My name is Maggie, but you can call me Max for now. If you're wondering why I'm called Max, it's because Maggie can be changed to Mags which can be changed to Max. Don't ask how it came to be, it's a long story which invlolves a conoe and a creepy old house with lots of snakes and a cat. I have just recently moved and changed schools, so I am new to James Polk Middle School. I know it sucks being the new kid, but it sucks even more knowing that I'm starting in the middle of the 8th grade school year. Well, it's not technically the middle, but it's October: that means everyone's already settled down, found their new friends, know their teachers, and know the school. Me, on other hand, have no new friends, I don't know any of my teachers, and most importantly, don't know how to navigate the school. The worst part is that I start the new school next monday.

But right now, I can relax a little knowing that it's only Friday. I have another two days until I have to start school, and that is all the time I need. I can get new clothes, new supplies, and whatever else I'll need sooner or later. Preferably later. Procrastination is my favorite word, really. I'm serious. It practically describes my life, but I do manage to get good grades. I'm the "above average" type in school work, and I've never made it into any honors classes.

I sat in my new backyard, sipping ice-cold lemonade on a green lawn chair while I talked to my best friend on the wireless house phone. Her name is Lexxi and we've been best buds since 5th grade, but I know that nothing could ever ruin our friendship, not even me moving partway across the country.

We are practically twins separated at birth. We share the same sense of clothing, hair, and guys. Okay, so that sentence sounded really girly, but I assure you: I am far from it. We both have really short hair, have a HotTopic sense of style (even though mine is more of a jeans and a band t-shirt look), have the same taste in Alternative Rock and Metal, and dislike pink a lot (but we both agree there are certain shades of pink that rock).

"So when are you able to come over to my house?" I asked Lexxi. I took a sip of lemonade while I listened to her reply.

"Dude, that's like a four-hour flight from here to there." she answered.

"Well, maybe we could meet in the middle somewhere... like Arkansas! I like Arkansas."

I could hear a sigh from the other end of the phone. "I wish you didn't have to move. I miss you. Christina and Jenna miss you. Even Jeremy misses you!"

I thought about that for a second. "Jeremy missing me? That doesn't seem right." Jeremy was my next-door neighboor back home. He is tall, blonde, muscular, and older than me, but he was anything but attractive. Jeremy is annoying, selfish, rude, and says anything to get a girl. But he was, in a sense, my friend.

"Well, I can't do anything about that." Lexxi said.

"And I can't do anything about this situation. This stupid, stupid situation that I hate so much and I wish didn't have to happen!"

"Calm down, Max." said Lexxi. "I hate it as much as you do. Trust me."

I took another sip of lemonade. I know it's fall and it should be getting cooler, so it's a little weird that I'm drinking a cool beverage, but I love extreme weather. 0 degree weather is awesome, and so is 100 degree weather, but I hate pretty much anything inbetween. Lexxi is the same way, too. It's weird.

A few minutes later, I had to hang up. I still hadn't unpacked most of my stuff and it was getting dark anyway. I went inside, walked though the sliding glass door leading to the kitchen and went upstairs.

Ah, yes, my house is two stories high, one more story than my other house. I kinda like it, you know, but like any situation, it has it's pros and cons. I soon unpacked the rest of my clothes, my greenish-yellow lava lamp, my Papa Roach, Green Day, Alexis on Fire and Sublime posters, the rest of my CD collection, my DVDs, my trash can, my radio/CD player, my pillows, and whatever else I had packed, including my electric guitar and amplifier. My collie, Sam, walked into my room and jumped up onto the bed. I sat down next to her and scratched behind her ears. She loves it when I do that. Heck, give her a doggy buiscut and she'd be your best bud forever. My iguana, Fluffy, is the same way too, exept with grapes and watermelon slices. I soon began to study my new bedroom. I mean, I'd have to live there for a while, right? I looked around the room.

The layout of my room was pretty simple. It's rectangular, has a small balcony with french doors and with a rather large walk-in closet. I have a white, queen-sized water bed, a black (and I do mean black, not just dark) wood dresser, a matching black desk with a white chair, and two nighstands. Fluffy's medium-sized wooden cage was in the corner, away from the airconditioning so that she won't get too cold. Even though she has a heating rock in there, and two UV lights, she gets cold easily--like all reptiles. I made my parents change the carpet from an old-person beige to a newer red. Not dark red, not light red, just red. The richest, brightest color red we could find. And I absolutly love it.

I just hope I'll make some new friends soon. We could sit up all night at a sleepover and talk about whatever. Okay, maybe that's a little too 7th grade, but maybe Lexxi and the others could fly in from the city and stay in one of the two gest rooms. We'd have some fun playing with Sam, and Romulus, my other dog, in the backyard with the frisbee, and then maybe we'd catch a movie and some dinner. Ovcourse, they'd have to leave sooner or later, but we'd all make the best of our time. And then maybe I could go over there and stay a while. It'd be perfect!

But the more I thought about that idea, the more I doubted it. My mom would say no and my dad, even though he is really awesome, would just say, "I don't have the money!" I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

I sighed and let myself fall backwards onto the bed, which made a slooshing sound from the water hitting the sides. I am an only child, and my pets, Fluffy, Sam, and Romulus, are the closest things to siblings that I have. I wanted to just start over, from the moment my dad said we were moving, so maybe I could stop it. I miss my friends so much! I glanced at my clock on my dresser. 7:45, it read. Time for dinner.