Zombie Smoothie Apocalypse

Maya stared at her reflection in the cafeteria mirror, wondering if she'd finally morphed into a full-on zombie. Three AP classes, soccer practice, and somehow she'd agreed to help with the Spring Fling decorations. Her hair was doing that weird frizz thing that no amount of expensive conditioner could fix.

"You look like you haven't slept since finals week," said Sam, sliding onto the stool beside her. He was annoyingly perky for someone who'd also been up until 2AM studying.

"Rude." Maya shoved her tray away. "I'm just culturally appropriating the aesthetic."

Sam laughed, actually laughed, and Maya felt her stomach do that weird flutter thing she tried to ignore. "Cool. So anyway, wanna come to Jayden's party Friday?"

Her brain short-circuited. Sam was talking to her. Like, actually talking. Sam, who she'd had a crush on since freshman year. Sam, who was basically social royalty while she was the girl who once brought a whole bag of spinach to lunch because her mom said it would help her soccer performance.

"Um, yeah?" Her voice came out way too high. She cleared her throat. "I mean, sure. That could be chill."

"Awesome." He grinned, all easy confidence. "Hey, you need a ride?"

Before she could respond, her water bottle toppled, splashing all over her new white sneakers. Of course. Because the universe had a personal vendetta against her coolness.

"I'll get paper towels," Sam said, but she was already bolting, mortified.

Later that night, Maya found herself on FaceTime with her best friend Chloe, ranting about the day's catastrophe while aggressively chugging water like it would somehow erase her embarrassment.

"You're overthinking it," Chloe said. "Sam likes you. The boy literally offered you a ride."

"He was being nice. Because I'm the weird spinach girl."

"You're not the spinach girl anymore. You're Maya. Who's smart and funny and honestly kind of badass at soccer."

Maya chewed her lip. "You think?"

"I know. Also, take your vitamin D supplements. You're moody when you're deficient."

Maya rolled her eyes but smiled. Maybe she wasn't a zombie after all. Maybe, just maybe, she was just waking up.