Zombie Summer Rules

I was basically a zombie from staying up until 3am every night playing Outbreak with Marcus. My mom said I looked like death, which honestly felt like a compliment to my gamer aesthetic.

Then Jordan invited me to the pool party. THE Jordan. Who I'd been lowkey crushing on since seventh grade homeroom.

"You coming?" Marcus asked, tossing me my baseball glove. "Varsity tryouts are next week."

"Can't. Got the thing."

"The thing? You mean the party with Jordan? Bro, you're not slick."

I showed up wearing my swim trunks and basketball shorts over them because I'm not a psychopath. Everyone was already swimming, acting like cannonballs were an Olympic sport. I posted up by the snacks, calculating the optimal time to jump in without looking desperate.

That's when I saw the cat. A scrawny orange tabby sitting on the fence, watching us like we were the entertainment.

"That's Lucifer," Jordan said, appearing beside me. Drip check: excellent. "He's basically the mascot here. Thinks he owns the place."

"Cool cat," I said. Because I'm smooth like that.

Then my baseball skills decided to make themselves known. Jordan's little brother tossed a ball toward me, and I caught it one-handed without looking.

"Wait, you play?" Jordan's eyes went wide. "We need a pitcher for our rec league team. Our last one quit because he 'couldn't handle the pressure.'"

"I, uh, yeah. I play."

"Sick. You should come by the field tomorrow. We practice at, like, 4."

Something moved by the fence. A fox—legit just strolled into the backyard like it paid rent. The cat hissed, and the fox just dipped its head like, "Respect, tiny warrior," then vanished into the woods.

"Did you just see—"

"The fox? Yeah, he's always hanging around. We call him Fred. He and Lucifer have this whole enemies-to-lovers thing going on."

We watched the spot where the fox disappeared, and I realized Jordan was still standing there. Still talking to me. Still interested.

"So tomorrow? 4 o'clock?"

"Bet," I said. And somehow, without even trying, I'd leveled up from zombie background character to someone with actual plans. With Jordan.

The fox knew what it was doing. Sometimes you just have to show up and see what happens.