The Sphinx's Fastball

Maya stood on the padel court, her heart doing that annoying fluttery thing it always did when Leo was around. She'd spent fifteen years perfecting her baseball swing, dreaming of the varsity team, but here she was pretending to know how to play padel just because Leo mentioned it yesterday at lunch.

"Your form's all wrong," Leo called from across the net, grinning like he knew exactly what he was doing. "You're swinging like you're still on the baseball field."

"Shut up," Maya shot back, but she was smiling. "At least I don't look like a flamingo having a seizure."

Her phone buzzed in her bag. Probably her mom, whose cable company had somehow managed to mess up their internet for the third time this month. The woman had tech support on speed dial at this point.

"You gonna get that?" Leo asked.

"Nah. Probably just my dad again. He keeps sending me those weird 'inspirational' memes." Maya adjusted her grip on the padel racket, feeling ridiculous. "So are you gonna teach me or what?"

Leo moved closer, and Maya's brain went into emergency panic mode. His cologne smelled like cedar and expensive mistakes.

"Okay, here's the thing," Leo said, demonstrating. "You gotta stop thinking like you're gonna hit a home run. This isn't baseball. It's like—physics, but make it aesthetic."

"Aesthetic physics?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say that out loud?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Flow. Rhythm. Whatever."

They played for another hour, Maya missing more shots than she hit but laughing so hard her stomach hurt. The sun was setting behind the school's athletic building, turning everything gold and soft.

"Hey," Leo said suddenly, serious. "You coming to Kaitlyn's party Friday?"

Maya's heart did that fluttery thing again. "Probably. Why?"

"No reason." He looked away, then back. "Just wondering."

They walked to the parking lot together, Maya's padel racket bumping against her backpack. Her phone buzzed again—definitely her mom about the cable situation.

"My phone's blowing up," Maya sighed. "My parents are probably fighting about which streaming service to get now that cable is dead."

Leo laughed. "Classic."

"What about your parents?"

Leo's expression shifted. "They're good. My dad's obsessed with this new documentary about ancient Egypt. Keeps talking about the Sphinx like he personally discovered it or something."

"The Sphinx?" Maya made a face. "Seriously?"

"He thinks it's, like, the greatest mystery of our time." Leo shook his head. "Anyway—Friday. You should come."

"I'll think about it," Maya said, trying to play it cool even though she was already mentally planning her outfit.

Leo's phone buzzed. He checked it and groaned. "I gotta go. My mom's been waiting forever."

"See you at school?"

"Yeah. Hey—" he paused. "Maybe we can do this again sometime. Padel, I mean."

"Maybe," Maya said, watching him walk away, already counting the hours until Friday. She'd never felt more like herself—and more confused about everything—in her entire life.