The Sphinx's Last Question

Maya stood in front of her mirror for the twentieth time that night, trying to tame her frizzy hair with a combination of gel, hope, and what her mom called "positive energy." The dance was in two hours, and her hair had apparently decided to stage a rebellion.

"You're not actually going to wear that hat, are you?" Her little brother Leo leaned against the doorframe, holding his gaming controller like it was an extension of his hand. "It's not 2019, Maya. Beanies are dead."

"This is a vintage beanie, Leo. It's called fashion. You wouldn't understand." She adjusted the gray knit cap anyway, feeling like she was hiding a lightning storm underneath it. Because that's what her anxiety felt like — crackling electricity ready to strike.

The real problem wasn't the dance. It was that Jordan would be there. Jordan, who'd transferred to their school three months ago with perfectly styled hair and a smile that made Maya's brain short-circuit. Jordan, who'd somehow ended up in her English group project. Jordan, who'd asked yesterday if she was going to the dance.

"So?" Leo pressed. "What's the vibe? You going with anyone?"

"I'm going with my friend group, loser. And we're taking group photos, so leave me alone."

The gym was already thumping with bass when they arrived. The theme was "Under the Stars" — ironic, considering they'd covered the ceiling in paper mache planets and fairy lights. Maya spotted her crew near the refreshment table. They'd somehow scored a table in the corner, the unofficial lunch table hierarchy extending into evening events.

Then she saw Jordan. Wearing a purple dress that looked like it had been dipped in glitter. Dancing with someone else.

Maya's stomach did that thing it did when she'd forgotten to study for a test — the bear attack feeling, like a grizzly was mauling her insides. She grabbed some punch and made her way to the photo booth setup in the corner, which someone had decorated with gold streamers and a cardboard cutout of a sphinx.

"So you're hiding in the sphinx's shadow?" Jordan appeared beside her, making Maya nearly spill her drink. "Your friends said I'd find you here."

"I'm not hiding. I'm... strategically positioned. For photos."

Jordan laughed, and Maya felt that lightning-strike feeling again, but different this time. Good different. "You want to take some? My treat. I've been wanting to use this stupid prop all night."

They squeezed into the booth, the cardboard sphinx watching judgmentally from outside. Maya took off her hat, letting her hair do whatever it wanted. Jordan's shoulder pressed against hers, and the flash went off three times in quick succession.

"So," Jordan said as they slid out, waiting for the prints. "I was going to ask you to dance, but then you disappeared."

"I wasn't disappearing. I was... sphinx-related activities."

"The sphinx asks riddles, right?" Jordan pulled the photo strip from the machine. In the first picture, they were both awkward. The second, Jordan had made a silly face. The third — the third showed Maya actually laughing, hair everywhere, hat in hand, not hiding.

"Here's my riddle," Jordan said, sliding the photo into Maya's palm. "Why did it take me forty-five minutes to find you at a dance you said you'd be at?"

Maya looked at the photo. Then at Jordan. Then back at the photo. "Because I'm an idiot?"

"Wrong answer." Jordan held out a hand. "Try again — while we dance."

Outside, real lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating everything for a split second. But inside, Maya thought she might've found something brighter.