On Sunday, in Zombietown Eliza was still hyped up over how Bucky had sabotaged himself much worse than anything she could have done, but she was still trying to plan her revolution. Zed and Bonzo debated with her all day, thinking everything she wanted was too aggressive while she thought that anything they suggested wasn't enough.
Addison was still grounded, but her parents didn't know anything about what she did yesterday. Her parents were mad at pretty much everyone. They were mad at her for Friday, and yesterday the city council meeting apparently didn't go as they planned. All Missy would say is that someone was able to convince the others that the resumption of all Anti-Zombie laws should be back in place, and all she could accomplish was returning the school to segregating the Zombies and not banning them from Seabrook. They were also mad at Bucky for ruining Seabrook's reputation at the Cheer Championship, but they also chose to blame his shock over being attacked by Zed for it. Even when Addison said that Bucky had cut half the team for supporting Zombies they still refused to hear it. Addison and most of the Zombie students went to bed that night worried about what tomorrow would bring.
On Monday morning students from both sides of the barrier walked towards the high school in nervous anticipation, similar to the first day of school, but much more subdued. When they arrived, the zombies were all dismayed to find the fence had been put back up down the middle of the entrance.
"Zed!" Addison called out, pressing against the fence from the other side.
"Addison!" Zed returned, running up to her. They tried to entwine their fingers through the fence but one of the guards ran up and pulled him away.
"Hey watch it! Are we gonna have a problem here?"
"No officer, no problem." Zed said in a respectful, deferential tone that he usually used when talking to the Z-Patrol.
"He wasn't doing anything wrong!" Addison shouted
"Move along and get to class, all of you. The officer said looking at all the Zombies. Releasing Zed but standing between him and Addison.
"Zed, I am going to fix this!" Addison shouted again before marching into the school.
The Zombies were led back down to the dinghy basement by the Z-Patrol. Zed had a feeling of déjà vu when once again Principal Lee was standing in the middle of the room.
"Good morning students." She started, "As you have all heard, there have been some changes forced on us by the city council due to last week's events." Differently than before she looked at the zombies with guilt rather than fear, her eyes were instead darting to the Z-Patrol members stationed around the room.
"I personally hope that we can all have a good year and get back to the normal we had before. I really do mean it this time. For now, though, your classes are confined to the basement level. You will also be eating lunch down here. Your lockers will be cleaned out by Z-Patrol and your belongings brought to you. Also, zombies are no longer allowed in any official extracurricular teams or clubs. You may notice extra officers hanging around the school these next few weeks, they are here to keep everyone safe."
"Principal Lee, this is my fault, you shouldn't-" Zed started,
"Zip it," she said with a forced frown on her face. "Thank you, officers, I think you can return to your regular duties now."
The officers left the room, and Principal Lee let out a sigh of relief. "OK, now Zed, Bonzo, and Eliza come with me I need to speak to you in my office."
The three friends gave each other confused glances. Principal Lee was acting weird, and they didn't want any more trouble to come to them, so they followed silently behind her as she strode quickly up the stairs and down the hall.
When they arrived at her office, Addison was sitting outside the door. Looking impatient and furious. When she saw the zombies behind Principal Lee, she stood up and launched into a passionate defense
"Principal Lee you can't punish them, it wasn't their fault that they went rogue, and you can't punish the rest of the zombies either they- "
Principal Lee held up a finger signaling quiet, "I know, they aren't in trouble. I should have expected you would be here too Addison. You can all come in and I'll explain."
Principal Lee sat behind her desk after closing the door, the four friends sitting in front. Zed and Addison couldn't help holding hands as they sat beside each other. Each giving a squeeze of affection and reassurance.
Principal Lee began, "I went to the city council meeting a few days ago after the game, and the Mayor and Patrol Chief were on the warpath, they wanted to completely lockdown Zombietown and shut off all zombies from Seabrook including the high school. Several of the council members were initially agreeable, but I and a few fellow staff gave our opinions on the matter."
"Who else was there?" Addison asked.
"It was me, Coach, Ms. Janeth, and Mr. Brunner.
"Mz. Janeth gom Muzica?" asked Bonzo in surprise,
"Mr. Brunner from the AV club?" Eliza asked shocked.
"Yes, both of them, along with Coach and myself have really learned a lot from you three and all the other students, and we know none of you planned for it to happen. We went together to defend you because we now know that you and all Zombies belong at Seabrook just as much as everyone else."
"So, it was you four that stopped my mom's plan?" Addison asked.
"Yes, I know in the beginning I was especially against you all, but the school was changing, and I thought for the better, now it seems we may be back to square one. This was the best compromise we could suggest. But don't give up hope, most of the other teachers agree with me, and we are working out ways to bend these new restrictions. For example, by next week, every zombie will be given a laptop that they can use while at school to attend classes virtually so you all can receive somewhat normal instruction and we are trying to find a way to slowly build back up to where we were."
