Dead Inside, Alive on Screen

Marcus dragged himself through first period feeling like a certified zombie — three hours of sleep'll do that to you. His iPhone burned in his pocket, a constant reminder that Maya had left him on read for approximately seventeen hours.

"Bro, you look deceased," his best friend Ty noted, sliding into the desk beside him.

"Research paper. Plus Maya's been ghosting since Friday."

"She's not ghosting, she's probably just busy. Stop staring at your phone like it holds the secrets to the universe."

Easy for Ty to say. His phone had buzzed twice this morning already.

The real problem wasn't school. It was the Harris family's annual barn party Saturday. Everyone who was anyone would be there. Marcus had spent weeks convincing himself he'd finally make a move on Maya, but now? Now he needed a miracle.

Or a distraction.

"You hear about Old Man Harris's bull?" Ty whispered as Mr. Henderson droned on about quadratic equations. "Some kids say it escaped again. My cousin said they saw it roaming near the woods behind the gym."

Marcus perked up. "For real?"

"Dude, what are you thinking?"

"What if I caught it?"

Ty stared at him. "You. Marcus Chen. Who can barely catch a football. You're gonna wrangle a bull?"

"Think about it. Local hero. The guy who saved the town from a rampaging beast. Maya would have to notice that."

"You're gonna die."

"I'm gonna be legendary."

That afternoon, Marcus found himself behind the gym, iPhone flashlight cutting through dusk, heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. The woods were darker than he expected, shadows stretching long and sinister.

A low snort echoed through the trees.

Marcus froze.

There it was — massive horns silhouetted against the moonlight, steam rising from its nostrils. His brain screamed RUN but his feet stayed planted, suddenly aware that heroism was significantly easier in theory.

His phone buzzed.

Maya: hey, heard you're looking for a bull? you're actually insane lol

Marcus blinked. The bull took a step forward. Then another.

"Hey buddy," his voice squeaked. "Nice... horns?"

The bull snorted again, lowered its head.

Marcus's phone slipped from sweaty fingers, clattering to the ground. The screen lit up with a new notification: Maya wanted to hang out Saturday. Before the party.

Just the two of them.

"Oh," Marcus whispered.

The bull huffed, turned, and lumbered back into the darkness, apparently done with terrorizing high schoolers for the evening.

Marcus grabbed his phone, hands still shaking, and typed back: would not recommend. worth it though.

Sometimes the scariest moments weren't the ones that nearly killed you. They were the ones that changed everything.

And he was done feeling like a zombie. Time to actually live.