The Zombie Lap

Six a.m. practice. Again. Maya dragged herself to the pool, feeling like a total zombie after three straight days of finals week. Her phone buzzed in her bag — another ignored text from Jordan.

The pool deck was quiet, steam rising off the water like something out of a dream. Then she saw it: a cat, this scrawny black thing, perched on the lifeguard stand like it owned the place. Maya blinked. Was she hallucinating from sleep deprivation?

"You're here early," said a voice behind her. She turned to see Liam, the new sophomore with the annoying perfect stroke and the even more annoying perfect hair. He was already in his suit, goggles around his neck.

"Could say the same about you," Maya shot back, trying to sound chill. "Unless you actually live here now."

Liam shrugged, dropping his bag. "Couldn't sleep. Figured I'd get some laps in before Coach transforms us into swimming robots."

"Too late for that," Maya muttered. "I'm already operating on zombie brain function."

"Same." He grinned, and okay, maybe the dimple situation was a problem.

They dove in, and the familiar rhythm of swimming took over. Stroke, breathe, stroke, breathe. The water silenced everything — her AP Chem stress, her overthinking about Jordan, the fact that she hadn't slept more than five hours all week. Back and forth, lap after lap, while that random cat watched from the deck like a tiny furry judge.

Suddenly, lightning flashed through the skylights. A second later, thunder rattled the whole building.

They both stopped, treading water in the middle of the pool.

"Coach is gonna kill us if we stay in," Liam said.

"If we get out, we have to go back to real life," Maya countered.

Liam considered this. "True." He splashed water at her. "Race you to the wall?"

"You're on."

They sprinted, and Maya won by half a stroke, but mostly because Liam let her. They emerged from the water laughing, breathless, while lightning cracked the sky open outside. The cat had vanished, like it was never there at all.

"Nice race, zombie," Liam said, grabbing his towel.

"You too, newbie." Maya smiled, feeling something shift in her chest that had nothing to do with swim times or finals or Jordan.

The walk to the locker rooms felt different. Lighter. Some mornings, she thought, were exactly what you needed, even when you didn't know you needed them.