Zombie Mode

Maya's phone buzzed for the third time in two minutes. Another TikTok notification. Another distraction. She groaned and chugged her third energy **vitamin** drink of the day, the neon blue liquid leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. Finals week had officially turned her into a **zombie**—shuffling through school hallways with dark circles under her eyes, brain barely functioning beyond survival mode.

"You look rough," said Leo, leaning against her locker. He'd somehow maintained his perfectly messy dark **hair** even during exam stress. "You coming to Jordan's pool party tonight?"

"Yeah, like I have time for that," Maya snapped, then immediately felt guilty. Leo was just being nice. Everyone was stressed. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm drowning here."

"That's the point," Leo said, grinning. "Come float in the **water** with us for an hour. Your brain needs a break."

Maya almost said no. Almost. But then she remembered her mom's voice from that morning: "You're seventeen, Maya. You need to actually live sometimes, not just survive."

So she found herself at Jordan's house that evening, standing in front of the massive **bull** statue that Jordan's parents had inexplicably installed by their pool. It was supposedly art. Mostly it was terrifying.

"So," Jordan said, handing her a sparkling water, "how's the zombie apocalypse treating you?"

"Funny," Maya said, but she was already feeling more human. The pool lights turned on, turning the water pink and gold. Someone's phone started playing that song everyone was obsessed with. For a moment, the crushing weight of expectations, the college applications, the constant need to perform—it all faded.

She dove into the pool, surfacing to find Leo grinning at her.

"See? Not dead yet."

Maya laughed—a real laugh, the kind she hadn't managed all week. And for the first time in days, she didn't feel like a zombie at all. Just a tired teenager who was going to be okay.