The Sphinx of Seventh Period

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her denim shorts for the third time, watching from the bleachers as Lucas lounged by the baseball diamond, effortlessly holding court with the popular crowd. He looked like he belonged in a music video, all easy confidence and perfect hair, while she was just... Maya. The girl who sat behind him in seventh period English, the one who'd never managed more than a "hey" when their paths crossed.

"You're literally going to burn a hole in the back of his head with all that staring," said Jordan, dropping onto the bench beside her. Jordan had been her best friend since third grade, back when Maya had tripped over her own shoelaces and Jordan had helped her up instead of laughing. "Just talk to him already. He's not gonna bite."

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered. "You don't get tongue-tied and forget your own name whenever cute boys breathe near you."

"Practice on me," Jordan said. "Pretend I'm Lucas. Hit me with your best opening line."

Maya groaned. "This is so stupid." She cleared her throat dramatically. "Hey Lucas, nice... baseball... skills? Oh my god, that was tragic."

Jordan was laughing so hard they had to clutch their stomach. "Baseball skills? Really? That's what you're going with?"

"Shut up! It's hard!" Maya buried her face in her hands. "He's like this perfect sphinx, all mysterious and untouchable, and I'm just a mess."

"Okay, first, sphinxes are mythical creatures that eat people who can't solve riddles, so maybe not the best comparison," Jordan said, still grinning. "Second, he's literally just a guy who plays baseball and probably thinks about video games and dumb memes like everyone else. Third—" Jordan paused, eyes widening. "He's coming over."

Maya's heart did something complicated in her chest. "What? No. Jordan, help."

"You got this," Jordan whispered, scooting away to give them space. "Remember: you're a goddess, you're powerful, and under no circumstances mention his baseball skills."

Lucas climbed up the bleachers, sunlight catching in his dark hair. When he smiled at Maya, she forgot how to breathe for a solid three seconds.

"Hey," he said. "You're Maya, right? From English?"

She nodded, terrified she might accidentally say something ridiculous like "YES AND I NOTICED YOU EXIST." Instead she managed: "Yeah. Hi."

"Cool." He sat down, leaving what felt like a very intentional gap between them. "I've been meaning to ask—did you understand that Sphinx monologue we had to read? Mrs. Henderson went so fast and I was kinda lost."

Jordan gave her a thumbs-up from three rows down.

Maya's palms were still sweating, but for the first time all afternoon, she didn't wipe them on her shorts. "Actually," she said, surprised by how steady her voice sounded, "I have really good notes. I could show them to you sometime? If you want."

Lucas's smile widened, and something in it felt real. "Yeah. I'd really like that."