyler decides it needs to 'swim in the big leagues' and throws it in the pool?"

Marcus grinned, spinach-free and feeling surprisingly brave. "I thought you'd never ask."