Poolside Zombies

I was basically a zombie when I rolled up to Jake's pool party. Three hours of sleep after finals week will do that to you. The invitation said "swimming optional" but let's be real—at Jake's house, swimming was mandatory if you wanted to exist within ten feet of the popular crowd.

The patio was packed with juniors I'd been avoiding since middle school. Jake's older brother Marcus—aka the human bull of the football team—was already holding court near the diving board, telling some story that had everyone hanging on his every word. I grabbed a soda and tried to look busy checking my phone, but my battery was at 4% and I had zero messages. Typical.

"Hey, aren't you in my AP Bio class?"

I looked up. It was Maya, floating in the shallow end with this tiny goldfish tattoo on her ankle. The one who sat behind me and made sarcastic comments about Mr. Henderson's lecturing style.

"Yeah," I said. "The zombie in the back row."

She laughed. "No, you're the one who actually knows the answers. You're just too quiet to say them out loud."

I shrugged, but something about her saying that made me stand a little straighter.

Marcus suddenly appeared behind me, dripping wet. "You gonna swim or what? Or are you just gonna stand there looking like you're at a funeral?" His friends snickered.

The old me would've mumbled something about not having a suit and bailed. But Maya was still watching, and honestly? I was tired of feeling small.

"Actually," I said, "I was just waiting for the bull to finish his territory display before I got in."

The patio went silent. Marcus looked confused for a second, then laughed. "Alright, then." He clapped me on the shoulder—hard. "Don't drown."

I jumped in. The water was perfect. Maya swam over and we ended up talking about everything except school—music, our weird families, why we both felt like we were constantly faking being normal people. By the time the sun went down, I wasn't tired anymore. Maybe zombies could come back to life, at least for one night.