The Afterparty Zombies

Maya dragged herself to 7th period AP Bio feeling like a literal zombie. Three hours of sleep will do that to you—especially when you spent them doom-scrolling through photos of Jake from Sarah's party while overanalyzing why he'd left without saying goodbye.

"You look dead," whispered Chloe, sliding into the desk beside her. "Rough night?"

"You have no idea." Maya yawned, then caught her reflection in her phone screen. "Wait, do I have something in my teeth? I tried that spinach dip at the party and—"

"You're good. But your hair's doing this whole 'I survived an apocalypse' thing, so maybe fix that before Jake walks in."

Maya's hands flew to her head. Her orange scrunchie was barely holding together a messy bun that looked more like a bird's nest. Because of course Jake chose that exact moment to walk through the door, backpack slung over one shoulder like he owned the place.

He caught her eye and smiled. That stupid, perfect smile that made her stomach do flip-flops. "Hey Maya."

"Hey!" Her voice came out about three octaves too high. Smooth. Real smooth.

The classroom TV flickered to life—Mr. Harrison was playing another documentary. But something was wrong with the cable again. The screen went blue, then snow, then showed some ridiculous local car dealership ad at max volume.

"Classic," Jake muttered, pulling a chromebook from his bag. The bear keychain on his zipper jingled. Maya had given him that stupid keychain freshman year, back when they were "just friends" and she thought it was hilarious that this six-foot soccer player carried around a tiny grizzly bear.

He still had it.

Wait.

Jake still had the bear keychain she'd given him TWO YEARS ago?

"So," Jake said, turning his desk slightly toward hers. "I saw you left Sarah's party early. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just—I wasn't really feeling it." Maya felt her cheeks burning. "I mean, it was fun, but—"

"Too many people being fake?" He raised an eyebrow. "I get that. That's why I bailed too."

"Wait, you left early?"

"Yeah." He laughed softly. "I was actually looking for you to see if you wanted to get food, but you'd already taken off."

The zombie feeling evaporated. Maya's heart was suddenly doing something completely different—something warmer and brighter and terrifying.

"Oh." She managed. "Well. I mean. I'm hungry now?"

Jake's grin widened. "Let's dip. We can catch Harrison's documentary tomorrow."

Maya grabbed her bag, Chloe shooting her a thumbs-up behind Jake's back. Some days, she decided, didn't feel like surviving the apocalypse at all.

Some days felt like the beginning of everything.