I felt the wind rush through my hair and listened to the steady sound of my shoes hitting the pavement. Bon Jovi's We Don't Run was blasting in my ears helping me push through the pain. I reached down to grab my phone from my running belt, when I was slammed to the ground.
"What the hell?" I asked angrily, brushing dirt from the sidewalk off my hands. I looked up and was face to face with a guy around my age who had dark hair covering his forehead.
"Maybe you should watch where you're going," he responded instantly.
"Seriously?" I asked rolling my eyes. "You were the one that ran into me!"
He opened his mouth about to retort again, when someone yelled "Fang," and he turned towards the voice.
"Hi Mr. Meyer, how've you been?"
"Not too bad," the older man said with a chuckle. He ran a hand over his balding head, "Staying out of trouble, are we?"
The guy named Fang nodded and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Doing my best, sir. School starts up in a couple of days, so I'll be back at it again."
"Well, have a good year, Fang! And tell your parents I said 'Hello'," he called as he turned back into the store. I looked up and a dark blue awning reading Meyer's Fresh Groceries hung where the man had previously been standing.
"Fang?" I asked, and he returned his attention towards me. "Interesting name."
He shrugged. "I guess. I had a minor biting problem." He must have noticed my raised eyebrows because he quickly added, "As a kid. Definitely not a biter any more." I found myself laughing for the first time in a few days.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that you can restrain yourself now." A smirk played on his lips, but it quickly faded.
"Times change. My real name's Nick. Ride. Who are you anyway? You don't look familiar."
"I'm Max Martinez, and my family just moved here because my mom got supposedly got a better job here. She's a veterinarian just opened her own clinic down by the quarry."
"You don't sound thrilled to be here."
"You're not wrong," I muttered. "We used to live in Arizona, so I'm not exactly a fan of the weather or elevation."
He just shrugged. "Well, I gotta run," he smirked as he said that noticing that I had been mid-run when he had ruthlessly interrupted me. "I'll see you around, maybe."
I rolled my eyes as he gave me a half-hearted wave with two fingers after he had turned around. I pushed my headphones back in, listened to the heavy beat and felt my feet regain their steady pace as I headed back to our new house. I still refused to call it home. If home is where the heart is, it certainly wasn't here. My heart ached as I headed up the hill to our house that was nestled in the back part of town, but not from all of the running. I missed my old friends, my old house and most importantly my ex-boyfriend Sam, who I had to break things off with when I left. Long-distance never worked and I knew I would just end up hurting myself in the end by holding on to all of my life from Arizona and refusing to let go and start a new life here. But still, it wasn't easy and it was definitely not something I wanted to do.
I took my last few paces up the paved driveway and then eased into a walk before sitting in the lush grass to start stretching. Running had always felt like visiting a long-lost friend because it was the only time I was truly alone with my thoughts, and it was the only way I could truly feel relaxed. To me, running was almost like flying. It was the perfect escape.
"How was your run?" my mom asked as she heard the front door slam. "Shoes in the mudroom!"
I shrugged as I entered the kitchen. "It was good; I'm still not used to this elevation at all. It's totally messing with my max VO2 though." I was pretty sure I saw my mom roll her eyes as I headed upstairs to finish unpacking.
"Max!" I heard my younger sister shriek. "Are you excited for school on Monday? I already can't wait to meet everyone and make new friends. Besides, I have such a good outfit picked out," she paused. "I can help you pick one out to! You know, a good first day outfit for socializing, meeting the boys." She gave me a wink as she returned to pinning up twinkly Christmas lights in a large square around her ceiling.
"How about one that is comfortable, doesn't show sweat and is conducive to me beating up someone if that situation presents itself?"
Ella just groaned. "C'mon, Max. We both know you're not going to pick any fights this year because I, for one, am tired of having to switch schools because of your antics. Besides, you're supposed to be the older, more mature sister that serves as a loving and generous role-model for your beautiful younger sister."
