The Sphinx's Secret

I felt like a zombie, dragging myself through third period again. My brain was fried from staying up until 3AM finishing that history project about—you guessed it—ancient Egypt. I'd stared at so many pictures of the Great Sphinx that I started hallucinating its face in my morning waffles.

"Earth to Maya," my best friend Lena snapped her fingers in my face. "You good? You look dead."

"I'm surviving," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Barely."

The real problem wasn't the lack of sleep. It was that I'd applied for this sick creative writing program at the university—the kind of opportunity that could actually change my whole vibe—and I was terrified I wasn't good enough. Lena knew about it, but I'd been ghosting her texts all week because I couldn't deal with the pity party if I got rejected.

After school, I sat by the fountain, watching the water ripple in the breeze. I needed to talk to someone who wouldn't judge my spiral of doom. That's when Mittens appeared—this scraggly cat that lived behind the gym. He hopped onto the bench beside me like he owned the place.

"You wouldn't get it, Mittens," I sighed, scratching behind his ears. "Nobody else seems this stressed about their future. Maybe I'm just being dramatic."

"Actually, that's cap," came a voice behind me.

I spun around. This quiet kid from my English class—Jae—was standing there with his sketchbook. "I saw your application. The workshop coordinator showed it to me. I'm the TA."

My face burned. "You read my personal statement?"

"Yeah." He sat down on the other side of Mittens, who purred like a tiny motor. "It was brave as hell. Talking about your mom leaving and how writing helped you process it? That's not easy."

I stared at him. Jae? The guy who never spoke in class?

"Everyone thinks they're the only one struggling," he said, flipping to a drawing in his sketchbook—of the Sphinx, but reimagined with tattoos and modern clothes. "We're all just figuring it out. Some people are just better at hiding the zombie mode than others."

I laughed, really laughed, for the first time in days.

"Thanks," I said. "I needed that."

"No problem." Jae pulled out his phone. "Also, Lena's been texting me asking if I've seen you. She's worried, not judging. You should talk to her."

I took a deep breath, watching the water catch the last light of the day. Maybe I didn't have everything figured out. But at least I wasn't alone in the mess.

"Hey," I said, "want to walk to the bus stop together?"

Mittens stretched, stood up, and trotted away like he knew his work here was done. Some cats really do know everything.