The Zombie Connection

Marcus shuffled into third period like a zombie, eyes glazed, movements stiff. Three hours of TikTok until 3 AM will do that to you. His iPhone battery hovered at 4%, a desperate red warning he kept ignoring.

"Dude, you look dead," Jamie whispered, sliding into the desk beside him. Marcus groaned, patting his pockets. His charging cable was gone. Probably left it attached to Maya's wall outlet during yesterday's study session—his genius excuse to talk to her for three hours.

"I'm literally a zombie," Marcus mumbled. "Forgot my cable. Phone's about to die."

Jamie snorted. "Tragedy. How will you survive without refreshing Instagram every five seconds?"

Before Marcus could defend his very legitimate social media needs, Maya walked in. She wore that oversized hoodie he loved, the one with the frayed cuffs. Their eyes met. She held up a tangled mess of white wire.

"Looking for this?" Her grin did things to his stomach that no amount of zombie-like fatigue could fix.

Marcus practically levitated toward her. "You're a lifesaver. I was about to enter full withdrawal."

Maya laughed, that real laugh that crinkled her nose. "You know, Marcus, there's this crazy concept called talking to people without a screen between you."

He froze, halfway to retrieving his cable lifeline. Was she... was she flirting?

"I mean," Maya continued, cheeks turning pink, "we had fun studying yesterday. Before you掏d out your phone every five seconds."

Marcus blinked. He was 16 and clueless, but even he couldn't miss this opening.

"So," he said, leaving the cable coiled on her desk, "maybe I could experience this revolutionary 'talking' thing? After school? Coffee?

Maya's smile widened. Something genuine. Something real.

"Pick me up at four. And leave the zombie mode—and the iPhone—at home."

His phone died exactly thirty seconds later. Marcus didn't even notice.