Thanks to Death Cab for Cutie for being my musical inspiration for this chapter.


Max POV

I hadn't had high hopes for Yenley Preparatory School (better named 'Yellow' Preparatory School, since it looked as if a lemon tree had puked on the place. Seriously, they needed a new color-scheme designer.) with it's overly- happy façade and smiley-face windows. Suffice to say, I hadn't been far off the mark.

As you enter the place, it's more of the same disgusting yellow color that the outside of the place was. It's everywhere- the floor, the ceiling, even on the smiling lady who greets me as I shove open the door with my knee. I cover my yawn with my hand as the lady approaches, her heels clacking happily on the floor. My book-bag is slung over my shoulder and bounces against my hip as I give her a non-committal wave in response to her beaming smile. I attempt to slide by her without having to be stopped and roped into a conversation with Mrs. Smiley, but no such luck ever occurs in the life of Maxium Ride.

"Hello!" I internally groan; her voice sounds as if she's four, high-pitched and innocent. "You must be Maxine Ride!" I could visibly see the exclamation marks after all her sentences. Does that give off a warning signal to anyone else, or no?

"Maximum Ride, actually." I stared her down until she looked away and fidgeted with the hem of her bright-yellow skirt. "Not Maxine, Maximum." I allowed myself a small smile before I went back to my carefully composed bored expression. "Did you need something? Not that I'm not enjoying this little chat, but I need to get to class." To hell with that- I just wanted to get away from this lady. She was seriously starting to scare me, and that's saying something.

"Oh- well, in that case, I'll make this quick." The lady looked back at me and beamed, her smile even bigger than before. She clapped her hands, and then exclaimed, with so much emotion that I almost fainted, "Welcome to Yenly Preparatory School! As long as you study hard, don't slack, and make sure that school is your top-priority, you will be going places along with the rest of your class!" God, the woman sounded like a tape recorder. I'm sure she memorized and gave this speech to every new student. "If you help us, then we can help you! Yenly is based on a give and take theory, where students and teachers alike both learn and teach the other! Here at Yenly, Students and Teachers go by a last name basis, and Teachers and Students alike are all friends!" Giving a soft snort, I ignored the rest of her speech and looked around.

The hallway was decorated with sports trophies; apparently, Yenly had many star athletes and loved to show that off. The cabinet that the trophies were in was a dull gray, a deep contrast to the rest of the shockingly yellow hallway. The floor was a checkered carpet, the two colors being, you guessed it, yellow and gray. I had, without a doubt, already had enough of this place, and I had been here barely ten minutes. Did I mention that I hate yellow?

The lady shoved a piece of paper at me, and she announced, "Your life begins now, and make it a good one! You know it will be, as long as you stick to Yenly!" The last word had a singsong lilt to it. It was practically a jingle, a little catch-phrase. I swear, if it's stuck in my head all day, I'm going to be fit to kill.

I took my schedule and all but ran out of the place, giving an absent wave behind me as I started down the disgustingly yellow colored hallway. My schedule told me that I was headed for room 201, for Biology. As I wandered around looking for room 201 in the midst of all the rooms, I glanced down at the rest of my schedule.

Period 1: Art
Teacher: Mr. Marcus Andrews
Room: 198

Period 2: Biology
Teacher: Mr. Jacob Henry
Room: 201

BREAK

Period 3: Physical Education
Teacher: Mrs. Emily Petterson
Room: Gym

Period 4: Geometry
Teacher: Mr. Adam Crochet
Room: 107

LUNCH

Period 5: History
Teacher: Mrs. Jodie Park
Room: 185

Period 6: Cooking
Teacher: Mrs. Mercedes Jenson
Room: 203

Since I came late, I was going to assume that I was going straight to period two, having skipped period one entirely. My classes seemed alright, except for cooking. Anyone who knows me knows I can't cook worth shit- my mom and sisters used to get mad at me for only making them microwavable (and still slightly over cooked or undercooked, at that) dinners, until they realized that I couldn't cook to save my life. All it took was ten minutes for me to set the kitchen on fire, and another ten to be barred from any kitchen utensil but the microwave. I couldn't complain- I had bad burns on my hands for weeks.

