Zombies and Prom Proposals

Maya's palms were sweating so much she could practically water plants with them. Freshman year Homecoming week, and here she was, hiding in the bathroom at Jackson's party while her iPhone battery clung to 4% like its life depended on it.

"You coming back out?" her best friend Chen texted. "Tyler's literally looking for you."

Tyler. The junior lacrosse captain who'd somehow noticed Maya existed. She'd been zombie-walking through chemistry class all semester, stealing glances at him.

She stepped into the hallway and nearly collided with a guy in a grizzly bear costume—Jackson, apparently going all out for the Halloween-themed dance. "My bad, little zombie!" he called, already vanishing into the crowd.

Zombie. That's what everyone was calling Maya lately, ever since she'd started watching that zombie apocalypse show and made it her whole personality. Even her mom had asked if she was feeling okay.

Tyler found her by the orange soda fountain, where someone had spilled sticky neon everywhere. "Hey," he said, and her stomach did that thing where it forgot how to stomach. "I, uh, wanted to ask you something."

This was it. The moment every rom-com had prepared her for. Her sweaty palms pressed against her dress.

"Would you..." Tyler rubbed his neck. "Would you maybe help me with the zombie makeup thing tomorrow? For the pep rally? I heard you're like, really good at it."

Maya's iPhone buzzed with a low battery warning. 2%. She blinked. "You want me to do your makeup?"

"Yeah! Jackson said you did Chen's face and it looked sick." He grinned. "I'm trying to impress Sarah, and I heard she likes the show too."

Oh.

She was the makeup artist, not the romantic lead. The friend zone expert, the zombie effects specialist. The girl who got noticed for her skills, not herself.

"Sure," Maya heard herself say. "I'll help."

"You're the best, seriously." Tyler fist-bumped her and disappeared.

Her iPhone died. 0%.

Chen found her five minutes later. "So?"

"I have a gig tomorrow," Maya said, surprising herself by smiling. "Tyler needs zombie makeup for Sarah."

"Ouch. That's rough, bestie."

"Maybe." Maya grabbed a handful of orange chips from a nearby bowl. "But at least now I know my zombie game is legendary enough that a junior lacrosse captain trusts me with his face. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Chen laughed. "That's the spirit. Now let's go show Jackson's bear costume who's boss at Mario Kart."

Her palms were still sweating. But somehow, the night felt like a beginning anyway.