"I'll do my best," I said. "But, I'm not making any promises. And also, this last move was totally because of mom's job. You know I'm just as unhappy we had to leave Prescott." I gave her a soft smile, "I miss everyone too."
Ella returned my smile graciously and began tacking up old pictures to the wall, framing her bed with a giant sea of beaming faces smiling down on her. "It can't be all bad here, Max. I promise we'll make it work together."
"Look at you two," my mom had found her way upstairs and was watching us from the doorway with the trace of a smile on her lips. "I've never seen you get along so well. Maybe this move to Centennial Creek was exactly what we needed as a family."
I flashed Ella a rare grin. We normally argued constantly, mostly because I have a bad habit of refusing to agree with people and always fighting for the underdogs. "If you change your mind about your outfit, let me know," she called as I headed down the hall to my new room. Not having to share a bedroom and bathroom was definitely going to ease the tension between the two of us and I was sure this would lead to more pleasant mornings.
It turns out, I was sorely mistaken. Apparently, it wasn't Ella who made waking up at 6:30 in the morning painful, it was the fact that it was simply still the middle of the night. I groaned as the sunlight flickered into my room through my curtains. Clearly, my plan of sleeping as much as possible in the last week of summer to prepare myself for this dreaded moment had not been enough because waking up this morning was no different than any other morning despite the extra sleep I had gotten. I rolled over and was drifting back off into a pleasant dream in which I was running on my favorite path back home and I was practically gliding over the hot ground when I was rudely interrupted again by my snooze.
"Max! Just get up already!" I heard my mom call from her bedroom down the hall. I suppressed another groan as I rolled out of bed and into the shower with my eyes still partially glued shut.
An hour later, I was waiting outside of the main office of the town's only high school, Harding High. Yeah, the name was ironic, but surprisingly enough I was unamused.
"Hi, my name is Max, and this is my sister Ella. We're new and were told we should come to the main office on the first day to get our schedules and lockers. The last name is Martinez." The lady sitting at the desk smiled at me and began rummaging around in a large cabinet of file folders before pulling out two pristine pieces of paper.
"Here you are, Max and Ella. Max your locker is 324C and Ella yours is 118A. The school isn't all that big, so I wouldn't be too worried about finding your way around for class, but you're more than welcome to stop by with any other questions you have. Have a good day, girls."
It had taken us longer than I had anticipated to get here as there was only one road that led from our house to the school, so we were running a tad late.
"Alright, I'm off to go find my locker and get to first period. I'll see you at lunch? 5th period?" I asked Ella, who nodded in response, then headed off down the hallway in the opposite direction.
"Have a good morning, Max! Good luck!" she called after me. I would have wished her luck too, but I knew she didn't need it. Making friends and meeting people was a breeze for Ella; she loved people and they loved her. For me, however, it was a different story.
By the time I found my locker, shoved most of my books in it and hurried down the hall to find my first period classroom, I was very nearly late. I took a moment to compose myself. Standing in the hallway, I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly feeling my heart rate settle back down. It's just other kids, I told myself, you can do this. Besides, I thought as a last resort, who cares if no one likes you? I took a final deep breath, steeled myself and opened the door.
The class was mostly full, and the teacher was sitting at his desk, absent-mindedly scrolling through his emails, so I scurried to the back of the classroom and took an empty seat. I noticed most people eyeing me curiously and I bent down to retie the laces on my maroon high-tops that were so faded they didn't even look maroon anymore.
The bell rang, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding in. I had managed to make it to first period on time, find a seat and not fall anywhere in between. Our teacher stood up from his computer, gazed at us all for a moment and then picked up a clipboard and began dryly reading the names off waiting for someone to raise their hand or mutter "here" in response.
When he was just starting on the H's, the door burst open and a dark-haired figure quickly stepped in the room closing the door behind him. I noticed several girls in the front row suddenly sit up straighter and turn their attention to the boy that had just entered, but Mr. Davis did not seem to hold him in the same light. "Late on the first day Mr. Ride, not off to a good start now, are we?"
