Zombie Mode & Catfish Spies

Maya felt like a zombie after three hours of TikTok doom-scrolling. Her iPhone battery was at 12%, but she couldn't stop checking—just five more minutes, she kept telling herself. Everyone at Jefferson High seemed to be living their best life except her.

Her cat Luna bumped against her ankle, demanding dinner. "Okay, okay, I'm moving," Maya groaned, rubbing her eyes. Her room smelled like vanilla candles and old textbooks—senior year stress manifested in weird ways.

The group chat was blowing up. Someone in their class had created a fake profile to catfish people, and now everyone was playing detective. Maya's best friend Chloe had DM'd her: "Dude, I think I figured out who the spy is. It's literally Sarah from math class."

Maya frowned. Sarah? The quiet girl who sat in the back? That seemed random. But then again, Maya had caught Sarah staring at her phone during lunch yesterday, screen carefully tilted away from prying eyes. Classic spy behavior.

The next day at school, Maya confronted her. "Sarah? Hey."

Sarah jumped like she'd been electrocuted. "What? Oh. Hi."

"So... the fake account?" Maya lowered her voice. "Chloe thinks it's you."

Sarah's face turned bright red. She looked like she wanted to disappear. "It's not what you think."

"Then explain it."

Sarah sighed. "Okay. So there's this guy. From camp. And I wanted to see if he'd talk to me, but like, as me? I don't know. It was stupid."

"Wait, what guy?"

"His name's Tyler. He's going to USC next year. He's amazing." Sarah's eyes lit up. "We talked all summer, but then he just stopped responding. I thought maybe if I made a different profile..."

"That's literally catfishing, Sarah."

"I KNOW!" Sarah covered her face. "I'm such a bull in a china shop. I have no game. None."

Maya started laughing. "Okay, first of all—that expression is so old. But second, why didn't you just DM him normally?"

"Because what if he doesn't reply? Then I look pathetic."

"Or," Maya said, "you just do it. Worst case, he doesn't reply. Best case, he does. Either way, you're not sitting here spying on his Instagram stories like a creep."

Sarah bit her lip. "You think I should message him?"

"I think you should delete the fake profile first. Then message him. Be real."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Okay. But will you help me write the DM?"

"Absolutely not," Maya grinned. "You're on your own. But I'll be here to analyze his response with you."

"Deal."

As Maya walked to class, her phone buzzed. Sarah had sent a screenshot: the message was sent. No going back now. Sometimes the scariest part was being yourself—zombie brain and all. But at least they were in it together.