Zombie Mode and the Bull

Maya dragged herself into third period, feeling like a straight-up zombie. Between AP Euro, debate club, and her TikTok addiction, she'd been running on three hours of sleep and caffeine. Her best friend Priya caught her eye and mouthed, you look dead.

"I feel dead," Maya whispered, sliding into her seat. "My parents are on my case about grades, my ex keeps liking my posts, and I'm pretty sure I'm developing a vitamin D deficiency from living in this fluorescent-lit prison."

Priya snorted. "Drama queen. You're literally fine."

The bell rang, and Mr. Evans announced the career fair happening next week. "Remember, your future starts now. Don't be afraid to take the bull by the horns."

The entire class groaned. Someone in the back muttered, "This feels like a cult."

But Maya felt something weird—a tiny flicker of something that wasn't exhaustion or apathy. She'd been thinking about this stuff lately, about how everyone expected her to have it all figured out when she barely knew who she was. The zombie routine of school-scroll-repeat wasn't working anymore.

"Hey," she whispered to Priya. "What if we actually went? Like, seriously?"

Priya side-eyed her. "To the career fair? That's giving try-hard energy."

"No, I'm serious. What if we stopped walking through everything like zombies and actually tried stuff? What if we—I don't know—cared?"

The words hung there, heavier than she intended. Because caring was terrifying. Caring meant failing meant people seeing you try and not succeed.

Priya looked at her for a long moment. "Okay. But we're doing it together. And if it sucks, we're ditching for boba."

"Deal."

Later that night, Maya lay in bed scrolling through job postings and internship opportunities, something she'd never done before. Her phone buzzed—Priya had sent a screenshot of a creative writing program with the caption: this is actually kind of cool.

Maya smiled. Maybe tomorrow she'd take a vitamin. Maybe she'd sign up for the program. Maybe she'd stop sleepwalking through her life and actually live it.

One thing was certain: she was done being a zombie. Time to grab the bull by the horns—or at least stop letting life trample her.