I've been playing with this idea for a long time,
So I decided to post before school started back up.
Disclaimer: Like always, I do not own Maximum Ride.
God, how I'd missed this place. The drafty and broken rooms, the drill sergeants they call nurses, the wonderful and stuffy smell of chemicals and surgical masks. Now that I'm thinking about it, I realize how little I actually miss, sorry, missed the old "Sick house". In fact, I'd really rather be at home in Arizona, back cuddling in my bed. I don't care if I coughed up more blood onto the pillowcase; I just wanted to be there. I just wanted to be anywhere but here.
"Yo, Max. How's the fibrosis treating you?" I heard my name from down the hall of Walker Institute, Home for Terminal Children. Where dreams come alive, or y'know, die, seeing as we all are "terminal". Including the boy waving enthusiastically from down the hall, an uncharacteristic smile spread across his face. It was probably just seeing me back here, suffering with the rest of them, lifting his spirits.
"If I'm in the terminal sick house, how do you think it is dumb ass?" I snapped back as the terminal boy ran up to me, his smile fading. If it matters to you at all, which it shouldn't, the boy's name is Iggy. Not really, but that's what I call him, and that's all you need to know. He's a strawberry blonde cursed with the terminal disease of lung cancer, stage four. Probably only has five years left, but he's lasted till fourteen, so who can really tell?
"God," He snarled as he approached, a sour look squirming onto his face. "don't be such a hard ass. Haven't seen you for two months."
"Don't be mistaken, those were the best two months of my existence." I shot back, almost wincing when I looked up to where my mother was watching us with her deep, brown, and disgustingly pitying eyes. I did say almost.
"Whatever, dude." Iggy responded, a small grin crept up onto his lips, but I didn't notice. I was too busy thinking about how long he'd been in Walker's for. No one says dude anymore. "Hey, Max." He said suddenly and peered at my mouth. "What's that on the corner of your mouth? I think there's like cranberry juice there or something. It's super red."
I shook my head slowly and sent him a dirty look while he stood there grinning away. My mother however, suddenly became hysterical, kneeling down next to me and grabbing my head in both hands, turning it this way and that to see if any blood would somehow magically appear on my mouth. Needless to say, it didn't, and she was not a happy clam with Iggy.
"I'm fine mum. Don't worry about Iggy. The tumor must have spread to his optic nerves." I snarled as Iggy snorted, his blue eyes shining.
"Max." My mother scolded harshly but Iggy raised a hand, chuckling silently.
"It's fine, Dr. M." He told her. I could tell he wanted to insult me in return, but seeing as I was her daughter, Iggy couldn't really say much more. "I'm heading down to the cafeteria. You wanna join?" He asked me. I shrugged at first, but then re-contemplated. Stay with my mother and sign a bunch of forms before heading straight to the nurses, or go with Iggy and put off any "treatment" those war veterans might want to hand out.
I grabbed Iggy's wrist and set off, full throttle down the hallway. "I'm going with Iggy, Mom. See ya!" I shouted as Iggy made a choking sound. If it were anyone else, I would've slowed down. But this was Iggy, so I cornered sharply and left it up to him not to smack his head on the wall.
Don't get me wrong, I loved my mother much more than the drab facility, but when it came to smothering, she'd win an award. It's not like I blamed her, smothering was in the job description, I mean, mother is in the word. But I didn't come here to be pitied. When you were surrounded by kids who probably had a lot less time than you, you didn't really get a butt load of time to feel sorry for yourself. Unless you're one of them.
Walker's isn't as bad as I make it out to be. There are about five floors to the huge building, like a high school or something but with dorms instead of classrooms and our medical section is a hell of a lot bigger. Anyway, our dorms start on the second floor and are separated into different sections. Some based on what disease you have, but we just say it's differentiated by how terminal you are. Fifth floor, least terminal, second floor, you have months, if that. Why? So they don't risk having to take the stairs with stretcher.
I'm kidding... but not really.
Most of the dorms are shared by people of the same gender and close to the same age. But lately, the facility has gotten extremely crowded. That fact is kinda sad. Either the rate of pregnancy has skyrocketed and consequentially so has the amount of children with disease, or something else is out there. I don't believe in coincidence.
But as I was saying, same gender, same age. But since we've become packed, that rule is no longer in effect, so fifteen year old Iggy got put with some seventeen year old kid with one leg and a bad attitude. Or so he said as we walked towards the cafeteria. At least, he was, until he stopped talking about an average teenager minus one limb and more so about my motives.
"So, you're not actually coming with me, right?" He asked as we turned down another grey hallway. I shrugged, pushing open a heavy metal door.
"Probably not, I need to unpack." I told him. When we'd met up, I was on my last trip to my room. All my luggage was already up on the fourth floor, sitting on my sheetless bed.
He nodded, grimly, but sarcastically he added, "Ah yes, the dreadful hour of unpacking. I don't know why you don't just keep your luggage here; you must have unpacked at least eight times." He got a bit of a glare for that, but we were already at the staircase, so further insults would have to wait.
