Dead Set on Living

I've been operating on zombie mode for three weeks straight. Ever since Mom announced the Family Fitness Challenge, my summer has been a blur of 6 AM wakeups and activities I'm definitely not cut out for. Today's the finale, and I am NOT ready.

"You'll be fine!" Maya chirps, dumping face paint on my forehead. She's way too enthusiastic for 7:30 AM. "It's for charity!"

Charity. Right. That's why I'm standing at the community center dressed like the undead, about to participate in the most unhinged athletic event ever conceived: the Zombie Survival Triathlon. Which consists of, in order: a chaotic relay race, padel tournament (whatever that is), and finishing with a pool rescue simulation.

The relay is exactly as disastrous as I expected. I trip over my own fake blood while someone dressed as a zombie hunter chases us with pool noodles. Maya, naturally, dominates, already making friends with everyone including the cute guy who's been awkwardly hovering near the registration table all morning.

Then comes padel. Turns out it's like tennis but with walls and shorter racquets and way more opportunities to humiliate yourself publicly. I'm paired with Cute Registration Guy—whose name is Liam, and he's possibly more disaster-prone than I am.

"Sorry," he mumbles after missing the ball for the third time.

"Same," I say, wiping zombie sweat from my forehead. "I'm just here for the post-apocalyptic aesthetic."

He laughs, actually laughs, and something shifts.

By the time we reach the pool portion, my zombie makeup is basically nonexistent. The rescue simulation involves jumping in fully clothed to "save" a dummy, which is ridiculous until I actually hit the water.

Then something weird happens. The water feels… right. Cool and quiet, all the background noise of expectations and perfectionism fading into blue. I surface to find Maya grinning like crazy, Liam looking impressed, and my zombie brain finally waking up.

"You're actually really good," Liam says. Like he means it.

Later, as we collect our participation medals (they're shaped like brains, because of course they are), Maya elbows me. "See? Was that so terrible?"

I glance at Liam, who's trying to discreetly get my number, and feel something real and un-zombie-like bubbling in my chest. Maybe being undead isn't so bad if it means actually starting to live.

"Totally terrible," I say, but I'm smiling. "Same time next week?"