Of All the Stars

Chapter 6

The loud ringing blares through the school signaling that it's the end of the school day. Standing up, I stretch, ready to do whatever I'd like to decompress; but a buzz from my phone interrupts my thoughts.

It's Zed.

Wait, shit- It's Zed.

"Shit I forgot."

Each school item is thrown into my bag as I race outside to meet Zed and Eliza, and low and behold, there they are.

"There she is!"

"Hope I didn't keep you guys waiting. Where are we going?" My gaze shifts between Eliza and Zed, waiting for the lowdown. Eliza starts, "Figured out the wolves have been spotted in an area around the zombie part of town, which luckily, we know well." "So we plan to find them and help teach them to blend in, like us zombies do." Zed finishes with a grin, high fiving Eliza. Though, this doesn't feel right and I feel a heaviness on my shoulders. "Maybe that isn't such a good idea-" I start to state my worries when Zed interjects, "Don't worry [Y/N], I know the wolves are scary, but they're a lot like us zombies, and you gotta admit we blend in pretty well. So who better to help them?"

"I wouldn't say that such a good thing..." I mumble as Zed begins to lead the way. "Let's go find those wolves!- Wait [Y/N], weren't you also supposed to be babysitting today?"

"Let's go get Zoey.."

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As we're walking down streets of town, Zoey skipping along while holding my hand, we spot a pack of wolves congregating at a table near the Z101 Radio station.

"Win the wolves' vote, win the election. Easy." Zed states before approaching them. Zoey tries to move on ahead of Zed, but I hold her back a bit. "Awee, but I wanna see them!" "I know, but let's hold off for a moment, you'll still get to see them."

"Hello wolves, allow me to introduce myself." Zed puts out his hand, "I'm Zed, zombie, football star, presidential hopeful." as he awkwardly and weakly laughs. This is a bit painful to watch as he blabbers on, though he does need to make himself sound and look good in order to win votes. The wolves' gaze shifts uncomfortably from Zed's hand and Zed himself, no one taking it for a greeting. "...Okay" Zed pulls his hand back curled up in a fist, as the awkward tension hangs in the air.

I assess the area and the amount of wolves while Zed tries to do whatever he's doing. At the table are Willa, Wyatt, and Wynter with two books they had previously taken from the library earlier today. Gosh I'm gonna need to either return those, convince them to check them out properly, or check them out under my name.... What a pain.

"When zombies first came to Seabrook, we were outsiders, too. Which is why you need a great president like Zed to represent you." Eliza begins, setting up a better campaign speech than Zed had attempted earlier, "We'd be honored if you guys joined us."

"But she's not a zombie," Willa motions towards me, "So why's she here?"

Now all eyes are on me. As I'm about to speak, Zed does so before me, "She's helping with my campaign. She's been a huge advocate and has been amazing to work with."

"I can imagine." Wyatt speaks up, looking from Zed to me, "Wolf guide, zombie advocate, and cheerleader's manager. Got a solid resume going for yourself Miss- [Y/N]" Wyatt drops the nickname at the end. That's the first time I've heard him say my actual name. Both Eliza and Zed give me confused looks as I hadn't told them yet about the principal assigning me a new 'role'. However they're not given the chance to question as Wynter stands up, "Our pack is our pack. We don't need anyone else, so..." gesturing with her arms.