I rounded a corner, finally finding room 201. I stood outside the door for a second, contemplating. Almost scared, almost nervous. But I am Maximum Ride, I that's not how I do things. With a breath, I shoved open the door to be met with a classroom full of faces that turned to watch me. That, and one angry teacher.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me and giving a sheepish smile. "Hi, I'm Maximum Ride, I'm new here. Sorry I'm late, I got lost on my way here." Several snickers emanated from the back of the classroom, which I ignored. "I go by Max." That was mostly for the laughing idiots in the back. "And I pack a punch." The snickering stopped, and a gave a wry smile.

Max: 1

Idiots: 0

The teacher stared me down, and I stared definitely back. After a minute, though, he nodded his head at me. "You can take a seat next to, ah. . ." He paused here to look around. "Sam, yes." He pointed to a kid in the back with blue eyes and sandy hair. As I started to walk back to the kid, he called after me, "And, Ms, ah, Ride, don't make it a habit of behind late. Punctuality is demanded at Yenly. Ah, and, there will be no punching." I only nodded my head as I took my seat next to the kid he had called Sam.

As the teacher went back to his lecture, Sam nudged me with his foot, a mischievous smirk on his face. "So, are you really the maximum ride?" He thought he was being clever. Cute. I turned to face him, and gave him a look that clearly said to piss off. I was in no mood for the sexual innuendoes that this kid was obviously proposing. Sam, however, didn't seem to get my drift. "No, really, I'm curious. I mean, unless you want to let me find out for myself. . . " He winked at me. Winked!

I rounded on him. "You sexist pig! Yes, I am the Maximum Ride. Keep on making those immature jokes and they'll have to send you on a 'Maximum Ride' to the hospital!" With that, I turned back in my seat to face the teacher.

Sam didn't talk to me after that- I was thankful. Beating up a stupid kid was not high on my list of 'things Max want's to do today' list. I wrinkled my nose in distaste; I hated school more than I could say.

When the bell rang that signified the end of the class period, I jumped out of my seat as fast as a bullet and all but ran out of the classroom. I didn't listen as they played the announcements over the speakers, instead intent upon finding the gym. It wasn't that hard, actually- it was the biggest building there. That, and it was clearly labeled 'gym' on the side, in big, gray letters.

After the bell rang to signify the start of class, I headed over to the teacher. I explained to them who I was and that I was new, and she gave me gym clothes (yellow, oh joy) and a lock for my locker.

In the locker room, I placed my lock on the locker furthest away from everyone elses, only one persons lock being next to mine. As I started to change, the girl who belonged to the lock next to mine came up. When she saw me, her brown eyes windended and she started to talk while still, somehow, getting changed. "Oh, hi! Are you new here? I think you're new here, because I haven't seen you around yet, and I know everyone who goes to school here!" As she threw her stuff into her locker, she kept talking, still in the same breath. "My names Monique, but everyone calls me Nudge. I'm not sure why, though, but it's what I've always been called and it's been here for so long that nobody bothers calling me anything else. Who're you?" She paused, waiting for an answer. I recovered from my shock of her saying all of that in one breath and answered.

"Maximum Ride, but I go by Max." I pulled on my gym shoes, and started tying them. The girl, Nudge, stood next to me and kept talking, oblivious to my discomfort and unintrest.

"Ooh, Max is a nice name. I like Monique, though, because it flows." She stopped here to smile down at me. "Not That Max doesn't, I mean, but it's kinda shorter and abrupt. Max. See, it just falls off the edge of something, maybe a cliff. Of a desk or a table or something. I remember, today in class, Angel shoved my pencil off the desk so that I would have to be quiet and go pick it up because she wanted to work. And then Mr. Robins- Oh, right, names! Right, I like Monique because it's longer and it just goes so smoothly. Moniqueeee. See, isn't that pretty? I like the name-"

At this point she was cut off by a hand slamming over her mouth. The hand belonged to a tall boy with blue eyes and blonde hair that was gelled up in spikes- Iggy, the guy I had met earlier. "Nudge, don't talk her deaf, please." With that, he removed his hand, and smiled down at me. "Hi, Max."

