In irb, File.expand_path(__FILE__)} will just return "#{path you ran irb from}/(irb)". Which creates a path that doesn’t actually exist. Luckily all file paths are relative to where you ran irb anyway. This means all you need is:
load "lib/query.rb"
If you want to use the __FILE__ in an actual file, that’s fine, but don’t expect it to produce a valid path in irb. Because an irb there is no “file” at all, so it cannot return valid path at all.
Also, __FILE__ will work fine if used in a file loaded into irb via load or require. Cause that’s kinda what it’s for.