Zombies of Summer

I dragged myself to the country club pool, feeling like a total zombie. Junior year finals had cooked my brain, and honestly? I was operating on 2% battery, zero rizz, and an unhealthy amount of iced coffee.

"Maya! You're finally here!" Lena waved from our usual spot beneath the massive palm tree that cast weirdly perfect shade on the lounge chairs. "Padel court opens in ten. You ready to crush Ethan and his crew or what?"

"Barely alive," I muttered, dropping onto the chair. "Also, who made padel the social event of the summer? It's literally tennis but… weirder."

"It's EVERYTHING this summer," she said, spraying water bottle mist in my face. "Also, Ethan's cousin from boarding school is here. Apparently he's a total bear at lacrosse. No idea what that means but…"

"A bear?"

"Like, aggressive? Good? I don't know, I'm working with limited teen boy vocabulary here."

I laughed despite myself. The pool shimmered like something out of a music video, and suddenly I was hyper-aware of everything: the chlorine smell, the distant splashing, the way my heart did that stupid flutter thing whenever certain people walked by.

Ethan's cousin—Jake, apparently—appeared near the padel court. Tall, messy brown hair,毁a smile that should absolutely be illegal. He caught me staring and I immediately found the ground incredibly fascinating.

"That's him," Lena whispered. "The bear."

"He looks… normal?"

"Just wait till you see him play."

The game was chaos. Jake moved like he'd been born with a racquet in hand, smashing balls I couldn't even track. Meanwhile I missed everything, diving for shots like my life depended on it while everyone pretended not to notice my total lack of athletic ability.

"Nice… effort?" Jake said afterward, handing me a water bottle. His fingers brushed mine—electric, stupid, wonderful.

"I'm literally the worst at this," I said.

"Nah. You've got potential. Plus your face when you miss? Hilarious." He grinned. "I'm Jake, by the way. Jake the Bear, apparently."

"Maya the Zombie," I countered. "Academic hazard."

"Zombies are cool though," he said. "They never give up."

I looked at him—really looked—and something in my chest did that thing where everything just… opened up. Maybe summer wasn't just about surviving exams and pretending to belong. Maybe it was about moments like this: water bottles and palm tree shade and boys who called bears cool and made you feel like maybe, just maybe, you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked.

His smile said everything. "Wouldn't miss it."