The Zombie Apocalypse Strategy

Maya's thumb hovered over her iphone, the blue light illuminating her face in the dark bedroom. Another notification. Another party she wasn't invited to.

"You coming to the game tonight?" The text from Jake made her stomach do that weird flippy thing it always did when his name popped up.

She'd been obsessing over Jake since sophomore year started. He was the kind of guy who made varsity baseball without even trying, whose laugh could clear a crowded hallway like magic. Meanwhile, Maya was still figuring out who she even was—anime fan or theater kid? Neither seemed to fit.

Her cat, Pancake, jumped onto her desk and knocked over her collection of zombie apocalypse figurines.

"Seriously?" Maya groaned, but Pancake just purred and head-butted her hand.

That's when it hit her. The baseball game. Jake would be there. Everyone would be there. And she'd been invited.

But showing up alone was terrifying. What would she even talk about? The proper zombie apocalypse response strategy?

"Wait." Maya sat up straight. That was actually perfect.

Her friends thought she was weird for spending hours planning detailed zombie defenses, but what if that was exactly what made her interesting? What if the thing she'd been trying to hide was actually her thing?

At the game, she found Jake near the dugout. He looked amazing in his uniform, sweat-dampened hair sticking up in that way that made her knees weak.

"Hey!" He grinned when he saw her. "Glad you came."

"Yeah." Maya's heart hammered. "So, quick question—what's your zombie weapon of choice?"

Jake blinked. Then laughed. "Okay, that's not what I expected. Definitely a baseball bat. Obviously."

"Solid choice." Maya felt something shift inside her, like puzzle pieces clicking together. "But you'd need backup. A bat is close-range only."

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?" Jake was looking at her differently now. Not like she was weird, but like she was interesting.

"Maybe I could explain my full strategy sometime?"

"I'd like that."

Maya walked home under the streetlights, iphone buzzing with new messages, but she didn't care. For the first time, she wasn't worried about fitting in. She was just herself—zombie nerd, cat lady, whatever—and somehow, that was enough.

Pancake was waiting by the door when she got home. Maya picked her up, smiling.

"I think it's gonna be okay," she whispered. "I think I finally figured this out."

Outside, the real world kept spinning. But inside, Maya knew exactly who she was. And that felt like winning.