7 Simple Steps To Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

How to be a Failure 101: 1

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"YOUR'E GONNA BE FINE," Maeve insisted as she laid him down onto the wooden floor of the empty room. She ripped the fabric of the cape he was wearing, tying it around his bleeding leg. Child-like cries filled the room, and she could barely focus as she heard Frank comforting the little boy.

"He's fine buddy," Frank ruffled the boy's hair. "He's going to be fine, right Maeve?"

Maeve looked up, her hands still moving frantically as she tried to stop the bleeding. One hand left his bleeding leg to pinch and pull at the fabric of her pants. She looked into the little boy's wide eyes, seeing as he sniffled with unshed tears. "He's gonna be alright Leo."

Aurora's face paled. She's known Maeve for over ten years now. She eyed the way Maeve nervously fiddled with her clothes. The brown haired girl gulped, and that's when Aurora knew.

He wasn't going to be alright.

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"You're gonna be fine," Maeve insisted, as they were handed the thick packets of paper covered in black ink. "You've done a hundred of these before."

"It's just a math test, it's just a math test," Aurora repeatedly muttered under her breath. She hadn't studied the night before, choosing instead to watch more fan-made videos of her favorite band. Maeve's paper was just a few feet away. If Aurora could just look over, the right answers could easily be transferred onto her own test. Maeve obviously hadn't studied, but it's not like she needed to anyways.

"Rory, you'll be fine. I didn't study either," Maeve reassured as she got out a mechanical pencil.

Bitch. "And yet you'll still get an A." Aurora rolled her eyes, whisper yelling as the teacher walked past yet again. "Just... let me see problem 1... maybe 2.. Or just 1-7."

"There are only 7 questions on this test dumbass."

The teacher shushed them, pushing his obnoxious glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. Maeve scowled, writing her name in pretty calligraphy at the top. Maeve Ohara.

With her left hand, Aurora scribbled her own name at the top. Making sure to doodle at least 4 hearts before reading the first problem. Graph the following polynomial with the accurate solutions in comparison to-- ah, fuck no.

She glanced at Maeve's paper. How th-- she was already on problem 4. She poked Maeve's side with the end of her pencil.

"Rory." Maeve hissed under her breath. She poked her again.

A sharp glare came from the corner of Maeve's eye. "Rory."

So, as you do, Aurora poked her again.

"Aurora Cox I swear to almighty God, I will invert your damn ribcage if you don't knock it off."

Aurora withered away, holding her pencil close to her chest as if it were burned when poking Maeve's temper. Even so, Maeve moved her arm from covering her paper, pushing it ever so slightly towards the blonde girl.

Aurora attempted to fill out her paper just as Maeve did. But, it didn't work as well as she had planned. Maeve's graphs were filled with long squiggles that seemed pretty important. Aurora's paper ended up looking like a child's coloring book, with her "math problems" looking like little worms all over the paper. Nevertheless, Aurora was proud of what she drew, even if it looked nothing like Maeve's. Maybe next time she would study. Aurora nearly laughed out loud at the thought.

Aurora confidently strode to the front of the class to turn in her paper. "Mr. Johnson, can I just ask if you've gotten a haircut?" She laid her test on the table, leaning over slightly to see the answer key he left out near his computer.

"Actually yes, I'm a little flattered my students notice--" Yeah, Aurora wasn't listening.

She nodded as she turned to go back to her desk, motioning for Maeve to look up at her. 5, she made the motions with her hand. X is -7, not 4. Maeve's eyes widened, nodding up in acknowledgement as she quickly erased her answer.

Soon after, Aurora strutted back to her seat as Maeve went to turn in her test. The rest of the class followed suit, and before they knew it, the bell rang, signalling the end of class. They filed into the hallway, getting bumped as some kids rushed down the hall to their classrooms.

"Why would he give us a pop quiz? I don't see the point." Aurora groaned, holding her books at her side as she opened her locker. Maeve snorted, pulling out her psychology textbook as a boy leaned up against the locker next to her.

"Failed again, Aurora?" Elliot said, a grin pulling at his lips.

Aurora sighed. "You could say that again. But not this time, my baby had my back for this one." She nuzzled her cheek against Maeve's shoulder, causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"So... Maeve... are you going to the basketball game tonight?" Elliot had finally made the team this year, suffering of being only 5'6 until having a massive growth spurt during the summer. They reminisced on the memories from middle school, vaguely remembering throwing a dodgeball directly at his--

"No," Maeve said bluntly, trying to turn down the boy for the thirtieth time this year. She closed her locker, waving at Aurora before rushing to psychology class. She couldn't afford another tardy this semester.

Aurora took her seat in her government class. Already bored, she politely raised her hand and asked to use the restroom. She skipped down the empty hallways, a stark contrast to the filled corridors that were seen between classes. Aurora didn't use the bathroom and decided to check twitter instead, not bothered that she was holding up the line.
The trending page surprised her, as #zombieapocalypse was trending number 1. She laughed to herself, thinking about the irony of her and Maeve's descriptive plans for that exact situation. There must be a new movie out. Everyone filed out of the bathroom until only Aurora was left. The quiet room was suddenly filled with her principal's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Teachers and students please excuse this interruption. We are now going into an external lockdown. Students in the hallways, make your way to the nearest classroom. Please await our next announcement for further instruction."