“Max…” she purred. My hands were so hot now I was sure that they would ignite in my back pockets. “I do believe this is yours.” She slowly handed me the note I had misplaced. I was afraid to take it from her for fear that it would turn to ash. I couldn’t move and I definitely couldn’t speak. That brought a devilish grin to Asia’s lips as she stretched out her arm past me towards Sam. Her haunting blue eyes never looked away from me.
“That’s funny, you didn’t seem to have a problem talking last night Max.” Her tone was sinister. She let the piece of folded paper fall into Sam’s hands. Sam took it and looked down at my hands. The thunder grumbled and Asia walked past us, making sure to slightly graze her body along mine as she did. When she did, it felt electric and the fire in my chest screamed to get out. As she walked away her hair whipped behind her like a dark flame, and every boy watched her slither away. Every last one of them…except me. I was staring at the hurt look on Sam’s face as she stared at the note I had lied to her about. I waited for her to yell or hit me but she did neither.
“Sam,” I choked out finally. The thunder faded as she looked up at me with her bleeding eyes and I felt my head start to pound. Why should I care what she thought? I barely knew her but it crushed me knowing I had hurt her. She shook her head and walked away. I watched as she left me standing alone. I watched in silence as she disappeared around the corner and Devon followed swiftly.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked myself. I was still in a fog. I had never felt anything like that before. I felt like I was being pulled in two directions emotionally and it was numbing. I felt like a candle flame, flickering alone in the middle of a hurricane. Afraid to bend, afraid to move either way for fear of being blown out. I felt safe…yet trapped.
Had Asia read the note? The way she had carried herself suggested that she had. What did the note say? Damn it! Why didn’t I read it before I left with Asia? You big dummy. Should I go after Sam? Should I try and find Asia? I was confused. I wanted to do both.
“Did that just happen?” Kai bellowed. “That had to be the greatest thing I have ever witnessed bro!” He slapped me on the back and jumped up on the bench and threw his arms into the air. His hands clenched around his sticks.
“Mad Max! Mad Max!” he chanted. Marcus followed right behind him, jumping to the top of the bench in one giant leap. He chanted right along as the crowd quickly joined in. Marcus even added a little dance while he pumped his fists in the air. It had a tribal vibe to it and he looked awfully silly…kind of like a drunk gecko walking over fiery hot coals.
That was enough to offend me back into the moment. Embarrassed, I gathered my things and scurried to my next class. I was a few minutes early, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be alone. As I walked past the chanting crowd and into the school, I felt the curious eyes of someone following my escape. They were big, brown and stared at me through bright blue bangs. I pretended not to notice Lucy’s prying stare and continued to my classroom.
My last two classes went by at a crawl as I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the scene in the court yard. The scattered chants of my new nick name, between classes didn’t help either. Patiently I made it to the final bell and was relieved to find Kai and Marcus waiting for me at his car. As I strolled up, something familiar caught my attention. I almost didn’t see it at first but when I turned and confirmed my suspicions, I almost lost my cool. A blue hoodie with the words Maui High pasted across the back was sitting atop a white motorcycle. I knew immediately who was wearing the gaudy thing, even before he turned and winked at me. Devon smiled at me and started his bike and four other engines revved to life with the same familiar squeal. All five of them quickly drove off and I felt my head begin to pound as I remembered the sound of Oz’s tiny frame breaking under his wheels.
“Come on brother,” Kai interrupted and opened the door for me. He and Marcus both bowed as I got in the front seat.
“Easy fellas…I’m in no mood,” I warned.
“I know exactly what you need my friend,” Kai said with absolution.
“Sleep and a shower,” I barked. Marcus jumped in the back seat and Kai revved his engine, mocking Devon and his gang of crotch rockets. I let a small smile out and he nodded. He twisted the knob of the stereo and let the music wash over us at its loudest possible volume. It hurt my ears at first but as I slowly let the music heal me, I found my smile returning and my headache fading away. Just like that I was healed…for the moment at least.
My partners in crime had a surprise in store for me, as they drove past my house and to Kai’s garage, in his back yard. This was where all their musical equipment was kept. As I walked into his garage for the first time I was struck at how professional everything was packaged.
A full drum set with all the bells and whistles a drummer could ask for. It was deep red with tiny flakes of black that seemed to twinkle under the right light. There were three amps on the right side of the drum kit and one on the left. A couple microphones stood up front; in their long black stands. The walls of the garage were sound proofed and covered with all kinds of posters. Mostly centerfolds and concert memorabilia.
We didn’t even exchange words; we just picked a spot and an instrument and started jamming. It was almost like magic how well we connected on a musical level. Especially Kai and I. This went on for hours, with only a few breaks for some water. As the sun fell and the stars flashed, we played and I forgot about everything. That was not a good thing. I had forgotten about my promise to my Uncle Frank about our talk. I hadn’t even called to let him know I would be late. He would surely be upset.
Eventually we called it a night and Kai rushed me home. I tried to sneak into my house quietly but Oz’s welcoming bark ruined the effort. The clock said 11:17 p.m. and I cringed as I picked up Oz in my left arm. He licked my face wildly.
