Samantha was walking to school, feeling tired and worried. She was worried that her dad wouldn’t let her get a dog, which she had wanted for a very long time. Because of the dog worry she hadn’t done her homework or slept very well, or even eaten breakfast, and now she was worried about what would happen to her for not doing her homework. Worries sure can pile up, she told herself gloomily.
As she walked along, she saw a person about her own size ahead of her on the sidewalk. The person was pale green, and slightly bloody, she noticed. Some kid in a zombie costume, she thought as she approached.
“Hey, Halloween is still a month away,” she remarked. Up close, she saw it was a boy, kind of cute, even handsome, with glasses and smooth, slicked back hair. When the boy turned to look at her she saw deep green eyes behind the glasses.
But something wasn’t right. The boy seemed just a little dead looking. What a realistic zombie costume, she thought. Then she looked again, and suddenly felt frozen with fright. It was a real zombie!
“Hi,” the zombie said. Its voice was mumbly, but she found she could understand it. “Excuse me,” it continued politely, “can you tell me where the school is?”
Samantha was so surprised she couldn’t move or speak.
“My name is Jake,” the zombie told her. “What’s yours?”
Samantha, very alarmed, could only babble, “Whaaaa???”
“Wa?” Jake said. He took a couple shuffling steps toward her and looked at her strangely through his glasses. “Pleased to meet you, Wa!” He held out a greenish hand and smiled a friendly if somewhat dead-looking smile…