Zombie Mode On

Maya dragged herself to fourth period Spanish operating on pure autopilot—classic zombie mode. Three hours of sleep would do that to you, especially when you spent the entire night overanalyzing a five-second conversation with Leo at lunch yesterday where he'd maybe-sorta looked at her.

"You look like death," whispered Jordan, sliding into the desk beside her. "Rough night?"

"You know it," Maya mumbled, fishing through her backpack for a highlighter. Her hand closed around something soft and fuzzy instead—her baby orange teddy bear from second grade that she'd somehow forgotten to remove. Heat rushed to her cheeks. Could this day get any more humiliating?

"Aw, still cute though," Jordan grinned, then lowered their voice. "But hey, speaking of cute things—Leo's gonna be at Derek's pool party Saturday. His parents finally got that new padel court installed."

Maya's stomach did a full gymnastics routine. "Wait, Leo plays padel?"

"Apparently he's, like, obsessed. Played all summer at that club downtown." Jordan's expression shifted suddenly serious. "But full disclosure: I heard from Chloe that Leo thinks you're not into him. Like, he thinks friend zone."

"What? Why?"

"Because you never make eye contact! You get all stiff and weird around him, which he reads as uncomfy." Jordan shrugged. "So yeah, total bull, but also kinda fixable?"

Saturday arrived in a blur of anxiety over outfit choices (too much? trying too hard?) and texting her best friend for moral support. When she reached Derek's house, the backyard was already buzzing with people in various states of pool-noodle chaos.

Then she saw him—Leo, dripping wet from swimming, shaking water from dark hair that curled perfectly at the ends. He caught her eye and actually smiled.

"Hey! Maya, right?" He nodded toward the padel court. "You play?"

She considered lying, but the memory of Jordan's words stopped her. Fake it till you make it wasn't real connection. It was just performance.

"Actually," she said, surprised by her own steadiness, "I don't. But I'd love to learn."

Leo's face lit up. "Seriously? I could teach you! Most people just pretend they're experts. That's actually... really refreshing."

As he led her toward the court, Maya realized she wasn't walking on autopilot anymore. She was awake, present, and terrified—but in a good way. The zombie fog had lifted, replaced by something brighter and braver.

Somewhere between her first terrible padel swing and Leo's patient laughter, Maya understood: growing up wasn't about transforming into someone new and confident. It was about finding the courage to show up exactly as you were—and discovering that could be enough.

Maybe junior year wouldn't be so scary after all.