Zombie State of Mind

Maya hadn't slept properly in four days. AP Bio, AP Calc, AP Lang — her brain felt like scrambled eggs, her eyes burned, and she was pretty sure she'd just hallucinated a dancing pineapple in the hallway. Total zombie mode.

"You look like death warmed over," Jake said, falling into step beside her. "Rough night?"

"Rough week," Maya corrected. "My mom went full mama bear on me yesterday because she found out I haven't started my college essays yet. Like, YES, I know they're due, but can I PLEASE survive finals first?"

Jake winced. "Oof. Classic parent upgrade."

"Exactly. She's literally lurking outside my room now like she thinks I'm gonna secretly fail at life if she's not there to witness it."

They turned the corner toward the gym, where half the school seemed to be gathered. Someone had set up a padel court on the old tennis courts, and apparently it was now the biggest thing since sliced bread. Padel this, padel that. Maya didn't get the hype — it was just tennis with shorter racquets and walls, right?

"Dude, you have to try," Jake insisted, practically vibrating with excitement. "It's lowkey so fun. I promise you won't be in zombie mode after."

Maya sighed. "Fine. ONE game. Then I'm going home to rot."

Twenty minutes later, Maya was diving across the court, hair flying, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She'd never played anything like it — the ball ricocheting off the walls at weird angles, the satisfying THWACK of the paddle, Jake's terrible attempts at being competitive. For the first time in weeks, her brain wasn't running through mitochondria functions or derivative rules. She was just... playing.

"Okay, you're actually kinda cracked at this," Jake admitted, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Where did you get those moves?"

"Sleep deprivation rage," Maya grinned, twirling her paddle. "But honestly? This hits different."

Her phone buzzed. MOM: ????

"Bear incoming," Maya groaned, but she was still smiling. "Wanna play again tomorrow?"

Jake's eyes lit up. "Bet."

Walking home, Maya realized something: maybe the zombie fog would lift eventually. Maybe her mom would chill out. Maybe college would figure itself out. But for now, she had padel, she had Jake, and she had something that was hers. And honestly? That was enough.