He didn't respond, but quickly headed to the back of the room and slid into the only empty desk in the room which, of course, happened to be next to me because no one wanted to sit next to the new girl. As he sat down, I realized why he looked so familiar.
"I know you," I blurted out in a loud whisper. He wrinkled his nose and turned to me, an air of bemusement on his face.
"Yeah, you're that girl that ran into me in town the other day."
"What? You completely ran into me. I was running! You're obviously at fault here," I retorted. Notoriously stubborn, I wasn't known for making a good first impression.
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever." He paused. "Why didn't you tell me you were at Harding?"
I shrugged. "You didn't ask."
"So," he retorted. "Isn't that common manners when you introduce yourself?" What on Earth was he talking about?
"Is not," I whispered back.
"Is too," he responded with a smug smirk on his face.
"Is not!' I felt like a child having such a petty argument with a stranger. He was just so annoying.
"Mr. Ride!" Mr. Davis exclaimed from the front of the room. "Could you please not be so disruptive? This is a learning environment!"
I smirked, "Learning environment? He's taking attendance!"
Speak of the devil, "Maximum Ride?"
"Here," I said in a small voice raising my hand up to make my presence known.
"Aha. You know Nicholas then?" he asked, removing his glasses to wipe a speck of dust from them with his white and black button-down shirt. Seriously, this guy could not get any more boring. I was about to interject, but he continued. "Perfect. I was supposed to assign someone to help you find your classes throughout the day, but since you know Mr. Ride here," he gave a sigh, "that matter has been solved." He turned away from me, "Nicholas, you will be in charge of escorting Maximum to her morning classes. And please be a gentleman."
"It's Fang," he muttered darkly under his breath when Mr. Davis had returned to finishing roll call.
I ignored him, still seething that Mr. Davis and the school administration felt that I needed a babysitter. I was a sophomore in high school; I didn't need to be toted around by some stupid boy for the rest of the day.
"I don't need to be escorted," I mumbled angrily under my breath.
"You sure about that?" Fang asked with another smirk as he turned his gaze towards me.
"Positive," I told him, glaring right back at him. Mr. Davis clucked his tongue for silence again, and Fang shot a look at me, his eyes wide. Suit yourself, he seemed to say.
After a painfully boring 50 minutes, I was able to go endure another brutal 50 minutes. Not backing off from my promise to Fang, I stormed out of the classroom before he had even put his books away. I looked down at my schedule suddenly confused. I was in room 310B. I was staring at two classrooms next to each other that were just down the hall from my first period government class. The room on the left was 308 and the other on the right was 312.
"Not lost are we?" I heard a familiar cocky voice ask as he stepped up beside me. I turned to glare at him. I wasn't lost, I just didn't exactly have my sense of direction perfectly in line. I could figure it out. His voice turned softer, "Here, let me take a look at what you have for the morning." He paused for a second, his eyes scanned through my schedule faster than I thought possible. "Alright, you're heading this way. My friend Iggy is in this class too - Accelerated Biology. You nerds."
"Hey," a tall blonde boy with spiked hair approached us as Fang led me around the corner and through a long hallway. He lowered his voice, "Who's the girl?"
"She's new. I was assigned to take her around today. So annoying," I heard Fang mutter from behind me.
"She's cute," I heard his friend mutter again.
"And not deaf," I said pointedly as I abruptly turned around catching them both in their tracks. Fang looked slightly embarrassed and his gaze fell to the floor, but his friend just grinned ear to ear.
"Well, judging by your poor attempt to locate 310B, I would say you might want my help for the rest of the day," Fang said looking back up.
"Oh, so your tour guide services have been extended past lunch for the whole day?" I asked sarcastically and he nodded, triumph gleaming in his eyes.
"If you insist. I could never leave you to wander the whole school by yourself."
"How gallant," my expression was sour. We had reached our destination. I followed his friend into the classroom and was surprised to see that Fang followed me. "Who's the nerd now?"
He shrugged, "Still you. And also Iggy of course."
Iggy extended his hand over Fang to me, "I'm Iggy. Fang did not do you the service of formally introducing us, so I have kindly taken that on myself."
