The Sphinx's Riddle

Maya dragged herself into AP English feeling like a total zombie. Three hours of sleep, thanks to that history paper she'd procrastinated until 2 AM. She slumped into her usual seat in the back corner, hoodie up, hoping to disappear.

"Alright everyone," Ms. Hayes announced, tapping her whiteboard marker. "Pop quiz time."

Groans rippled through the room. This was why they called her the Sphinx — she loved dropping riddles and questions that seemed impossible until you figured them out. Last week's mystery prompt had literally made several people cry.

Maya's phone buzzed in her pocket. Probably her group chat blowing up about something dumb. She resisted checking it, but then it buzzed again. And again.

Ms. Hayes's eyes narrowed right at her. "Everything okay back there, Maya?"

"Yeah, just... nervous about the quiz," Maya lied, smooth as ever. Total spy move — she'd been lying about her mental state to teachers since seventh grade.

The quiz wasn't even that hard, but Maya's brain was moving at dial-up speed. She stared at the prompt: *What's something everyone loses but can never get back?* Time? Trust? Innocence? Too deep for 8 AM.

After school, she had to help her dad fix the cable in the basement. Again. Their internet was ancient, and every time someone sneezed too hard, the connection died. She spent an hour untangling wires while he complained about how much simpler things were "back in his day."

That's when her phone lit up with a text from Jay, the cute senior she'd been lowkey crushing on forever. *Hey, saw you struggling on that quiz today. Want help studying Friday?*

Maya almost dropped the cable box. Was this real? Was Jay actually noticing her? Or was he being foxy — playing games because he knew she was interested? She'd seen him work his charm on half the junior class.

*Sure,* she typed back, trying to play it cool. *That would be awesome.*

Her heart raced. Maybe tomorrow she'd finally get more than three hours of sleep. Or maybe she'd be a zombie again, but this time it'd be worth it.