Disclaimer- I am not James Patterson, everybody! I don't know what I'd do if I were him. Probably make Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy bigger characters because I like them so much. Anyway, I only own the plot because my odd subconscious helped me make it. And I don't own Taylor Swift, either.
Notice: This chapter has been changed since the original release date. No, I wasn't editing because I'm too lazy for that, I was changing a detail. The original time spent in camp was supposed to be ten and a half days but due to my lack of a muse and need to wrap it up, it has been changed to eight and a half. Thanks!
A/N: Hey! So, I've been really into Maximum Ride fanfics lately, so into them that I had a dream about Max, Nudge and some others at a summer camp. I've put it together so that its a substantial story. This chapter's a bit slow but that is how the dream was. I've put more effort into this than any other story so I hope you like it!
Max P.O.V.
My mom drives the car up the side of the mountain. A light rain hits the windshield of our car, making me feel even less enthusiastic about going to a summer camp. It took some time but Mom finally convinced me to go when she told me that Nudge was going, too. She's my best friend in the whole world which is pretty pathetic considering that at fourteen, I'm two whole years older than her.
What I don't get is why Mom spent so much time trying to get me to camp but spent two seconds on my sister Ella who refused. Or rather, turned down politely. It's probably because Ella's the nice, obedient daughter while I'm sarcastic with a distaste for humans in general. Or she thinks I'm lazy which I certainly don't agree with. I could kill you with my bare hands, I just choose not to. You're welcome.
I sit shotgun, staring out the window. Nudge is sprawled all the way across the back seat listening to old Taylor Swift songs on her iPod. I know that for a fact because she always announces the title, length and album the song's from when a new one comes on. She had been chattering about who-knows-what but she gave up half and hour ago when she realized that nobody was listening.
Nudge is a nickname, of course. It replaces the name Monique which is allegedly a mouthful. Nudge is a motormouth so I don't get where long names start to create problems in Nudge-land. I also don't get why we call her Nudge of all things. Maybe because her talkativeness makes her sound pushy.
"Look over there," Mom says, breaking us out of our daze. She points to a lake with oddly clear water during the mini-storm. "That's the lake we have a picture of in our living room."
Nudge looks up from her iPod and gives my mom a questioning glance. "I've always wondered, why do you have a picture of a random lake in your house? Does it have meaning or do you just think it looks pretty?" She says rather quickly. Nudge has a knack for saying a whole darn lot in a single breath.
"I found the picture at a yard sale so, I just think it's pretty," Mom replies. Oddly enough, I'd never asked about the picture myself and I'd been looking at it since I was, like, five. Not that I'm not a curious person, I just don't like stupid questions that could very well put someone into a sentimental rant about something's beauty.
"How's the water so blue?" Nudge asks. I feel a rant coming on. "I mean, it's incredibly beautiful but I don't get it. It's raining! And isn't only the ocean supposed to look like that? Maybe-"
"Nudge!" I whine. "You're doing it again." When Nudge gets ranty it's best to stop her while you've got the chance. She could go on for hours and hours and she only has to breathe every five sentences or so. We call it Nudging out. Like I said, I'm pathetic being friends with a ranty twelve-year-old. Being friends with only a ranty twelve-year-old, as in I didn't have any other friends. Being complete weirdos, we have to tolerate each other's quirks.
"Maximum, be polite!" My mom scolds. As for my name, Maximum, I told you I had a lot of quirks. Another thing I don't get about me and Ella. How does she get a normal, human name while I get a superhero/pegasus name? Not that I don't like it, I love it. I just don't get it. I don't get a lot of things, obviously.
"Mom, Nudge and I do this all the time!" I throw back. "She rants, I complain and we just continue on like that until we get weird looks from everyone and anyone." After that, Mom stops trying to make me work on my manners or Nudge be quiet. She and Nudge's family must be psyched about getting a week and a half without the passive-aggressive teen and the talkative motormouth. Yes, talkative motormouth, as in she talks WAY too much.
"Tunnel dead ahead!" Nudge cries in a pirate voice. "Hold yer breath, make a wish, cry when it don't come true!"
I actually do hold my breath while we go through the tunnel. I need a miracle to get through eight and a half days with strangers who don't know how to deal with me; love me and deal with it or forget I exists. Mature Nudge rolls her window down and screams into the tunnel. Technically, she's more likable than me so she won't have as many problems as me.
When we get out of the tunnel I let my breath out and whisper my wish, "I just want something new, nice to come of this. Please don't Nudge's make a wish, cry when it fails speech come true." I feel really silly wishing on a tunnel but it's all I can think of. Maybe something good will come of this.
After that Nudge returns to ranting. "You know, every now and then I have sudden flashes of brilliance. Like, I figured out the roots for the word dystopian. It's the opposite of utopian, so like an imperfect society! I love ice cream. Do they have that at camp? But you know what I hate? Mosquitoes. Ick! They attack me all summer and it really stinks. Maybe-"
This time my mom cuts her off. "Nudge sweetie, maybe you want to go back to listening to music."
She reluctantly pulls out her iPod and returns to listening to the music so my mom won't drop her off and make her walk the rest of the way. The bad part of the music is that Nudge knows all of the words so she just has to sing along. It's ok until she gets to "Love Story" the most cliché Taylor Swift song I can think of. I sigh and yank out the fashion magazine I keep in the glove compartment just in case. I hand it to Nudge, yank her iPod out of her hands and say, "Read, be quiet."
"But it's not current!" She whines. "Why should I have to read about old trends?"
"Because if you don't I'll have to go back and drop you in the lake," I say through clenched teeth. She opens the magazine and the smell of perfume samples fills the air around her. I try not to gag. Suddenly I really want to get to camp.
A/N: Like it? Before you point it out, Nudge is older in my story because she liked Iggy in my dream. I've made some tweaks here and there so that the story makes a bit more sense. Like, Max is a combination of me and my best friend. Oh, sorry. Nudged out. Anyway, thanks for reading!