I nodded in response, looking up at him and saying a 'hi' of my own. Thankfully, I was saved from further conversation, because the gym teacher blew her whistle and we were told to sit down and listen.

"Kids, today we run the mile." A chorus of groans came from the entire class. I happened to like running- I was actually pretty good, since I got practice almost every day. At least, when I had time. "No complaints. Now, as usual, the person who gets the fastest time will get to choose tomorrows activity. Go line up on the track, I'll be there momentarily."

Everyone got up and trotted out to the track, where I began to stretch carefully, and with precession. I'd already tired to clean bathrooms with a pulled muscle once- it was not something I planned on repeating. "So, you like to run?" Iggy, standing next to me, watching as a stretched. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, but I don't get to as often as I'd like." He looked surprised at that, maybe thinking that I wasn't going to answer him. I snorted a little, shaking my head. "I have work for a while, so I'm already pretty busy. Running just adds to that."

He nodded. "I hate running, but I do love to play basketball." He grinned at me, his eyes shining. "I'm hoping for a scholarship."

I gave a noncommittal gesture in response. "You must be good then." He shrugged a little, bashful.

"I like to think so."

The sharp sound of a whistle cut off our conversation, and the teacher was yelling at us to line up. "Hurry up, now, we haven't got all day! And you will not be leaving this class until you finish the mile, and I have a time written down!" Groans could be heard through the entire class; I ignored the babbling of Nudge, who had at some point appeared next to me, and made my way to the front of the group.

"3. . .2. . . 1. . .-" Just as she was about to yell go, she cut off. "Fang, get over here!" A boy clad entirely in black, from the shoes on his feet to the hair on his head, was jogging over. He had an olive skin tone, and was definitely not wearing PE clothes.

"Sorry, coach, didn't know we were out here on the field today. " His voice was soft, but it commanded attention and respect. "I didn't bring my clothes, but I can just run in these." I snorted, loudly. He intended to run in jeans and a black shirt- good luck to him on that.

I guess he heard my snort, because he whipped his head around to look at me. Our eyes engaged in a staring contest (read: glaring contest) and I was the first to look away, going back to my stretching. "Well, get over there, then." He nodded his head, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked over right next to me. I scoffed- he had nerve, but it didn't mean I liked him. I absently noticed that the girls who he walked by would move back a bit to fawn over him- I supposed he was a jock, some sexist pig that liked all the attention.

'Coach', as the boy had called it, harrumphed and went back to his whistle. "Alright, three, two, one, go!"

The whistle sounded with a high-pitched, shrill noise, and we were off. I instantly started to run fast, but not at my full speed. 'Pace, don't race'- it may be tacky, but it works.

After about a lap of this speed, I looked around to see if anyone was near me. I get so focused on what I'm doing, a bomb could explode behind me and I wouldn't notice. In fact, a bomb might've exploded, and I was in a new universe, because the boy covered in black was keeping pace with me—easily! He was looking at me, and smirking, of all things. I narrowed my eyes at him and ran faster, almost at my full speed. The side of the boys mouth twitched, and he sped up to compensate, apparently with no effort.

We lapped the rest of the people, except for Iggy, who was already a good ways in front of them, but nowhere near to the boy and I. Soon, we were even passing Iggy, who's jaw dropped in a very un-attractive way. I almost yelled over at him to close his mouth, but the effort to talk would take away my speed.

I gave the boy a last, hard look before I began to sprint. My feet flew off the pavement, and then slapped right back down, with a dull thump, thump. Shock flickered throught the boys eyes (ha, take that!) before he, too, began to sprint. I was happy to see that he was having difficulty keeping up, staying slightly behind me.

