Zombie at the Bottom of the Pool

Maya felt like a **zombie** as she dragged herself toward the Johnson's backyard, the Friday night lights of the pool party blurring through her exhausted haze. Three hours of sleep after finishing her English essay would do that to you.

"You look dead," said Chloe, her best friend since seventh grade, bouncing on her toes with the nervous energy of someone who'd actually slept.

"I feel dead," Maya muttered, clutching her towel like a shield. "And don't even get me started on this situation." She gestured vaguely at her head, where her normally sleek curls had frizzed into something resembling a bird's nest thanks to humidity and a failed attempt at beach waves.

Her **hair** was a disaster. That's what happened when you tried to Pinterest-tutorial your way to looking effortless for the first big party of sophomore year.

Chloe gave her a sympathetic squeeze. "You're fine. Tyler's gonna be there anyway."

Tyler. The reason Maya had spent two hours curling hair that now looked like she'd been electrocuted. The reason she'd even come to this thing when her body was literally begging for sleep.

They stepped through the gate, and immediately Maya felt it—the high school social **pyramid** in full force. The popular crew owned the deep end, of course. Josh and his lacrosse bros dominated the pool floaties like they were conquering territory. The theater kids clustered near the snack table. Maya and Chloe hovered somewhere in the middle, that vast ambiguous space where nobody quite knew where you belonged.

"Let's just get in the **water**," Chloe whispered, sensing Maya's panic. "Easier to hide when you're submerged."

They slipped into the pool, the cool shock waking Maya up slightly. She watched Tyler across the deck, laughing at something Jenna said. Jenna, who somehow looked perfect with her wet slicked-back hair and zero effort. Jenna, who sat comfortably at the top of that invisible pyramid everyone pretended didn't exist.

Maya ducked under the surface, holding her breath as long as she could. Down here, underwater, the muffled sounds of laughter and splashing made everything feel distant. Safe. Like being a zombie wasn't so bad—zombies didn't have to worry about their hair or where they fit in some made-up social hierarchy.

When she surfaced, gasping, Tyler was standing at the edge of the pool, looking down at her.

"Hey," he said. "Your hair looks cool. Like, actually cool. Not fake cool."

Maya wiped water from her eyes, heart suddenly racing for a completely different reason. "Yeah? Well, I was going for 'drowned rat meets accident victim.'"

Tyler laughed. "Nailed it. You wanna come play chicken? Josh needs someone to annihilate."

"Maya's in!" Chloe shouted from behind her, already grabbing Maya's shoulders. "We're taking those bros DOWN."

As Tyler's team splashed toward them, Maya caught Chloe's grin. Maybe the pyramid wasn't so solid after all. Maybe sometimes you could just climb over the side instead of trying to work your way up.

And definitely—definitely—she was getting eight hours of sleep tonight. Being a zombie was so last year.