This story is a sequel to Small Things. If you haven't read Small Things, it's definitely best to read that before this. If you have read Small Things, this first chapter offers something of a review of the major events of that story as Max reads through her journal...
Chloe sat on the fountain ledge, one leg tucked under her and the other dangling over the edge. A cigarette smoldered in her left hand and she poked at her phone with the other, a lazy smile on her face. Max watched from the top of the steps, leaning away ever so slightly towards the school entrance even though she yearned to rush back to Chloe. After all, from Max's perspective, Chloe had been dead up until less than an hour ago...and they'd only just been reunited.
I love that girl, Max thought.
She pulled out her camera and took a shot of Chloe, sighing as she retrieved the photo.
We went through five days of insanity together and then I went through another four days without her, Max thought, shaking the photo and putting it and the camera into her bag, I can wait an hour and a half to be with her again. Then we'll have all the time in the world.
She glanced over again and Chloe was staring back, grinning.
"Yo, Max," she said, "I'm totally going to text you while you're in class!"
"You better!" Max called back.
"Don't get caught!" Chloe said.
"I won't! Not with my special tricks," Max said with a sly smile.
"And no emojis!" Chloe said.
Max spun around at that and walked towards the door, calling out over her shoulder, "sorry, couldn't hear you! Bye!"
"There will be consequences for that, Max!" Chloe said, a laugh in her voice.
Max waved and chuckled to herself, stepping into the building as the bell rang.
She'll definitely get back at me for that, Max thought, smiling.
That thought…
It feels almost...normal, Max thought.
The idea took Max by surprise...the idea that there might actually be some semblance of normalcy returning to her life...and to Chloe's. She came to a stop in the hall as students began to filter out of classrooms, wandering towards lockers or congregating in small groups. Max felt anxiety bubble up inside and, again, she nearly rushed back to Chloe.
What if something happens? Max thought, clutching her elbows, what if I'm not there to stop it. I can't lose her again…
Max closed her eyes. A deep breath in...let it out. Another.
Think about what I have control of, Max thought, what I can do...I have control of time. I can change the past. And I just took a photo out there. If something happens, I can use it to go back.
Max opened her eyes and released her elbows; her shoulders relaxed. She silently thanked Kate...a Kate from a now-vanished timeline.
Kate was so amazing, Max thought, even though she had so much trouble accepting the time rewinding, she still did everything she could to help me. All of the talks about Chloe...talking about the Dark Room...the breathing exercises. I owe her and Warren so much...it's going to be so strange now with them not knowing about all of this.
Max took another deep breath and continued towards her Media Literacy class, intending on making as little contact with others as possible.
I used to be very good at that, Max thought, rolling her eyes, but with everything from Victoria trying to crush me like a bug to Warren crushing on me, it's hard to disappear into the crowd anymore. Of course, I have a bigger reason to avoid interaction: I still don't know much about what my previous self...selves, I guess...have done over the past week. I really need to read through my journal before I start blabbing...or I'll be rewinding every few minutes to fix my fuck ups.
Fortunately, the Victorias and Warrens of Max's life weren't the ones to descend upon her: Max had nearly made it to her classroom when a friendly voice called out, "Max Caulfield!"
Max turned to find Ms. Grant walking towards her.
Okay...I missed today's science lab...obviously...hopefully my goodwill with Ms. Grant counts for something...unless my previous selves did something awful.
"Hi, Ms. Grant," Max said, "I'm so sorry I missed lab today. It's...been a crazy few days."
No lie there, Max thought.
Ms. Grant chuckled and said, "I know, Max, I know. With everything that happened last week, I've been going light on lessons for everyone and today's lab was no exception. And of course you were so much closer to those incidents than anyone else, so you certainly get a pass from me. You can make the lab up later or you can just read through the lab section in Chapter 8. As long as you understand the principles, you should be fine. If you have any questions at all, just come find me."
"Thanks, Ms. Grant," Max said, "I'll do that."
"That's great, Max," Ms. Grant said, smiling, "and how is your friend doing?"
"She's doing great!" Max said, grinning, "she's...um...out of the hospital and feeling very well. We've spent a lot of time catching up."
"I heard that you knew her from before," Ms. Grant said, "it's an amazing thing when old friends reconnect. I do hope you'll be a good influence on her. I remember Chloe Price very well," Ms. Grant shook her head, "that girl is very smart...and she threw it all away. I just hope that she gets back on the right track."
