So here it is…my first Max Ride fanfic. I hope you like it, and if you do, review, review, review! I trade reviews for cookies and more chapters, you know…
Disclaimer: Max Ride and the Flock are all the creations of James Patterson. Blade and all other characters not in the Max Ride series are mine.
"Blade!" my mom, Maximum Ride, called. "Come on in, honey. You need to get dressed for your first day!"
I sighed and folded my wings, dropping like a stone. Yeah, you read me right. Both my parents are human-avian hybrids. It was pretty much a guarantee that I would be too, you know? After about 500 feet, I unfurled my mottled fawn wings. Air caught under them and I drifted gently to the ground. I ran into the house and headed straight for the shower—flying first thing in the morning does absolutely nothing for a girl's hair.
Once I had sufficiently cleaned up, I chose my outfit. It was my first day at my new school, and I wanted to make a good impression. I ended up in dark, tight jeans, flip-flops, and a black lace cami layered under a turquoise tank—my favorite color. Sporty and tough, but pretty. The blue looked great with my streaky blond hair and permanently tan skin, both of which I had inherited from my mom and dad. Hopefully they would stand me in good stead in the freshman world of high school.
My dad, Fang, was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when I came down. "Try not to kill anyone," he said, and I grinned. "Good luck." He headed out the door. He worked at an animal rehab shelter, teaching the baby birds how to fly and stuff like that. He could actually get inside their minds, too, and understand them. It was amazing.
I sat down at the table and inhaled the huge breakfast my mom had made me. Well, huge for you. For me, it was just a normal-sized meal. She handed me two bulging lunch sacks and I stuffed them into my backpack.
"Good luck, sweetie," she said, smiling. "Do you want to fly, or should I drive you?"
"Drive," I answered immediately. I didn't want to seem too different from the other kids, although my family's wings weren't exactly a secret. Well, when you save the world, it's hard to stay anonymous. So they went public, and they use their wings to do things others can't. It's cool, but sometimes I wish I could be normal.
Except normal girls can't fly.
The drive to school was mostly silent. I sat in the front seat, nervously tapping my fingernails against the dashboard. I used to chew them, but I'd finally managed to break myself of that habit.
"See you, Blade," she said, leaning over and quickly kissing me on the cheek. "Text me if you want to be picked up."
"By who?" I asked.
"One of the Flock. I have to go to work, remember?" Mom was an FBI combat instructor. I've gotta say, both of my parents have extremely cool jobs.
"No thanks," I said, shaking my head. I liked the Flock, but Angel would not get out of my head, Gazzy was possibly the most annoying grown up on the planet, and Nudge never shut up. I liked Iggy, but he couldn't drive because he was blind.
"Well, have fun. Bye!" Mom said, practically pushing me out of the car. She gunned the engine and drove away, causing pretty much everyone in the vicinity to stare at her, and then me. I felt my cheeks flame. Great. Thanks, Mom. Mom was cool, and everything, but she was still a mom.
I walked into school and headed for the office to pick up my schedule. The plump secretary smiled at me as I cautiously poked my head inside. "Something you need, dear?"
"Um, yeah. I'm Blade Ride, the new student?" I said, trying to see if she knew who I was.
Awareness brightened her features, and I saw her eyes sweep over my back, doing the usual check. I smiled tightly; I was used to this, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Because, yeah, people, I'm going to walk around with my wings out all the time. Not.
"Here's your schedule, Blade," she said, handing me a sheet of paper. "Your first class is homeroom. "You have Ms. Rowan, so you'll have to go across the quad and up one floor. Good luck!"
And with that, I was on my way. I sauntered across the sunny grounds. It really was a beautiful campus.
Before I entered the classroom, I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the stares and questions that always came with a new group of students.
As soon as I opened the door, silence fell. The teacher--a youngish brunette—turned to look at me. "Hello. You must be Blade Ride," she said.
"Blade? That is such a cool name," I heard someone whisper. I smiled a little, feeling more confident. "Yeah. Should I, um…?" I gestured to the rows of desks. She looked a little shocked.
"Well, if you want. But I'm sure the class would love it if you introduced yourself," she said eagerly.
I watched her for a moment, and then nodded. Oh, well, might as well get it over with.
"Well, um, my name's Blade Ride and we just moved here from Wisconsin," I said, making for my seat. I knew I wouldn't make it there, but I wanted to mess with the teacher just a little.
"Is there anything special about you?" Ms. Rowan asked. Aha!
"Um, well, I play lacrosse, and I can fly," I said, waiting for the inevitable reaction.
Mouths dropped open. Yep, there it was.
"Seriously?" a guy asked. "How?"
I smiled and shrugged off my backpack. I unfurled my wings just a little bit—my 13-foot wingspan wouldn't really fit in this dinky little classroom.
"Awesome!" Excited babbling broke out in the class. Ms. Rowan gasped and pretended like she hadn't thought this would happen.
"Now, now, class! Let's settle down!" she commanded authoritatively, clapping her hands. It did get a little quieter, but there were still quite a few whispered conversations going on in the corners of the room.
As I headed to my seat, I heard a girl say, "She thinks she's so cool just because she has wings." As I looked around, glaring, I stumbled over an outstretched leg: the source of the muttering. I righted myself quickly and glowered at the skinny blond girl.
"You got something to say, why don't you say it to my face?" I snarled.
"Now, now, Blade!" Ms. Rowan gasped. "No fighting. Emma, say you're sorry."
"Sorry," spat the little blond. I glared viciously at her before continuing to my seat. I plopped down next to a hot blond guy, who glared at me too. Hmm. Probably Blond Bitch's boyfriend. I glared back at him.
A tall brunette sitting next to me smiled. "I'm Kate," she whispered, her blue eyes twinkling in a friendly way. "Blade is such a cool name. And nice job on Emma. Nobody likes her anyways, except for her clique and all the boys. She's a major slut."
I smiled back. "Funny, that's exactly how she struck me. What could have possibly made me think that?"
We stared at the girl's in-your-face outfit.
"Could it have been the very low cut shirt?"
"The red push-up bra?"
"The mini-mini skirt?"
"The four inch heels?"
By the time we had rattled off our list, it was all we could do to keep from cracking up.
"Shhhh," Ms. Rowan hissed, glancing over at us. We quieted down, determinedly not looking at each other, barely managing to keep the huge grins off our faces.
"So I'll meet you tomorrow at 10?" I confirmed. Ridiculously, this school ended their summer vacation on a Friday, so tomorrow would be Saturday.
Kate nodded. "Yep."
I grinned. "All righty then. See you tomorrow." I grabbed my backpack in both hands and unfurled my wings. Everybody around me gasped.
"Are you flying home?" Kate asked. "That is so, so cool! I wish I could fly!"
"It's pretty fun," I agreed. "Maybe I'll take you sometime."
She grinned at me. "That would be so fun! Oh, hey, my mom is here. See you!" She waved and ran off. I waved in reply and leaped into the air, pulling my wings down with a loud snap. I rose gracefully into the air, getting ready to fly away. But I looked down and spotted a bouncy blond head. I eyed my eraser wistfully. If only I could drop it onto her head…
But at this height, it would probably kill her. Ah, well. Another day, perhaps. I angled my body and shot toward home. As first days went, this one had been pretty great.
I hope you liked it! If you did, remember, REVIEW! I love them. It will only take you a minute, and you'll make my day. Come on…you know you want to!