Poolside Zombies

The chlorine smell hit me before I even clocked in. 6:45 AM at the Glenview Pool, and I was already questioning every life choice that led me to this moment.

"You look like actual death," Maya said, sliding her goggles onto her forehead. "Did you even sleep?"

"Three hours," I groaned, chugging from my water bottle that was suspiciously full of some neon orange vitamin supplement my mom swore would "help with growth spurts." "Emma kept me up until 2 AM. Apparently, sleeping is optional when you're seventeen and "processing emotions."

My sister had spent the entire night dramatically FaceTiming her boyfriend about their "situation." I'd been forced to listen through paper-thin walls while my brain slowly melted.

"Zombie mode activated," I muttered, grabbing the rescue tube. "If I pass out in the chair, just let me sleep. I'll probably be fine."

The early shift was mostly old people doing water aerobics and that one guy who brought his golden retriever, Buster, to the fence line every morning like clockwork. Buster was the highlight of my day, honestly. At least he didn't ask me why I looked tired or make weird comments about my "energy."

Then HE walked in.

Caleb Evans, wearing those stupid swim trunks that were somehow both athletic and annoyingly preppy. The same Caleb who'd sat behind me in chemistry and made fun of my dinosaur sticker collection.

"Hey, lifeguard," he said, leaning against the counter while I died inside. "You good? You look..."

"Tired?" I offered.

"I was gonna say "intense," but sure."

Buster chose that exact moment to stick his nose through the fence and bark directly at Caleb's ankle, causing him to jump about three feet in the air.

I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"That dog has judgment," I said, and for the first time all summer, Caleb Evans actually smiled at me like I was a real person and not just chemistry-note-sharing girl.

"Fair," he said. "So, you working tomorrow?"

Maya was already making eyebrows at me from the other side of the pool.

"6:45 AM," I heard myself say. "Same zombie time, same zombie channel."

"Cool," said Caleb. "Maybe I'll stop by. Bring better vitamin water."

As he walked away, Maya swam over, grinning like she knew something I didn't.

"Did Caleb Evans just flirt with you?" she asked.

"No," I said, though my stomach was doing that weird fluttery thing. "He's just..."

"Just what?"

"Just being decent to the zombie lifeguard. It's probably pity."

But when I looked at my phone during break, there was a Instagram notification: Caleb Evans had liked my photo from last summer's concert. The one where I was making a weird face.

I took another sip of my weird orange vitamin water. Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so terrible after all.