Orange Hat, Undead Heart

The first day of sophomore year, Maya walked into West High with her dad's old orange trucker hat pulled low over what used to be her hair. What was supposed to be "subtle auburn highlights" had turned into a screaming neon disaster after she'd left the dye on too long while binge-watching The Last of Us.

"Nice hat, " Gina whispered as they slid into their homeroom seats. "What's up with you? You look like a zombie."

"I literally haven't slept in two days, " Maya deadpanned. "And my mom's going to kill me when she sees what I did to my hair."

That's when she noticed him—Zach, the quiet guy who sat in the back, always sketching in his notebook. Today he was wearing a faded zombie movie t-shirt and somehow making it work. Their eyes met, and he actually smiled.

"Nice hat, " he said, sliding into the desk beside her. "Very bold."

Maya's face flushed. "It's covering a crime scene."

"Let me guess, " Zach said, flipping his sketchbook open to reveal an incredibly detailed drawing of a zombie character with bright orange hair. "Hair experiment gone wrong?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who's been there. " He showed her his phone—pics from last year when he'd dyed his hair green for Halloween. "My mom almost lost it."

By lunch, Maya found herself sitting with Zach and his friends, a ragtag group of theater kids and artists who didn't care about being cool. She realized she'd been a zombie anyway—walking through school trying to fit into the wrong crowd, saying the right things, wearing what everyone else wore.

She took off the orange hat. Her hair was ridiculous and she loved it.

"You know, " Zach said, grinning, "I think orange is totally your color."

For the first time, Maya didn't feel dead inside. She felt radioactive.