The Zombie Who Loved Padel

Lily was the best spy in her neighborhood. At seven years old, she had a magnifying glass, a notebook, and very sharp eyes. Every day after school, she would spy on interesting things: birds building nests, cats napping in sunshine, and mysterious trucks on Maple Street.

One afternoon, Lily noticed something strange. Behind the old community center, someone was playing padel — a sport like tennis, but with a smaller court and special walls. The ball went *thwack-bam-boing* against the glass walls. Lily crept closer, being extra quiet like a proper spy.

She peeked through the fence. There, playing padel all alone, was a zombie! But this wasn't a scary zombie like in movies. He wore bright blue shorts, a purple headband, and the biggest smile Lily had ever seen. His skin was green like fresh grass, and his hair stuck up like he'd just woken up.

"Hey there, little spy!" the zombie called out. "Want to play padel?"

Lily stepped out from behind the fence. "You can see me?"

"Of course!" The zombie laughed. "I'm Zed. Being a zombie is lonely work. Everyone runs away before I can tell them I just want to play padel."

Lily's spy notebook taught her to be brave. "My name's Lily. I've never played padel."

"I'll teach you!" Zed handed her a racket. "Being a zombie means I'm slow, but I never get tired. Perfect for padel practice!"

They played for hours. Lily discovered Zed wasn't scary at all — he was funny, kind, and the best padel teacher ever. He told stories about his zombie friends who loved gardening, baking cookies, and reading books.

"Why does everyone run away?" Lily asked as they sat on the bench, sharing oranges Zed had brought.

Zed sighed. "Because they see 'zombie' and think scary monster. They don't wait to find out who I really am."

Lily thought about this. That wasn't fair at all. "I'll be your spy friend," she said. "I'll tell everyone how nice you are. And tomorrow, I'll bring my whole class to play padel!"

Zed's green face lit up. "Really?"

"Really!" Lily promised. "Good spies always find the truth. And the truth is that zombies make the best friends."

From that day on, Lily became a different kind of spy — one who looked for the good in everyone, especially people who seemed different at first. And every afternoon, the padel court echoed with laughter as Lily, Zed, and all their new friends played their favorite game together.