Zombie State of Mind

Maya walked through the halls like a zombie, her third energy drink of the morning failing to kick in. Three hours of sleep would do that to you—thanks, AP History exam.

"You look like actual death," said Kaila, her best friend since seventh grade, linking their arms together. "We still on for Lila's pool party?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Maya lied, thinking about the bikini she'd bought online that still had tags on it. Her mom had found the receipt and given her The Talk about body image and consumerism, which was basically code for "your father thinks that's too expensive."

The pool party was everything Maya dreaded: Lila's perfect house, perfect life, and perfect friends all floating in the crystal blue water like beautiful synchronized swimmers. Maya sat on the edge with her legs in the pool, nursing a lukewarm soda.

Then she saw him. Jason from calculus, sitting alone by the patio chairs.

"What's up with him?" Maya asked Kaila.

"Oh, his family's cable got cut yesterday. His mom's weird about screen time, so he's basically living like it's 1999. No streaming, no WiFi, nothing."

Maya's heart did that stupid fluttery thing. Jason was cute in that messy-haired, always-sleepy-in-class way. She grabbed two sodas and walked over, her palms sweating.

"Rough week?" she asked, sliding onto the chair beside him.

He laughed, and it was this warm, surprised sound. "You could say that. My mom's convinced the internet is rotting my brain. So here I am, experiencing nature."

"Nature" was Lila's carefully landscaped backyard with its imported palm trees and ambient speakers playing chill pop.

"I'm Maya," she said.

"I know," he said. "You're the one who always answers the bonus questions. I'm basically a zombie in that class."

Her face heated up. He noticed her? The sudden splash from the pool interrupted her spiraling thoughts—Lila's younger brother, doing some sort of elaborate jackknife off the diving board.

"Show-off," Jason said, but his eyes were on Maya. "Hey, you want to get out of here? There's this spot by the creek behind the neighborhood. Nobody goes there. It's actually quiet."

The old Maya would have said no, would have worried about what people would think, would have stayed in her safe corner of the pool party. But zombie-brain, sleep-deprived, feeling dangerous Maya said yes.

They walked through the manicured lawns and found the dirt path behind the fences. The creek was shaded by old trees, the water moving gently over smooth stones. They sat on a fallen log, knees barely touching, talking about everything and nothing until the sun started going down.

"My older brother says high school's basically bull anyway," Jason said quietly. "Everyone pretending to be someone they're not. He says it gets better after."

Maya looked at him, really looked at him, and something in her chest shifted. "Yeah. But sometimes parts of it aren't so bad."

He smiled, and it wasn't a polite smile or a performative one. It was real.

They walked back as the streetlights flickered on, and for the first time all week, Maya didn't feel like a zombie anymore. She felt awake.