Zombie Mode Activated

I'd been running on zombie mode for three weeks straight. Junior year was eating my brain cells one APUSH deadline at a time, and tonight's rager at Jake's house was exactly what I didn't need.

"You good?" Marcus whispered, nudging my shoulder. He'd been my ride-or-die since seventh grade, loyal as a golden retriever and twice as protective.

"Yeah," I lied, sipping whatever suspicious punch was in my cup. The bass was vibrating through my chest like a second heartbeat.

Across the room, Tyler was holding court like he always did, loud and center-stage. "...and she literally DM'd me, I'm not even joking," he announced, gesturing dramatically. "Her account's at like 50k followers now, she's practically basically influencer status."

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. That was absolute bull and he knew it.

"That's cap," I heard someone mutter nearby. Thank GOD for the honesty of strangers.

Marcus caught my expression and steered me toward Jake's room. "Escape route activated."

Jake had the good gaming setup - next-gen console, massive 4K display, the whole cable management situation down to a science. We spent the next hour destroying everyone in Battle Royale, actually laughing for the first time in forever.

"You know," Marcus said during a loading screen, "it's okay to not be okay. Like, you don't have to perform all the time."

I looked at him - really looked at him. This was why he was my person.

"I'm just tired," I admitted. "Of everything. The expectations, the fake energy, Tyler's constant storytelling. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the motions, you know? Zombie mode."

He nodded. "Real. But also? You killed it tonight. You called bull, you retreated when you needed to, you're actually chill right now. That's not zombie behavior. That's growth."

The loading screen faded. We were back in the game, together, and for the first time in weeks, I didn't feel like I was sleepwalking through my own life.