The Zombie Who Loved Padel

Lily loved playing padel with her golden retriever, Max. Every afternoon after school, they'd go to the court near their house. Lily would hit the ball against the wall, and Max would chase after it, his tail wagging like crazy. Sometimes he'd even try to return the ball with his nose! Max wasn't very good at padel, but he was the best dog ever.

One cloudy afternoon, while Lily and Max were playing, they heard slow, heavy footsteps coming from behind the bushes. CREAK. DRAG. CREAK. DRAG. Lily's heart beat faster. She'd heard stories about zombies — creatures who walked slowly and groaned. Suddenly, a figure emerged! It had greenish skin, messy hair, and outstretched arms.

"ZOMBIE!" Lily yelled, grabbing Max's leash. She wanted to run, but Max didn't move. Instead, her usually bouncy dog walked slowly toward the figure. His tail gave a tiny wag.

The zombie stopped. "Groooaaan," it said, then pointed at the padel racket in Lily's hand. "Play... too?"

Lily blinked. This zombie wanted to play padel? She looked closer. The green skin was actually paint! The zombie was just a boy named Leo, wearing an old costume. Leo had moved here last month and didn't know anyone. He'd dressed up to be brave enough to say hello.

"I can hit the ball," Leo said shyly. "My sister taught me before she moved away."

Lily smiled. "Want to join us? Max needs a partner — he's terrible at returning serves!"

Leo's face lit up. For the next hour, the three new friends played padel together. Leo was really good! Max ran after every ball, barking happily whenever someone scored. The zombie costume made Leo move funny sometimes, which just made everyone laugh.

"Same time tomorrow?" Leo asked when the sun started to set.

"Absolutely," said Lily. "But maybe without the zombie paint?"

Leo grinned. "Yeah. I don't need a costume to be brave anymore."

Lily learned something important that day: sometimes things seem scary, but they're just friends you haven't met yet. And Max? He learned that even zombies can throw a pretty good tennis ball!