So, this is about Max and Ella leaving Arizona to go to a boarding school in the mountains Pennsylvania. They leave a dark past behind them and hope to start over with a new life. (The boarding school isn't real, and the place in Pennsylvania isn't real. I made them up, because I didn't feel like going into detail and having to be accurate. Don't waste time trying to google them like I normally do when I read stories like this.) I do not own Maximum Ride, or any of the other characters. They belong to good 'ole James Patterson. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Max POV
The internet. It's probably one of the best sources for finding anything. I've learned a lot from it, even though I know that not all the information is reliable. What I do know is that what I've been researching recently is reliable. Irwin Strait Academy; a boarding school of sorts located in Farlington, Pennsylvania. The tuition is fair enough, and it's as far away from here as possible. Here would be the suburb I currently live in about thirty miles from the ocean.
Arizona weather is nice, I can go to the beach whenever I want to, and I love my home. My family is wonderful. It's the other people; the people who think it's okay to be horrible and do things that are just simply not human. Those people are the reason that I want to get out. The reason I want to run away. And the internet has helped give me the opportunity.
I've been researching this for about a month now. I decided it was time to take action after the people decided to mess with Ella, my sister. I could handle them messing with me, but Ella? Not happening. I logged onto the official site, and printed off all the information for my mother. Taking a deep breath, I walked down stairs to talk to them about it.
The great thing about my mom is that I knew she would be open-minded. She never jumped to say no, or even yes. She thought about it, considered everything, and gave me the answer she considered best for me—us. I normally got my way.
My mother, Valencia Martinez, adopted me and my sister when we were young. She's a veterinarian, and adores animals. She's such a wonderful person. She'd do anything for Ella and me, which is the sole reason I even considered Irwin Strait to begin with.
"Mom? Can I talk to you about something?" She was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and it smelled amazing. My mouth watered as I sat down at the dinner table with the Irwin Strait papers.
"Sure, Max. Hang on just one second…." she said, pouring some liquid substance in a measuring cup and then pouring it into a sizzling pan on the stove. "Okay, what is it you would like to talk about?"
I handed her the papers, and her eyebrows shot higher and higher as she read through them. She didn't speak while she was reading through every detail. There were no condescending comments, or negative sounds. Her expression remained thoughtful, neutral. I sat back in my chair, content to wait. When she finished, she didn't speak at first. She stacked the papers together, lined them up on the table and went back to cooking.
"Well?" I said, becoming impatient. She turned off the stove and set the sizzling fajitas on a plate.
"That's a lot to ask, Max. I understand you're unhappy with how things are at school around here, but that's a very long ways away. In Pennsylvania. You realize this, don't you? There are so many things to consider. I'm not making any promises, but I'll think about it. We'll have to get Ella to come down and talk about it later, maybe during dinner. You know I've already been to the school to discuss with the principal the recent situation. There's a possibility that the problem will be solved when you go back on Monday. Let's take some time and think this through."
I pursed my lips and nodded. She just had to bring up going to the principal. I hadn't wanted her to do that. I wanted to be able to take care of the dumb assholes myself. I'm sixteen for goodness sakes. I should be able to handle it. Key word being should.
The situation is simple and complicated all at the same time. The simplicity: bullies. The complicated part: It's more than just bullying. It's just that. Complicated. I haven't told my mother some of the extreme things they have done, because I know she would freak out. Scold me for not sticking up for myself. Ella only recently knew what was going on. She wouldn't even be involved if they didn't know that we were sisters.
The worst they've done so far is cornering me, and almost killing me. I was rushing to class one afternoon. The guidance counselor had called me in, saying that I had recently been acting strange and scared—go figure. She kept me in her office longer than intended, and I had to hurry. In order to get to my next class, I had to leave the main building, and go to the vocational building across the parking lot. As I was going around the bend, I saw them.
They're a group of upperclassmen. Seniors who think they can do what they want just because they're older. They spotted me before I could turn away, and had me grabbed and pinned to the wall before I could scream. They each pulled out a weapon of some sorts. It happened so fast that I couldn't take all of it in. I remember seeing a gun and a knife. I think there may have been a baseball bat too. They laughed at the fear in my eyes. I cried, wondering why they always picked on me of all people.
