Friday Night Survival Guide

Maya pulled her beanie **hat** down further, like maybe if she compressed her brain enough, she'd stop overthinking everything. The house party was already bumping - she could hear the bass from two blocks away. Her older brother's parties were legendary, but that was exactly why she was nervous. Being a freshman at a party full of seniors was like being a npc in someone else's game.

"You good?"

Maya jumped. Lily materialized beside her, wearing this vintage **fox**-print jacket that was somehow peak cool. Lily was her **friend** from middle school - the one person who made navigating high school's social hierarchy feel less like walking through a minefield blindfolded.

"I'm literally vibrating," Maya admitted. "What if I say something cringe? What if I stand in the corner like a total weirdo?"

Lily flipped her hair. "Girl, you're not gonna be awkward unless you make yourself awkward. Besides, nobody's paying as much attention to you as you think. Everyone's too busy worrying about their own awkward moment."

They walked in, and immediately Maya spotted her brother's group. They were in the corner, looking like absolute zombies - half-lidded eyes, slumped against the wall, moving in slow motion. Oh. Actual zombies. The party had a theme.

"Nice!" Lily said, pointing. "I love how committed everyone is to the bit."

Then Maya saw her brother's **cat**, Pumpkin, who'd escaped upstairs and was now perched on the kitchen counter, judging everyone with those yellow eyes while holding court like she owned the place. Some senior in full zombie makeup was trying to pet her, and Pumpkin was having absolutely none of it.

The irony hit Maya like she'd walked into a glass door. She'd spent weeks worrying about fitting in, about saying the right thing, about not being "cringe" - and here was a room full of people made up like the undead, literally groaning at each other, while a cat silently judged them all.

"Oh my god," Maya whispered, starting to laugh. "This is ridiculous."

"Right?" Lily grinned. "Like, nobody here has any idea what they're doing either. We're all just pretending."

Maya took a deep breath, adjusted her hat, and finally relaxed. She could do this. She could survive being awkward at a party where everyone else was being deliberately weird. Besides, if Pumpkin the cat could hold her own in a crowd of zombies, Maya could definitely handle one Friday night.