Zombie Mode & Papaya Punch

Maya's internal monologue had been stuck on zombie mode for three days straight. Finals week would do that to you—turn your brain into mush and your social battery into a non-existent thing. But here she was, at Jessica's house party, because apparently saying "no" wasn't an option when your crush literally asked you to come.

"You good?" Ryan asked, leaning against the kitchen counter like he owned the place. Which, honestly, rude.

"Totally," Maya lied, channeling main character energy she definitely didn't feel. "Just vibing."

He handed her a cup of something suspiciously orange. "Jessica made punch. It's... experimental."

Maya took a sip and immediately regretted every life choice that led to this moment. "Is this... papaya?"

"And coconut rum, but yeah." Ryan grinned. "She's going through a tropical phase."

"Noted."

Maya spotted her best friend Chen across the room, literally running toward her with panic eyes. Chen grabbed her arm and whispered, "Dude. Brooke just posted that story."

"Which story?"

"The one where she says whoever kisses someone on the balcony first gets her old Netflix password. And it's the premium account."

Maya stared at him. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"I know, but Tyler's already up there with Sarah."

"So?"

"So! We have to beat them!"

"Chen, you're literally jumping over a literal bear right now."

"What bear?"

"The bear in the room. The fact that you've been obsessed with Sarah since seventh grade and now she's about to kiss Tyler on a balcony for a Netflix password."

Chen's face turned approximately fifty shades of red. "That's not—"

"That's exactly what this is." Maya sighed, suddenly way too sober for this conversation. "Look, if you like her, just tell her. Don't do it because of some dumb competition."

"Like you're one to talk," Chen shot back. "Ryan's been standing there for twenty minutes and you haven't made a single move."

Maya opened her mouth to argue, but honestly, she didn't have one. Chen was right. She'd been zombie-walking through high school, terrified of actually wanting things.

She downed the rest of the papaya disaster punch in one go.

"You know what? Fine."

She walked over to Ryan, who was still leaning against the counter like some sort of Greek god of awkward tension.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"Wanna go stand on the balcony?"

Ryan's eyebrows went up. "With everyone watching?"

"Let them watch."

And as they walked toward the balcony, Maya finally felt like she was waking up from zombie mode. Maybe high school was weird and messy and full of papaya punch mistakes, but at least she was finally showing up for it.