"Er," Max said, "she did insist that I get to class this afternoon. She specifically said she didn't want me making any of the mistakes she made."
Ms. Grant smiled broadly and said, "I am so glad to hear that. It's good to know that she's encouraging you. Hopefully she'll find her way back to school. She has brilliance in her...she just needs to find something good to use it on."
Max thought back to the Chloe from the alternate timeline, with her incredible grades and fierce desire to learn...so much like the Chloe that Max had known before moving to Seattle.
"I think she has it in her too," Max said, "she was really into science when we were kids and she's always been so creative."
"Good to hear," Ms. Grant said, "now, you'd better get to class. The bell's going to ring any moment."
"Thanks, Ms. Grant," Max said. She began to turn away before remembering something Chloe had mentioned earlier.
"Oh, hold on, Ms. Grant," Max said, reaching into her bag, "I finished the homework."
"You did? With everything that's been going on?" Ms. Grant said, taking the papers from Max, "you are a great student, Max."
Max smiled and thanked Ms. Grant before hurrying into the Media Literacy classroom and winding her way to her typical seat in the back. She sat down and pulled out a notebook and her journal...and put her phone in her lap. She saw that Chloe had already sent a series of messages:
Chloe: this fountain isnt comfy
Chloe: finding a new place for my ass
Chloe: benches here r ok
Chloe: if prescotts can donate a building y cant they donate bench cushions
Chloe: random people keep coming up to me
Chloe: congratulating me on not dying
Chloe: morbid
Chloe: but kinda awesome
Chloe: dude you in class yet?
Chloe: huh
Chloe: shared a what's up nod with vicky c
Max: Yep! In class!
Max: Did you seriously just refer to Victoria as Vicky C?
Chloe: hell yeah
Chloe: beta max was not a fan
Chloe: she thinks you can be friends with vicky
Max: Really?
Chloe: yeah
Chloe: bet it's in the journal
Chloe: thought for a sec u might want to trade me for her
Max: WHAT?
Max: No way.
Chloe: I know
Chloe: I got hella proof u want this
Max: :D
Chloe: NO
Chloe: E
Chloe: MOJI!
Max: :(
Chloe: I swear
Chloe: every version of u is the same
Max: And you love it.
Chloe: true
Chloe: mostly
Chloe: so how u getting media literate today
That's a good question, Max thought, am I going to have to pay attention to this class or can I zone out and read my journal?
Max opened the course folder and pulled out the syllabus. This week's subject was...Dimensions of Social Media Part 2.
Well, Max thought, if it's anything like Dimensions of Social Media Part 1, it will be a complete snoozefest. Looks like a long lecture followed by playing around with Facebook and shit. Definitely a good opportunity to read my journal.
Max: Dimensions of Social Media Part 2
Chloe: sounds lame
Max: is lame.
Max: Good for journal reading though.
Chloe: sweet
Chloe: going to skate for a min
Chloe: buzz me if u need anything
Max: Okay!
The bell rang and Mr. Lee came running into the room, eliciting a few chuckles from the class as he tossed his binders onto his desk. Max waited, paying attention as Mr. Lee wrote the day's subject on the board and performed his usual exuberant introduction to the day's subject. Then, as Max expected, he quickly settled into his lecture monotone. As heads began dipping around the room and Mr. Lee became completely focused on the board, Max opened her journal.
She flipped to October 7th, where familiar text stopped and was replaced by the entries of the Chloe-named Alpha Max.
I might as well get used to Chloe's nicknames for me and the other versions of me, Max thought with a half smile, since it's obvious that she'll keep using them...and that means I shall forevermore be known as G-Max...which is way better than Gamma Max or, ugh, Gammax.
She paged through Alpha Max's writing, finding herself darkly amused that her previous self had apparently brushed off the vision of the storm as nothing more than a vivid daydream. She was also surprised at just how much her past self had written. Clearly, Alpha Max had taken to journaling as a means to pass the time and record her thoughts as Chloe went through surgery and recovery. It was incredible...and strange...to see herself through this window: Alpha Max had been wracked with such intense fear and guilt...which then turned into explosive joy once the doctors had confirmed that Chloe would recover.
