Zombie Mode

Maya's iphone buzzed for the third time, but she didn't even glance at it. Coach Miller's voice droned on about 'digging deep' and 'leaving everything on the field,' but honestly? Maya was already operating on fumes. Three honors classes, two AP exams, and now varsity softball practice until 5 PM every day. She was basically a zombie at this point.

"You good, Mays?" Riley whispered, nudging her with a cleat. "You look... deceased."

"Zombie mode activated," Maya mumbled. "Can't even. My brain has officially left the chat."

The coach finally blew his whistle—practice was over. Thank GOD. Maya grabbed her bag and trudged toward the parking lot, already mentally calculating how much homework she could finish before falling asleep on her textbook again.

That's when she heard it—a tiny, pathetic mew from behind the dumpster.

Maya stopped. Against all better judgment (she had ZERO time for this), she peeked around the corner. A scrawny calico cat kitten sat there, looking at her with these massive, accusing eyes. Like *how could you walk away from me?*

"Nope," Maya said. "Absolutely not. I can't even keep a succulent alive, much less a—" The kitten let out the saddest sound she'd ever heard. "...fine. FINE. But just to check if you're hurt."

Ten minutes later, Maya was sitting on the ground behind the baseball equipment shed, letting the kitten—she'd named her Pitch, obviously—nibble on a protein bar from her bag. Her iphone had blown up with twelve texts from her study group, seven from Riley, and three from her mom asking if she wanted tacos for dinner.

And you know what? For the first time in weeks, she didn't feel like a zombie. She felt... alive. The pressure of finals, the constant performance, the endless notifications—it all faded when Pitch curled up in her lap and started purring like a tiny motorboat.

"Okay, you little terrorist," Maya whispered, scratching behind Pitch's ears. "But we're telling my mom you're a 'temporary foster situation.' Temporary.emphasis on TEMPORARY."

Her phone buzzed again. Probably someone else demanding something from her. But for now? Maya let it buzz. She was officially off-duty. She'd deal with being a teenage zombie tomorrow.