The Sphinx of Satellite Cove

Maya's summer had been one long awkward slog until the cable guy showed up.

"Your satellite's been dead for weeks," the guy said, chewing gum like it was his job. "Gotta rewire the whole setup."

Maya's mom handed him forty bucks and pointed to the backyard. "Go for it. Maya, help him."

So here she was, trailing behind some random dude who was definitely at least twenty-three, holding a coil of thick black cable like it was a pet snake. He climbed the oak tree with terrifying ease, and Maya found herself actually looking at him—not just noticing his presence but actually seeing him. Lean arms, faded band t-shirt, hair that fell over his eyes when he concentrated.

"You swim?" he called down, nodding at the pool below.

"What? Oh. Yeah. The pool's basically my life now."

"Lifeguard?"

"Aspiring. If I ever pass the certification."

He grinned. A real one. "I'm Jake, by the way."

"Maya."

Jake anchored the cable and shimmied down the tree, landing beside her with a thud. "So what's the deal with that?" He pointed to the far corner of the yard, where her dad had installed what was apparently supposed to be an Egyptian-inspired garden statue. It looked less like a sphinx and more like a cat that had seen something deeply upsetting.

Maya groaned. "My dad's midlife crisis sculpture phase. He calls it 'The Guardian of Satellite Cove.'"

Jake cracked up. "No way. That's freaking hilarious."

"It's humiliating. Everyone who comes over asks if it's cursed."

"Nah, it's got character. Like a fox that got caught mid-sneeze."

Maya laughed before she could stop herself. A genuine laugh, not the polite half-smile she'd been wearing all summer.

Jake finished the cable setup and stood, wiping grease on his jeans. "There. Satellite's back. You should have like, three hundred channels now."

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Hey, you busy tonight?"

Maya's heart did this terrifying little stutter-step thing. "No?"

"Cool. Some friends are having a bonfire at the cove. You should come. Unless you're too busy guarding your sphinx over there."

Maya looked at the ridiculous statue, then at Jake, then at the pool that had been her whole world three months ago. Suddenly it all seemed smaller. Not bad, just... not enough anymore.

"I think I can leave the sphinx for one night," she said.

Jake's smile was different this time. Warmer. "Cool. Pick you up at eight?"

"Eight works."

He headed toward his truck, then paused. "Oh, and Maya?"

"Yeah?"

"You've got a pretty nice setup here. Don't let the sphinx freak you out."

Maya watched him drive away, then looked at the cable trailing from the oak tree to the satellite dish. Connected. Finally.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket—a text from her friend Riley: pool party tomorrow, you coming? She thought about the summer she'd spent waiting for something to happen, stuck in the shallow end while life happened somewhere else.

She texted back: can't. got plans. ;) Then added, actually yeah, count me in. bring it.

The sphinx stared impassively across the yard, and for the first time all summer, Maya didn't feel stuck. She felt like she was finally, actually, running toward something instead of just drifting away.