Warm Animal // Disney ZOMBIES 2

[5] Cry by the Rocks, Coward

   People were staring at him. The students covering their mouths and looking on in disapproval by their lockers. Zed didn't know what warranted such a reaction, was it because of the break-up? He thought everyone would be over it by now.

   He saw a discarded newspaper atop of a trash can. He didn't know they had a school newspaper. He picked up the newspaper and looked at the front page.

   WATCH YOUR BACK; THEY'RE ON THE ATTACK!!!

   It included two side-by-side pictures on the cover. One was a blurry image of Wanda grabbing onto Alice's hair from their infamous fight, and the other was a scene from the library, with Zed pinning Wyatt to the ground, his fist making contact with the werewolf's jaw.

   That was one way to get Zed angry.

   He clutched the paper in a vice grip, storming off to find the cheer break room. The cheerleaders heeded a fair warning to Zed's rapid approach, thankful for the gigantic windows on their walls. The windows weren't a plus when he could see every second of their initial scramble to hide evidence, though.

   He pushed open the door, shoving the paper in their faces. "Who did this?" His voice was nothing short of friendly.

   They all simultaneously pointed to the ACEY's, who were holding mirrors and trying their best to look nonchalant.

   "Why did you write this?" He saw their faces morph into ones of mock innocence, "Don't even try to say you didn't do this, you guys have hated us since the first day we walked into this school."

   "So what if we did? You don't have any proof, and it's pretty easy to get this sheep of a school to follow behind us." Stacey announced, sparing a glare in his direction. The other ACEY's nodded in agreement.

   "Did taking down the barrier mean nothing to you? Hell, even Prawn? I thought you guys matured, and I was thinking we could put our differences aside. Guess not. You guys are still childish freshmen." Zed spat, tossing the newspaper into the trash on his way out, his fists still clenched.

   The ACEY's watched as he left. None of them would admit to the guilt that sat present in their stomachs for the rest of the day.

   Zed woke up early the following day. He tried to go back to sleep, get another hour of rest in, but his body was uncompromising. He threw off his blankets and prepared himself for school. Wearing his usual attire, he went to grab a bite for breakfast. He froze as he saw a grey lunchbox sitting on the counter, with his name on a note card beside it.

   He picked up the note, seeing it was from his dad.

   Hope you have a fun time on your field trip, bud! Call me when you arrive back at the school.

   -Dad

   The trip to the Reserve! Leave it to Zed to forget about a field trip. Zed dragged his feet to his backpack, stuffing in items he thought he might need, such as bug spray and sunglasses.

   He noticed neither his dad or Zoey were up yet. His dad must have packed the lunch the night before. He smiled as he headed out, maybe he could sit in the back of the bus if he was early enough.

   The buses were lined up at the front of the school, he saw a few students boarding already. The sun wasn't even up yet, the grass reflecting the morning dew. The zombies and humans wore similar expressions of either excitement or drowsiness.

   The teachers stood outside each door, telling the students which bus they were going on. When Zed got to his bus, he was relieved to find the back seats totally empty. He was grateful that he naturally woke up early, or he'd most likely would have been seated at the front and forced to talk to the teacher.