The Midnight Padel Incident

Maya's hair had been a disaster since she hacked at it with kitchen scissors at 2 AM after binge-walking zombie movies until her brain felt like mush. Now she had uneven bangs that screamed mental breakdown and exactly three days until freshman year orientation.

"You look fine," Chloe said, obviously lying. They were at the country club where her crush, Javier, spent every summer playing padel with the popular kids. Maya had been watching his Instagram stories for weeks — shirtless, sweaty, grinning like he owned the world.

"I look like a zombie that gave itself a haircut during an existential crisis," Maya muttered.

"Relatable, though."

The plan was simple: Chloe would "accidentally" hit a ball toward the fence, Maya would casually retrieve it, and Javier would notice her existence. Maybe even say something. What could go wrong?

Everything. Everything could go wrong.

Chloe's aim was tragically perfect — the ball sailed over the fence, into the dark woods beyond. Maya vaulted over the fence, hair flopping tragically, and immediately realized two things: (1) these woods were way creepier than zombie apocalypses led her to believe, and (2) something was moving.

Then she was running.

Not the graceful, movie-protagonist sprint. The frantic, I-regret-every-life-choice scramble through brambles that snagged her disaster bangs while unnatural sounds echoed behind her — grunting, shuffling, unnervingly zombie-like.

She burst back through the fence, scrambled toward the padel courts, and literally collided with Javier.

He stared. Maya's hair was everywhere. Her knees were bleeding. A leaf was stuck to her forehead.

"Zombie," she wheezed. "There's a —"

"My dog," said a voice behind her. A very tall, very confused guy holding the leash of a very muddy golden retriever. "He got loose. Sorry."

Javier's eyes crinkled. "That's Bo. He escapes at least once a week."

The group of popular kids was watching. Maya wanted to evaporate.

"Your hair," Chloe whispered later in the bathroom, gently removing the leaf. "It's actually kinda iconic. Zombie-chic."

Javier found her by the snacks. "Hey, Zombie-Girl." He grinned. "You're fast. You should try out for track. Or maybe padel. We need a fourth for doubles tomorrow."

Maya's reflection in the mirror showed uneven bangs, scraped knees, and a smile that felt like the first real one all summer.

"Maybe," she said. "But I'm keeping the leaf."