The Zombie Hair Catastrophe

Maya stared into the bathroom mirror, horrified. Her hair—previously waist-length and perfect—now looked like something a zombie would wear during an apocalypse. The DIY bob she'd attempted after watching three hours of TikTok tutorials had turned into a disaster. Chunks were uneven. One side was basically a buzz cut.

"You look... interesting," her little brother Leo said from the doorway, still in his bear onesie pajamas despite being twelve.

"Interesting? Leo, I look like I crawled out of a grave!" Maya buried her face in her hands. "Jordan's party is tonight. Everyone's gonna be there. I can't show up like this."

Leo shrugged. "At least your hair isn't dead. Unlike Goldie."

Maya froze. "What?"

"Goldie. The goldfish? Mom flushed him this morning. He was floating sideways."

"Oh my god, Leo, I'm sorry." But part of her was like, *really? NOW?* As if she didn't have enough to deal with.

Her phone buzzed. Sasha: *u still coming tonight??*

Jordan's party. The one she'd been hyping herself up for for weeks. Where she might finally talk to Tyler, who'd been low-key flirting with her in bio lab. Where she was supposed to debut her *new look*—confident, different, bold.

Instead, she looked like a zombie extra from The Walking Dead.

Maya's eyes stung. She grabbed a beanie, yanked it over her disaster hair, and texted Sasha back: *yep see u soon*

Some nights, you just had to show up anyway. Even if your hair looked like it had been chopped by a lawnmower. Even if your brother's goldfish was literally swimming in sewer water now. Even if you felt like a zombie inside.

"You good?" Leo asked, genuinely concerned.

Maya adjusted her beanie. "Yeah. Just gotta bear it, right?"

"That's not how that phrase works."

"Shut up, Leo."

She walked out with her head held high. Because that's what you do. You show up. Even when you're a mess. Especially then.