The Night the Pool Didn't Die

Marcus's summer job as a lifeguard was supposed to be chill—just him, the sun, and the occasional kid doing cannonballs off the diving board. But tonight was different. Tonight was the staff pool party, and everyone would finally see him as more than just the quiet sophomore who never spoke up in advisory.

"Dude, you good?" Jasmine asked, floating on her back in the shallow end. She'd dyed the tips of her hair orange last week, and it fanned out around her head like a sunset. "You've been staring at that cable box for ten minutes."

Marcus jumped. The staff lounge TV was glitching again—some zombie marathon on cable that kept freezing at the exact moment when the undead broke through the mall security gates. Perfect timing for his anxiety to spike. "Yeah. Just making sure we don't miss the midnight movie."

Truth was, he'd been running through what he'd say to her all week. Working up the courage to ask if she wanted to hang out outside of work, maybe grab boba after their Saturday shift. But every time he tried, his brain turned into static, like the messed-up cable feed.

The pool lights flickered. Someone had brought those cheap floating LED orbs that changed colors—now everything was bathed in spooky purple and green. Tyler from the snack bar started doing zombie impressions, lurching around the pool deck with his arms outstretched while everyone laughed.

"Hey!" someone shouted. "The cable's back!"

The zombie movie roared to life just as Tyler slipped on wet concrete. Arms windmilling, he splashed into the pool mid-lurch, sending water everywhere. The entire staff erupted. Jasmine laughed so hard she snorted, and Marcus felt something shift—like maybe none of it mattered. Maybe he didn't need a perfect speech.

"That was literally a zombie fall," Marcus said without thinking.

Jasmine wiped water from her face, still grinning. "Total Walking Dead material." She paddled closer. "Hey, you doing anything tomorrow? There's this boba place—"

"Yeah," Marcus said, his heart racing faster than any actual zombie chase. "Yeah, I'd love that."

The pool lights shifted to soft orange. The TV kept playing, but nobody was watching anymore.