Just as they were about to do whatever sick disgusting they had planned the fire alarm went off. They looked around and darted off as the students began filing out of the building by class. I had never been so thankful for a fire drill in my life. I just sat there against the wall, crying. Ella found me, and they saw her. They started messing with her, too, thus me using the internet for a solution to this awful problem.
Mom, Ella, and I ate in silence. When we each had cleared our plates, Mom pulled the Irwin Strait papers back out. Ella looked confused, and I got excited. The thought of going away, making friends and being accepted made me happy.
"Ella, Max told me about the problem you two have been having at school. Now, even though I've gone to the school about it, Max felt the need to look up an alternative solution. There's a school in Farlington, Pennsylvania called Irwin Strait Academy. It's a boarding school. What do you think?"
"I don't have to think about it. I want to go, mom. Anything to get away from them," she said. I let out a sigh of relief. If Ella agreed, mom would most likely go for it.
Mom nodded her head, and had her thinking face on. "So?" I asked. She nodded her head again.
"Okay. We can try it. But let me ask you something. You couldn't find anything closer than Pennsylvania? It's so far. We would have to move. Well, I will have to move. There's no way I'm letting you go live across the country without me being in at least the same state. What if something happens? I'm going, too."
I smiled, and Ella tackle hugged her out of her chair.
"I looked, but they were all either extremely expensive or were not recommended at all. The reviews were horrible for some of them. I came along this one and fell in love with it. It's affordable, and it's not uptight. No uniforms, no strict guidelines. It's practically college, except not," I explained. She nodded and left the kitchen.
"Oh. My. God. Max! This is going to be so awesome! We'll be staying in dorms like we're in college! I'm gonna have a roommate! Oh my gosh! Do they have pictures of the campus and rooms and layouts?" Ella exploded.
I laughed and showed her the map of campus and the list of places to eat and where we can go when we get bored. We both got giddy when we saw what the rooms looked like. They were standard rooms with two desks, two twin beds, and we each got our own closet. What was so exciting were the colors of the rooms. Each room was sky blue, violet, orange, red and pink, or green, easily making decorating a must.
I'm not the girliest of girls, but even I got excited about all the possibilities this school could bring. Mom came back into the kitchen saying goodbye to someone on the phone.
"Well, I just called the administration. They said that it would be okay to enroll next semester, and they'll have everything ready for when you get there," she said. Well, that was easy.
This couldn't get any better. We wouldn't even have to wait long. The first semester would be over in a week. I would be free.
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The last week went by in a blur. Luck was on my side, and the seniors didn't even mess with me. I would keep this to myself, considering if I told mom she would probably think they were through messing with me and we didn't have a reason to go. Final tests and exams were taken care of, and I cleared out my locker. I didn't bother saying goodbye to the school I would hopefully never see again.
When Ella and I got home, mom was still at work. We decided it was time for a celebration, so we blasted our music and danced around the house while did our chores, actually enjoying them for once. With the house clean and dinner on the way home with mom from work, we talked.
"We have to change. We have to make a vow to never let people walk all over us ever again. We can sign up for karate classes or something. Promise me you'll be tough as nails at this place. Promise you won't put up with any shit," I said. She smirked and nodded her head.
"I'll promise if you promise. Shake on it?" We laughed and spit on our hands before shaking.
"Ugh, why did we ever start doing that?" I laughed as I wiped my hand on my shorts. Mom came in through the back door with pizza, and the three of us laughed and joked as we ate our victory dinner.
I decided that being the bigger person and "walking away" from the seniors made us the winners. At least that's what I was telling myself.
We lazed around the house for the next couple of days, waiting for Christmas to come. After that, were going to hit the after Christmas and New Year's sales where ever we could find them. We would need new comforters and stuff to put in our rooms, supplies, and even lap tops. We'd also have to hit the mall and other stores to go clothes shopping. Winter weather in Arizona I'm sure is warmer than Pennsylvania winter weather. Bring on the heavy jackets and blue jeans.
