The Sphinx's Riddle

Leo's life was officially a bear. Two weeks into sophomore year and he'd already become That Kid Who Dropped His Tray in the Cafeteria. The video had like, four hundred views on TikTok. His friends thought it was hilarious—especially Cody, who kept making sound effects every time Leo walked past.

"It's giving disaster," Cody said, not helping.

They were at the Egyptian exhibit on a field trip, Leo clutching his iPhone like a lifeline. Sofia had actually texted him first yesterday—small miracle—and they'd been talking about music, memes, how Mrs. G's history class was basically a conspiracy theory in slow motion. She'd sent him a sunflower emoji at midnight. He'd stared at it for twenty minutes.

Now she was three feet away, taking notes with intense concentration, while Leo was over here dying.

"Hey." Sofia appeared beside him. "Cool, right?"

"Yeah, super," Leo said, immediately realizing he wasn't looking at anything in particular. He pivoted toward a statue—some cat-lion hybrid with human features. A sphinx.

"The Great Sphinx," she said. "Legend says she devoured anyone who couldn't solve her riddle."

"No pressure then."

Sofia laughed, and Leo felt it in his chest. A genuine, not-pitying laugh.

"What goes on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" she asked, quoting the famous riddle.

"Man. Obviously."

"See? You'd survive." She stepped closer. "Hey, I was gonna go to that concert Saturday—The Deathrays? My friend bailed. You wanna come?"

Leo's brain short-circuited. This was it. The moment. His response would be memorialized in family lore for generations.

"I—" His iPhone chose that exact second to blare his ringtone at maximum volume. The super embarrassing one from middle school he kept forgetting to change.

Everyone stared. Even the sphinx seemed to be judging him.

"Sorry," Leo choked out, face hot. "That was... that was humbling."

Sofia was laughing, but not—she wasn't being mean. Her eyes were bright. "Is that the Rugrats theme?"

"I was going through a phase."

"Still going?" She grinned. "Pick you up at seven?"

"Bet."

She walked away, and Leo stood there, heart racing, while Cody appeared beside him, smirking.

"Smooth."

"Shut up."

"No, for real." Cody clapped his shoulder. "That was actually legendary."

The sphinx stared impassively as Leo typed YES in all caps into his group chat, then deleted it, then typed it again. His hand was shaking but just a little. Not bad for a guy who'd basically died three times in one conversation.

His iPhone buzzed. Sofia: Can't wait :)

Leo stood up straighter. The cafetorium incident? Ancient history. This was his era now.