"Any chance I could get my computer back?" Eliza asked
"Unfortunately, not at the moment, it is still being kept as evidence. Also speaking of which I know that cheerleaders were somehow involved in this and while the Chief says they are investigating I believe he is choosing to ignore the human element. But I checked the school cameras and I found this."
She turned her computer on her desk showing them a video of Tracey and Lacey talking to Eliza. While her back was turned Stacey stole her computer from her bag.
"Arrghh! I should have known those prissy pink cheerleaders were up to something. That was literally the first time they spoke to me all year." Eliza growled.
"I know, with this I think we know who hacked your Z-bands, and if the Aceys are involved then Bucky likely is as well." Principal Lee said agreeably.
"Plus, the fact that he cut half the squad for supporting zombies, then lost the Cheer Championships. Which was hilarious by the way." Eliza said, cracking a smile.
"I know, and I will deal with them, given their disregard for the safety of others, I think they will need to be suspended from the squad and will be attending detention instead." Principal Lee said, "I am planning to announce that anyone Bucky kicked off can rejoin immediately and Coach will be leading the team and pick the next captain in the interim now that football is over. Addison, if you want you can rejoin the team, I think you could be a real leader on the squad, and in school."
Thank you, Principal Lee, but my parents have banned me from cheerleading because of…um…Zed and my hair."
"Oh, please Addison, you and Zed are the worst kept secret in this school, you two don't do a very good job at hiding yourselves if Bucky and the Aceys aren't staring you down. All of your teachers can see it when you interact in class or in the halls. And most agree you are absolutely adorable together."
Addison started blushing bright red, while Zed grew paler if it was possible.
"Za gra zra" Bonzo said laughing out loud, Eliza cracking up along beside him.
"See Z, I told you whenever you see her, your face gets all moony-eyed and you can't look away without me slugging you to not look brain dead."
"I did get the feeling at the meeting from how aggressive your parents were that this was more than just a safety issue." Principal Lee added.
"Yeah, they absolutely hated Zed at first sight and didn't listen to anything we said, then Bucky made things even worse at the game. They are doing everything in their power to keep us apart."
"I know and that's why I wanted to talk to you too, I think the least we can do right now is starting with lunch again, I will allow anyone who wants to eat with zombies to come down to the basement during lunch. Also, there won't be any Z-Patrol if they are on their lunch break too." Principal Lee proposed.
"That sounds great, Zed we can finally sit together at lunch." Addison said with a smile, she could have at least 30 minutes a day with Zed guaranteed. And there was nothing her parents could do to stop her.
"We're getting closer to someday; we just need to keep making progress." Zed said.
"Speaking of which, Eliza I hear you have many ideas for bringing change, Mr. Brunner and I would love to hang and discuss your ideas and maybe implement a few."
"Really?" Eliza was really shocked now, "Well OK, but only because Mr. Brunner is kind of cool, for a human and a teacher. I guess I could…hang with you guys sometime." She said cringing while trying to be polite.
"Great! And Bonzo Ms. Janeth is willing to come down for music lessons with you after school if you're available so you can keep up with the band while we find a way to get you into the concerts and marching band."
"Gra zias" Bonzo said.
"He said thank you." Zed supplied.
"Great I know you three are all leaders for you fellow Zombies and I will be letting all of them know we are trying to fix things. Principal Lee said with a smile, "Now you better get back to your classes, I hope you can still enjoy your time today."
"Thank you, Principal Lee," they all said as they left the office, Eliza and Bonzo started walking towards the basement. When Eliza turned around she smirked as Addison and Zed were walking more slowly together behind them.
"No sneaking off to the safe room you two!" She called out as Bonzo also laughed with a knowing look on his face.
Both Addison and Zed smiled back and waved them off before turning back to each other.
"Well, this just got a whole lot better." Addison said.
"I know, I didn't think Principal Lee would be so pro-zombie." Zed replied
"This is just a reminder that it is still possible for everything to change and that we can't give up." Addison said.
"I know, and if we can get more teacher support maybe school at least will go back to normal." Zed said, "Although you and I apparently need to be a bit less obvious when teachers are around."
"No way, as long as we don't actually break any school rules I say we can be as obvious as we want. Even if Bucky sees us now and tells my parents they can't do anything while we're at school." Addison answered. "I can't wait to finally sit with you at lunch today."
"Do you think any other humans will come down?" Zed asked
"I don't know but I will definitely bring Bree down too." Addison promised
"I can't wait, gar gar gaza." Zed said
"Gar gar gaza." Addison repeated.
They finally separated at the basement door both with more optimism for the future than this morning.
It was now lunchtime and both Addison and Bree were walking towards the basement when Bucky and the Aceys stepped in front of them.
"Hi, Snowball." Lacey said mockingly
"No, she's Snow White." Stacey interrupted
"Yeah, she likes hanging out with her big ugly dwarf, Zombey!" Tracey added as the three of them laughed at her.
"Addison have you heard, Principal Lee is kicking me off the Squad, she can't do that I'm me! I'm perfect, it is not my fault that we lost the championship." Bucky said angrily.
