Max POV:
"All right, guys! We decided we were going to be a little more original for my birthday party this year! My mom is going to explain it, since even I don't know how to play the entire game." Ella grinned and jumped off of the food court table she was standing on, looking at her mom. Dr. Martinez stood up and walked to the front of the group.
"The game we are going to play is called Amazing Race. Basically, I have divided all of you guys up into pairs. You and your partner have to pick one of the cards I have here. There will be no trade-backs, so as to be fair to everyone. Each card has a store and a list of items—around eight or so—divided up evenly between you and your partner. All you have to do is go to that store and buy all eight items, which we have managed to hide. And, in addition, you both must wear your items in plain sight. Be creative; so if you get a bouncy ball, stick it in your mouth or something like that." I could clearly see the mischief that was held in my mom's twinkling eyes as she read aloud the pairs. The flock and I had come on whim, so I wasn't quite sure if we were going to be able to play. It didn't matter to me, but Nudge and Angel seemed excited enough to implode.
"Ariel, you and Tiffany will be paired together, and Jeff and Zephyr will be partnered And that obviously leaves Alex with Nick." I glanced up to see Ella tripping her way over to me, the food court being so crowded that you couldn't even walk straight without crashing into someone.
"Isn't this wonderful Ma—I mean, Alex! Jeez it's so hard to get used to," she lowered her voice and leaned in, "your fake names. But, I guess I can see where you get all your paranoia from." I stood up and grinned at her; what can I say? Her excitement is contagious.
"You call it paranoia, I—"
"Call it protection. Flock saying." Fang's voice finished my sentence and I turned to see him wink at Ella. She laughed and twisted so that she could face us both, instead of only me.
"I picked out our card, Alex. We're all gonna open them at the table next to the carousel." Fang held a white envelope and I glanced at it, realizing that it would be our card. He nodded towards the huge merry-go-round and the small table next to it, as Ella, already having spotted it, raced towards her partner, tripping over someone's feet in the process. I chuckled as she apologized profusely before picking herself up and walking at a much slower rate. Falling in step with Fang's pace, I followed her suit and started towards the table.
"AAAAALEEEX!!!! Will you come and stand by me 'n' Ariel?" Nudge's voice cut through the babble. I sighed and walked over to Nudge's seat next to the carousel, already knowing that Fang would follow. Both of us had a sense of mistrust so deep that we would only sit next to the flock.
"I need you all to read your card out loud. I'm gonna write it down on this sheet of paper, so I know where you are in the mall." Dr. Martinez's words were greeted by a chorus of 'aww's and 'why's, but she just ignored them and lined everyone up. Of course, Fang and I were last in line but, I guess, it would be fun having the suspense build up.
"I hope we get a good one, 'cause I don't want to have to go around wearing a baby rattle and a diaper." Iggy muttered loud enough for us to hear. I whacked him on the arm and he glared at me reproachfully.
"Okay, guys. We are going to read the cards out loud from Ella on down"-- Yep, we were last—"And you guys have to remember: You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit." I stared pointedly at Iggy, infuriated that my glare was wasted on him. Behind me, Fang chuckled.
"I got... The water bed store? Oh, is it that store with the lava lamps? The one we passed on our way here?" Ella's confused look was lit up with a giggle as she realized what store she got. Dr. Martinez scribbled something down on her clipboard.
And the next ten minutes continued like that, with each pair reading aloud their cards, Dr. Martinez writing down all the names and stores on her sheet of paper, and a few people clearing up doubts on which store they had gotten and where it was. Angel and Nudge got the Joyness Massage and Spa and Iggy and Gazzy got Forever 21. I sighed, thinking about how bad an influence Iggy would be on Gazzy while surrounded by the ladies shopping at Forever 21.
And, finally, it was my turn—or our turn, I should say, since Fang and I are in a team. I looked questioningly at Fang, and he gestured towards the envelope, grinning slightly.
"Ladies first, right?" he whispered, and handed me the envelope.
"In that case, you should be the one to open it," I retorted, but slit the top anyways. There was a small blue note card on which the store's name was scribbled on. I turned it the right way and read the name. Then, I reread it. And I reread it.
"Alex, what did you get?" Nudge's voice filtered through my horror, bringing me back to reality. I realized I had been staring at the card with my jaw hanging wide open, and I quickly snapped it shut.
"Alex, what did you get?" Nudge repeated. "You know, it can't be that bad. I mean, what is the worst you can get? You could get that one plumbing store with all the toilets and stuff, but that isn't too bad, 'cause you only have to be there for a couple hours. You should feel sorry for the people who work there! I mean, why would anyone want to work in a place that sells toilets? I would never, ever, ever work there! I would much rather work at a place like a—" Iggy gently placed a hand over her mouth and shushed her.
"Hey, Alex. What'd ya get? Is it that bad? The only time I've seen that look of horror on your face was back when Nick used to take a shower in his boxers and you walked in on him." Iggy asked, bringing the topic back from where Nudge had taken it. I stared at him, not comprehending the joke.
"Dr. M, you said there was no trading? Not under any circumstances? Like, none at all?" I asked, looking at her hopefully. She shook her head, and smiled at me regretfully.
"Sorry, no, Alex sweetie. You're just going to have to put up with whatever you got, unfortunately. I did most of the cards, and they weren't too bad. Some of them were slightly embarrassing, but none of them were majorly horrible or anything." She laughed and looked at me expectantly.
"Ella did some, didn't she?" Fang asked, still having not found out what store we had been assigned to," Which one did she do?"
Ella giggled and looked at me and Fang. "Tell us what you got first!"
I looked at Fang desperately. There was absolutely no way I was going to go in this store, much less shop and wear the items on the list. I had been through years of torture at the School, flew miles with various broken limbs, and gotten shot at more than a couple million times, but I was not going to subject myself to this kind of insanity.
"Alright, Alex. Can you just tell Dr. M, so we can continue with the game?" Gazzy looked at me pleadingly. I sighed and nodded. Staring at Fang intently, I muttered the name of the store out loud.
"I'm sorry, what? I couldn't really catch that, Alex," my mom (or Dr. M, as I have to call her, since I'm not publicly related to her or Ella) said. She picked up her pencil and poised it over her clipboard, a little too overdramatically. I smiled a little and took a deep breath.
"I said our store is… Uh… Well… It's …" I stuttered, not able to get anything else out. I was too embarrassed to say much else, so I shoved the card at Fang. I watched as his smoldering bronze eyes widened a fraction as he read the name on the card.
"We got Victoria's Secret."
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A/N: Hehe.... Sorry, guys. I'm a bit OCD about the way my story looks, and it was really bugging me that the whole story wasn't double spaced. Once again, OCD. So I accidentally deleted all of my A/Ns. Aren't y'all proud of me??
Fang: Not particulary....
Me: Oh hush up. You're just mad because you got Victoria's Secret!
Fang: You can't make me do that!
Iggy: -magically poofs up out of nowhere- Just watch her.
Fang: When did you get here?
Iggy: About 25 seconds ago.
Fang: So you've been kidnapped too, huh?
Iggy: Ah, no. I'm just here to make her say the disclaimer.
Me: -whimpers-
Fang: -mutters to Iggy- Why is it that whenever you say the word, nothing happens, but when I say the word, she throws her laptop at me?
Iggy: -shrugs- Well, let's get this over with.
Me: I... I don't.... I..... CAN'T SAY THIS!!!!!!!!!!
Fang: -sighs- She doesn't own Maximum Ride.
Me: -throws laptop at Fang-
Fang: SEE! THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!