Zombies Don't Have Best Friends

I felt like a straight-up zombie—three finals in two days will do that to you. My eyes burned, my brain was mush, and I was pretty sure I'd forgotten what sunlight looked like. But here I was, dragging myself to Jordan's Halloween party because my best friend Kai literally would not stop texting me.

"You HAVE to come," Jordan had said during fourth period. "It's gonna be epic."

Epic. Right. The only thing epic about my life right now was the amount of coffee I'd consumed.

I leaned against the wall in Jordan's basement, watching people grind to music that vibrated the floor. Someone's cat—a calico with attitude issues—kept weaving through everyone's legs, like it was judging us all. Honestly, same.

Then I saw HER.

Fox. That's what everyone called her because she was cunning, gorgeous, and always landed on her feet. Madison Fox, dressed as some dark fairy with wings that actually moved. Of course she'd gone all out. Meanwhile, I was wearing my brother's old hoodie and had zombie bags under my eyes that no amount of concealer could fix.

But the real punch to the gut? Kai was with her. Laughing. Touching her arm. The same Kai who'd spent the last month complaining about how annoying Madison was.

My stomach twisted. Not jealousy—okay, maybe a little jealousy—but mostly betrayal. Best friends weren't supposed to ditch each other for the person they'd mutually hated since seventh grade.

The cat rubbed against my leg, purring like a tiny motor. I scratched its head, suddenly grateful for something that didn't care about social hierarchies or who was dating who.

"Hey," Kai said, appearing next to me with Madison in tow. "You made it!"

I stared at them, waiting for the punchline. Instead, Madison smiled—actually smiled—and said, "Kai told me you're the only person who actually gets the math homework. Can you help me with the calc review?"

Kai grinned. "I figured if I'm gonna survive this class, I need both my best friend and the smartest person I know on my team."

I blinked. They weren't ditching me—they were recruiting me.

"Fine," I said, trying not to smile. "But only if someone gets me food first. I'm dying here."

Madison laughed. "Deal."

The cat meowed, like it approved. And maybe zombies didn't have best friends, but exhausted, overcaffeinated high school students definitely did.