Max smiled as she reached some of first paragraphs on Friday, where Alpha Max admitted that maybe her friendship with Chloe was something more...complicated.
Ha, Max thought, hit the nail right on the head there, Alpha Max.
The transition to Beta Max (Max winced) was obvious. The last few paragraphs on Friday recounted Beta Max's mixed delight and confusion at finding Chloe alive.
Max flipped the page and her eyes widened as she read how her previous self had maneuvered Warren and Brooke into analyzing her time travel powers.
Pretending it was all a dream? Max thought, clever...although it's totally easier to just tell it straight. Then again...it did take way more effort to convince Warren and Kate than it ever did to convince Chloe.
She continued reading, glancing up every few moments to make sure that no one had noticed that she wasn't paying attention to the class. Her caution didn't seem necessary: Mr. Lee hadn't taken his eyes off of the chalkboard and the rest of the class seemed to be caught in a daze. Taylor absentmindedly twirled a pencil while staring into space. Daniel, a few seats over, was drawing something in his notebook. Zachary appeared to be asleep. The other students were similarly distracted or passed out.
Max returned to the journal, finding herself somewhat amused at her previous self's attempts to reason out how Chloe had survived.
Nice to know that my efforts generated some mystery for my twin, Max thought, chuckling silently.
Her amusement disappeared as she reached the entry describing how the ghostly doe had led Beta Max to eavesdrop on Trevor and Justin. Max sat up straight and her mind spun.
What the hell? Max thought, Rachel asked Trevor and Justin to do something for her? Something so secret that they wouldn't tell me anything about it? I...it looks like my previous self's...shit, I'm just going to call her Beta Max...Beta Max's analysis seems legit. If they were happy about being covered by a big thunderstorm, they were probably doing something outside that took a while to do and was out in the open and/or noisy. This must be important...I can't imagine that doe leading me somewhere for no reason.
Max flipped the page and read through through the description of breaking into Nathan's room and finding the safe in the closet.
Ah...that's why her and Chloe were so gung-ho about getting the combination to Nathan's safe, Max thought, I'm glad the gun wasn't in his safe...I didn't even know there was a safe there.
And then, in the section about driving Chloe's truck up to the hospital…
Wait, Max thought, I drove Chloe's truck? Wowser, I'm braver than I thought.
...to pick Chloe up, Beta Max had copied down the terms of the agreement that her and Chloe had made: Max got to pick a movie to watch that night and got to keep her phone (Chloe had threatened to take it away) in exchange for Chloe getting to pick out an outfit for Max.
The terms of this agreement are not particularly favorable to me, Max thought.
She turned the page to find Beta Max's record of Chloe's kiss dare. Max's eyes widened and she angled the journal up towards her chest...she was pretty sure no one could see the text but she felt that this kind of information, even more so than time travel, oddly enough, demanded privacy.
Wow, I can't believe Chloe did that dare again, Max thought, smiling, makes her intentions pretty transparent to a time traveler.
The next passage mentioned Beta Max's panic attack over a Dark Room flashback. Max's hands involuntarily crept towards her wrists and she caught herself, pressing her palms to her legs.
Looks like Beta Max had to deal with the same shit I do, Max thought, stopping to take a few deep breaths as the now-erased Kate had recommended.
She quickly turned the page and a smile returned to her face as she read Beta Max's entry on their time with Joyce and David. The last time Max had seen Chloe's mom and stepfather, it had been only a few days after Chloe's funeral. David had been angry...so hopelessly angry. And Joyce had barely spoken at all...she'd just stared out into space. It had taken a lot of effort on Max's part, along with several rewinds, to get Joyce to even start coming out of that dark place. Seeing Joyce like that had been yet another push for Max to change things for the better. And now Max couldn't wait to see Joyce again...to see her smile again.
Just a day before, the whole plan to save Chloe had seemed crazy...impossible even. It seemed guaranteed that rescuing Chloe would cause another storm...or some other disaster.
But it had worked.
She'd committed to it and...
At that moment, the full reality of the situation finally hit Max. She put the journal down, staring blankly across the room, a smile growing wider on her face.
Holy shit...I did it, Max thought, it...it actually worked! Chloe's alive, Kate's alive...it sounds like Joyce and David are happy. Nathan's in jail...but he's alive. Jefferson's in jail too and the town wasn't flattened by a tornado. It...it worked. It totally worked. Fucking...wowser.
