Zombie Mode at the Padel Court

Maya dragged herself through the school hallway feeling like a total zombie. Three hours of sleep because Valorant ranked matches ran until 3 AM. Again.

"You look dead, girl," chuckled Jordan, falling into step beside her. "Big history test today?"

"Bigger than my will to live," Maya groaned. "But at least it's Friday."

Jordan was the kind of friend who actually remembered stuff—like how Maya had moved here three months ago and still felt like an NPC in everyone else's story. They'd bonded over mutual obsession with zombie movies and shared hatred of pep rallies.

"So," Jordan lowered their voice. "Some of us are hitting the rec center after school. Padel tournament. You should come."

Maya blinked. "Padel? Isn't that like tennis for people who can't commit?"

"It's lowkey fun, promise. Tyler's bringing his squad."

Tyler. The whole reason Maya had started staying up late playing video games instead of, you know, having a life. They'd had exactly one conversation—about The Last of Us, naturally—and now she couldn't even say hi without feeling like her brain was buffering.

Maya's stomach did that annoying fluttery thing. "I don't even know how to play."

"Neither does Tyler. We're all just zombie-walking through it. Be there at 4?"

The rec center smelled like chlorine and rubber. Swimming practice must just be ending—groups of kids in towels dripped across the lobby, laughing about something Maya couldn't hear. That whole world felt distant and shiny and unbothered, while she stood there wondering if her outfit screamed trying too hard or not trying enough.

Then she spotted Tyler, struggling to hold a padel racket properly and grinning like an idiot. Next to him, Jordan waved her over with that calm energy that made everything feel less terrifying.

Maya's phone buzzed. A text from her gaming group: ranked starting at 10, don't be late.

She thought about staying in her room, safe behind a screen, leveling up while her actual life waited. That's what she'd done every Friday since moving here.

Instead, Maya walked onto the court, grabbed a racket, and discovered she was terrible at padel. Like, actually impressive levels of bad.

"Your form is tragic," Tyler said, then smirked. "But your serve is hilarious. Show me?"

And for the first time in months, Maya wasn't zombie mode anymore. She was just a girl who sucked at sports but maybe, just maybe, was finally playing the right game.