Within the matter of a minute, was had passed all the people (and Iggy) once again. On our last lap, I pulled out extra speed I didn't know I had, and I went a tiny, tiny bit fast. The boy could barley keep up, and I knew I had won.

Or, I thought I knew. At the last second, and I mean the last second, he drew ahead of my by the tiniest amount, and beat me by one second. Can you believe it? One. Flipping. Second. I was outraged. As I bent over, panting, the coach yelled "4:34 and 4:35. Looks like you have some competition, Fang." He went back to watching as the rest of the kids trickled in. The boy, Fang, just stood there and smirked.

I blew out some hair in a huff. "Stop that!" I snapped, turning and starting to walk as Iggy came in with a 6:21. Fang followed me over to the bench where I sat down, leaning back against the tree and saying nothing. Annoyed, I snapped, "Are you mute, or what? At that, the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was going to smile.

"No." That's all he sad- no. I was enraged. I crossed my arms and leaned back, refusing to talk to him. Iggy came over after a minute, and laughed.

"I see you've met Fang. Fang, Max. Max, Fang." He nodded his head to each of us, and then said to me, "I take it you don't like to lose?"

I shook my head. "It was by one second! One second!" I shot Fang a look, and he put his hands into the air. I narrowed my eyes once again, and stood as the bell rang. Nodding goodbye to Iggy, I walked back to the changing rooms and changed, going to my next class, Geometry.

The rest of the day was fairly straightforward- until I got to cooking class.

The class started off all right- I went in, went to the stove, and turned it on. And that's when things started to go downhill. The teacher handed me a recipe, telling me to 'bake it by the end of the period.' I stared blankly at her; Me? Bake? Are you trying to get us killed? She was serious, though, so I propped my menu up on the side of my stove. It was easy enough, just some type of cake, and I got to work cracking the eggs it required.

This was around the time I noticed Fang next to me. I blatantly ignored him, cracking my egg into the bowl in (what I thought) was the right way. Instantly, though, I hear a voice on my left. "No, no NO!" I whirled around, and there was Iggy. He swatted my hands away from the bowl, pointing to the white specks in with the eggs. "Those are eggshells. Bad. Eggshells bad. Bad Max. Bad."

I snorted, pushing him away. "At least I got them in the bowl." A scoff from my right- Fang. I flip him the bird and keep 'cooking'.

After an eventful thirty minutes, I had a cake pan in the oven. I suppose I must have turned the oven up to high, because all of a sudden my oven bursts into flames. I step back, cross my arms, and mutter "This is why I don't bake." At that, Iggy burst out laughing, and Fang smiled a small smile over in his corner.

I was excused from cooking after that.

When I got home, it was 3:15. My sisters and mom weren't due home for a while, so I had time to clean the bathrooms. I dropped my backpack off in my room, and walked up the stairs to the bathroom. It was only after I had cleaned the bathrooms and eaten an orange that I noticed the note on the front door.


Maxine- Housewarming party tomorrow night at 8. Clean entire house by then. Make dinner. Set table. Your sisters and I have gone shopping for appropriate clothing.

-Mummy

I groaned, sliding down the wall. How was I supposed to clean the entire house, that was more like a castle than anything, in a day?


This is also on my profile- It's an explaniton, and I feel you guys deserve one n_n

-Sorry to the readers for not updating in any timely fashion, I have been unable to type due to something called "Repetitive Motion Syndrome" which I got from typing too much. (irony in it's best) That means that whenever I move my wrist while typing, it shoots pain through my wrist (left hand only). My tendons, also, were inflamed, causing swelling. Legit, my wrist had to remain completely un-bent until the swelling went down; typing my school papers took all the effort I had. Since the swelling is gone now, and I can move my wrist again, I'm back to typing chapters. Hopefully it won't come back at all (during the summer, or ever) but it's happened several times though the year and I can't be sure. I am not bringing my computer on my trip, but I will start to type the new chapter on my phone.

AND don't forget to review!