Zombie Prom Protocol

Maya's palms were sweating so much she could practically water plants with them. Which was gross, but also kind of impressive, considering she'd spent three hours getting ready for prom. Her hair was curled, her dress was actually pretty (Target sale rack, but no one had to know), and she was about to do the most terrifying thing in her entire high school career: ask Leo to dance.

"You look like a zombie," her best friend Chen said, appearing beside her with two cups of punch. "A very fancy zombie."

"Thanks," Maya muttered. "That's exactly the vibe I was going for."

"I saw Leo earlier. He's by the speakers looking all brooding and mysterious." Chen raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe he's just regretting spending $150 on a ticket to stand in a gymnasium."

Maya's stomach did that thing where it forgot how to be an organ. "I can't do this."

"Bull." Chen set the punch cups down on a nearby table. "You've literally had a crush on him since freshman year. We're seniors now, Maya. This is it. The final countdown. Endgame."

"Okay, stop with the sports metaphors."

"Then go over there."

Maya took a deep breath and walked across the gymnasium, her heart pounding like it was trying to escape her chest. Leo was standing near the palm tree decoration (why did schools always think tropical themes made sense in Wisconsin? No one knew). He was wearing a suit that was slightly too big at the shoulders, and he kept checking his phone like he was waiting for an important text.

"Hey," she said, and it came out way more confident than she felt.

Leo looked up, surprised. "Oh, hey Maya. You look... you look really nice."

"Thanks. So do you."

An awkward silence stretched between them. This was it. The moment. Maya's palms were sweating again. She was going to say something, anything, just to break the tension—

And then the DJ started playing "Thrasher," and suddenly everyone around them started doing that zombie walk thing from TikTok. Leo started laughing, really laughing, and Maya couldn't help it—she cracked up too.

"Everyone looks ridiculous," Leo said, shaking his head.

"I know, right?" Maya said. "Like, what even is this dance?"

Leo looked at her, really looked at her, and smiled. "Want to go get some fresh air? This zombie apocalypse is getting too real for me."

They walked outside together under the fake palm trees, and Maya thought: maybe prom wasn't so terrible after all. Even if her palms were still sweating. Even if she was still kind of a zombie from finals week. Sometimes, the scariest moments turned out to be the best ones. And that wasn't bull at all.