Foxes and Zombie Walks

Leo's first day at the sports complex was exactly as awkward as he'd predicted. His dad had signed him up for summer padel lessons because "it's like tennis but cooler," which was definitely something a dad would say. The fact that Leo had zero hand-eye coordination and was basically uncoordinated didn't seem to factor into his dad's enthusiasm.

"You're standing like a zombie," said Priya, the girl with the killer serve and the confidence Leo wished he could bottle. "You gotta be ready to move, not literally dead on your feet."

Leo blinked. "I watched The Walking Dead until 3 AM. My bad."

She laughed, and something in his chest did this weird flutter thing that was definitely not related to exhaustion. Okay, maybe slightly related.

The complex was weirdly laid out — the padel courts right next to the baseball fields, so while Leo was failing at returning serves, he could watch his little sister Mia absolutely crushing it at batting practice. She was twelve and had more athletic ability in her pinky finger than Leo had in his entire body. She'd already made friends with half the baseball team while Leo was still trying to figure out which end of the padel racket was which.

The fox showed up on day three. Leo had been taking a break behind the courts, trying not to look like he was hiding, when a flash of orange-red caught his eye. A real live fox, just chilling near the fence like it owned the place. It watched him with these weirdly intelligent eyes, head tilted, almost like it was laughing at his terrible form.

"That's Finn," Priya said, appearing behind him. "He's been coming around for weeks. We think someone was feeding him, but you're not supposed to."

"Finn the fox," Leo said. "Classic."

"What? It's a solid name." She sat beside him in the grass. "So, zombie boy, you coming to the complex lock-in tonight? It's zombie-themed. Apparently whoever planned it has zero creativity."

Leo's heart did something that was definitely medical concern territory. "Lock-in? Like... all night?"

"Unless you have better plans than staring at your ceiling thinking about how much you suck at padel."

"Honestly? No."

That night, surrounded by green-faced teens and fake blood, Leo found himself somehow holding Priya's hand during the zombie scavenger hunt through the darkened complex. Mia was there too, having somehow wrangled an invite, dressed as the most aggressively cheerful zombie in history, baseball face paint still visible under the green zombie makeup.

And somewhere in the shadows, Leo could've sworn he saw a flash of orange-red. Finn watching, maybe judging, but definitely seeing.

"You're not as bad as you think," Priya said, when they hid in the equipment shed while hunted zombies roamed outside. "At padel, I mean."

"You're just saying that because we're hiding from zombies."

"I'm saying it because it's true. You just need to stop thinking so hard and trust your body knows what to do."

Later, when they finally emerged "victorious" (they'd found the hidden immunity idol first), Leo realized something. Maybe he didn't need to be the baseball star like Mia. Maybe he didn't need to instantly be good at everything. Maybe being awkward and learning as you go was actually okay.

The fox was gone when he looked. But Leo felt like he'd finally started playing his own game — on his own terms.