The Sphinx of Homecoming Court

Leo's palms were sweating. Again. He wiped them on his jeans for the third time, leaving dark streaks on the denim.

"You good, bro?" Marcus whispered beside him. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"Fine," Leo lied. "Just... nervous about the assembly."

Who wouldn't be? Summit High's social pyramid was about to be officially cemented with Homecoming Court announcements, and somehow Leo—actual Leo, who ate lunch in the library and had exactly one Instagram follower—had been nominated for Sophomore Prince. The whole thing felt like a practical joke.

Then she walked in.

Maya Rodriguez. Senior Class President. Valedictorian. The girl who'd supposedly turned down three colleges before even applying. Everyone called her "the Sphinx" behind her back because nobody could figure her out—she never dated anyone from school, never posted anything personal, never seemed to care about the pyramid scheme of high school popularity.

But today, Maya made a beeline for him.

"Leo, right?" She stood way too close. "Can I borrow you for a second?"

His brain short-circuited. "Uh—yeah?"

She pulled him outside, away from the gymnasium chaos. "Okay, full disclosure: I need your help with something kind of weird."

"Weird how?"

Maya actually laughed. "Okay, so this is going to sound ridiculous, but my mom's this psychic reader? And she taught me palm reading, and yours—" She grabbed his hand before he could react. "—yours is actually fascinating. You have this crazy strong life line, but your heart line's... complicated. Like, you're going to have to choose between what's easy and what's real. Soon."

Leo stared at her, completely confused. "Is this a prank? Because if it is, honestly, just get it over with."

"No! God, no. I'm just tired of pretending to be this Sphinx everyone thinks I am." She dropped his hand. "I saw how you looked in there. Like you didn't belong. But here's the thing—none of us really do. The pyramid's fake, Leo. We're all just trying to figure out which way is up."

The bell rang. Inside, they announced Homecoming Court. Leo didn't win Sophomore Prince—some football player did. But as he watched Maya take her place as Senior Queen, she caught his eye and did this tiny little wave.

His palms were still sweating. But for the first time, he didn't wipe them.