Zombie Mode at the Fair

The Friday bell couldn't ring fast enough. Maya dragged her backpack through the hallway, feeling straight-up **zombie** mode after three hours of AP History torture. Her phone buzzed — group chat blowing up about the county fair happening that weekend.

"You coming?" Sasha texted. "Tyler's gonna be there."

Maya rolled her eyes but typed "yeah" anyway. Because that's what you do when you're seventeen and still figuring out why you care who shows up where.

Saturday afternoon found her at the fair, smelling like deep-fried everything and hearing 400 conversations at once. She'd somehow gotten separated from her friends, which honestly, was kinda fine. The social battery was hovering at 3%.

That's when she saw it — the **cat**. A calico, curled up on a hay bale behind the livestock barns, completely unbothered by the chaos. Maya sat down beside it, and the cat stretched, yawned, and head-butted her hand like they were old friends.

"Wish I could be this chill about everything," Maya whispered.

"HEY!" someone yelled. "That **bull** is loose!"

Maya looked up to see people scattering as a massive bull — actually a massive steer, whatever — trotted out from the show ring. But it wasn't charging or anything. It just kinda wandered over to where she sat with the cat and stopped.

The cat sat up, tail twitching. The bull lowered its giant head and sniffed the cat. The cat swiped at its nose.

And Maya started laughing. Like, actually laughing, for the first time in days.

The bull huffed and walked away. The cat went back to sleep. And Maya realized she'd been so stressed about impressing people who didn't matter, she'd forgotten to just… exist.

Her phone buzzed again. "Where r u??"

Maya texted back: "With my new friends. Be there in a bit."

She stood up, dusted off her jeans, and finally felt like herself again — not some zombie running on caffeine and anxiety, just a girl who'd made friends with a cat and almost got kissed by a bull.

The night could still be awkward. Tyler might not notice her. Sasha might get weird. But somehow, that all felt fine. She'd handle it.

Zombie mode deactivated.