The Sphinx's Ethernet Cable

Maya's mom still left the gummy **vitamin** bottles on the counter every morning, like Maya hadn't started high school three months ago. At 15, she was practically an adult—or at least that's what she told herself while strategically avoiding the grape-flavored dinosaurs on her way to grab her backpack.

"You need your immune support!" her mom called from somewhere in the house.

"Got 'em, love you, bye!" Maya lied, snagging only her phone.

Today was important. Leo—math genius, mythology freak, and the reason Maya's stomach did gymnastics during third period—had invited her over to "study." Which probably meant watching him play video games while she tried not to stare at his eyelashes. But still.

His house smelled like sandalwood and dog. In his room, amidst posters of Egyptian gods and half-completed calculus worksheets, Leo was tangled in a disaster of wires.

"The **cable** is haunted," he declared, wrestling with a snarl of black cords behind his gaming setup. "I swear, these things reproduce overnight."

Maya laughed, and something warm flickered in his expression when he looked up. "Need help?"

"You're a lifesaver." He moved aside, and she knelt beside him, shoulders almost touching. Every nerve ending fired at once.

"So..." she focused intensely on separating the HDMI from the ethernet. "You still into that mythology stuff?"

"Yeah." Leo paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer. "Like the **sphinx**, you know? The whole thing about riddles being tests of worthiness. Maybe everything important is kind of a riddle."

Maya's heart hammered. Was this a riddle? Was this a moment? Was she supposed to say something clever and flirty, or—

"Maya?" Leo's fingers brushed hers as he reached for the freed cable. "Do you want to get boba after this? Just us?"

The grapes, the gymnastics, the overthinking—it all crystallized into one clear, terrifying word.

"Yes."

Later, as they walked toward the boba place, Maya realized she'd forgotten her vitamins. She'd forgotten to be cool, forgotten most of her name when he'd asked her out. But for the first time, she felt like she was exactly who she was supposed to be.

Also, she was definitely taking those gummies tomorrow. A girl needed all the immune support she could get.