Zombie Mode and Cat Whispers

I'd been running on zombie mode for three days straight. Finals week will do that to you—turn you into some undead creature stumbling through the hallways, surviving on caffeine and pure spite. My contacts felt like sandpaper against my eyes, and don't even get me started on the dark circles that had basically become my personality at this point.

"You look dead," Maya said, sliding into the seat across from me at lunch. "Like, actually deceased. Should I call an exorcist?"

"Ha ha," I deadpanned. "I'm functioning on two hours of sleep and an energy drink that tasted like radioactive bubblegum. What's up?"

She slid her phone across the table. "You going to Jordan's party tonight? Everyone's gonna be there."

I stared at the invitation like it was written in ancient Sumerian. Jordan's parties were legendary—the kind where something embarrassing always happened and the whole school found out by third period the next day. Last time, someone put a goldfish in the punch bowl.

"I don't know, Maya. I'm barely holding it together."

"Exactly." She grinned. "That's when the best stuff happens. Besides, I need a wingman. Tyler might actually make a move tonight, and I cannot bear that awkwardness solo."

I sighed. Maya and Tyler had been doing this weird dance around each other since homecoming, and it was painful to watch. Like, physically uncomfortable.

"Fine. But if I fall asleep standing up, leave me there."

That's how I ended up at Jordan's house at 11 PM, still feeling like a zombie but now with added social anxiety. The bass was already shaking the windows, and someone had definitely spiked the punch. Again.

I was hovering near the snack table when I heard it—meowing.

Like, actual cat sounds coming from the laundry room.

Maya appeared beside me, looking frantic. "Okay, don't freak out, but I might have accidentally let Jordan's cat escape, and now it's hiding somewhere, and if Jordan finds out, I'm dead. Like, actually murdered dead."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Help me find it!"

We spent twenty minutes searching that house like it was a crime scene, checking under beds, inside closets, and behind couches. I was crawling on the floor—still in zombie mode, mind you—when I heard scratching coming from the basement door.

"Found it!"

The cat, a calico named Princess, bolted the second the door opened. We chased it through the basement, up the stairs, and somehow ended up in the backyard where Tyler and Jordan were having what looked like a serious conversation.

The cat jumped onto Tyler's lap, and all three of us froze.

Jordan looked at the cat. Then at Maya. Then at me, still on my hands and knees from the chase.

"Is that... is that Princess?"

Maya turned bright red. "I can explain."

But instead of getting mad, Jordan started laughing. And then Tyler laughed. And suddenly we were all laughing, and the cat was purring like nothing weird had happened at all.

"You guys are ridiculous," Jordan said, scratching Princess behind the ears. "But honestly? This is the most drama-free party I've ever thrown."

Maya and Tyler ended up talking for the rest of the night. I sat with them and Jordan, feeding Princess treats from the snack table, finally feeling my zombie brain start to relax.

Sometimes the best nights aren't the ones you plan for. They're the ones where you're exhausted, accidentally liberate a cat, and somehow make everything better anyway.

And yeah, I still had to study for my math final the next morning. But honestly? Totally worth it.