Zombie at the Pool

I was totally zombified—like, actually not functioning after staying up until 3 AM scrolling through Kai's Instagram stories. So when Maya dragged me to Jordan's pool party, I was already dead inside.

The pool glittered like blue JELL-O in the afternoon sun. Everyone looked so effortless in their swimsuits, while I stood there in my neon orange bikini feeling like a traffic cone. Why did I let Maya talk me into buying this thing? It was screaming for attention I definitely didn't want.

"You're literally spying on him again," Maya said, bumping my shoulder with hers.

I wasn't. Okay, maybe I was. Just a little. I'd been watching Kai across the pool, where he stood with his friends, laughing like his entire life was one continuous golden hour.

Then it happened—Jordan cannonballed into the pool, sending a wave of water straight at me. I scrambled backward, tripped over my own flip-flops, and face-planted onto the concrete.

Dead. I was actually dead. If there was any dignity left in my body, it was gone.

But then—Kai was there. He was offering me a hand.

"You okay?" he asked. "That was pretty brutal."

I took his hand, which was warm and had weird calluses on the palms. Guitar fingers, probably. My stomach did that annoying flippy thing it always did around him.

"Yeah," I managed. "Just channeling my inner zombie. You know how it is."

He laughed. Actually laughed. Like, genuine sound.

"Same," he said. "I got like two hours of sleep last night. Been feeling like the walking dead all day."

Maya mouthed "OH MY GOD" from behind him.

"I like your orange swimsuit," Kai added, kinda quiet. "It's... bright. Like, really bright. In a good way."

My face burned. I could feel it turning the exact shade of my hideous bikini.

"Thanks," I said. "It was... an impulse purchase."

"Worth it," he said, and maybe—just maybe—I wasn't a zombie anymore.

That night, I finally posted my own Instagram story. Me, Kai, and Maya by the pool, my orange swimsuit bright AF against the blue water.

Maya commented: "The zombie rises."

I didn't even care. Some things are worth staying awake for.