The Zombie Who Loved Padel

Lily loved spending her summer days at the neighborhood swimming pool. The cool blue water always sparkled like diamonds under the warm sun. One afternoon, while practicing her paddling skills in the shallow end, she noticed something strange.

A pale boy with messy green hair stood near the fence, watching her intently. His movements were slow and clumsy, like he was still waking up from a very long nap. The other children whispered, "That's the zombie kid! He never talks to anyone!"

But Lily saw something different. She noticed his eyes followed the ball every time someone played pool games on the grass nearby. He looked lonely, not scary.

Gathering her courage, Lily climbed out of the pool and walked over to him. "Hi, I'm Lily. Do you want to play?"

The boy's eyes widened. "You're not scared? Everyone calls me Zombie because I'm slow and quiet."

"That's silly!" Lily laughed. "You're just calm. Hey, my dad has a padel racket in his car. Want to learn?"

Zombie's face lit up. They spent the afternoon playing padel on the mini court near the pool. Zombie wasn't scary at all—he was kind, funny, and surprisingly good at the game. His slow movements actually helped him hit the ball with perfect control!

Soon, other children joined them. Nobody called him Zombie anymore. They called him Zade, his real name.

That summer, the pool became more than just a place to swim. It became where Lily learned that sometimes, the scariest things are just the things we don't understand. And friendship, like padel, is better when everyone gets to play.

Every day after that, Zade would meet Lily at the pool, racket in hand, ready for another game. The other children quickly learned that Zade wasn't a zombie at all—he was just a boy who needed a friend, and a really great padel partner.