"I'm flattered," I said with a smirk and Fang just rolled his eyes. "I'm Max."
"Short for Maximum," Fang chimed in. I wanted to smack him. I settled for a not-so-gentle shove to the shoulder and Iggy just chuckled from his desk where he watched us.
"You may have just met your match, Nicholas." Before Fang could respond, our attention was directed to the front of the room so our teacher, who insisted on being called KVD, could begin class. I was not expecting it, but she put in a quick video about how genetic diseases, like cancer, can infiltrate the host body in which they reside, and ultimately take over due to a faulty process known as apoptosis in which mutated cells don't die off naturally. I had to admit I was intrigued. The rest of the lesson was just as interesting as she went into detail of how multiple sclerosis takes hold of the body and has debilitating effects. Most people seemed enamored by what she was saying, but I noticed two redheaded girls whispering near the back inspecting their fresh manicures and occasionally turning to stare at where I was sitting with Fang and Iggy. I felt my eyes narrow as I returned my attention to KVD. I knew that breed of girls; they had populated my old high school. They were the type that were pretty and knew it, and assumed that everyone else would treat them as royalty because of it. They were the girls who would stomp on your heart and wreck your freshman year, just for the fun of it. If there was nothing exciting buzzing around school, they were always more than willing to stir the pot, kick up some drama as a hobby.
I drifted off, lost in my own thoughts until the bell rang and was annoyed with myself for losing focus during such a cool lesson. It figured, the one time I had an interesting lesson I was unable to actually pay attention and learn during it.
"Let's see," Fang had returned his gaze to my schedule. "Well I don't have any more classes with you until lunch."
"Hmm. I wonder what I'll do to entertain myself for a whole two periods in your absence." I smirked and Fang's eyes narrowed. He pointed out my classroom for 3rd and 4th period and then he and Iggy headed off to their respective classes.
I managed to survive trigonometry and my criminology class without too much trouble and had spared myself the embarrassment of getting to class late. I was wondering if I would be able to find Ella in the cafeteria to sit with her and undoubtedly her new friends when someone rammed into me.
"Geez, Max, watch where you're going," a familiar voice said. I scowled as Iggy appeared from behind me cackling with laughter. I refrained from shoving Iggy too only to maintain my reputation as a normal girl who had definitely not been expelled from a previous school for fighting in California.
"Oh look, it's my escortee," Fang said with what I assumed was his signature smirk approaching from the other side.
"So, I'm assuming you told Iggy how you ruthlessly slammed into me and ruining my lovely scenic run?" I questioned him.
"Sounded pretty vicious the way Fang told it," Iggy crooned. "You flattened him!"
"She did not!" Fang exclaimed shifting his gaze to Iggy. Iggy just shrugged, put his hands in his pockets and began humming a tune from a song I hadn't heard before.
And the "tour" continued. Iggy decided Fang was an insufficient tour guide, so he took over taking care to provide a detailed narrative describing the implementation of each piece of ceiling tile and the laying of each floor tile.
"Can I punch him?" I muttered under my breath to Fang.
"Not if I do it first."
We had finally arrived at the cafeteria. I was slightly underwhelmed - after going to school with nearly 3,000 other kids, I was expecting an expansive hall full of tables and chairs to accompany such large classes. But since there were only about 900 kids in the school, the cafeteria was a stuffy space that looked like it might have been a gym years ago.
I saw a hand bopping up and down waving hysterically towards me, and I grinned as I headed over to see my sister. To my surprise, Fang and Iggy followed me and slid on either side of me once I had sat down across from Ella.
"Hi Nudge," Iggy said with no hint that there were two people he hardly knew sitting with him.
"Hi boys," the girl, Nudge, said with a grin. Her skin was a deep caramel color and there was no other way to describe her hair but explosive. "You both look thrilled to be back at school. But, look! This is my new friend Ella, she moved here from Arizona with her mom and sister. She seems so much cooler than all of the other freshmen here who exclusively get gel manicures and skip around in their miniskirts all fall." Ella flushed slightly but seemed pleased nonetheless.
