Stage Fright and Dead Eyes

Maya's hands shook as she gripped the makeup brush, turning her reflection into something unrecognizable. The school's production of "Zombie Garden" was tonight, and she was still terrified. Being a sophomore thrust into the lead role after the senior *zombie* queen came down with mono wasn't exactly how she'd imagined spending her spring.

"You got this, May," said Jordan, the tech guy she'd been low-key crushing on since September. He adjusted the spotlight settings behind her. "Just don't think about everyone staring."

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered, attempting *lightning* bolts of dark eyeshadow across her cheeks. "You're not the one who has to moan and drag one leg across the stage while Trevor *the bull* Henderson watches from the front row."

Trevor, varsity linebacker and general nightmare, had already made three comments about how "theater kids were weird." His friends had laughed, of course. Maya had perfected the art of pretending she didn't care, but honestly? She cared.

The auditorium lights dimmed. Someone's phone went off—that trap ringtone everyone had—and Principal Walker gave his signature death stare. The curtain rose.

And then something happened. As Maya shuffled onstage, groaning and reaching toward the audience with stiff arms, she locked eyes with Trevor. He wasn't laughing. He was leaning forward, actually watching.

In that moment, she felt like a different person—powerful, untouchable. Like she could handle anything, even the *bull* in the front row who'd made her life hell since seventh grade.

Afterward, in the chaotic glow of cast photos and congratulations, Jordan found her backstage.

"You were incredible," he said, and this time his voice sounded different. "Wanna grab food? There's this place—"

"*Fox* Hollow Burgers?" Maya finished, her heart doing that annoying fluttery thing. "I'd love that."

Maybe playing a *zombie* had taught her something about being brave. Maybe sometimes you had to die a little onstage to truly feel alive. Either way, she'd survived the performance, the *bull*, and her own stage fright.

And she might've just gotten her first real date out of it.