Dead Girl Walking

I was officially operating on zero brain cells. Three days of summer band camp + zero sleep = zombie mode activated. My mom's voice floated through my front door. "Maya! You're missing the pool party!"

"I'm not a zombie," I mumbled to my reflection. Dark circles under my eyes. Mess bun. Violin case slung over my shoulder like a weapon I didn't know how to use.

The Martinez's pool party was basically a social minefield. Everyone who was anyone would be there, including Him. Lucas. Who'd sat behind me in bio last year and smelled like sandalwood and confidence.

I arrived fashionably late (by accident, lost track of time rewatching Our Flag Means Death). The backyard was already chaos—splash fights, música urbana bumping, and a heated padel tournament on the court near the fence.

"Maya! Finally!" Sofia waved me over, sunglasses pushed up on her head like a crown. "Lucas is absolutely DOMINATING at padel. Have you seen his backhand? It's criminal."

I had not seen his backhand. I had seen his Instagram stories though, which were basically my personality's kryptonity.

"Hey," I managed, throat suddenly desert-dry. Lucas walked over, sweat-slicked hair, racket still in hand. That smile—the one that made my brain short-circuit.

"You play?" He pointed at the padel court with his chin.

"Padel? Oh, absolutely. I'm basically a pro. At watching. From a distance. With snacks."

Smooth, Maya. So smooth.

He laughed, and my chest did that stupid flutter thing. "Wanna learn? I can teach you."

Sofia shot me a look across her taco that said DON'T YOU DARE SCREW THIS UP.

"Yeah," I heard myself say. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Later, when my feet were blistered and I'd missed every ball but laughed so hard my stomach hurt, Lucas walked me to the gate. The zombie feeling had evaporated, replaced by something electric and terrifying and amazing.

"Same time next week?" he asked.

"Definitely," I said, and I wasn't even lying.

My mom was right about one thing: sometimes the zombie state is just your brain protecting you from all the feelings you're not ready for yet. But I think I might be ready now.