The Sphinx's Secret

Maya had spent forty-five minutes positioning her hair perfectly. Fifteen minutes纠结ing over whether the green dress made her look like a trying-too-hard freshman or someone who actually belonged at Jake's party. She settled on the dark wash jeans and vintage band tee—safe, effortless, cool.

But now she stood frozen in the bathroom mirror, staring at what looked like an entire forest of spinach wedged between her front teeth. Because apparently the spinach dip at parties wasn't just decorative.

"You've got to be kidding me," she whispered, frantically digging with her pinky fingernail. Her phone buzzed—her best friend Sasha, probably wondering where she'd disappeared to. The bathroom felt like a panic room, and Maya was about to become That Girl with the spinach incident that everyone would laugh about for the next three years.

The door creaked open behind her.

Maya spun around, mortified. It was Marcus—aka The Sphinx, because nobody ever knew what he was thinking. He wasbeautiful in that quiet, devastating way that made everyone's stomach do that weird flippy thing. He'd barely spoken two words to her all semester, despite them sharing AP Bio and him sitting directly behind her.

"Oh," she said brilliantly. "I was just—"

"You've got—" He gestured vaguely at his own mouth, looking weirdly gentle about it.

"I know," she groaned, wishing the bathroom floor would dissolve into a portal to another dimension. "I'm trying to bear the humiliation with dignity."

Marcus's lips twitched. "Let me guess. The spinach dip?"

"The spinach dip," she confirmed miserably.

"Same thing happened to me at homecoming last year," he said, stepping toward the sink to wash his hands. His phone buzzed and he glanced at it, then back at her. "I spent the whole night thinking I was charming people with my wit, but really everyone was just staring at the green stuff in my teeth like I was some kind of salad shooter."

Maya blinked. That was ... a lot of words for The Sphinx.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Scout's honor." He dried his hands. "Also, for what it's worth? That band tee is sick."

She caught his eye in the mirror and saw something soft there. Real.

"Thanks," she said, successfully dislodging the spinach at last. "You're not so bad yourself, Sphinx."

His grin was genuine. "Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain."

Maya walked back into the party with spinach-free teeth and a secret that felt like gold: The Sphinx wasn't unreadable after all. He just needed someone brave enough to embarrass herself in front of him first.