The Spinach Sphinx Riddle

Maya's iPhone buzzed for the third time in five minutes, blowing up with texts from the group chat. But she couldn't answer. Not while holding a tray of spinach artichoke dip that somehow weighed more than her entire life's problems.

"Table 7's getting impatient," Nina called from behind the counter, already looking tired even though their shift at Tony's Diner had barely started. "They're those sophomore boys from school."

Great. Just what she needed—serving spinach dip to guys who'd definitely make fun of her stained apron later. This was her first real job, thanks to her mom's insistence that she needed "real world experience," and so far, the only thing she'd learned was that spinach stained everything and people tipped terribly.

"You okay?" Nina asked, sliding behind her to grab silverware. Nina was a junior, had perfect winged eyeliner even after a four-hour shift, and treated Maya like an actual friend instead of just the new sophomore who didn't know what she was doing.

"Yeah," Maya lied, adjusting her glasses. "Just... this isn't exactly what I thought sixteen would look like."

Nina laughed. "Girl, none of us know what we're doing. We're all just pretending."

The bell above the door chimed, and Maya's stomach dropped. A group of popular juniors walked in—including Jordan, the guy she'd been lowkey crushing on since September. Her iPhone lit up again. Group chat: "where r u?? party's starting w/o u"

She was missing it. The party everyone would be talking about Monday. Instead, she was serving spinach dip to sophomore boys while her crush sat three tables away.

"Your shift's in twenty," Nina said quietly, like she'd read Maya's mind. "You gonna go?"

Maya looked at the group chat lighting up her phone screen, then at Jordan laughing at something his friend said. Then at Nina, who'd stayed late to help her close every night that week.

"Nah," Maya found herself saying. "I'm gonna stay and help you close. You're stuck here anyway."

Nina's face softened. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Besides," Maya joked, finally feeling real, "someone's gotta protect you from those sophomore boys. They look like they'd eat you alive."

"You're such a good friend," Nina laughed, bumping her shoulder. "Wait—did you just call yourself the Sphinx of friendship? All mysterious and wise?"

"I think that's your worst joke yet."

"Hey, it worked."

Later, while mopping floors and listening to Nina's terrible playlist, Maya realized: maybe sixteen wasn't supposed to look perfect. Maybe it was supposed to look like stained aprons, terrible jokes, and choosing the friend who'd had your back over the party everyone else would be talking about.

Her iPhone buzzed one more time. Maya smiled and left it face down on the counter. Some things were more important than being in the loop.