Max's POV

Finally! I'm sixteen and ready for high school, this year is going to rock! I know the middle school is in the high school so I have technically been to high school before, but now I was officially a freshman. Well I should have been a freshman in September but because of wizard training I had to miss the first few semesters and am now joining just after the spring break.

"Hey Max." Alex drawled from the couch, laying on her back with her legs in the air. I smiled at my lazy sister as I got my stuff together in my school bag, which could on consist of a notepad, pen, my iPod, jacket, some money ($20, score!) and my phone.

"Morning Alex." I replied, my mood too good to be messed with.

"Big day huh? Getting labelled the new kid, getting beat up by the jocks, having the awkward moment where you say hi to your friends and they shun you because you've been away to long…" I shook my head at her and I heard her sigh as she sat up. "Fine, don't listen to my great advise, but at least here this warning." I turned to look at her to see an oddly serious-very unlike Alex-expression on her face. "A new Janitor was hired a couple weeks back and I've noticed him following and watching me and Harper quite a lot, especially me. I don't trust him and I don't think you should either." I would have brushed her off but something told me she was being completely serious. I nodded.

"Thanks Alex, I'll watch out for him." I said, giving her a hug before leaving the room.

I rocketed down the stairs of the sub station as fast as I could, grabbing a sandwich my father had just finished preparing for a customer before dashing for the doors.

"Hold it right there young man!" I skidded to a halt at my moms voice, it being enough to send a shiver down my spine. I turned back around, innocently holding the sandwich with a hopeful smile.

"Hey mom." I said, trying to sound upbeat. She had a stern look on her face as she approached me. I gulped as she grabbed my cheeks, waiting for a massive rant about why I shouldn't steal sandwiches.

"My baby's going to his first day of high school." she gushed, pinching my cheeks. I groaned, preferring to have a rant.

"Mom, let me go or I'm goanna be late." dad was nice enough to pry her off me, Justin coming out of the kitchen to help keep her away. Mom had tears in her eyes as dad held her in his arms.

"Max." I turned to Justin, his black hair slicked and his hands smelling of cheese. "High school wasn't the best of times for me, considering Alex took over nearly all of my friends beside Zeke, cost me over $300 over the course of those years and nearly destroyed the world at least twice, and all the other stuff that happens in high school." I raised an eyebrow at what he was saying and he cleared his throat. "But what I wanted to say was good luck, you never know what's going to be on the road ahead once you start high school." I chuckled, now wishing I had taken him seriously.

After letting my mom drag me into one more bone crushing I headed for the doors.

"Thanks for the sandwich dad!" I shouted, running from the sub shop with my dads 'MAX!' following me down the street.

I breathed in the fresh, late June air as I walked, looking forward to seeing all my old friends again. I missed them and the way we would always joke around. True they didn't always get my random thoughts and ideas, but that defence was there for a reason and it was doing its job well.

"Hey buddy I'm trying to walk here!" I heard a female voice scream with a hint of an accent. I turned to see a girl with shoulder length tousled blonde hair that had a short dark blue side-swept fringe. It was obviously dyed but the skill behind the blending of colours was amazing. She was smaller then me by a few inches but that didn't damper any of her beauty.

She turned with the cab as it rushed round the curb in front of her, giving him the finger as it sped past. Her skin was tinted slightly brown, the same tan colour as mine. Her clothes were simply a pair of loose grey boot-cut jeans, a green band shirt with a black guitar on it, a tight open light blue cheque shirt and a leather jacket. She looked amazing…yet familiar.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped at me. I froze, staring at her. "Well?" she asked and I was broken from my stupor.

"Uh sorry, just watching you flip that guy off." I mumbled and she glared at me. "It was awesome." she smiled slightly, looking down at her sneaker covered feet.

"Thanks, but it is just giving someone the finger. It's not hard." she said with a definite hint of a Spanish sounding accent under her New York accent.

"Well yeah, but it's cool because you had the nerve to do it. My mom and dad always advise me not to do it because people might get very pissed and start a fight. I know it's because they love me, and don't get me wrong I love them, but I wish they would back off sometimes, you know?" I finished rambling to look at her, to see she was glaring at me. I gulped, wondering what I did wrong.

"No, I don't know what you mean so you can screw off too!" she snapped before flipping me off then stomping off across the road towards the school. For a few minutes I just stood there, letting the busy New Yorkers bustle and bustle their way to work around me.

It was only when someone pushed me did I realise that I had five minutes to get to school. I took off running down the street, dodging past cabs as I crossed the road before the school came into sight. I could hear the bell ring as I approached the school grounds. Great, first day back and I was starting it by being late.

As I staggered through the front doors, a flash caught my eyes and the darted over to where Alex's locker should be, if memory serves. Sure enough there she was, ready and dressed while holding a plate of short-stack pancakes. I chuckled as I jogged over.

"Hwy Alex, good to see some things never change." I panted as I stopped beside her. She smiled, opening the locker next to hers.

"There, put your stuff in. the code is 4. 6. 15." my brow furrowed as the numbers sounded familiar.

"Isn't that Mason's birthday? The 15 being the 15th century?" Alex blushed darkly, shutting her locker.

"Since when did you get so-" she stopped, freezing on the spot. Before I could ask what was wrong, I was stopped by a heavily Russian accented voice.

"No eating in the hallways!" I jumped, the voice so cold and emotionless that it sent an unnatural chill down my spine. I turned to see a large man hunched over a mop. He had thick grey hair that grew on his head, chest, face and arms. He had a nick in one of his ears, like a cartoon dog that's been in a fight. He looked like he was hiding a secret, the accent (thanks to too much TV) causing me to think the worst.

"S-Sorry man. I'm new but it won't happen again." I tried to sound confident but it didn't come out so well. He sneered, standing up to his full height (6'5. WTF!) that towered over my 5'11 by a good couple feat.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." he whispered, his heavy accent making him sound like he wanted to murder Alex and me. He was so close that I could smell vodka on his breath (I guess some stereotypes are true) and read his name tag. It read Uri. He grunted down at me before walking away, dragging his mop and janitor cart behind him.

"That's the new janitor I was talking about. Creepy huh?" I nodded. Something was definitely wrong with this guy but I couldn't think much more on the topic, the tardy bell blasting in my ears. I dashed off to music class as fast as I could, being sure to keep out of Uri's way.