The Zombie Who Found Her Green

Maya felt like a **zombie** walking through the halls of Northwood High. Three hours of sleep finalizing her AP Art portfolio would do that to you. Her phone buzzed in her pocket — probably another group chat blowing up about Jordan's party that she wasn't sure she wanted to attend.

"Earth to Maya," her best friend Chen said, snapping his fingers. "You okay? You look dead."

"Living the dream," Maya muttered, adjusting her dad's old beanie **hat** that she'd appropriated as her signature look. It was her armor — the thing that said, "I'm artsy and mysterious" instead of "I'm terrified that people won't get my work."

Her phone screen litened with a text from her mom: *Don't forget to feed Ollie before you go out. And EAT something actual that isn't coffee.*

Maya practically ran home. Ollie, her ginger **cat**, was waiting by the door, meowing like she'd been abandoned for decades. "Okay, okay, drama queen," Maya said, pouring the kibble. Ollie rubbed against her ankle, purring like a tiny motor.

Her mom had left a container on the counter: pasta with **spinach** and garlic. "Gross," Maya said, but then took a bite anyway. It was actually... decent.

The portfolio showcase was in two hours. Maya stared at her reflection. No more hiding behind the hat. No more pretending to be the chill art girl who didn't care what people thought. Her pieces were raw — anxiety, depression, identity, all of it.

"This is either going to be amazing or a disaster," she whispered to Ollie, who was now sleeping in a sunbeam like she didn't have a care in the world.

At the gallery, Jordan found her first. "So? Are you gonna be a zombie all night or actually talk to people?"

"I'm thinking about it," Maya said. Then she took off her hat, shook out her hair, and walked toward her collection. Someone was already looking at her favorite piece — a self-portrait where she'd painted herself as both herself and everyone she wished she could be.

"This is so real," the girl said, turning to Maya. "Did you make this?"

Maya nodded. Something shifted in her chest. Not confidence, exactly, but something like it.

"I'm Lexi," the girl said. "Your work's kinda the reason I finally started painting again."

Later, as Maya helped her mom load the leftover food into the car, her phone buzzed again. A new group chat: *Art Kids Who Don't Sleep.* Chen had added her. And Lexi.

"How was it?" her mom asked.

Maya thought about it. "Not a zombie anymore."

"Good. Also, you ate the spinach, right?"

"Unfortunately."

Her mom laughed. "That's my girl."