Poolside Zombie

I stood at the edge of the pool feeling like a total zombie. Jordan's end-of-school blowout was packed with the popular crowd, all perfect and shiny, while I was just Goldfish Girl—the girl who'd accidentally killed her sixth-grade science project and never lived it down.

The water shimmered like liquid Instagram filters, everyone swimming and laughing and being effortlessly cool. I clutched my red solo cup like it was a lifeline, watching Tyler from across the pool. He was doing that thing where he flicked his wet hair back, and my brain short-circuited.

"Hey, Goldfish Girl." Jason materialized beside me, smelling like expensive cologne and trouble. "You gonna stand there all day like a zombie, or actually jump in?"

"I'm good," I managed, my voice doing that annoying crackle thing. "Just taking it all in."

"That's bull, and you know it." He grinned, but not in a mean way. "You've been hovering for twenty minutes. It's giving major wall energy."

Before I could defend my very legitimate wall-keeping strategy, Tyler splashed out of the pool right in front of us. Water droplets ran down his arms like he was in a music video or something.

"You coming in?" he asked, and my stomach did that thing where it forgot how to organ.

"She's scared," Jason called out, because apparently we were friends now. "Tell her it's fine."

"It's just water," Tyler said, and then—he smiled at me. Actually smiled. "I won't even splash you. Promise."

So I jumped. And okay, maybe I looked like a drowning goldfish for a solid three seconds, but then I was swimming, actually swimming, surrounded by people who acted like I belonged there all along. The zombie feeling dissolved into something that felt a lot like being alive.

Later, when Tyler handed me a towel and asked if I wanted to hang out Saturday, I realized that sometimes the scariest plunge is the one that changes everything. And that maybe—just maybe—I was done being the girl on the edge watching everyone else live.