Zombie Mode, Level: Goldfish

Marcus shuffled into fourth period like a zombie, which was basically his permanent state this semester. Three hours of Valorant last night plus the history test he'd barely studied for would do that to a person.

"Dude, you look dead," said Tyler, slamming his locker shut. "Padel today? We're crushing it."

Padel. The word hit Marcus like a splash of cold water. That's where Chloe would be. Chloe, who sat two rows ahead in pre-calc and made his brain do backflips. Chloe, who was somehow good at literally everything.

"Yeah," Marcus managed. "Think I can make it."

His locker smelled like old gym clothes and secrets. But the real horror was inside his backpack—a Ziploc bag containing Bubbles, his deceased goldfish. He'd promised himself he'd give Bubbles a proper burial in the backyard, but his mom had guests over, and now here he was, carrying around a dead fish like some kind of psychopath.

Whatever. He'd do it after padel.

The courts were already buzzing when they arrived. Marcus spotted Chloe immediately—she was stretching near the net, hair in a high ponytail, wearing those stupid neon yellow shoes that somehow looked amazing on her. She laughed at something her friend said, and Marcus felt like the world's biggest goldfish—just swimming in endless circles, never getting anywhere.

"You up?" Tyler yelled from across the court.

Marcus grabbed his racket. He could do this. Just hit the ball, don't embarrass yourself, ignore the fact that you're basically carrying around a dead fish in your backpack like a complete weirdo.

The game started. Marcus actually played decently for once—until he saw Chloe watching from the sidelines. Then his brain went full zombie mode. He swung at a ball that wasn't there. His racket flew out of his hand, skidding across the court and stopping directly at Chloe's feet.

Everyone stared. The silence was absolute.

Chloe picked up his racket. She was smiling. Actually smiling.

"Nice throw," she said, her eyes dancing with amusement. "You're Marcus, right? Pre-calc?"

He nodded, probably looking like a goldfish caught in a flashlight beam.

"You're funny," she said, handing back his racket. "See you tomorrow."

As she walked away, Marcus felt something shift. Maybe he wasn't just a zombie going through the motions. Maybe he wasn't stuck swimming in circles. And maybe, just maybe, Bubbles hadn't died in vain—maybe the little goldfish had been his good luck charm all along.

"Dude," Tyler said, grinning. "You're crushing it."

Marcus laughed, feeling actually alive for the first time in days. Zombie mode deactivated. Goldfish status upgraded. And tomorrow? Tomorrow he'd finally give Bubbles the proper send-off he deserved.