The Sphinx's Secret

Maya's iPhone buzzed for the third time in five minutes, lighting up with another Insta story from the party she wasn't at. Again. She swiped it away, feeling that familiar FOMO twist in her stomach. The glittering filter on her screen showed everyone having the literal best time ever, while she sat in her room doom-scrolling like a total loser.

Then her phone chimed with a text from her so-called friend: "u coming? everyone's here lol"

Maya stared at it. Everyone wasn't there. The Sphinx definitely wasn't.

That was the nickname the squad had given to Cassia, the quiet girl who sat alone at the back of the cafeteria, chin buried in a book, mysterious and unreadable as the actual sphinx. Maya had always steered clear, afraid the squad would roast her for associating with the resident weirdo.

But tonight, something shifted. Maybe it was the FOMO, or maybe she was just done with the performative friendship BS.

She found herself grabbing her hoodie and slipping out to the old park behind school, where she'd sometimes see Cassia reading on the swings.

There she was. Under the flickering streetlamp, like she was waiting for something.

"Hey," Maya said, feeling awkward.

Cassia looked up, confused. Then a small smile. "Hey."

They talked for two hours. About everything. How social media made everyone feel like they had to be perfect all the time. How fake their friend groups felt. How they both loved ancient Egyptian mythology and hated calculus.

"That's why they call you the Sphinx, right?" Maya asked. "Because you're mysterious and "

"No," Cassia laughed. "It's because I'm obsessed with riddles. Also, I have a sphinx moth tattoo on my ankle."

She showed her. It was cool.

Maya's iPhone buzzed again with another text: "?? where r u??"

She looked at Cassia, who was mid-story about her family's trip to Egypt, waving her hands around, completely unselfconscious. Maya typed back: "with a friend" and put her phone on silent.

The real kind, she thought.

For the first time in months, Maya wasn't missing out on anything. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.