The Zombie Pool Party

Maya stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching her red solo cup like a lifeline. The house party was already in full swing—music thumping, people cannonballing, and somewhere, Jake was probably being his charming self without a care in the world.

She felt like a **zombie**. Three hours of sleep and approximately 47 what-ifs would do that to you. What if she looked weird in her swimsuit? What if nobody talked to her? What if she just stood in the corner for three hours being That Awkward Girl who everyone pretended not to notice?

"Yo, Maya!" Her best friend Chloe materialized, looking impossibly chill. "You good? You've been staring at the **water** like it holds the secrets of the universe."

"I'm good," Maya lied. "Just... vibing."

"You're vibing so hard you forgot to put your phone in your pocket. AGAIN." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Last week you almost dropped it in the toilet."

Maya's hand flew to her pocket. Empty. Her stomach dropped. But then she remembered—she'd left it inside on purpose. To be present. To stop doomscrolling through everyone else's perfect lives while hers felt like a series of awkward pauses and half-formed sentences.

Jake walked by, shirtless, laughing at something someone said. Maya's heart did that stupid flippy thing it always did. Then her brain supplied the helpful image: What if she had **spinach** in her teeth right now? What if she'd had spinach in her teeth for the last hour and nobody was telling her because they were too busy being nice?

"Maya?" Jake was suddenly there. "You coming in or what?"

"I—uh—" Her voice squeaked. Smooth. Really smooth.

"The water's fine, promise. Unless you're scared of getting wet?" He grinned, and Maya realized he was teasing her. Gently. In a way that made her feel seen instead of put on the spot.

She took a breath. Let go of the cup. Jumped.

The shock of cool water washed everything clean—the anxiety, the overthinking, the what-ifs. She surfaced, sputtering and laughing, Jake and Chloe both grinning like idiots.

"See?" Jake splashed her. "Not so bad."

Maya wiped her eyes, feeling something shift inside her. Not a big dramatic movie moment. Just... real. She was still tired. She was still awkward around crushes. But she was here. She was in the pool. She was doing it.

"Race you to the other side," she said. And for the first time all night, she didn't second-guess herself. She just kicked off the wall and started swimming.