“Calm down Oz…I missed you too,” I whispered. Frank never woke up. He had left me another dinner wrapped in foil. As I slid it toward me along the kitchen counter I noticed a note taped to it. It read…
“Maybe next time, Mr. Popular. Enjoy the food. We’ll talk tomorrow. Samantha called around 7. It sounded important. Sweet dreams, MAD MAX!”
I crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it in the trash.
“Frank’s gonna ring my neck,” I said to Oz. His tail wagged and he growled playfully. I grabbed something to drink and carried my cold dinner into my room. I ate quickly and fell to sleep even quicker. I was completely drained.
I didn’t dream of anything that night.
Temptations_10
~Flutter Girl: Chris Cornell~
Wednesday – 9:40 a.m. – August 16th.
Second period Biology, I was dreading this class all morning but here I was, standing before the door that would lead me to my judgment. My judgment from Sam, on how much of a jerk I was for lying to her. I was just starting to get to know her and lying wasn’t the best way to build a real friendship. Or was it more than that? Maybe the reason I felt so awful was because we were building a relationship. The silly thing was that if I had just told her the truth about the letter, she would have been fine with it.
“Just breathe,” I whispered. I focused my nerves and there she was, watching me from inside the classroom. I made sure to not make direct eye contact, at first. I stood there silently as my fellow classmates pushed past me and giggled as I hovered around the door way.
As the song changed on my mp3 player and filled my head with a haunting groove, a thought fell upon me. We barely knew each other and I hadn’t felt this comfortable with anyone since my sister Mia.
I turned up the volume of the music and used it for strength as I stepped through the door. With cautious emerald eyes she watched me patiently. I slowly crossed the room, using every bit of strength I had, not to look at her. I slid into my desk and from the corner of my eye I could see Sam’s finger tapping nervously on her desk.
All the kids in front of me had turned around to look at me with giant grins
painted on their faces. It scared me at first and puzzled me even more. That’s when I noticed Ms. Snyder at the front of the classroom, flailing her arms wildly in my direction. Her agitated face was mouthing something, but all I could hear was the pounding music pouring around my cerebellum. I smiled slightly as my cocoon of sound was about to be popped.
I felt a tiny elbow stick in my side like a knife and the pain shot through my ribs and stomach. Before I could react, Sam’s other hand wrapped itself around the wires dangling from my ears and with a quick tug they were rolling along the top of my desk.
“Ouch,” I snapped. It didn’t really hurt as much as it startled me but I was over compensating for my embarrassment. The class was all laughing at me. All except Sam. She only glanced my way once and then turned her attention to the teacher, who was glaring at me.
“So nice of you to join us Mr. Valentine,” she scolded. “May I start my class now or do you have more entertainment for us today?”
“Sorry,” I said blushing. Sam leaned away from me and the gesture made my hands burn with frustration. Ms. Snyder turned and began the day’s lesson and I sat there quietly thinking for a few moments. Why was I letting this little blonde affect me this way? I was stronger than this and it was time to embrace that.
“That’s it,” I said under my breath. Time to make a move. I quietly slid a folded piece of paper across her desk until she gently picked it up. As she started to read it I pretended to start my studies and patiently awaited her reaction.
“100 WAYS TO SAY ‘I’M SORRY’ BY MAX VALENTINE.
SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY...FRIENDS?”
It felt like she had been reading the letter for hours now. Holy crap…was she actually counting every sorry?
“Sam?” I began to ask and she quickly tucked the piece of paper in her notebook. She took my left hand in hers and opened it up to expose my palm and her sweet smile returned. With her pen she wrote, in blue ink, inside of it. It tickled and she seemed to enjoy that as my hand squirmed inside her grasp. When she finished she closed my fingers in my palm and pushed my fist back to me. I looked at her curiously and she nodded toward my hand and I slowly opened it. She had written the number 99 and I looked up at her questioning the message.
“You owe me one more,” she said with a warm and inviting smile. My goodness she was beautiful. I slid my hand through my hair and leaned into her.
“Sorry,” I smiled. At that moment, we were fixed. Good as new. Maybe even better than new. It was so weird to be so absolutely calm and real with someone. A good weird though.
The rest of the day went much the same. Sam and I found our groove again, two peas in a pod. We were inseparable. Kai, on the other hand, seemed too engrossed with the upcoming beach party this weekend. He wouldn’t stop talking about it and I found my nerves beginning to cringe with the mention of it. Devon kept his distance from us but never let Sam totally out of his sight. Marcus, Kai, and I jammed at lunch and after school again. First, with a couple dozen eyes at lunch admiring our sound and then only one pair of eyes at Kai’s garage. But they were big and jade green and happy to watch me scream out my frustrations into the microphone. Sam’s stare seemed to make me stand a little taller and sing a little stronger.
Asia was nowhere to be found and that was starting to affect me. At least in my dreams it was. I would find myself chasing after her, through the pouring rain and when I would finally catch her in my arms she would disappear with a flash of lightning. She was haunting me. That kiss was haunting me.
