Unzombified

The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in streaks of coral and mango as I sat glued to my iPhone, doomscrolling through everyone's perfect lives. I'd been in zombie mode for three hours straight—thumb swiping, eyes glazing over, barely noticing the world around me.

"Earth to Maya," Jordan called from the pool's edge, waving a hand in my face. "You've been scrolling since seventh period. You good?"

I blinked. Jordan was my oldest friend, the one person who'd call me out on my nonsense. They'd dragged me to this party, promised it would be a total vibe, but here I was, standing against the fence like a wallflower.

"Yeah, just... checking something," I lied, my voice barely above a whisper. The truth? My crush had posted a story with someone else, and I'd been spiraling.

Jordan rolled their eyes but gently. "Bro, you're literally at a POOL PARTY in July. Put the phone down for like, five minutes. Live a little."

Something about Jordan's tone—soft, not judgmental—made me actually consider it. I took a breath and pocketed the iPhone. The sudden disconnection felt jarring, like pulling off a tight bandage.

"There she is," Jordan grinned. "Now come over here. Sierra's been asking about you all night."

Sierra. The girl with the infectious laugh who sat behind me in English, the one I'd been lowkey crushing on forever. My stomach did that nervous flip thing.

When I finally approached, Sierra offered me an orange cream soda from the cooler. "Hey! I was wondering if you'd ever emerge from your phone."

Her smile wasn't mocking—it was genuine. That's when it clicked: nobody actually cared about my posts or stories as much as I thought. They just wanted to hang out with ME.

That night, I didn't touch my iPhone once. We played mermaids in the shallow end, laughed until our ribs hurt, and watched the stars appear one by one. For the first time in forever, I wasn't watching life through a screen. I was actually LIVING it—no zombie mode, no overthinking, just real moments with real people.

And okay, maybe Sierra held my hand under the water when nobody was looking. But that's a story for another time.