Zombie Mode Activated

Maya's phone buzzed at 5:45 AM. Her iphone illuminated the darkness with a notification: track practice in 45. She groaned, feeling like the walking dead. Three hours of homework plus her mom's new vitamin regimen had her running on fumes.

The locker room hummed with pre-practice tension. Jasmine, the team captain, held court by the water fountain, her perfect boba untouched. "Coach says regionals are gonna be brutal," she announced, flipping her hair. "Only the top three make varsity."

Maya's stomach twisted. She'd been fighting for third all season, locked in competition with Kai, the sophomore transfer who never seemed to tire.

Practice was brutal. Wind sprints until Maya's legs burned. Coach kept checking his watch, yelling at them to push harder. She grabbed her water bottle between sets, hands shaking, while Kai sailed past with effortless grace.

"You okay?" Kai asked afterward, dripping sweat but somehow still looking fresh.

Maya nodded, not trusting her voice. She'd been up until 2 AM finishing that history paper. The zombie vibes were real today.

"Take this." Kai pressed something into her palm—a chewy vitamin C tablet. "My swears by them. Immune system booster or whatever."

Something shifted in Maya's chest. Here she was, treating Kai like competition, and they were just... being nice?

"Thanks," she said, genuinely smiling for the first time all morning.

"Hey," Kai said casually, "wanna carpool to practice tomorrow? My older sister drives."

Maya's phone buzzed again—another notification, probably Jasmine posting something about "hustle culture" or whatever. But for once, she didn't check it.

"Yeah," Maya said. "That sounds great."

Maybe they didn't have to be zombies racing against each other. Maybe they could just be teenagers, running together instead of apart.