Poolside Zombie

Maya dragged her flip-flops across the concrete, feeling like the ultimate zombie. Summer parties weren't her thing—especially not when Jake from chemistry was going to be there, shirtless and perfect, while she was just... Maya.

The pool shimmered blue and inviting, but Maya hung back by the snack table, nursing a soda and avoiding the spinach artichoke dip that had somehow splattered onto her favorite cutoff shorts. Great. Now she smelled like a vegetable garden and looked like she'd lost a fight with a caterer.

"Hey, you swimming?" Jake's voice caught her off guard. He was standing there, water dripping from his hair, actually looking at her.

"Uh, maybe later," Maya managed, her brain short-circuiting. "I'm not really a pool person."

"That's cool." He grinned. "I'm trying to teach my little sister's goldfish to do tricks. They're supposedly smart, but I think they're just plotting world domination."

Maya laughed before she could stop herself. "Goldfish plotting world domination? That's your theory?"

"Totally. Look at them—just swimming around, acting innocent, but they're definitely observing us." He sobered suddenly. "But seriously, you okay? You've been standing there like a zombie."

The word hit her like a splash of cold water. Was she that obvious?

"I'm... working on it," she admitted, something about his genuine concern breaking down her walls. "Social stuff is hard."

"No joke." He nodded. "Hey, wanna help me investigate the goldfish situation? We could be detectives. Or we could just swim and pretend we're cool."

Maya looked at the pool, at Jake's easy smile, at the spinach stain on her shorts that suddenly didn't matter so much. "Swimming sounds good. But if the goldfish start whispering to each other, I'm out."