Zombies at the Deep End

Maya stood at the edge of the pool clutching her solo cup like a lifeline. The end-of-summer party raged around her—laughter, splashing, that one song that had been everyone's earworm for three months straight—but she felt like she was watching it through glass.

"You're literally a zombie," said Lena, dropping papaya chunks into Maya's cup with the precision of a chemist. "Eat. You haven't consumed anything with actual vitamin content since July."

Maya shrugged. "Been busy. With. You know. Stuff."

She'd been busy watching Marcus swim. Every morning. From behind her sunglasses. Like a certified creep.

Marcus Rodriguez, swim team captain, human dolphin, currently emerging from the pool like some kind of chlorinated god. Water cascaded down his shoulders, and Maya forgot how to breathe. He looked around, spotted someone—probably Chloe, the gorgeous exchange student—and waved.

Maya's stomach did that thing it always did lately: a slow, miserable fold.

"You're doing it again," Lena said. "The zombie thing. Just talk to him."

"He's leaving."

And he was. Marcus grabbed his towel and headed toward the pool house. Around them, the party had entered that weird lull where everyone was simultaneously checking their phones, moving in synchronized screen-scrolling motions. Actual zombies.

"Now or never," Lena said. "Unless you want to spend junior year the same way you spent sophomore year: watching from a distance like a creepy pool ghost."

Maya's feet moved before her brain could veto them. She crossed the patio, heart hammering against her ribs like it was trying to escape. "Marcus!"

He turned. Water dripped from his hair. "Yeah?"

"I—" Maya's mind went completely blank. "I was just. My friend made me. Eat papaya. And there's extra. If you want. Some."

What was she saying. PAPAYA. To Marcus Rodriguez.

But he smiled. Not a polite smile. A real one. "Actually? That's perfect. Coach has me on this nutrition plan. All this vitamin stuff I'm supposed to be eating."

He held out his hand, and Maya placed the papaya chunks in his palm like she was passing contraband. Their fingers brushed.

"Thanks," he said. "Hey, you're at morning practice too, right? I see you there."

Maya's face burned. "You. NOTICE me?"

"Hard not to," Marcus said. "You're the only person there not actually swimming. It's kind of adorable."

He popped a piece of papaya into his mouth. "Tomorrow, bring a swimsuit. First lap's on me."

Maya stood there as he walked away, the zombie feeling gone, replaced by something bright and terrifying and new. Behind her, Lena raised both fists in silent victory.

The pool shimmered in the afternoon light. Tomorrow, Maya would be in it. Swimming. With him. Everything was about to change.