Zombie Mode at the Padel Court

My golden retriever, Buster, knocked his water bowl over at 6 AM. Classic. I dragged myself out of bed feeling like absolute zombie — third night this week I'd accidentally fallen asleep doomscrolling TikTok until 3 AM. Freshman year was supposed to be this big deal, but mostly it was just exhaustion masked by too much caffeine.

"You going to Jake's padel thing?" Mom asked from the kitchen, where our cat Luna was dramatically weaving around her ankles begging for treats.

"Yeah," I mumbled, even though my stomach did that annoying flip thing. Jake's crowd was different — the kids whose parents had actual money, who wore expensive swimsuits and never seemed to worry about anything.

The community courts were packed when I got there. Jake was already at the padel court, effortlessly smashing balls while his friends laughed. I stood there in my questionable-from-Target board shorts, suddenly hyper-aware of everything wrong with my existence.

"Yo, Marcus!" Jake waved me over. "We need a fourth for swimming break."

The pool was that perfect blue that looks fake but isn't. I jumped in and immediately felt stupid — everyone else was doing these casual laps while I splashed around like a confused elementary schooler. Then this girl Lena surfaced next to me, water dripping from her messy bun.

"You good?" she asked. I realized I was literally just treading water, staring blankly.

"Yeah. Just in zombie mode."

She laughed. "Honestly? Me too. I stayed up until 2 finishing that bio lab."

We ended up hanging by the pool edge while everyone else played another padel round. She told me about how she couldn't decide between joining theater or track, and how her cat constantly judged her life choices. I admitted that I'd joined AV Club because my older brother did, even though I secretly wanted to try animation.

"So quit AV and do animation," she said, like it was nothing.

Walking home, Buster and Luna both greeted me like I'd been gone for years. I flopped onto my bed, still tired but somehow lighter. Being a teenager wasn't about having everything figured out — it was about admitting when you didn't, and finding people who felt equally zombie-fied by the whole experience. Some days you're just paddling through the deep end, hoping someone notices you're trying.