"I didn't want to hit a girl, no matter how freakin' crazy she is!" Dwayne's Mom, who just so happens to be the school secretary, looks just like him. They both look flustered and mad to be in the principal's office. Dr. Mom is calmer on the surface, but the tightness of her mouth and eyes gives her away. She's pissed at having to be called down here to school at 2 in the afternoon. Probably had some important surgery to perform on somebody's parakeet, but here she is, sitting in on my suspension hearing, probably wishing it were Iggy and Gazzy in here for another warning about stink bombs. I swear, those boys went to school here for two weeks, and must have set some sort of office referral record...
"Oh, yeah, but you have no problem groping me in the hallway!" I shot back venomously, pushing painful thoughts about the flock away.
"It was an accident!" The two parents and principal's wide eyes follow us like a ping pong match.
"Was the slap on my butt an accident?!" I am completely livid. If I live through this without Jeb or Dr. Mom killing me, I am going to kill this boy. Why are they all so infuriating!
"YES!"
"BULLSHIT!" Too late I realize my mistake. "Sorry, sir." I apologize to the principal in a lower voice, forcing myself to calm down some. "I was defending my honor! He was molesting me! Doesn't that count for ANYTHING?" So much for self-control.
"Be that as it may, Miss Martinez –"
"Ride. Maximum Ride. It's my name. Not Max Martinez." I feel kind of bad saying that in front of Dr. Mom, but it's true. I can't change who I am.
"Yes, well, it was you who landed the first blow, and school policy dictates at minimum a three day suspension." The principal seems to have recovered from his mind-numbing terror of me. I glare at him and he flinches under my gaze.
"As long as he's punished for his actions." I spit out with a glance behind me.
"With all due respect, Miss M-Ride, don't think he has been punished enough?" I took in his broken nose and black eye, and the way he sat clutching his side where I snapped one of his ribs. I feel my lip curl back in disgust.
"No. He hasn't learned his lesson." I fake lunge toward the boy and he flinches. I snort in disgust, and Dr. Mom glares at me.
"Three days, out of school suspension? Look at my Dwayne! He can barely stand! She could have seriously hurt him!" His mom starts, livid.
"Max was defending herself. I'm sure it wasn't anything he didn't deserve." Dr. Mom's voice is calm with an edge of steel. Dwayne's mom backs down, but keeps shooting us glares. The principal just looks scared.
"Three days out of school suspension for both of them. Starting tomorrow." He decides. Dwayne's mom opens her mouth to protest, but Dr. Mom and I are already standing, and she's shaking the man's hand. I'm just anxious to get out of there. Are all offices so small and cramped?
Ella's waiting in the office for us, picking at the hem of her shirt and looking moody. She stands and follows us out of the school, after stopping at both of our lockers. Dr. Mom doesn't speak, and neither Ella nor I are feeling chatty.
We climb into Dr. Mom's silver SUV and she drives us home in silence, without even the radio to break the tension.
"Your father and I will discuss this later." Dr. Mom muttered out of the side of her mouth as I climbed out. "No flying."
I grumbled, but accepted her order. Fair enough, under circumstances.
Just hellish for me.
She pulled away, and El and I climbed the steps, both flopping down on our front porch.
"What'd you do?" She asked quietly after a few minutes had passed. The sky was perfect weather for flying, a clear, pure blue with a few puffy white clouds here and there. The sun beat down, beckoning me to just jump into the air and take off, no destination, no plan. Just me and the sky.
"Beat the crap out of Dwayne." I don't tell her why.
Ella just nodded, and we went back to watching the clouds, bonding over the depressed silence.
"What happened to you?" I eventually asked, shifting slightly to relieve the uneven pressure on one of my wings.
"Turns out Julio is gay. So I'm date-less for the big dance. My first one, too." Her voice sounded so sad, I felt so guilty about the tiny giggle that escaped me. She turned to look at me, wounded.
"Sorry, El, but you have to admit it's a little funny." For some reason hearing about Ella's normal girl problems made me feel better. "Gay Julio." I let out another giggle, and was relieved when I heard one come from her, too. Soon we were both laughing. "The Martinez girls and their men. I have to beat them off, and you turn them gay."
We start giggling again, but amid our girlish chuckles, I hear something else. A skittering on the roof above our heads. I freeze up again, my laughter dying in my throat.
I really need to stop doing that. It's going to get me killed one of these days.
Fortunately for us, today is not that day. Ella's laugh turns into a surprised squeak as Nudge drops off the roof, zooming in a tight circle to land right next to us, shaking out her wings.
"Phew! Hiya, Max! Hi Ella! Talk about a long flight! I'm starving! Is Dr. Martinez home? Because I could really use some chocolate chip cookies, and she makes the best ones and –" I cut Nudge's chatter off.
"Nudge, honey, what are you doing here?" I ask, standing on wobbly legs. I'm either dreaming or my Nudge is back.
"I missed you," She says it like it explains everything. "And Dr. Martinez said we could stop in at any time, so..." Ella and I stand dumbfounded as Nudge pushes into our kitchen, going straight to the fruit bowl and peeling a banana.
"Nudge, it's a four hour flight from your house to here! Did you come all by yourself? When did you leave? Did you skip school? Do your parents know –" I break off at her look of complete innocence as she starts peeling her second banana. "What if something had happened to you!" I scold.
"Max, I was coming to see you. I knew I'd be okay. You'd never let me get hurt." She says it so matter-of-fact. It shouldn't hurt. I should feel proud, honored. Instead, I just feel slightly ill.
"Honey, I didn't know you were coming. I wouldn't have been able to protect you." I'm not your mom anymore.
"Fang said he'd make sure I got here okay." She replied happily, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge and starting to gossip with Ella, making up for the two week separation.
"Fang? Fang knew you were coming?" I asked, my mind working unusually slow. "Is he here?" Nudge shot me a glare that melted away immediately as I pulled her from her conversation.
"Duh, Max. And no, he's not here." She went back to her gossiping effortlessly, oblivious of my inner turmoil.
Fang knew? And he didn't warn me? This is probably his way of making a point to me. Well fine. Two can play at that game.