Poolside Zombies

The cable guy had shown up at 7 AM, cutting off my WiFi and any chance of sleeping in. Now I stood at the edge of Maya's pool party, clutching a can of Vitaminwater like it was a lifeline, feeling like the walking dead.

Maya Richardson's house was what my mom called 'aspirational.' Palm trees lined the driveway, even though we lived in Ohio. They were probably fake, but nobody cared. Not when Maya's dad had installed a legit waterfall in their backyard.

'Yo, Marcus!' Jake called from the pool. 'Get in here! The water's perfect!'

I tugged at my t-shirt, suddenly hyper-aware of how pasty my chest was compared to everyone else. Swimming wasn't really my thing—not since last summer's incident where I'd done a belly flop off the diving board in front of half the sophomore class. The video had circulated for weeks.

'Coming!' I lied.

The truth was, I'd spent the entire week gaming until 3 AM, which explained the zombie situation. My eyes burned, my limbs felt heavy, and I was pretty sure I'd forgotten how to function like a normal human being. Socializing required energy I didn't have.

Chloe, who I'd been lowkey crushing on since seventh grade, emerged from the pool house. She was wearing this yellow bikini that made my brain short-circuit.

'Hey Marcus,' she said, smiling. 'What's with the Vitaminwater? You sick?'

'Nah,' I managed. 'Just... need the vitamins, you know? For... energy stuff.'

Smooth. Really smooth.

She laughed. 'You look dead on your feet. Rough night?'

'You could say that.'

'Me too,' she confessed. 'Maya kept me up until midnight watching zombie movies. I haven't slept since.'

Something clicked. 'You like zombie movies?'

'Love them. Especially the really bad ones where you can see the boom mic in the shot.'

I looked at her differently. Maya's perfect friend group suddenly seemed less like an impenetrable fortress and more like actual people. Jake was doing cannonballs off the diving board, screaming like a dying banshee. Maya was arguing with someone about Spotify playlists. And here was Chloe, admitting she liked terrible movies.

'My cable's out,' I found myself saying. 'Want to come over and watch the worst zombie movie ever made?'

Chloe's eyes lit up. 'Only if it's got terrible special effects.'

'The worst.'

'Deal.' She grinned. 'But first, you're getting in this pool.'

Before I could protest, she shoved me. I hit the water瞬间, surfacing sputtering while everyone laughed. But this time, when I caught Jake's eye, he gave me a thumbs-up. And when Chloe jumped in beside me, splashing water everywhere, I didn't feel like a zombie anymore.

Sometimes, I realized, you just had to take the plunge.