Zombie Scrolls at Midnight

Maya's thumb hovered over her iPhone screen, the blue light illuminating her dorm room at 2:47 AM. She'd been doom-scrolling through her classmates' posts for hours—everyone at parties, everyone living their best lives, everyone except her.

A rustling sound outside her window made her jump. Probably just another cat from the neighborhood—those strays were always getting into something. But when she peeked through the blinds, she spotted something unexpected: a fox, its orange coat gleaming under the streetlamp, staring right at her with intelligent eyes.

"You still up too?" she whispered, feeling a weird connection to this nocturnal creature.

Her phone buzzed. A group chat notification: "Zombie apocalypse watch party @ Jake's house, NOW. Everyone's coming."

Maya's heart did that thing where it felt too big for her chest. She'd been at this school for three months and somehow still felt invisible. The zombie movie marathon was exactly the kind of thing normal teenagers did—impulsive, random, social.

Her thumb hovered over the keyboard. Three dots dancing.

The fox outside twitched its ears, then trotted away into the darkness, confident and unbothered.

Maya typed: "On my way."

Her hands were literally shaking as she threw on her favorite oversized hoodie and slipped out into the night. The November air bit at her cheeks, but she didn't care. For once, she wasn't going to overthink it. She wasn't going to be the zombie—just going through the motions, stuck in her own head, watching life happen from the sidelines.

When she pushed open Jake's front door, laughter spilled out like warmth. There, in the glow of the TV screen, surrounded by pillows and popcorn, were the people she'd been too afraid to talk to for months.

"Maya!" someone called. "We saved you a spot."

She sank onto the floor between Emma and Tyler, and as the opening credits of the zombie flick rolled, Maya's iPhone buzzed one last time in her pocket. She didn't check it. For the first time in forever, she was exactly where she was supposed to be.