Zombies Don't Swim

Maya felt like a straight-up zombie as she dragged herself across the pool deck. Finals week had absolutely cooked her brain, and she was running on pure vibes and questionable energy. She clutched her Vitamin Water like it was a lifeline, though she knew the actual vitamins in it were probably minimal at best.

"You look like you're about to die," said Jake, appearing beside her with that effortless golden-boy energy that made everyone simultaneously want to be him and hate him.

"I am deceased," Maya groaned, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Call 911, or better yet, call my mom and tell her to pick me up."

Jake laughed, his smile crinkling around those ridiculous sunglasses that cost more than her entire wardrobe. "No can do. Chloe's doing palm readings by the deep end. You're next."

Maya groaned again but let Jake drag her toward where Chloe sat cross-legged on a lounge chair, surrounded by a gaggle of girls hanging on her every word. A massive palm tree swayed overhead, its fronds creating dappled shadows across Chloe's face as she dramatically traced the lines on some sophomore's hand.

"Your life line is SO long," Chloe declared, like she'd just discovered the meaning of existence. "You're gonna live forever."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard she practically saw her own brain, but sat down anyway and extended her hand. Chloe took it, squinting theatrically at Maya's palm like she was reading ancient hieroglyphs instead of just some teenage hand that had spent way too much much time scrolling TikTok.

"Hmm," Chloe said, all mysterious and sage-like. "You're going through... a transformation. Big changes coming."

No duh, Maya thought. Everyone was going through changes. That's called being seventeen.

"Also," Chloe added with a sly grin, "someone here is lowkey obsessed with you."

Before Maya could process that bombsell, Jake cannonballed into the pool, sending a massive splash of chlorinated water directly onto Chloe's lap. The group erupted into chaos, everyone screaming and laughing as droplets flew everywhere.

"JAKE!" Chloe shrieked, shaking water from her hair like an angry cat. "I'm literally cursing your reading right now!"

"Guess we'll never know my future," Maya called, already standing up. The sudden brightness of the day hit her differently somehow, less exhausting than before. Maybe it was the chaos of the moment, or maybe it was just that for once, she wasn't overthinking everything.

"Maya!" Jake shouted, treading water in the deep end. "Get in here! The water's actually so nice!"

Without overthinking it—without checking her phone, without worrying about how she looked, without calculating the social risks—Maya kicked off her flip-flops and dove straight in.

The water was cool and shocking and absolutely perfect. For the first time in weeks, her brain actually shut up. She surfaced, gasping, to find Jake right there grinning like an idiot.

"See?" he said. "Zombies don't swim, but I think you're finally coming back to life."

Maya flipped her wet hair out of her face, laughing. Maybe Chloe was right about the transformation thing. Or maybe she just needed to stop overanalyzing everything and jump in the pool every once in a while.

Either way, she felt significantly less undead. And honestly? That was progress.