As I started up the steps, Iggy leaned against the railing on the other side. "Stop by later, would you? We have much catching up to do." He drawled like a posh lady from the nineteenth century. But I rolled my eyes and smiled anyway.
"Of course, what else would I be doing?" I asked sarcastically.
Iggy grinned. "Yes, what would you do without me?" He asked dramatically before heading for the next set of doors. "Those months must have been such a drag."
"Again, best months of my existence." I called in response but he pushed open the doors and disappeared from my view. So I started my trek once more, but this time alone.
I'm being dramatic of course. The "alone" part didn't last long. I was halfway to my room, and who would open the door from the third floor but my sweet little stalker, Angelique. She and her older brother, Andrew, lived on the third floor with rooms across from each other. They've been there since Angel was born and never went home. They didn't have a place to go. Their mother could barely take the stress of raising Andrew after learning of his disease. And when Angel was born with the same one, she bailed. She left Andrew in the hospital waiting room with Angel in his lap and never looked back. But Angel didn't seem to care, and Andrew hardly ever mentioned her. Seven and ten year olds just filled to the top with positivity. 2% of the time it was disgusting, but the other 98%, how are you supposed to turn away those adorable little smiles?
"Max! You're back!" Angel was squealing as she ran through the heavy metal door and into the stairwell. I don't get how anyone could not smile when you heard that enthusiasm? She ran right into me and wrapped her tiny little hands around my legs. She only came up to my hips and was a thin as a toothpick.
"Yeah, I guess I am, short stuff." I replied and ruffled her short blonde curls as she giggled up at me, her face beaming.
"Have you seen the others yet? Iggy was so bored here without you." She told me as I climbed the carpeted stairs with her bouncing beside me. I smirked.
"Was he now?" I asked slyly. "Well, I guess I'll just have to squeeze him like crazy when I see him." Yeah, squeeze all the air out of his lungs. "How are you feeling?"
"I was feeling tired before..." She trailed off and grabbed my hand loosely. "But not now that your here. We're going to have so much fun!"
"Yeah, as soon as I unpack." I said, trying not to look down where her hand was twitching a bit in mine.
We soon reached my regular room in the corner of the hallway. Angel had always said I was lucky to get a corner room, but I disagreed. It was a hassle to get my wheelie suitcase in the door unless it was at the exact angle, much like parallel parking. I guess I wouldn't really know, I've never driven before.
The room was bright with natural sunlight, but I flipped on the light anyway, getting rid of any shadows that were lurking in the corners. All my suitcases were already sitting on my bare bed, waiting to be rooted through and emptied. Even my toothbrush was already in my bathroom. That was the real reason Angel said my room was the best; I got my own bathroom. My mum made sure I did, since if I was coughing up blood, she didn't want me to walk down the hall to get to a toilet. How sweet of her.
"Don't you get lonely in here?" Angel suddenly asked me as I crossed over to my bed. I liked to use the one furthest from the door. It was right up against the wall so I could lean against it as I sat down on the hard mattress.
"Nope, it's nice to have some privacy." I told her and saw her scowl slightly with disapproval. She was a seven year old disapproving of my anti-social behavior. "But I guess some company might be nice." I added with a sigh before noticing a loose button on her small dress and pointed it out.
"Well..." She said as she tried to fasten her button, her left hand still twitching. Every time she would get close to putting the button through the hole, her hand would twitch and she would start all over again. "What do you think, Max?"
"Hm?" I asked, missing what she'd said earlier when I was watching her hands.
"I said, maybe I can move in with you."
"Sorry, that's impossible now."
She pouted up at me, still fiddling with her buttons. I think she managed to undo another in her struggle. "Why?" She said, whining a bit.
I frowned and hopped off the bed, making my way to a kneeling position in front of her. I took the small buttons from her fingers and did them up quickly. "I thought I told you not to whine." I told her as I stood and ruffled her hair. "It's not cute."
Angel opened her mouth like she was going to whine again, but instead she maturely closed it, contemplating what I said.
"Besides, I'm getting a roommate, so you don't have to worry about me being lonely." I said as she cocked her head up at me.
"When are you getting a roommate? Who is it?" She asked and I shrugged, letting out a small sigh. She asked a lot of questions.
"I don't remember his name." I admitted.
"Ew, a boy." I'm ashamed to say I screamed a little as a small blonde head popped out from under my bed. How are you not supposed to when a random head just pokes out from a bed? It was Andrew, Angel's older brother, grinning mischievously as he looked up at me with shinning blue eyes. "You gonna kiss him?"
"Why are you in here?" I yelled as he laughed , his cheeks red as blood stared to rush to his head.
"I was going to surprise you when you came in before, but my leg starts acting up and I got stuck." He explained as he pushed himself the rest of the way out from under the bed. He was grinning like mad as he used the bed to push himself up. "By the way, I wouldn't go under there anytime soon, if you know what I mean."
"Oh god Gaz, that's gross."
I guess I should probably explain.
