Chapter Text
“Earth to Zed.”
“What?” He choked out as Eliza snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“I said we need to take this opportunity and rise up,” she repeated frantically. “ I mean, first zombies in human school, next we’re running for office.”
“One step at a time, Eliza,” Zed laughed. “We haven’t even started school yet.”
“She’s just excited,” Bonzo said in zombie. “You know how she is.”
“I know, Bonzo.”
“I’m just saying! This is huge, okay? For way too long, we’ve been tossed aside and forced into all these boxes and given all these rules,” she continued. “I mean, this is just one tiny step in the beginning of a movement, guys!”
“I don’t know if I want to be part of a movement,” Zed sighed. “I think I just want to go to school.”
“Fine, then let’s go.” Eliza rolled her eyes.
The human school was overwhelming — bright colors, natural light, and a swarm of human students standing outside the front entrance. A tall fence separated the two groups of students – humans on one side and zombies on the other.
“I should’ve known,” Eliza mumbled.
“It’s just a fence, Eliza,” Zed whispered back. “At least it’s a real school. No more classes in a dingy basement.”
“This is zombiphobic, Zed,” Eliza argued. “I mean, a ‘normals’ entrance and a ‘zombies’ entrance.”
Zed wanted to believe it wasn’t true – that Eliza was being pessimistic again. They were still at the human school. It was the first day of a new era for zombiekind.
“Eliza, this is going to be awesome, okay? Just… trust it.”
Zed had every intention of trusting it, following the process. He really had no choice. Eliza’s zombie uprising would take time.
“Look at how they look at us,” Eliza said quietly, staring at the human students. They all shared the same look: fear, confusion, disgust. Zed hadn’t interacted with many humans, but he knew they all looked that way at zombies. “How am I supposed to trust that?”
Zed gave her a sad look before looking at the human students again. Among all those disgusted faces, there she was. The beaming, kind-eyed blonde girl on the other side of the fence.
Who is that? Zed thought as he watched her walk into the school.
Bonzo, in his excitable state, put his hand up to the fence and smiled at the humans. “Bonzo, no!” Eliza called out. But it was too late.
A police officer had one hand up to Bonzo and one hand on her taser in seconds. “Whoa, zombie! Back up!” She said it like a curse, the way all humans did. Zombie. What they really wanted to say was 'monster.'
“She looks like she needs a hug.”
“Trust me, B, she does not want a hug,” Zed replied, pulling Bonzo away from the fence and toward the entrance. “Sorry, ma’am.”
The police officer glared as the three of them entered the school with their heads down. So much for the first day of human school.
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“You said something about no more basements.” Eliza crossed her arms as the zombie students stood in the basement, listening to a shaky woman introduce herself as the principal. According to her, zombies weren’t allowed to leave the basement, and their teacher was, in fact, a janitor.
“I was wrong, okay?” Zed mumbled. “But this is still a start.”
“You’re an optimist,” Eliza huffed. “Too much of one.”
“Let’s just ask if— oh!” Zed held his hand up as the Principal started walking passed them. “Excuse me, hi. Zed Necrodopolis.”
Principal Lee gave a tight smile. “Yes?”
“I was wondering how to try out for the football team?”
“And computer coding club?” Eliza added.
“And music?” Bonzo tagged on.
“I’m not going to pretend to understand him,” Principal Lee shook her head at Bonzo once before looking back at Zed. “Easy, do any of these things involve leaving the basement?”
Zed raised an eyebrow before nodding.
“Then you can’t do them,” she clapped her hands once before leaving the students.
“I told you,” Eliza scoffed. “We need to rise up.”
“I get it, Eliza,” Zed sighed, watching Principal Lee walk away. “Just… let me do things my way first?”
“Fine. We’ll try your way,” Eliza agreed. “But when it doesn’t work. We’re doing things my way.”