Zombie Mode engaged

I stood in the middle of the theater tech booth, surrounded by a tangled **cable** nightmare that looked like it had been alive at some point. My first week as stage crew and I already felt like a total **zombie**—three nights of staying up till 2 AM adjusting lights will do that to you.

"Dude, you look dead," Marcus said, appearing beside me with a smoothie. "Try this. My grandma's secret weapon."

I squinted at the green sludge. "What's in it?"

"**Spinach**, banana, pineapple, and some other stuff. It's actually legit."

I took a skeptical sip. Surprisingly... not terrible. Marcus was a senior, the kind of guy who could dismantle an entire sound system and reassemble it in twenty minutes. I wanted to be that chill.

"Hey, new kid!" Rodriguez, the tech director, shouted from across the booth. "Stop chattering and help me with this **bull** of a lighting rig!"

That's when it happened. A cable snapped. The main spotlight plunged into darkness, right before the dress rehearsal was supposed to start.

My heart hammered. Rodriguez looked like he was about to explode. Marcus was already halfway up the ladder.

"I got it!" I heard myself say before I could think better of it.

I climbed up, hands steady despite the panic. Found the loose connection. Spliced the wires with the kit Marcus tossed me. Tested it. Light flooded the stage.

Marcus whistled from below. "Not bad, zombie."

Rodriguez actually nodded. "Alright then."

Later, as the cast rehearsed their lines, I sat in the booth finishing Marcus's spinach smoothie and watched the stage glow. Maybe I wasn't a zombie anymore. Maybe I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

First week, first win. Small, but mine.