Operation: Best Friend Recon

Maya's phone screen stayed stubbornly blank. No texts. No TikToks shared. Just radio silence from Chloe, who'd been her best friend since sixth grade when they bonded over being the only two kids who actually liked the cafeteria's mystery meat.

Three days of ghosting. Maya felt like a total zombie, staggering through AP Chem with zero sleep and maximum anxiety. Was it something she said? That joke about Chloe's crush looking like a thumb? Okay, fair.

That's when Maya started the spy mission. Operation: Save The Friendship.

She followed Chloe after school — not in a creepy way, just strategic observation. Chloe ducked behind the old library, which was weird because she hadn't voluntarily read a book since the Twilight phase. Maya crept closer, staying low behind some bushes like she'd seen in movies, except she kept stepping in random puddles because her Vans had zero traction.

A cat watched her judgmentally from a dumpster.

"What? I'm not being weird," Maya whispered. The cat's expression said otherwise.

Behind the library, Chloe sat with a notebook, furiously writing. Maya squinted. Was she... crying? Maya's stomach did that thing where it feels like you just ate expired yogurt.

She stepped forward. "Chloe?"

Chloe jumped a foot. "Maya? What are you—"

"I was just—" Maya started.

"Spying on me?"

"No! Well, maybe, but only because you've been acting different and I thought I did something wrong and I missed you and I'm spiraling, obviously—" The words tumbled out like vomit. Smooth.

Chloe's face softened. "You didn't do anything." She hesitated, then pushed her notebook toward Maya.

It was filled with drawings. Monsters, dystopian cityscapes, a girl who looked kind of like Maya fighting off a horde of...

"Wait, is that a zombie squirrel?" Maya asked.

"I'm applying to art school," Chloe said quietly. "My parents think it's a waste of time. They want me to focus on 'practical things.' I didn't know how to tell you and I didn't want you to think it was stupid and—"

"Chlo." Maya grabbed her shoulders. "This is literally the coolest thing ever. We're making a webcomic. I'll write it, you'll draw it, we'll be famous before college."

Chloe cracked a smile. "Really?"

"Duh. Also, we need to get boba. I'm emotionally drained from all this spying."

They walked to the tea shop, Maya's phone finally buzzing with Chloe's new contact photo: a drawing of the judgmental cat with tiny zombie eyes.

Later that night, Maya's mom made stir-fry with spinach. "It's good for you," she insisted.

Maya took a picture and texted Chloe: The real horror story.

Chloe replied instantly: 💀 zombie plant confirmed

Maya grinned. Friendship status: saved.