An overwhelming sense of joy built inside of her and her smile became so wide that it began to hurt. Adrenaline shot through her and she felt like a kid again, her normally languid-in-class body buzzing with energy. She sat up, her foot tapping the ground and her fingers fidgeting. A temptation grew in her to stand up and shout, which she quickly tried to suppress.
Wait, she thought, her eyes going wide, why the hell not?
Max stood up and jumped up onto her seat. The class was so zoned out that only Daniel noticed, glancing over with a surprised expression.
"YES!" Max shouted, throwing her arms up in the air and drawing the attention of the entire room.
Taylor dropped her pencil and Zachary fell out of his chair. Mr. Lee spun around and stared at her, his mouth open.
Max hopped down from her chair and ran over to Taylor, hugging her and saying, "I did it! It worked!"
She laughed and did a shuffling kind of dance over to Daniel, hugging him too. She spun around and bounced back towards her seat, laughing again at the sight of everyone staring at her.
Oh my god...am I going crazy? Max thought, still laughing, everyone's staring at me...I should be completely mortified right now. And I'm dancing around the room...and...I don't care! It worked and Chloe's alive!
Stella, sitting in the seat in front of Max, said, "Max, are you...okay?"
Max leaned over and wrapped Stella in a tight hug, saying, "yes! I'm great! And you're okay too!"
"I'm not so sure about that," Stella said, her voice strained as she gently patted Max's back.
Max released her and laughed again, returning to her seat.
The entire class continued to stare at her and Mr. Lee finally spoke up, saying, "um...Miss Caulfield, I'm glad you're feeling so...exuberant. But in the future...please contain yourself until the end of class please."
"Sure, Mr. Lee. It won't be necessary though...I'm just going to erase the whole thing," Max said.
Everyone in the room either tilted their heads, blinked slowly, or raised their eyebrows. Max smiled and rewound.
She watched herself move in reverse around the room, feeling a tinge of heat in her cheeks as she saw her shuffling dance in reverse.
Um...I look completely ridiculous, she thought, wincing.
She halted the rewind just before she jumped up onto her chair. As time resumed around her, she sat with a lopsided smile: the class was once again fully inhabiting Snoozetown.
And that, Max thought, I'll be keeping to myself. Well, not completely to myself.
She began typing on her phone:
Max: You won't believe what I just did.
Chloe: threw a chair at the teacher
Chloe: flashed the whole class
Chloe: pantsed victoria
Chloe: pantsed warren
Chloe: ooh, pantsed the teacher
Max: Wow, you really take it to 11.
Chloe: pantsed wells?
Chloe: yeah that's how I roll
Max: NO I DIDN'T PANTS ANYONE
Chloe: oh ok
Chloe: text yelling is ok too
Chloe: its healthy
Chloe: if ur still angry later and need to express
Chloe: u can pants me
Max: Now I begin to see your strategy
Chloe: no strategy
Chloe: just opportunity
Chloe: so what did u do
Max: It just hit me that everything's okay now
Max: No one's dead and stuff
Max: The whole plan worked!
Max: YOU'RE ALIVE!
Chloe: very true
Chloe: i can confirm it
Max: So I jumped up on my chair and shouted it out.
Chloe: WAIT REALLY
Chloe: thats fuckin hilarious
Max: Then I sort of danced around the room and hugged a bunch of people.
Chloe: dude
Chloe: you're insane in the brain
Chloe: wait u dance?
Max: Ha, no. When I do, it's not pretty. You've seen me dance.
Chloe: no i dont think so
Max: Oh right...original timeline. I'm a terrible dancer.
Chloe: well now u have to promise to dance for me
Max: Ugh
Chloe: if u dont ill pants u
Max: What have I wrought?
Chloe: awesomeness
Chloe: you wroght awesomeness
Chloe: so what the hell happened after you danced
Max: Whole class was staring at me.
Max: Old me would've totally freaked out...but new me just hits the rewind button.
Chloe: dude
Chloe: ur pretty badass
Chloe: wish I saw it
Chloe: reenactment for your girlfriend later
Chloe: oh shit
Chloe: Im sorry
Chloe: g word bad
Chloe: stupid chloe
Max: Chloe!
Chloe: stupid stupid
Max: It's okay!
