The Zombie Who Forgot How to Swim

Maya stood at the edge of Jessica's pool, clutching her iPhone like a lifeline. The screen showed three unread texts from her mom, but her attention was on the chlorine-scented water where half the sophomore class was already swimming. She'd been practicing her front crawl for weeks, but suddenly her arms felt heavy, like zombie limbs.

"Hey, Maya!" Tyler waved from the shallow end. Water droplets glistened on his shoulders. "You coming in or what?"

Her stomach did that stupid fluttery thing it always did when he talked to her. She blamed it on the spinach salad she'd forced down at lunch, trying to eat healthier before summer. Now the alleged superfood felt like a rock in her gut.

"Yeah, just... gotta text my mom back," Maya lied, thumbs hovering over her phone screen.

"We're playing zombie tag!" Jessica called out, splashing water everywhere. "Last one in's a zombie!"

Maya's cat, Mochi, would be judging her so hard right now. That cat had more dignity than Maya had managed to summon all day. She pictured Mochi sitting on her windowsill back home, flicking his tail with that look of feline superiority.

"Whatever." Maya kicked off her flip-flops. She'd rather be a zombie than the weirdo who wouldn't swim.

She dove in—and immediately remembered why she hated public pools. The water swallowed her scream as something brushed against her leg. Probably just someone's foot. Probably.

Maya broke the surface, gasping. Tyler was laughing.

"You okay? You looked like you saw a ghost. Or, you know, a zombie."

"Ha ha," Maya rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. Maybe this wasn't so terrible. Maybe the spinach salad hadn't been such a mistake after all. And maybe, just maybe, Tyler had been watching her from across the pool all afternoon.

Her iPhone sat on the pool edge, screen dark. For the first time all day, Maya didn't care what notifications were waiting. She was actually present. Actually swimming. Actually alive.