"Actually, it is Bucky, no one forced you to kick off everyone who likes Zombies, you lost because of you, you are the one who broke Seabrook's winning streak. And you put everyone's lives in danger at the game." Addison answered.
"I was just showing everyone that Zombies can't be trusted, it's us or them, Poms vs. Zoms everyone needed a reminder of that. Zombies don't belong in the spotlight, just like any other freaks. Bucky then flicked a strand of Addison's white hair.
"Addison is not a freak, so what if she has white hair, it's different, not bad. She's always beautiful, and she's still the same kind of beautiful she's always been." Bree defended her friend.
"No, No one who isn't perfect can be like us, only perfection matters. Even all these 'secret' moves to try to bend the rules are going to fail and soon Seabrook will be actually back to normal before we had any freaks in this school." Bucky returned angrily.
"Enough of this Bucky, Bree and I are on our way to lunch with our friends, and I only have one thing to say to you." Addison said
"What?" Bucky asked.
"This is from me," Addison said as she low kicked him right in the crotch and as he doubled over she punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. "And that was from Zed, don't you ever try to hurt him again."
Addison walked briskly past the Aceys whose eyes darted between her and Bucky in surprise. Bree followed her a moment later as she was also stunned by what just happened.
Zed and the other zombies had just sat down to eat when Addison and Bree walked in. Addison made a beeline straight for Zed, Bree was a little more cautious but was happy to sit between Addison and Bonzo with a nervous smile.
Addison gave Zed a hug from behind before sitting beside him and told him, "You're welcome."
"For what?" Zed asked
"I did what I promised, I just showed Bucky the deadliness of my low kick and punching skills."
"You should have seen it, she came out of nowhere, Bucky and the Aceys were stunned into silence." Bree started gushing.
Zed, Eliza, and Bonzo all laughed as Bree excitedly described the confrontation.
"If different was a superpower, you'd be so flawless." Zed whispered to Addison after Bree repeated Bucky and the Aceys' insults.
"I know, I won't let them hold me back from being me." Addison said.
They continued eating and talking having fun as a group, to Addison's surprise a handful of other human students had also come down to eat with their Zombie friends, giving her more hope for the future.
Soon the bell rang, and it was time for everyone to return to class.
As they were standing up, Bonzo held his hand out to Bree, in it was an apple delicately carved into a flower similar to the one he had given Addison. "Gmr Breezka" Bonzo said.
"Aw, Thank you, Bonzo, it's so pretty." Bree said with a faint blush on her cheeks.
Addison had turned to Zed, "I'll meet you at the hole after school, I have something to give you."
"Alright, I can't wait, what is it?" Zed asked.
"It's a surprise silly. I'll see you later."
"Goodbye Addison"
The human students all left the basement, and Zed turned to Bonzo, "So looks like we both have things for cheerleaders that are half our height."
"Zo." Bonzo denied.
"First off, both of you are infatuated idiots, and second, practically everyone is half your height, including me." Eliza said sarcastically.
They continued their banter as they returned to class.
After school ended and Zed returned to Zombietown he ran to the hole just in time to see Addison crawling through, while once again wearing his hoodie as a disguise.
"So, what did you bring me?" Zed asked excitedly.
"Where's the fun in just telling you?" Addison tried to play coy.
So, I'll have to convince you somehow?
You can try
"I know just what to do." He slowly backed away, gently caressed her face and then leaned forward and locked his lips with hers, she quickly returned the kiss. They stayed together for a few moments before breaking apart.
How was that? Zed asked
"Alright, you convinced me." Addison said, opening her backpack and pulling out a pink sweatshirt.
"Wow, you want to give me your clothes too, although if I put this on it will probably rip apart in less than 30 seconds." Zed said.
"It's not for you silly, it's for Zoey so she can some official Seabrook Cheer apparel."
"Awe thank you, Addie, I know she'll love it."
"I do have something for you too though, Addison said."
"What?" Zed asked
Addison pulled two cups out of her bag, "I thought we could have a little froyo date right here, since we can't both go to Cheery on Top."
"That sounds great I've always wanted to try that place." Zed said
"Do you want vanilla or vanilla, that place is so Seabrook."
"Hey, vanilla works." Zed said taking one as they sat down on a bench to enjoy their treats. "This is so good, I like vanilla."
"Maybe next time you can try double vanilla and your brain will explode." Addison joked.
"Better than eating brains from a can." Zed shot back.
They finished their treats and way too soon for both of them, Addison had to go. "I can't wait to see you tomorrow Zed."
"Me too, maybe on our next date you can try some Zombie food."
"My parents would so freak out, thinking I ate someone's brain. I'm in." Addison said laughing.
Goodbye Addie.
Goodbye Zed.
Addison made it home, her parents none the wiser of everything that happened that day. She still acted just as cold and indifferent to them as they were to her. She still acted upset over the new rules but left out Principal Lee's secret compromises. They still heard none of her protests, but still tried to convince her they were right.