The Sphinx of Hallway B

Maya stood in the corner of Jackson's house party, nursing her orange soda while trying to look like she belonged. The kitchen buzzed with seniors who seemed to know exactly who they were, while she still felt like someone had pressed the wrong button on her personality configuration.

Then she saw him: Lucas, the Sphinx of Hallway B, leaning against the counter with that infuriatingly calm expression. He'd earned the nickname because nothing ever seemed to surprise him, and he somehow knew everyone's secrets without trying. Maya had been crushing on him for three months, ever since he'd defended her when Sarah made fun of her thrifted jacket.

"Hey," someone said beside her. Maya jumped. It was Chloe, basically a professional spy when it came to social intelligence. "You're staring again."

"I'm not—"

"You absolutely are." Chloe popped a piece of papaya into her mouth like it was no big deal. Who brought papaya to a high school party? Only Chloe, who was always five steps ahead on the sophistication curve. "Here's the thing about Lucas: he's not actually mysterious. He's just observant."

Maya's stomach did that thing where it felt like something was wrong but she couldn't tell what. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Chloe said, swallowing, "that while you're over here playing detective, he's probably noticed you noticing him approximately forty times since September."

Before Maya could process this, her crush started walking toward them. His eyes locked on hers, and she had the sudden horrific realization that something felt weird in her mouth. She excused herself to the bathroom, where she discovered a massive piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth.

She wanted to die. She wanted to transfer schools. She wanted to find whoever invented mirrors and thank them for saving her from total humiliation.

When she emerged, Lucas was waiting.

"I was going to tell you," he said, almost smiling. "But I didn't want to make it weird."

"You saw?"

"Maya." His eyes were unexpectedly warm. "I see everything. Remember?" He gestured vaguely toward himself. "Sphinx, hallway B. That's the job description."

She laughed, surprising herself. "So does this mean I'm officially part of your surveillance data now?"

"Nah." He grinned, and it was better than she'd imagined. "You're already part of the story. Just didn't know if you were ready to be in it yet."