The Sphinx of Fremont High

The worst thing about junior year isn't the AP classes or college apps stressing everyone out—it's that your hair decides to betray you at the worst possible moments. Like picture day. Or when you're sitting across from Liam at Chipotle, and there's literal spinach stuck in your braces.

I'd been crushing on Liam since he joined our padel club last month. Padel, for the uninitiated, is like tennis but cooler—enclosed courts, walls you can smash the ball against, zero chance of losing your serve into a neighbor's yard. I'd finally worked up the courage to invite him to play Friday, which was huge, considering I'd been bearing the weight of this secret crush since basically forever.

But then *she* showed up at lunch.

Maya Chen, whom everyone called The Sphinx because she'd transferred here three weeks ago and still hadn't spoken to anyone. She just sat at the corner table with her phone, mysterious and unreadable as an actual stone statue. Today she'd somehow managed to get a booth right next to mine and Liam's. Worst.

I was mid-sentence, telling Liam about this awesome padel tournament downtown, when Maya suddenly burst out laughing. Not a tiny giggle—a full-on, body-shaking laugh that made half the cafeteria turn around.

"Spinach," Maya said, still chuckling. She pointed at my teeth. "Since 10:43 AM."

I wanted to dissolve. Literally evaporate. The universe had officially peaked in cruelty.

But Liam just laughed. Not a mean laugh—a genuine one. "I was wondering how to tell you," he admitted. Then he handed me a napkin. "So, padel tournament? What time were you thinking?"

Maya caught my eye as I frantically wiped my teeth. She winked. Later, I found a note on my locker: *You're welcome. Also, I play padel. 😉 —The Sphinx*

Some mysteries turn out better than expected.