The Zombie Bear Incident

Maya's hair was supposed to be sun-kissed caramel. Instead, it looked like a pumpkin had exploded on her head.

"It's not that bad," Leo said, though his eyes betrayed him. He was sitting cross-legged on her bedroom floor, her cat Mr. Whiskers curled in his lap like a fuzzy judge.

"My date with Jordan is in two hours, Leo. TWO HOURS." Maya buried her face in her hands. "I look like a zombie that crawled out of a toxic waste dump."

Leo snorted. "First of all, zombies don't go on dates. Second, you have options."

"Like what? Wear a bag over my head?"

"Or..." Leo dug through his backpack and pulled out a giant teddy bear headband from the school play last month. "You could be a zombie bear. It's a whole aesthetic."

Maya stared at him. "You're the worst friend ever."

"I'm the BEST friend ever. I'm currently googling 'how to fix orange hair at home' and calling Jordan to reschedule. Chill."

Maya's stomach did that thing it always did when Leo was being unexpectedly amazing. They'd been friends since seventh grade, when he'd thrown up on her shoes during the Halloween dance and she'd pretended it was cool.

"You don't have to—"

"I already did. Jordan said raincheck, no biggie. Also, your cat just tried to eat the bear headband, so we should probably address that situation."

Mr. Whiskers was indeed batting at the fuzzy ears with predatory focus.

"Fine," Maya sighed. "But we're watching zombie movies while this conditioner supposedly fixes my life. And you're paying for snacks."

"Deal." Leo grinned. "Besides, zombie bears are trending. This could be your whole brand now."

"You're literally the worst."

"But you love me."

"Unfortunately."

Her phone buzzed. Jordan: No worries about tonight! Your hair sounds fire actually 🔥

Maya looked at Leo, who was now wearing the bear headband and being stalked by her cat.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess I do."