Zombie State of Mind

I was operating on approximately zero hours of sleep, moving through Jake's pool party like a **zombie** in one of those cheesy apocalypse movies we binge-watched last summer. Finals week had turned my brain into mush, and honestly? I was just here for the free snacks and the vague hope that Tyler might actually notice I existed.

The problem with Tyler was that he only had eyes for Chloe, who was currently — and predictably — draped all over him on one of the lounge chairs under the massive **palm** tree that Jake's parents had somehow convinced to grow in their backyard. California was wild like that.

"You look dead," said Mia, shoving a red Solo cup into my hand. "Drink this and live a little."

I peered into the cup. "What is it?"

"Liquid courage. Also mostly fruit punch with like, a splash of something. I think."

Before I could decide whether hydrating with questionable jungle juice was a solid life choice, someone screamed "ZOMBIE TAG!" and suddenly I was being chased by a horde of very loud, very wet teenagers. I scrambled toward the pool, laughing despite myself, and —

Splash.

Cold **water** engulfed me, and for a second, everything was muffled and calm. Then I surfaced, sputtering, to find Tyler standing at the pool's edge, hand extended to pull me out.

"You good?" he asked, and his eyes were actually focused on me instead of Chloe.

"Peachy," I managed, grabbing his hand. His grip was warm and firm and —

A crack of **lightning** split the sky, followed immediately by thunder that shook the ground beneath us. Someone screamed. Jake's mom started herding everyone inside, shouting something about the weather forecast being wrong AGAIN.

But Tyler didn't let go of my hand. Not immediately.

"Nice form on that fall," he said, almost smiling.

"Thanks," I said, dripping wet, zero sleep, heart suddenly doing something complicated. "I work hard at being a disaster."

He laughed — actually laughed — and my zombie heart maybe, possibly, sort of came back to life.

Maybe sleep-deprived disaster was my aesthetic after all.