Zombie State

Maya's palms were sweating so much she could barely grip her padel racquet. The new kid at coastal Vista High, she'd somehow gotten roped into a tournament match against Tyler—the hot junior everyone was lowkey obsessed with.

"You good?" Tyler asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet like he'd mainlined three Red Bulls.

"Totally," Maya lied, shoving her sweaty hands into her shorts. In reality, she was running on two hours of sleep after a半夜 zombie apocalypse marathon with her cousin, and her hair was doing something concerning in the humidity.

The match started. Tyler was annoyingly good, but Maya held her own until she spotted it—a goldfish, swimming confusedly in the storm drain channel that ran alongside the court.

"Wait, STOP!" she yelled, practically face-planting over the low wall.

"Uh, Maya? The ball?"

"There's a fish!"

Tyler peered over. "Dude, that's literally a goldfish. Someone's pet."

Without thinking, Maya waded into the shallow, murky water, scooping up the fish with her bare hands. It flopped against her palm, orange and confused and totally out of place.

"You just—you just saved a fish," Tyler said, sounding weirdly impressed.

"Someone's gonna lose their pet."

They spent the next twenty minutes finding a bucket and relocating the goldfish to the fountain near the cafeteria. Maya's hair was frizzy now, her shoes were soaked, and they'd forfeited the match.

"Wanna grab boba?" Tyler asked as the bell rang.

Maya realized she'd never felt less zombie-like in her life. "Absolutely."