Angel and Andrew both have ALS, or for a professional diagnosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. I think some baseball player had it back when television was black and white. I could explain all the details, and if you have a heart, make you feel all mushy, but I don't think I'll do that. Basically, their muscles keep getting weaker until their unable to control some parts of their body. For example, when Andrew was born he had trouble opening his eyes and when he was a toddler, he could barely walk. His left leg muscles are much weaker than they should be. That's how they discovered he had the disease.
As for Angel, she nearly swallowed her tongue as a baby. I guess that and the fact that Angel can barely use her left hand was diagnosis enough for their mother. Oh and then there's that muscle in Andrew's digestive system he isn't exactly "in control" of. If you're wondering where the nickname Gazzy comes from, there's your answer.
"It's totally not my fault, just a reminder." Gazzy said slyly. He always found a way to get out of everything, and it was more than a little annoying sometimes. But since this was my room, I had excuses to kick him out.
"Look guys," I said, sitting back down on my bed. "I'm super tired and I still gotta unpack. Mind giving me some privacy?"
Gazzy's lip curled distastefully but Angel just smiled and grabbed his wrist. "Sure, Max. We'll see you later." She said sweetly and half dragged her brother from my room.
I felt a little guilty, but more than that I felt relaxed. I lay down and shut my eyes, thankful for the much needed privacy. I hadn't exactly had privacy for over two months. When I was at home, my mother made it her personal mission to make sure I was healthy and happy, unless I wanted to do something "dangerous". So in other words, I wasn't allowed to live when I was at home. Here, not many people gave a crap what I did in my spare time as long as I was breathing and wasn't trying to stop that.
I was just starting to drift off into a welcomed nap when I felt a buzz go off in my pocket. I was truly content on ignoring it, believing it was just my mother, trying to check up on me, making sure I hadn't died after climbing four flights of stairs. But I didn't need her to be hysterical and running up to my room, ruining any time I might have had to myself.
It wasn't her though, it was an unknown number.
I answered the phone, deciding to have some fun. "It's done," I whispered into the receiver. "But there's blood everywhere."
"Wait, what?" I hung up the phone and lay my head down again, shutting my eyes and hoping to get some sleep. Until my phone started to buzz again.
I groaned and answered, this time with a normal "hello".
"Okay, what the hell was that? I call your number and you act like you just killed a guy in cold blood for the mafia." I had to move my ear away from the speaker as the person on the other end practically screamed into the mic.
"That was the point, Nudge." I moaned, more than a bit ticked off as I snapped at her. "What do you want?"
"God, aren't we in a bitchy mood." Nudge spat into the phone. "I just called because I heard the big new."
I paused. "What news?"
"That you're living with a guy, DUH!" She screamed the last part and I winced away from the speaker again. "I can't believe you didn't tell me. I had to hear it from Angel and Gazzy!"
"They were out of my room for like two seconds!" I snapped, cursing the siblings in the back of my mind.
Nudge made a "so what" noise on the phone before I heard her shuffling around. "What are you doing?" I asked, hearing a door shut.
"Coming up, you have to tell me all about it!"
"No, you are not coming over here!" I snapped. Nudge lived on the fourth floor with me. Brittle diabetes didn't count for much pity around here so the only reason she was on fifth was so they could give her medication more easily. "I'm tired as hell and you're loud as Satan." I gave her a second to work out what I said as I shut my eyes, wondering if it would be possible to drift off before she responded.
"I don't get it." It wasn't possible.
"It means turn on your heel and go back to your room. I can smell your enthusiasm from here."
"I'm not in my room." Nudge said simply as if she were throwing a smart comment back in my face.
"Now I'm confused." I said.
"I'm downstairs with Iggy, we're going to play video games in his room. His roommate's away on holidays so we're jacking his system as payback for his bitching." She said, chuckling evilly. "Not until after we get our fill of entertainment though."
"You have a dark gift Monique Jackson. If only you could use your knowledge of technology for something useful." I said, sighing slightly. I heard her snort on the other end.
"What's the fun in that?" She asked before putting on a strange, pleading voice. "Say you'll come, Max."
"I'll come."
"Really?" She sounded so hopeful, I hated to break her spirits.
"You said I had to say it, not mean it." I told her and she made an irritated sound on the other end.
"Max says she won't come!" I heard her shout distantly. She must have been covering the microphone. There was soon a series of shuffling, static noises before Iggy's voice came on the line.
"Max, get your butt down here. It'll be the six of us, You, me, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy and a soon to be out of commission game console." He said seriously. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You have to come."
"Yeah, or we'll drag you down forcefully." Nudge piped in.
"I'd like to see you try." I sneered back before sighing. "I actually wouldn't, so I'll be down in five minutes. You dorks better have snacks."
I heard Nudge cheer before I hung up. I guess unpacking would have to wait till later. I just wanted to sleep, was that too much to ask? But without complaining further, I left the room, leaving the lights on as I left. I wasn't in the mood to save the earth if it was set on killing me.
Love it? Hate it? Or should I stop slacking with my other stories.
Let me know!