The waxy flakes are falling in a flurry and I can't seem to stop touching my face.

"Oh boy," I say again.

Hey, maybe no one has noticed. Or if they have, maybe I can claim some rare skin condition.

"Gross," A girl, whose name escapes me, screeches.

"It's eczema," I blurt, but the minute I open my mouth, more wax falls away.

"What's wrong with his face?" a voice calls out.

I start to frantically search the crowd for Mary Lou or any friendly face. I get nothing. I feel like a wingless bird surrounded by alligators. I'm only going to be able to hop around and stay out of reach for so long.

"What'd you say your name was?" Joey Lautry asks.

"Um, Steve." I hope that's it. Right now I can't focus on anything but this mob around me. "I'm Steve, my- uh, Jordy's cousin."

Mary Lou comes bursting through the middle of the crowd.

"What's going- oh, geez, what's happened to your face?" she gasps as she steps back. She is staring at me like this is totally out of the blue. She dug me up. Did she really think I'd be fresh as a daisy after two months?

"So, Steve, where are you from?" Joey asks.

"Out of town."

"Where out of town?"

"Far, far out of town," I say, glancing at Mary Lou who is giving me nothing.

Then it happens. Out of the blue someone calls a name, and I look over. Now things wouldn't have turned so ugly if they had called out Steve. But they didn't. They called out me. The real me.

"Hey, Jordy. Think fast." And as I turn, I see a paper cup of punch sailing through the air directly at me.

Curse words, and screams (mostly mine) fill the gymnasium.

"He's a dead guy. A walking dead guy!"

I try to calm them down. "Relax. You know me."

"He'll eat our brains."

Things are going from horrible to hell quickly. "I, hey, no. No. I don't really like brains."

People start running. Most run away. But there are those eager wannabe zombie hunters who just want to kick my ass.

I see Mary Lou trying to ease away. Oh no. She's the one who got me into this situation and she'll either get me out or go down with me. I lunge for her and grab her arm.

"You gotta help me, Mary Lou."

She screams, "Help."

So this is how it is. I have a feeling I know how this is going to go down for me. But I have a little surprise for Mary Lou Foster.

"It's not my fault," I yell louder than I ever have before. "Yes, I'm the walking dead." I look around. All of my former classmates, those who liked me and those who didn't, are watching and listening to me. "You are right. I am Jordy Barrett. I know I shouldn't be here. I should be six feet under. Eyes closed and resting in my casket. The very same casket that my grieving parents picked out for me."

Some faces soften.

"I don't want to ruin your prom. I'm dead and I shouldn't be here. But I am," I sigh. "Let's just get past this and try to enjoy the rest of the night. How about it?"

The gym is completely silent. My words seemed to have touched them. As they mull it over, I start to relax.

"Kill the dead guy!"

Calm, as they say, is just before the storm. Mary Lou has wrenched out of my grasp and is dangerously close to escaping. She's sliding along the wall, no more than a foot from the door.

I jump up on a chair and point excitedly at her. "Witch!" I scream. "She brought me back."

I swear, it is a Kodak moment right then. Her eyes are as big as dinner plates.

"No, that's a lie," she says.

"Check her trunk. You'll find the shovel she dug me up with-after she summoned me back."

Just as I think they have forgotten about me, all hell breaks loose.



The familiar silk of the pillow is behind my head. It's pitch black and comforting. I know where I am. I'm back safely in my casket. Who knows, maybe it was a dream, or maybe this is my purgatory.

I don't know what happened after I blacked out, nor do I care. All that matters is I'm back where I'm supposed to be.

I close my eyes, breathe in the cool yet musky air. And that's when I hear it.

A voice, distant but still recognizable comes through the earth. Not from above me, but from my left.

"I know you can hear me, Jordy."

It's her.

"This is your fault, you know. After you told them I was witch, they came after me."

I claw frantically at the lining.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" I scream.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Eternity. This is my eternity. I am going to be forever with Mary Lou Foster.


The end.