Mom found a nice apartment about a half hour away from Irwin Strait. It only had two bedrooms, seeing as Ella and I would only be there during the summer, so we could share. Because the apartment wasn't exactly an upgrade as far as size is concerned, we were selling a lot of stuff that wasn't necessary for the small space. This gave us extra spending money for our shopping spree after Christmas.
The air of our house was full of happiness and excitement, a wonderful change from the tense and depressing feeling in my life before.
Christmas morning came bright and early. It was the usual routine. Ella came and bounced on my bed, shaking me awake. We've been doing this forever, every Christmas. It didn't change even though I'm sixteen and she's fourteen. Age had nothing to do with it.
Ella and I both got new iPod's and our mandatory lap tops for school. Apple has never made me so happy before in my life. Mom cried when she opened our gifts to her. We took a picture of us and framed it in a delicate picture frame. We also got her a very expensive, very real necklace, which I had to work hard for doing extra hours at the Starbucks to afford. Totally worth it.
The next day we hit up the stores. Target was first on the list so we could buy our bedding and little things for school. One of the lazy days before Christmas, mom called the school to find out our room information. I was in one of the sky blue rooms, and Ella was staying in a red and pink room. I opted for a navy blue comforter and sheets. Ella went for the more girly approach, choosing a red one with hearts all over it.
When we were done there, we headed over to the mall for clothes shopping. Ella's style was Aeropostale all the way. Polos with matching tank tops underneath was practically all she wore. Aeropostale didn't really do it for me. I could handle American Eagle, but that was pushing it. I had a thing for Pac Sun. I don't care for the skinny jeans, but I like the shirts and accessories. It was more my style.
After spending countless hours there, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. I went to bed early that night. Apparently shopping took it out of me.
The next few days, including New Years Day was spent packing up the house and some last minute cleaning. The semester would start on January 4th, so we had three days to move out, catch a plane to Farlington, and get situated before classes started. Our flight would be leaving tomorrow bright and early, so we hit the hay around nine.
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Our flight was endless, and my new iPod was the only source of entertainment all day. We left the car in the parking garage. Mom said she'd hire someone to drive it up. I wished her luck with that. We picked up a rental and drove to the new apartment.
Ella and I helped mom move in. It was a lot easier than I expected. No one broke anything, and I wasn't even that sore when we were done. When we finished that, we drove over to Irwin Strait.
There were big gates, marking the entrance. ISA were in big letters across the top. Mom drove through and parked in front of the administration building.
"Hi, I'm Valencia Martinez. My daughters have recently been enrolled for the second semester."
The lady smiled warmly and opened a filing cabinet behind her. She pulled out two big folders.
"Okay, this folder is very important girls. It has your room keys, schedules, campus maps, and information in it. You'll meet your roommates either sometime today or tomorrow. Hope you like it here at ISA," she said. I liked her. She didn't waste time or treat us like babies. No bull shit. Wonderful start.
We piled back into the rental and drove to the parking lot to the side of campus.
"Mom, can we do this by ourselves?" Ella asked. Mom bit her lip and nodded, tears in her eyes.
"Oh come on, mom! You're only thirty minutes away if we need you, and you can visit on the weekends, I think! Don't cry! We love you," Ella exclaimed. I nodded and we both tackled her. She hugged us to her tightly.
"Ah, my girls. Why did I ever let you talk me into this? What will I do without having you there? Maybe I'll make a new friend at the Vet's office…" she said, trying to cheer herself up. We laughed and got our bags out of the car.
A nice man came out of a nearby building with a bunch of carts. There were a lot of other students saying goodbye as their parents dropped them off. He dropped two carts off by us to put our luggage on.
"Thanks," I mumbled. We loaded the luggage onto the carts, and gave mom a final hug.
"Goodbye girls. I love you," she whispered.
"Love you, too," we said together. And with that, mom got in the car and drove away.
I looked at Ella, and Ella looked at me. We smiled nervously, and began to push our carts to our new rooms.
"Damn it's cold up here," Ella said, making me laugh. Definitely the start of a new life. I silently thanked the internet.
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