Hey everybody! Guess what?! I don't own Maximum Ride! And I've really got to start remembering the disclaimers on my other story! Well, here's the chapter. I hope you like it. It will get more interesting from here. Sorry if the first chapter was kind of boring. It was just an introduction sort of thing.
(Max POV)
I woke up early. I always do. It's like I'd programmed my body to wake up at six in the morning. That's because I have to get up and fix breakfast for Jeb, even on the weekends. And since he leaves at seven, that means I have to have breakfast out at six-thirty sharp. I know, it sucks. But if I don't do it, he gets ticked off.
I stood up and stretched my arms above my head, rocking onto my toes. I sighed in relief as my back popped. I stretched out my wings and shook them out, working out all the kinks.
Yes, I did say wings. Jeb is a scientist. A genetics scientist to be exact. And he's so screwed up in the head that he gave his only child wings. And that's not all. I have air sacks, my lungs are big, I faster, stronger, and "better in every way", according to Jeb. But I have to eat a lot, go through torturous experiments, and live with an abusive father.
Yeah, it sucks. Not to mention the fact that I'm a mutant freak! I mean, come on! Who in their screwed up mind turns a normal kid into a human-avian hybrid! Isn't this kind of research illegal anyways!
Shaking my head, I abruptly halted my mental babble. I threw on some school clothes, brushed my teeth and hair, then ran downstairs to start making breakfast. I quickly cook up some eggs and made toast, setting them out on a plate for Jeb. I just grabbed some cereal for myself.
Then Jeb came in. "Hello, Maximum. I see you weren't late for once." he said coldly.
I ground my teeth, but nodded. "Yeah."
"Do you have school today? And don't say 'yeah' to me, it's disrespectful." he said.
I glared up at him, but said, "Yes, sir, I do have school today." I know what you're probably thinking. You're the great Maximum Ride! You're stronger than he is! You've got freaking wings, so just kick his butt already! Well, it's not that easy. See, even the great Maximum Ride has friends. And if Jeb can hurt his own daughter without thinking twice, imagine what he'd do to her friends if said daughter beat him into next week. Yeah, it wouldn't be pretty. I already have to go through it. I wouldn't make my friends have to suffer with me.
Pain in my left cheek snapped me out of my thoughts, about the same time as my head snapped to the side. Jeb had punched me. Looks like I'd been ignoring him. Whoops.
"Don't ignore me Maximum." he said, deadly quiet.
"Yes sir." I said through clenched teeth, glaring at him even harder than he was glaring at me. I stood up and took mine and his plate to the sink, washing them off before putting them back into the dishwasher.
I walked over and grabbed my backpack. "Later." I grumbled. I walked out of the house and towards my school. Jeb, being the abusive, mostly drunk parent that he is, doesn't exactly spend money on me. So even though I'm sixteen, I don't have a car to drive to school, so I walk.
"Hey, Max! Wait up!" I heard a familiar voice call. It was Iggy, one of my best friends. He had strawberry blond hair and pale blue eyes, and he was my age. He was blind, and pale. He was tall, about six-two, and was a master at anything explosive related. He was also the clown of the school.
He was being led along by his little brother and sister, Gazzy and Angel. Gazzy had blond hair and blue eyes. He was Iggy's ten-year-old, right hand man and apprentice in all things that go boom. He was a sweet kid, and a little trooper. But he had this…problem with his digestive system. I mean, let's just think about this for a second. Gazzy? Aka, the Gasman? Yeah, pretty self-explanatory.
Angel was their six-year-old little sister, and my baby girl. She was sweet, but her Bambi Eyes could make you do anything. You just couldn't say no. She had her blond curls, and the same blue eyes that her brothers had. She was adorable.
Oh, and they don't know about the wings, or about Jeb. No one does. And I plan on keeping it that way.
I grinned at them as they came up, pushing all my pessimistic thoughts aside. "Hey guys." I said.
"Hey. Think you'll get into another fight today?" Iggy asked. Let me explain. I don't let things go very easily. So, I get into fights pretty much three times a week. Jeb gets ticked off when I do, and beats me for it. But he comes home drunk every night and beats me anyways. It's not like he beats me anymore than he usually does. But because I get into fights so much, a lot of people at school avoid me. I actually like it better than way though. Most of the snotty, rich kids at my school annoy the crap out of me anyways.
"Probably." I said .
"Doesn't your dad get ticked off when you get into fights?" Gazzy asked. I stiffened, but was sure to keep my expression blank. "Yeah. He doesn't do anything about it though." A total lie.
"Hey, you're that Max girl." a familiar voice said.
I turned to see that kid I met on my balcony the other day. What was his name?.. "Oh. Fang, right?"
He nodded. "Who are you?" Angel asked in her sweet voice.
He smiled down at her. "My name is Fang." he replied easily.
"He's my new neighbor. I've only had one conversation with him, but he seems better than the last family that lived in that house." I said. Me and Iggy shared an eye roll. The last family that lived next door brought a new meaning to the word snobby.
"Uh…thanks?" Fang said uncertainly.
I grinned. "Your welcome."
Angel rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, dragging me along. I swear she was becoming more and more like me every day. "Come one, we're going to be late." she said.
"Who cares if we're late? It's just school." Gazzy said.
"School is very important. You have to have a good education if you want to be a police officer, like you want to." I said.
"What do I need to learn to be a cop?" Gazzy said. "All you do is tackle people and arrest the bad guys."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "It's a lot more than that, Gazzy. It's a very important job. And you have to have a good education in law. After all, how would you know if someone was breaking the law if you don't know which law they're breaking?" I asked him.
"…Good point." I smirked. I'm just amazing with my logic.
We arrived at the school five minutes before the first bell. "I'll show you to the office." I told Fang. "See you guys later!" I called to the others, dragging Fang with me. Our school had three different buildings. One for high school, one for middle school, and one for elementary school.
I dragged Fang into the office and up to the front desk. "It's Nicholas Chance, right?" I asked him. He nodded.
"How can I help you?" Mrs. Madison, the front desk lady, asked me warily. She's seen me in this office way too many times.
"Relax, I haven't boxed someone out yet. This is Nicholas Chance. He's the new kid. I'm helping him find his way around the school." I said, smirking. Even the teachers knew not to get on my bad side.
She nodded and handed me his schedule and a map of the school. "Thanks!" I called out. "Alright, Fang, let's look at your schedule." I said to Fang. I looked down at Fang's schedule. "Huh. You have the same classes I do." I frowned. "Weird. But, it'll be a heck of a lot easier to show you around."
"That is weird." he said, taking the schedule from me. "So I have Homeroom, Chemistry honors, Algebra II honors, and Civics honors." He gave me a surprised look. "You take honors classes?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why, do I look that stupid to you?" I asked, frowning.
He shook his head. "You just didn't seem like that type." he mumbled.
I smirked. "I know." I said. He turned away and started walking. "Uh, Fang?" He turned and raised an eyebrow at me, giving me a frustrated look. My grin grew. "Homeroom is that way."
He glared at me, but actually decided to do the smart thing and follow the person who actually knew where they were going. We got to the door. "Brace yourself for this." I said. "This school is screwed up." I grinned. I opened the door and we walked in.