Zombie Prom and Spinach Kings

Maya's cable knit sweater was itchy, but not as itchy as the situation she'd backed herself into. Senior prom was three days away, and she'd somehow agreed to help her friend Jay transform his basement into the ultimate zombie-themed afterparty venue.

"It's gonna be sick," Jay promised, gesturing at the cardboard boxes stacked everywhere. "My uncle's a prop designer. He's sending over fake cobwebs, strobe lights, the works."

Maya nodded, trying to ignore the pile of old sports equipment in the corner. Including, weirdly enough, a massive stuffed bull head from who knows what decade. "Cool. But what's with the spinach?"

"Oh!" Jay's face lit up. "My mom's obsessed with those spinach smoothies now. She made, like, fifty bottles for the 'health station' next to the fake blood bar."

Maya groaned. "Jay, nobody's gonna drink spinach smoothies at a zombie prom afterparty. That's so random."

"It's not random! It's... curated chaos."

"That's just a fancy word for mess," she shot back, but she was smiling.

By Friday night, the basement looked incredible. Fake vines, black lights, zombie cutouts. Even the spinach smoothies had their own decorated table. But as the first wave of seniors stumbled in from prom—some looking like actual zombies in their uncomfortable formal wear—Maya noticed something.

Her crush, Alex, was standing alone by the spinach smoothies. Looking miserable.

Maya's heart did that thing where it forgot how to rhythm properly. She grabbed two smoothie bottles and marched over.

"Hey," she managed, holding one out. "Want some spinach sludge?"

Alex looked up, startled, then actually laughed. "Is that what we're calling it?" They took the bottle. "Thanks. I was feeling kind of like a zombie anyway."

"The good kind or the bad kind?"

"The socially awkward at prom kind," Alex admitted. "You?"

Maya shrugged. "The I'd-rorganize-a-zombie-basement-than-dance kind."

"Same," Alex said, and their shoulders brushed. "Wanna zombie-walk out of here and get actual food?"

"Bear with me," Maya said, grinning. "I'm thinking pizza."

Alex's smile was better than any prom decoration. "I can bear that."

As they slipped out past dancing seniors and spinning disco lights, Maya decided: maybe themed parties weren't so bad after all. Especially when they ended like this.