Zombie Mode

The ethernet cable lay coiled like a snake across my bedroom floor, my only lifeline to the outside world. I'd been surviving on three hours of sleep and instant coffee for three days straight — basically full zombie mode at this point.

"You're actually going?" My best friend Leo stared at me like I'd grown a third head. "Bro, you look like you've been raised from the dead."

I grabbed my lucky beanie from the bedpost. The hat was beat-up, faded, and had a suspicious coffee stain on the brim, but it was my armor. "Stella's party. I have to show my face eventually."

He wasn't wrong about the zombie thing. My parents had been fighting all week, and I'd escaped into gaming until 4 AM every night just to drown out the slamming doors. But Stella's Halloween party was legendary, and I needed to prove to myself I could still function like a normal human being.

The party was already in full swing when I arrived. Stella's basement was decorated with fake cobwebs and glowing skull lights. I grabbed a cup of punch and immediately regretted it — tasted like someone dumped an entire bag of candy corn into Kool-Aid.

"Hey!" Stella materialized next to me, wearing a witch hat and way too much glitter. "Glad you made it. Try the spinach dip, it's actually fire."

I followed her to the snack table, which is when it happened. The words came out of my mouth before my brain could intervene: "I haven't slept in three days because my parents are probably getting divorced and I don't know how to deal with it."

Stella stopped mid-scoop. The background noise seemed to drop.

"Oh," she said softly. "That's... a lot."

I stood there, frozen, waiting for the awkward silence or pity looks. Instead, she set down the dip. "You know what? My parents split last year. It's gonna suck, but you'll get through it. And if you need someone to vent to who won't give you toxic positivity, I'm here."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The tension in my chest finally loosened a bit.

"Now," Stella said, grabbing a chip and loading it with spinach dip, "try this before someone else eats it all. Trust me, it's the only good thing here."

I took a bite. She was right. For the first time all week, something actually tasted good.