Chloe: stupid
Max: Not stupid!
Max: Seriously
Chloe: im sorry
Chloe: so awkward
Max: I get it, I really do.
Chloe: hella confusing
Max: Yep :)
Chloe: ill even forgive that
Max: :D
Chloe: becoming less forgiving
Max: :(
Chloe: …
A picture came through of Chloe's hand...with just one finger raised. Max chuckled and decided to do as Chloe would do:
Max: Oh, what are you going to do with THAT?
Chloe: whoa!
Chloe: max!
Chloe: right out of left field
Chloe: im so proud
Max: Why thank you.
Chloe: where u at in the story
Max: Um...Saturday night
Chloe: oh cool
Chloe: cant wait til you get to last night
Max: O.o
Chloe: rolling my eyes
Chloe: right now
Max chuckled, put her phone down, and flipped the page, continuing to read through Saturday and Sunday's entries and into Monday. She quietly laughed at Victoria's idea that Max and Chloe might end up as private investigators. She then bolted upright when she read that Chloe planned on going back to school...and that she might get a job. Max reached for her phone so quickly that she knocked it off her desk and onto the floor. The clatter drew the attention of the class.
"Oops," Max said before rewinding. She watched the phone fly back up onto her desk and, once she stopped the rewind, grabbed the phone carefully and began texting:
Max: Chloe!
Max: You're going back to school!?
Max: And getting a job!?
Chloe: oh right
Chloe: forgot u didnt know about that
Chloe: yup
Max: That's awesome!
Max: Ms. Grant was just talking about how smart you are.
Max: And how she hoped that you'd go back to school!
Chloe: oh cool
Chloe: i always liked ms grant
Max: She'll be so proud when she finds out.
Max: I'm so proud! You're awesome!
Chloe: dude
Chloe: you're, like, making me emotional
Chloe: now i have to go hide from the skaters
Max: Just think punky thoughts
Chloe: tried that
Chloe: didnt work
Chloe: also i did get a job at the music store
Chloe: going to be kinda awesome
Max: That so amazing Chloe!
Max: You're going to rock it! When do you start?
Chloe: couple weeks
Chloe: i start after a guy leaves
Chloe: you better come visit me
Max: Duh
Chloe: awesomesauce
Chloe: now keep reading
Max: Yes Ma'am
Chloe: damn right
Max settled in to continue reading and found herself struck by one of the next passages:
Chloe said that I brought her into the real world just enough for her to remember to live life and not coast like a zombie. It was so crazy to hear that since I'd always thought that she was the one who brought me into the real world...just enough to interact with it and not just sit back and observe.
Max sat back and thought about those words, staring blankly at Mr. Lee as he scribbled on the chalkboard.
That's so true, Max thought, that's...kind of a foundation of our friendship. I guess we really do push each other in the right ways.
Max next read the description of Monday's raucous lunch, putting her hand over her mouth to hide her silent laughter...until she reached the revelation that Dana and Juliet had deduced Max and Chloe's mutual attraction. Max blushed and sunk into her seat, even though no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to her.
And I promised them I'd give them details? Max thought, fluttering between feelings of amusement and embarrassment, ugh...I guess Chloe and I will have to agree on a set of details before I run into either of them.
She continued reading, shaking her head, until she read what Beta Max had overheard in the bathroom, causing her to sit up abruptly: Rachel had tasked Dana with hiding an envelope somewhere that had something to do with Max. Chills ran up and down Max's back.
What the hell is going on? Max thought, first Rachel's instructions to Justin and Trevor and now this? Something else is going on here.
Max grabbed her phone.
Max: What's the deal with Rachel's super secret tasks to people?
Chloe: wait what?
Chloe: oh right
Chloe: no idea
Chloe: we couldnt figure it out
Chloe: put it on the back burner
Max: Maybe we should bring it back to the front burner.
Max: I have a feeling that this could be important.
Chloe: shit
Chloe: like getting shot important?
Chloe: or fucked up tornado important?
Max: I don't know.
Max: I haven't had any crazy visions or anything.
Max: But I just feel like it's important.
Chloe: thats good enough for me
Chloe: if you think its important lets figure it out
Max: You're the best, Chloe.
Chloe: yes yes i am.
Max: These detectives are back on the case!
