The Zombie Who Wore Hats

Marcus dragged through the hallway like a **zombie**, three hours of sleep and finals week turning his brain into something that definitely used to be intelligent but now mostly just wanted to die. His trusty black beanie was pulled low over his eyes—a necessary accessory when you haven't washed your hair in four days and your social battery is at 1%.

"Nice **hat**, Marshmallow," Chloe sneered as he passed her cluster near the lockers. She'd called him that since seventh grade, back when he'd cried after losing the spelling bee. Now she was just background noise in the soundtrack of his misery.

"Thanks," he mumbled, already halfway to zombie mode again.

Outside, behind the gym, he found his escape: the stray **cat** he'd secretly named Luna. She was a mangy calico with a torn ear and an attitude problem, basically the spirit animal of his entire existence. Marcus sat on the ground and let her headbutt his hand, feeling something finally click into place. This was real. Not the fake performative nonsense inside, not the GPA pressure that made him want to scream, just a cat who liked him because he had tuna in his backpack.

Then Jason rounded the corner—star quarterback, professional jerk, all-around **bull** in a china shop. Marcus braced himself for the usual routine.

"Dude, are you seriously talking to that gross thing?" Jason made a face like he'd smelled something rotten. "That's pathetic."

Something in Marcus snapped. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation. Maybe it was the way Luna flinched. Whatever—zombie Marcus had nothing left to lose.

"She's cooler than anyone inside this school," Marcus heard himself say, voice steady for the first time all week. "At least she's not pretending to be something she's not."

Jason's eyebrows shot up. He actually looked surprised. Then he shrugged and walked away, muttering whatever.

Marcus sat there for a long time, Luna purring in his lap like an engine. He wasn't fixed—life wasn't a Disney movie—but for the first time in forever, he felt like he could maybe, possibly, eventually figure out who he actually was underneath all the exhaustion. And that was something.