Fox, Dog, and Senioritis Zombies

Maya's brain felt like it had been microwaved. Three days into finals week, and she was definitely operating on zombie autopilot. Her hair was a mess, her eyes burned, and she'd started responding to questions with inarticulate grunts.

"You good, Maya?" asked Marcus, slouching against her locker. He was dressed in his usual uniform—hoodie three sizes too big, headphones around his neck, perpetually chill energy that Maya desperately needed right now.

"I have ceased to exist," Maya deadpanned. "I am merely a vessel for AP US History notes and coffee."

Marcus laughed. "Damn, senioritis hitting hard this year."

"It's not senioritis, it's survival." Maya adjusted her backpack, which currently contained approximately forty pounds of textbooks and her entire will to live. "Anyway, did you finish the English essay?"

"Nah, I'll bang it out tonight." He checked his phone. "Hey, you going to Jessica's party on Friday? Supposedly, her parents are actually out of town this time."

Maya's stomach did that annoying flip-flop thing. Because Jessica's party meant *she* might be there.

"You mean the legendary gathering of the whole grade where everyone pretends to be cooler than they actually are?" Maya tried to sound casual and failed.

"That's the one." Marcus smirked. "I know why you're asking."

"Shut up."

"You're totally going for the fox," he sing-songed.

Maya's face heated. "Stop calling her that."

"What? It's a compliment! Chloe's smart, she's sneaky, she's got that whole mysterious vibe going on." Marcus counted on his fingers. "Literally a fox. Also, you stare at her in chem like she's gonna magically solve your equations if you look hard enough."

"I do not—"

"You literally do, my dog. It's kinda pathetic but also cute."

The hallway suddenly erupted. Someone had opened the side door, and the most beautiful sight Maya had ever witnessed lumbered into the school: an actual golden retriever. Not on a leash. Just vibing. Clearly someone's pet who'd escaped.

"No freaking WAY," someone shouted.

The dog trotted through the crowd like it owned the place, stopping to get pets from basically everyone. The tension in the hallway evaporated. Even the zombie-fied seniors perked up.

Maya's phone buzzed. Unknown number.

*Hey, it's Chloe. From chem. Saw you staring at me again today. Just kidding lol. Anyway, I'm going to Jessica's party. You should come. We can bond over how much we both hate Mrs. Henderson's class.*

Maya stared at her phone, her heart doing gymnastics.

"You okay?" Marcus asked. "You look like you just saw a ghost. Or like, a really cute ghost."

"Chloe just texted me," Maya whispered, still not quite believing it.

"DUDE." Marcus's eyes went wide. "The fox HUNTS."

Maya couldn't help it—she laughed. A real, genuine laugh, the first one in days. The zombie fog lifted. She was exhausted, stressed about finals, and completely unprepared for whatever this was with Chloe. But watching that happy dog get pets from the entire sophomore class, getting an actual text from the girl she'd been crushing on for months...

Maybe being a teenage zombie wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah," Maya said, grinning. "Yeah, she kinda does."