Chloe: sweet
Chloe: and these detectives will need lotsa breakfast food
Max: :D
Chloe: uggggghhhhh
Max smiled and put her phone down. She returned to the journal and immediately came to a faux-annoyed description of Chloe's dirty jokes via text. Max tilted her head; she began reaching for her phone, itching to find out what Beta Max meant...but then decided to finish the journal before doing that.
She read through the description of their interrogation of Nathan, wincing at Chloe's painful punch to Nathan's face and marveling at how her previous self went through the interrogation nearly two dozen times.
And Beta Max didn't get the same kind of practice that I did, Max thought, so that must've been hella difficult. And...as for the interrogation itself, I think Beta Max was right...Nathan's behavior sounds super suspicious. Why was he so careful in answering questions about the incident in the bathroom...and why did everything involving his father lead to a roadblock?
She continued and nearly froze when the journal mentioned Mr. Jefferson. Unpleasant goosebumps prickled on her arms and she found herself tempted to skip over that section...but she pushed through and found herself smiling at what happened.
Wow, way to go, Beta Max, Max thought, Chloe was right, you really did tear him a new one. Too bad it had to get erased...now I'm seriously tempted to take Chloe up on her offer and go down there for a repeat of this. That would be incredible.
She continued reading and her eyes widened when she read what Beta Max had termed the "Chloe Exception" to the Observer Effect. She grabbed her phone.
Max: I can teleport in front of you!?
Chloe: dude
Chloe: i laugh my ass off each time u text
Chloe: its so cute
Chloe: every time u find something new
Chloe: and ya
Chloe: you can totally teleport in front of me
Chloe: its hella awesome
Chloe: trippin every time i see it
Max: That's so strange.
Max: Warren and I discovered that I can't teleport when someone's watching.
Max: He said the same thing: Observer Effect.
Chloe: sweet
Chloe: this totally means ive got nerd cred
Chloe: warren and brooke had better watch out
Chloe: new nerd on campus
Max: :D
Chloe: and ud better watch out too
Max: But why can I teleport in front of you and no one else?
Chloe: because im special
Max: How so?
Max: Sorry
Max: That came out wrong.
Chloe: im hurt
Max: Noooo!
Max: Obviously you're super special to ME
Max: The special-est
Chloe: the super specialest?
Max: Yes
Chloe: the super duper specialest?
Max: Duh
Chloe: okay fine
Chloe: but yeah im not sure
Chloe: about the whole teleport thing
Chloe: i thought maybe the weird cylinder thing
Chloe: but this was way before that
Max: What weird cylinder thing?
Chloe: keep reading
Chloe: also wondered if it might be from making out
Chloe: but that was also later
Max: …
Chloe: dont lie you're totally wanting me
Chloe: cant keep that a secret now
Max: …
Chloe: ooh maybe it was the dare
Chloe: u kissed me
Chloe: then boom
Chloe: now u can teleport
Max: I don't know.
Max: Only way to test that would be for me to go around and kiss people…
Max: ...and then try teleporting in front of them.
Chloe: ha
Chloe: dont u dare
Chloe: would be hella funny tho
Chloe: kiss kate
Max: I do NOT want to get smacked in the face with a Bible
Chloe: kiss warren
Max: Don't want Brooke's drone dive-bombing my face
Max: Also, really awkward
Chloe: did u kiss him in ur timeline
Max: No!
Chloe: just asking
Chloe: interesting opportunity
Chloe: have warren cake and om nom Chloe too
Max: I feel like there's a dirty joke in there
Chloe: of course there is
Chloe: ooh kiss victoria
Max: OMG no; so much awkward
Chloe: hmm true
Chloe: cant tell if she'd like it or just slap you
Max: Or both
Chloe: or both
Chloe: jinx
Max: jinx
Max: Dammit!
Chloe: YES
Chloe: kiss Dana
Max: She has a boyfriend! And no!
Chloe: hey u never know
Chloe: she might be totally into it
Chloe: besides u could just rewind
Max: Yeah but then I'd remember all of the extremely awkward kissing
Max: How about I just stick to you when it comes to lip contact
Chloe: i support that
Chloe: exclusive lip contact
Chloe: in more ways than one
Max: Shit
Chloe: its okay max
Chloe: someday ur mind too will have a permanent gutter address
Max: Oh I believe it
Max: Being around you guarantees it will happen.
