Sphinx at the Bottom of the Pool

First week at Oak Creek High and I was already operating on zombie mode. Summer had destroyed my sleep schedule—doom-scrolling TikTok until 3 AM will do that—and now I was shuffling through hallways like the undead, barely comprehensible, surviving on iced coffee and sheer panic.

Then came PE. Swimming unit. Because apparently freshman year isn't humiliating enough.

I stood poolside in my anxiety-induced swimsuit, feeling exposed as everyone else seemed confident, comfortable in their skin. Meanwhile I was hyper-aware of everything—my awkwardness, my stomach, the way I had no idea how to navigate these social waters.

That's when I noticed him. A guy sitting on the bleachers, fully clothed, reading a book while everyone else splashed around. Mr. Henderson was too busy yelling at someone about running to care.

I drifted over, partly because I'd do anything to avoid getting in that pool, partly because he looked as out of place as I felt.

"You're not swimming?" I asked, brilliant conversationalist that I am.

He looked up, shrugging. "Forgot my suit. Figured I'd chill instead."

"Maya," I said.

"Alex." He gestured to the empty spot beside him. "Want to join me in rebellious non-participation?"

I sat. We ended up talking the entire period—about his hairless sphinx cat who thought she was a dog, about how I'd moved here from Chicago and knew absolutely no one, about how high school felt like some kind of bizarre social experiment we'd both signed up for by accident.

He was funny in a quiet way, the kind of person who noticed things. Like how Mr. Henderson's mustache twitched when he was annoyed, or how the popular girls' laughter sounded rehearsed.

"You're cool, Maya," he said when the bell rang. "For a zombie."

I laughed—a real laugh, the first I'd had since moving here.

That night, my phone buzzed. Friend request from Alex. His profile picture was his sphinx cat wearing a tiny bow tie. I accepted immediately.

Laying in bed, I realized I hadn't felt like a zombie all afternoon. And tomorrow? I might actually be excited to go to school.

Who knew being a friend-less zombie could lead to finding someone who made you feel alive again?