Orange Streak at Dawn

5 AM practices turned me into a certified zombie. I mean, literally dragging myself out of bed while the sky was still that weird purple-gray color, eyes barely open, shuffling to the kitchen like I'd just risen from the grave. Coach Martinez didn't care that we were dead inside—he just wanted us running.

"Pick up the pace, Vega!" he'd yell, whistle shrill enough to wake the entire neighborhood.

I wasn't even good at track. I'd joined because Maya did, and Maya had joined because Tyler was doing it, and Tyler—well, Tyler was actually fast. Meanwhile I was just there, an orange-haired impostor in proper running shoes, gasping for air while everyone else made it look effortless.

The orange hair thing? That was my rebellion. My mom had practically hyperventilated when she saw me with the box dye. "You're ruining your natural color!" she'd cried. But something about seeing that bright, unapologetic orange in the mirror made me feel like I actually existed. Like I wasn't just background character number three in everyone else's movie.

Then came the morning of the regionals. Tyler twisted his ankle warming up, and suddenly Coach was looking at me like I might actually have to run the 400-meter relay.

"You got this, Vega," Maya said, handing me a baton that felt suspiciously like responsibility I didn't ask for.

I stood at the starting line, heart pounding, zombie brain suddenly wide awake. The gun went off.

And something clicked. All those mornings I'd spent half-asleep, all the laps I'd dragged myself through while my legs burned and lungs screamed—it all led here. I wasn't thinking about grades or college applications or whether Tyler thought I was cool. I was just running.

I crossed the finish line gasping, somewhere in the middle of the pack, but when I looked up at Maya grinning from the sidelines, I realized something: I'd never felt more alive.

"Nice streak, Orange Lightning," she called out.

I couldn't help it. I smiled. Maybe tomorrow I'd be a zombie again, but right now? Right now, I was flying.