Zombies at the Deep End

The pool party at Tyler's house was supposed to be chill, but my anxiety was doing backflips. I stood by the snack table, nursing a spinach smoothie my mom made me bring because "growing teens need their greens." Literally the opposite of cool.

Across the pool, the social pyramid was on full display. Tyler and his crew—makeup perfectly done, swimsuits coordinated like they'd planned it—lounged on the patio furniture like royalty. Then there was everyone else, floating around in the water, trying not to be awkward.

"Hey, Spinach Girl."

I flinched. Derek. The biggest bull at Northwood High, currently cannonballing into the deep end and splashing everyone within a ten-foot radius. He lived for making people feel small, like his own insecurity was a renewable energy source.

"Want to play Zombie Apocalypse?" someone shouted.

The group shifted toward the gaming setup Tyler's older brother had rigged up on the patio. I hesitated. This was it—my chance to actually participate instead of standing by the spinach dip like a NPC.

But then I saw Ashley—Tyler's ex, now practically exiled from the pyramid's peak—sitting alone on the pool edge, legs dangling in the water. She'd made the mistake of standing up to Derek last week and had been sliding down the social ladder ever since.

I walked over, smoothie in hand. "Want to play zombies?"

Ashley looked up, surprised. "Honestly? I'd rather drown."

"Same," I said. "But at least we can die together."

She laughed, actually laughed, and something shifted. We ended up playing, terrible at it but dying spectacularly, making stupid jokes about spinach-powered zombies and bulls that could actually jump.

By the end, Derek was still being Derek, the pyramid was still intact, and I was still the girl who brought weird health food. But Ashley and I had something better than popularity—we had each other's numbers in our phones and plans to study for finals together.

Sometimes the most rebellious thing you can do is just be yourself, spinach smoothie and all.