Zombie at the Pool Party

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actual embarrassing amounts of sweat. She wiped them on her denim shorts for the third time, watching as Tyler threw himself into the pool, water exploding everywhere like a supernova.

"Yo Maya, get in here!" Tyler yelled, shaking his wet hair like a dog. "The water's actually lit!"

Maya fake-smiled and gave a thumbs-up. Inside, she felt like a zombie going through the motions of being a normal teenager who enjoyed pool parties and social interaction and didn't spend twenty minutes overthinking her outfit.

This was supposed to be the summer before sophomore year—the summer where Maya finally became Confident Maya™, the version of herself she'd been manifesting since middle school. Instead, she was still the same girl who rehearsed conversations in her shower and panicked when cute boys made direct eye contact.

"Maya!"

Someone shoved her from behind. Not hard, but enough. She stumbled, arms flailing, and before she could process what was happening, she was airborne for exactly one second before hitting the water.

The shock of cold swallowed her whole. For a moment, everything was muffled and blue and peaceful. Then she broke the surface, spluttering, while everyone laughed.

"I'm so sorry!" It was Brianna, Tyler's girlfriend, giving her an earnest little wave. "I thought you were ready to get in!"

Maya wiped water from her eyes. She should be annoyed. She should feel like the victim of some cruel prank. But then Tyler swam over, grinning that stupidly perfect grin, and said, "Finally. We thought you were going to zombie-out on the patio all day."

"What?"

"You know, just standing there all dead inside." He splashed her. "Glad you joined the living."

And suddenly Maya was laughing, actually laughing, and when Briannon offered her a hand and pulled her into the deeper water, she didn't even think about her sweaty palms or the fact that her mascara was probably running down her face.

"You good?" Brianna asked, and for the first time, Maya realized she actually was.