Chloe: now get back to reading
Chloe: wnat ur reaction to LAST NIGHT
Max: Yes ma'am
Chloe: sweet
Max put her phone down and glanced around, making sure that no one was watching her. Again, her concern was unnecessary: Mr. Lee's monotone lecture continued to cast a haze of drowsiness over the class. Max smiled and returned to her journal, her mouth dropping open after reading a few sentences.
Victoria complimented my photography? Max thought, maybe Chloe and Beta Max were right that there's potential for some kind of friendship there. After all, she was pretty nice to me after the funeral. I only saw her a couple of times but it seemed like I was actually seeing the real Victoria.
She put those thoughts to the back of her mind and continued reading.
She soon reached a line that left her frozen, lingering over the words: Beta Max had written about finding "how to say I love you" in Chloe's search history.
Wowser...I wonder if that was about me, Max thought, and...did past me tell Chloe how she...how I feel? And did Chloe say it too? But if they did...wouldn't Chloe have told me?
She paused, her brow furrowed.
Maybe not, she thought, that would've been something very personal between her and past me...Beta Max. I...guess I'll find out eventually.
She moved on and soon reached Beta Max's description of the raid on the Prescotts' house. As she read, she found herself creeping to the edge of her seat, hunched over the journal. The description of Sean Prescott's study gave Max shivers...but also left her intensely curious about what secrets could be hiding there. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the pleasant description of Nathan's apartment.
She shook her head, turned to the next page, and her face began reddening immediately. Beta Max's description of the dip in Nathan's hot tub had managed to detail what seemed like every little thought and sensation she'd had...including the point at which Beta Max had desperately wanted to kiss Chloe but couldn't quite get up the nerve to do so.
Max read quickly and turned to the next page, silently thankful that if someone did happen to notice what Max was reading, she could rewind her way out of it.
As Chloe had promised, Beta Max had included a description of a wooden cylinder, covered in symbols disturbingly familiar to Max, that they'd found in a safe in Nathan's apartment. It was some kind of artifact gifted by his father...and it gave Beta Max and Chloe a shock when they both touched it.
How strange, Max thought, scratching her head, there are so many mysteries around the Prescotts. I get the feeling that they're...involved in all of this somehow.
Max turned the page and read rapidly through Beta Max's description of the escape from the Prescotts' house, amazed and proud of her past self for figuring out how to get out without having to use a backup photo. She cringed when she realized how much of a headache her past self must have had after so many rewinds.
She flipped the page and was met by a large number of colorful hearts drawn on the corners of the pages.
Huh? she thought.
She began reading the text and quickly slammed the journal closed, her face turning a deep shade of red. She glanced around, wanting to be absolutely certain that no one was looking her way...rewind or not, she wasn't sure she could handle someone reading this. She slowly opened the journal again and found the page with the hearts, holding the journal up to hide it from the possibility of prying eyes.
She continued to read, finding herself captivated. Beta Max had recorded a tremendous amount of detail in her description of the...events after the raid. The thoughts, the feelings, the sensations...the narrative had Max simultaneously embarrassed, delighted, and excited in ways that were particularly uncomfortable when sitting in a classroom. She crossed her legs and flipped the page to find even more details. Her palms were becoming sweaty and she leaned into the journal, hungrily taking in every word.
"Max!" a voice called out and Max jolted upright, slamming the journal closed.
"Yes, Max, you," Mr. Lee said, pointing at her.
"Uhhh," Max said, horrified.
"Do you know what the first social media site was and when it launched?" he said.
Max glanced around; most of the class had emerged from its stupor and was staring at her. She felt as if the words of her journal were printed all over her face and had to reassure herself that no one could tell what she'd just read...or what she was thinking...or what she was feeling. She cursed her bad luck, guessing that Mr. Lee had decided to ask a random question...and had landed on Max.
Max cleared her throat and said, "um...MySpace? In...um...2000?"
Ancient history, Max thought.
"No, but you're not that far off," Mr. Lee said. He seemed to not care that Max had been reading her journal.
Maybe reading is a step up from the zombified state that most of the room is usually in, Max thought.
"Does anyone else know?" he asked to the class, "No? It was a site called Six Degrees and it arrived on the scene in 1997. Users could establish a profile and make friends with others on the site. MySpace, as Max mentioned, launched in 2003. Another early site was Friendster from 2002, which was eclipsed by MySpace the next year."