"Are you telling me that you don't get manicures, Nudge?" Iggy asked with a chuckle looking at her perfectly shaped and painted nails.
"Not the gel ones," she mumbled. "But, that's not the point! Who's this?"
"I'm Max," I extended my hand across the table and she shook it excitedly.
"Short for Maximum," this time it was Iggy who chimed in.
"You're obnoxious, you know that?" I told him.
Nudge gasped. "No way! You're Ella's sister? You must be so cool then, like by default."
"Debatable," Fang said, speaking up for the first time.
"Hey!" I elbowed him softly and he returned the favor with a light jab to the ribs. Nudge and Ella giggled and shared a smile. "They've been harassing me all day! They're my 'escorts' - whatever that means."
"Oooh," Nudge and Ella raised their eyebrows looking between the two of us. Ugh, as if.
"So," I began, eager to change the subject. "How do you all know each other?"
"We've been friends since we've been waddling around in diapers! Our parents met at play group, and we were the first kids that Fang actually played with. Apparently, he had refused to play with the other kids until we showed up. We were the only ones he didn't bite," she said smirking at Fang and I felt myself laughing again. I had somehow managed to meet a few genuine people here, but it seemed like they might be the only ones.
"Hi Fang," a high voice chirped. I spun around, but I was the only one. Fang grimaced, but neither he nor Iggy turned around and I watched Nudge suppress a groan.
"Hi Lissa," he muttered half-heartedly.
"So Fang," her voice hung on every syllable of his name. "Why don't you come sit with me and the girls? Then you wouldn't have to sit with them…"
"I'm sitting here. These are my friends," he told her. He had managed to kick one leg over the bench, so he was looking at her now with a pained expression in his face. I watched her nose crinkle as she looked at everyone. Her eyes hung over me, taking in my ratty Converse, ripped jeans and lack of makeup.
"Well, how about we hang out after school then?" her green eyes wide and triumphant. "We could walk through the park, grab coffee-" her voice trailed off, but she finished with a great smile batting her eyelashes magnificently. I think she was trying to go for the whole sexy look, but I thought she had rather overdone it. Her makeup was so dark, she looked like an oversized, over-eager raccoon.
"I uhh-" Fang stumbled, but I cut him off.
"He can't. He promised he would walk me home from school," I said, inventing wildly. "I'm new, so he was going to make sure I don't get lost." I saw her eyes narrow and then glance repeatedly between Fang and me. "Sorry," I said with a smile, sarcasm dripping.
She gave me one last condescending look, then turned and stalked away to a table full of girls as scantily-clad as she was.
"That was wicked, Max!" Iggy said with a grin. He reached out his fist and I bumped it feeling triumphant.
"Nice, Max!" Nudge's excited voice rang out. Ella grinned next to her. I had a feeling they were going to be inseparable soon. "Lissa never leaves us, well mostly Fang, alone. We can't stand her, but she's been crushing on him for ages."
"She clearly can't take a hint," I muttered darkly. Nudge and Iggy nodded emphatically.
"But, seriously Max, thanks. I think I've run out of excuses at this point. The worst thing about living in such a small town is that I see her everywhere - even over the summer." He grimaced.
"Look who runs the school now," I told him triumphantly.
Ella rolled her eyes. "Geez, Max give it a rest," but she had a smile on her face. Nudge and Iggy took me through a play-by-play of their childhood growing up together, their summers and all about their families. Nudge was an only child who was adopted, so she spent most of her time at Iggy's house with him and his 12-year-old brother Gazzy.
"Wait, his name is Gazzy?" I interrupted.
"Short for the Gasman," Iggy explained with a chuckle. "He's lactose intolerant but has a ridiculous passion for ice cream, and well I'm sure you can put two and two together. I wrinkled my nose. Gross. Why do all boys have the maturity level of a sixth grader?
The bell rang, and I grabbed my backpack heading off to my last few classes with a new spring to my step with Fang and Iggy trailing close behind me.