The Zombie Who Couldn't Swim

I'd been a zombie since finals week ended—stumbling through summer break with zero sleep and even zero rizz. Maya's pool party was supposed to fix that. Spoiler: it didn't.

Standing by the edge in my too-long board shorts, I felt like everyone's eyes were on me. Which they were. Because I was fully clothed. At a pool party.

"Yo Marcus, you gonna swim or just stand there looking like a vampire who forgot his sunscreen?" That was Jayden, varsity captain and human embodiment of cool. Everyone laughed. Even Maya.

Then came the bark.

Maya's golden retriever, Buster, came tearing around the corner like a fuzzy missile. He spotted me and decided I was his new best friend. Before I could react, this wet, sixty-pound dog launched himself at me, knocking me backward into the pool.

The water swallowed me whole. I thrashed, arms flailing, lungs burning. I couldn't swim. Not really. Not enough to save myself.

Something grabbed my wrist. Jayden. He hauled me up, and I gasped, coughing up half the pool.

"Bro, you good?"

I sat on the edge, humiliated. Maya appeared with a towel, sitting beside me.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

I stared at my palm, still shaking from the adrenaline. "Yeah. Just embarrassed."

She laughed. "Dude, Buster does that to everyone. Last week he pushed Tyler into the deep end."

"Really?"

"For real." She bumped my shoulder. "You good, Marcus. Stop overthinking everything."

Something in my chest loosened. I wasn't a zombie anymore. I was just a kid who couldn't swim, surrounded by people who didn't care.

"Teach me?" I asked.

Maya grinned. "Bet."