Mr. Lee returned to the chalkboard to describe features of early social media sites and the fog of drowsiness began to descend yet again over the room.
I wonder if I should rewind and answer that question correctly? Max thought, or maybe just avoid getting caught reading?
She watched as her neighbors began to nod off and thought, nah...not really worth it.
She quietly opened her journal again and found the page she'd been on, biting her lip as she read the rest of the entry about last night. The page ended with what struck Max as an adorable description of the morning...er, afternoon...just a few hours ago before Beta Max and Chloe left for the Two Whales. She smiled and turned the page: no more entries. Chloe had already filled her in on what happened after.
Max sat still for a moment, taking in everything that had happened.
Chloe and Beta Max had a pretty wild time, Max thought, I'm...kind of jealous. But...I can't complain that I now get to make my own new memories with Chloe.
Max pulled out her phone. She drummed her fingers on her desk for a moment. She wasn't quite sure what to say about last night so she decided to just start texting and see what would happen:
Max: Just finished!
Chloe: aaaaand?
Max: Past me was VERY detailed in describing last night
Chloe: who?
Chloe: don't u mean
Chloe: BEAT MAX?
Chloe: shit
Chloe: no
Chloe: BETA MAX!?
Max: Rolling my eyes.
Max: But yes, Beta Max described everything in so. Much. Detail.
Chloe: aaaand?
Max: She also drew a ton of hearts on those pages.
Chloe: omg thats adorable
Chloe: aaaaaaaand?
Max: I think I may need to get a new pen; the ink seems a little inconsistent.
Chloe: ur killing me here
Max: Okay fine
Max: I was about as red as a tomato while reading it.
Max: My eyes were wide
Max: Like this: O.O
Chloe: grrrr
Max: I was hunched over and reading very quickly with the pages turned up so no one could see
Max: And I was experiencing sensations very inappropriate for a classroom.
Chloe: ooh
Chloe: saxy maxy gettin the hots!
Max: O.o
Max: Also, have to admit, I'm a bit jealous
Chloe: naturally
Chloe: it was pretty fucking awesome
Chloe: but like i said
Chloe: we can take it slow as you want
Chloe: after all
Chloe: we only met like 1 hour ago
Chloe: kind of
Max: :P
Chloe: hate
Max: No you don't
Chloe: ya
Chloe: i dont
Max: Oh hey, give me a few minutes. I want to go back and look at our old texts.
Max: Past me said there's some funny stuff there.
Chloe: who?
Max: sigh
Max: Beta Max
Chloe: totally, G
Max scrolled up to the top of her messages with Chloe and started reading. Within the first few texts, she was chuckling quietly under her breath. At several points, she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to prevent a laugh from escaping. She finally failed and snorted loudly at one particularly brazen text from Chloe and Stella turned around, annoyed. Max winced and rewound, managing to make it to the end of her text history without any further audible reactions.
Max: Dude, your texts are hilarious
Max: And so dirty
Chloe: oh yes
Chloe: imma artist
Moments later, Mr. Lee startled the class out of its stupor by announcing the transition to lab time. He began handing out sheets with lists of social media-related tasks to perform and record. Max quickly texted Chloe that she'd be incommunicado just before Mr. Lee reached her.
The class slowly rumbled to life, with many students stretching as they stood and trying to stifle yawns. With Mr. Lee leading the way, they began filing out towards a computer lab.
Max lingered to pack her bag. The classroom was nearly empty when she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and walked quickly towards the door. However, movement caught her eye. She stopped and turned to the windows, seeing a pair of branches swaying just outside. At that moment, she felt a curious and unpleasant sensation: chills that seemed to radiate into her heart. She shuddered...and yet the sensation reminded her of something...something that she couldn't quite place. She shook her head and hurried out of the room.
That was weird, she thought, dismissing the feeling as she scrambled to catch up to the rest of the class.
When the end-of-day bell rang, Max had finished nearly all of the lab tasks. Mr. Lee announced that any remaining lab tasks were to be done as homework. Groans echoed from several portions of the lab and Max was glad that she'd worked so diligently. After all, if she hadn't focused on the work, her thoughts would have constantly been on Chloe.
And now? Max quickly packed her bag with a wide grin on her face; the day was done and she could finally hang out with Chloe.