Not Another Zombie

The cafeteria at Northwood High operated like a factory line of the undead. Students shuffled through lunch waves, eyes glazed, murmuring the same constant question: Are we gonna have homework tonight? Maya felt like she'd been mainlining caffeine for three days straight just to function. Total zombie mode.

"You look rough," said Liam, sliding into the seat across from her. He'd been her friend since seventh grade, back when friendship alliances still got decided by who had the best snacks at lunch. "Finals week hitting you different?"

Maya gestured at her textbook. "I've read this chapter four times. My brain is literally empty. Like, I could not tell you a single fact about cellular respiration right now."

"Same." Liam cracked open his Monster. "Everyone's walking around like zombies. It's giving apocalypse energy."

That's when Maya spotted it—a calico cat darting between the cafeteria doors, tail high like it owned the place. The hall monitor Ms. Peterson was already halfway out of her seat, face pinched.

"No animals in—" Ms. Peterson started, but the cat was already gone, slipping behind the recycling bins with effortless precision.

Maya's phone buzzed. Party at Jay's tonight. Zombie theme. Costumes mandatory.

She stared at it, then at Liam. Something about the day felt performational. Everyone moving through their roles—student, friend, partygoer—like NPCs in a game someone else designed.

"Wanna bail?" Maya asked, pushing her tray away. "I've been running on empty all week. I can't do another社交 performance tonight."

Liam blinked, then grinned. "Honestly? Same energy. Let's go find that cat instead."

They found the calico behind the gym, crouched under a bleacher, watching them with ancient yellow eyes. It didn't run when they approached. It sat with the quiet confidence of something that had never cared about performing.

"Not a zombie in the world," Maya said softly, sinking onto the grass beside it. The cat butted its head against her knee.

Behind them, the school hummed with the footsteps of three hundred teenagers, all of them running somewhere they weren't sure they wanted to go. But here, with the cat pressing warmth into her leg and Liam sitting silently beside her, Maya finally felt awake.