Bellatrix’s POV

The next day, Seabrook High was buzzing about the new wolves in town. It was like nobody could think or talk about anything else. Not that I was surprised. I mean, it’s not every day you get werewolves popping into town after we all just got used to zombies. This was Seabrook, after all, where a school dance was a life-altering event, apparently.

“I really thought we’d all be at the Prawn together,” Addison sighed dreamily, as she and I walked down the hallway with Zed.

“It’s still gonna happen,” Zed reassured her, puffing up like he’d already solved the problem. “Believe me, I’ll find a way to get us to the Prawn.”

“Or we could miss it together,” Addison said, giving him that look like they were in some kind of teen rom-com.

Zed shook his head, all heroic. “I’m not letting you miss the Prawn.”

“If you can’t go, I’m not going,” she said firmly, her face set in determined, rebellious resolve.

“Well, I like you too much not to let you go.”

“Oh, and I like you too much to leave you behind! I am so not going,” Addison insisted, the pair of them oblivious to anyone outside their love bubble.

Rolling my eyes, I snapped, “Would y’all please shut the hell up? This whole back-and-forth thing is completely nauseating and unnecessary. So what if you can’t go to the dance? Get over it!” Just as I was about to offer more of my honest commentary, Eliza walked up to us, looking as unbothered as usual.

Eliza, I didn’t mind. She was nothing like Zed, even if they were both zombies. She was smart, dedicated, and actually thought about other people, not just her little zombie world. She was the kind of girl who’d fight for her friends—and unlike some people, I respected that.

“Ugh, you guys even fight like a perfect couple,” Eliza teased, raising an eyebrow.

“How’s it going, Eliza?” I asked, turning my attention away from Zed and Addison’s endless romantic tragedy.

“Oh, you know, fighting injustice and keeping busy,” Eliza replied with her usual dry wit.

“And looking good doing it, Zom-bae,” I said, giving her an appreciative nod. That’s when I heard the most irritating voice in the universe.

Bucky strutted up, loud and in full "Bucky mode." “I’m thinking the student president should get his own corner office. Let’s see if we can move out the math department,” he said, not even pretending to be anything less than the center of his own universe. “Addison! Bella! Time to officially nominate me as president.”

Oh, please. Rolling my eyes, I barely hid my disdain. No way in hell was I voting for his egotistical ass.

“Cheer could be so much more than just pom-pomming for Bucky,” Addison said, not-so-subtly pushing back against him.

Just then, Stacey and Lacey slithered over, shooting me their usual glares.

“Uh, Bellatrix?” Lacey sneered. “Once Bucky makes us cheer captain, you are so off the team. We’re tired of you being a complete drag and a freak.”

I laughed, loud and mocking. Their weak attempts at insults were like appetizers. “Honey, don’t tempt me with a good time.”

Addison shot them both a challenging look. “And when I’m cheer captain, you’ll be welcome to stay, because I’ll be making cheer about bringing people together.”

The Aceys gave us a final eye-roll and huffed away. Addison, satisfied, nodded to us and hurried off to class, leaving me with Zed and Eliza.

“I gotta find a way to get us to the Prawn,” Zed muttered, his eyes alight with determination.

Eliza shrugged. “We could crash it. I mean, we can’t make the rules, but we can break ‘em.”

“We could make the rules!” Zed’s eyes gleamed with a sudden idea. “We just need the right leader.”

Great. I could practically see the imaginary lightbulb hovering above his head. This was bound to go well.

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An hour later, we gathered in the auditorium for student president nominations—or as I liked to call it, the Seabrook High popularity contest. Principal Lee, desperate to bond with students this year, made a spectacle of herself on stage, trying to convince anyone else to join student council.

“Okay, are there any more nominees for president? Just a reminder that being part of the student council means that we get to hang! Anybody…? We could come up with our very own high-five!” Principal Lee was practically begging.

Oh boy, nobody was more determined to “relate to the kids” than Principal Lee. Too bad nobody actually wanted to “hang” with their principal. I mean, who would?

“Great news! We have a brilliant and cheer-tested candidate running for president this year!” Principal Lee cheered, practically doing jazz hands. Bucky took that as his cue, entering with his usual flair.

“Me!” he called out, and as if on command, the crowd chanted his name.

“Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!” The louder they got, the bigger his smug smile grew. Suddenly, Zed crashed down onto the stage, recovering just enough to grin.

“Zombie strong! Hello, everyone. My name is Zed, and I am running for president,” he announced, his confidence swelling as Bucky looked like he might have a full-blown tantrum.

“Zed can’t steal my spotlight! What about the anti-monster thingy?” Bucky demanded, scowling.

“Aww, what’s the matter, jazz hands? Afraid of a little competition?” I smirked, barely hiding my glee.

“Anyone can run for president, Bucky,” Addison chimed in from the crowd.

Principal Lee, giving Bucky a sympathetic look, shrugged. “She has a point.”

“What?!” Bucky huffed, red-faced.

Ignoring him, Zed launched into his big campaign speech. “As the first-ever zombie president, I will allow zombies to go to the Prawn, I will take Addison as my date, and we will get our photo on the Prawn wall of fame…”

As the students chanted Zed’s name, I folded my arms, unimpressed. This was just a popularity game to him. He didn’t care about making real changes, and the crowd was eating it up. The irony of it all was downright amusing.

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