Zombie Mode

Maya hadn't meant to spend her entire Saturday doom-scrolling through **cable** news and celebrity drama until her eyes burned. But somewhere between the fourth TikTok binge and the third hour of mindless channel surfing, she'd slipped into what her friends called zombie mode—that glazed-over, brain-fried state where you're technically awake but spiritually dead.

"You look like actual death," Marcus said, appearing in her doorway with his baseball glove dangling from his backpack strap. "We're hitting the field. Coach said if you skip practice again, you're benched for the season."

"I literally can't," Maya groaned, gesturing at her phone. "I have to finish this assignment for—"

"Bull. You're watching a documentary about competitive hot dog eating."

Maya threw a pillow at him. "Get out, hater."

"Five minutes. Or I'm telling Mom you haven't started your college apps." He grinned. "Also, Sarah's there."

That got Maya up.

The air outside hit her like reality itself—sharp, bright, impossible to ignore. Already she could feel the fog lifting. The neighborhood smelled like cut grass and possibility. At the park, the team was already warming up, their easy laughter carrying across the field.

"Look who decided to join the living," Sarah called from home plate, tossing a ball in the air. "Try not to break anything."

"No promises." Maya's muscles protested as she grabbed a bat, but her first swing sent the ball arcing into the outfield—clean, perfect, the kind of hit that made everything else fall away. For an hour, there was no cable, no scrolling, no pressure to be something she wasn't. Just the satisfying crack of the bat, dirt under her cleats, Sarah's grin when she made a diving catch that had everyone cheering.

"Not bad for a **zombie**," Sarah said afterward as they sat in the dugout, sharing a sports drink.

"Shut up." Maya leaned back, grinning despite herself. "Maybe I just need my brain sometimes."

"Maybe." Sarah's shoulder bumped hers. "Same time next week? Before the doom-scrolling apocalypse claims you again?"

"Yeah." Maya watched the sun dip below the trees, her phone still in her pocket, untouched. "Yeah, same time."