Thursday – 10:39 a.m. – August 17th.
Third period English had quickly become one of my favorite classes. I had Sam to mostly thank for that. We spent most of this class passing notes instead of talking and I discovered you could learn so much about someone from just their words. I discovered just how smart she was and that her heart knew no bounds. I also was becoming more aware of how she was beginning to affect me. It would be so simple to fall for her. To completely and totally give my every waking dream and bit of myself to her. It just seemed to feel natural, like it was meant to be.
I was still counting the minutes when I might see Asia again but with each passing day, Sam was making things more and more complicated. No matter how hard I would try and fight it, she was getting under my skin. But was that a bad thing? Maybe I wasn’t fighting it as hard as I’d been telling myself.
“Max…can I ask you something?” her voice was sweet.
“Uh oh…you’re asking me if it’s okay to ask me something. This should be good,” I teased, but she didn’t seem to share the joke.
“Max,” she said with a nervous shuffle in her seat.
“Anything Sam.” I leaned in. “What is it?”
“Have you been to the beach yet?” she asked coyly. My mind flashed to that rainy afternoon when I met Asia for the first time.
“Why?” I asked. I was hoping to avoid lying to her again. She would not want to hear about my first time, I was sure of that.
“The annual beach party is tomorrow…I know you’ve heard about it…” she sounded so nervous. I liked the fact that I could have that effect on her. She continued. “I was wondering if maybe, you’d like to go.” She paused and swallowed softly.
“You mean like friends?” I knew exactly what she meant but I wanted to hear her say it. I was feeling very cocky all of a sudden.
“No…I mean like…” she stopped herself to choose her words carefully. “Well, I’m kind of a heavy drinker and I need a designated driver…you know, for safety reasons,” she said dryly.
“What the…?” I was stunned as I fell from my high horse. As my ego broke into a thousand pieces, she broke out in a fit of laughter.
“You’re so easy Max!” she exploded.
“That’s not funny,” I pouted.
“Ahh…you’re so cute when you pout.” She was so proud of herself. Secretly I was proud of how well she had tricked me but I would never admit it to her. Kai leaned over me from behind us.
“Surprisingly he’s quite cute when he’s not pouting too,” he laughed and my elbow found his chest and Sam laughed even harder.
Friday – 8:31 a.m. – August 18th.
The morning began unusually at school. Before my first class I felt like I was being followed. I was. Lucy was my shadow again this morning. A very curious and unhappy shadow by her posture.
“Good morning Lucy,” I said without even turning around to see her standing a few feet behind me. I sensed that it startled her a little when I spoke but she tried her best to not let it bother her too much. I turned and found her about ten feet from me.
“Everything all right?” I asked with a smile. I had been wondering how she was doing after the incident with Devon and me, but mostly I wanted news on Asia.
“Yes,” she barely spoke.
“Do you need something?” I asked politely. She only stared at me quietly. It was starting to creep me out a bit, so I decided to push her a little.
“Have you seen Asia lately?” I asked and like a vampire exposed to the burning sun, she retreated down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. I laughed to myself and walked into first period. My question would be answered soon enough.
Computers – 11:53 a.m.
Fourth period was dragging on and I had become easily agitated with the constant talk of the party tonight. All morning that was the topic on everyone’s mouths. I even
caught a couple of teachers talking about it, in between my morning classes. Personally…I was getting sick of hearing about the event. I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
Now, as I fidgeted nervously in my chair, I was surrounded by the thoughts and comments of Devon and his crew on the party. As a matter of fact, they were so involved in their conversation that it would take a meteor strike to shut them up. You know, the type of male bonding that included words such as “laid” or “wasted” or my personal favorite “tap that ass”.
Sam noticed my anxiousness and put her hand on mine.
“What’s wrong Max?” she asked sweetly, trying her best to ignore Devon’s stupid comments. The question caught Kai’s attention and he leaned in closer to us.
“I just didn’t sleep very well last night,” I said avoiding what was really bothering me. Kai tapped the front of my desk with his drum sticks.
“Nothing a good night out won’t fix!” he said proudly. I shot him a dirty look.
“If I hear about this party one more time…I’m gonna shove this pencil in my right eye!” my sarcasm was thick. Sam and Kai looked at each other surprised by my anger. Now I have nothing against blowing off some steam and having a good time, in fact I embrace it. But that’s not what this party was about…it’s about drinking and acting stupid and that is something I couldn’t condone.
“I’m just not a big fan of drinking…too many demons I guess,” I said. I can’t afford to drink, not with my abilities. I have a hard enough time keeping them in check as it is, without alcohol in my system. But they didn’t know that, so I let myself calm down a little.
“So whatcha saying bro? You’re not gonna come tonight?” His voice filled with disappointment. Sam glanced down at my tattoo on my wrist as if she knew more than she was letting on about my defiance towards drinking. It made sense though, she’s known my uncle most of her life and maybe he had mentioned something about the accident to her or her father at some point. Her eyes quickly found mine again.
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