Yet another disclaimer: I still do not own Maximum Ride!
"Ohmygosh! Iggy, I want to go to Hollister! I need a new top! You brought the card, right? Oh, good! Let's go to Hollister!"
"Nudge, I am not going to Hollister," groaned Iggy. They had finally finished eating lunch, after a thirty-minute argument among the kids about what they would be having. After settling on Burger King, there had been some debate about whether to eat by the fountains or at a table. And the day was just getting started. "Listen, show me to an ATM so I can get you some money. Then you go to Hollister, Angel can go wherever, and me and Gasser will go to Radio Shack. Meet us at the front doors at four o' clock. Kepeesh?"
Iggy got the money and gave fifty dollars each to Nudge and Angel. He knew for a fact that Max wouldn't want them spending that much, but she deserved it, sticking him with this job. Then the flock went into their separate stores.
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"Oh, my gosh, this is sooo cute!" squealed Nudge, taking the shirt off the rack and holding it against her. "Oh, and it looks like it would fit me perfectly! It'll look good, right, Angel?"
"Right," Angel said helpfully.
"And… hmm… this one. Don't you want anything?"
"This store doesn't sell stuff in my size, Nudge…"
"Oh! Right. You're six. You need, like, a little girl store. There aren't really any stores just for little girls, are there? There should be. Like Babies 'R' Us, it could be Girls 'R' Us. Don't you think?"
"Definitely." Most of the time, it was just easier to agree with everything Nudge said.
"Ooh, this is a-- oh no. Angel?" Nudge ducked down, grabbing the younger girl's sleeve and bringing her down, too. "Angel," she whispered. "Look over there."
Angel peeked out from around the rack of clothes and saw a male model type walking around the store. Her eyes went wide. "I thought the Erasers were all gone!"
"Me too! And Max isn't here, and neither is Fang! And, and… we need to get Iggy! Oh, but if we stand up he'll see us! We're trapped! Can you read his mind? Does he know we're in here?"
Angel listened in on the Eraser's thoughts. Boss told me I need the small one…
"No, but he's after me!"
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Iggy and Gazzy had gotten bored at Radio Shack and were at another electronics store, which offered free Internet for twenty minutes.
"What should we do?" Gazzy asked, absentmindedly moving the mouse.
"Um… go to Fang's blog."
"Why?"
"I want to leave a comment."
"Uh, okay," the Gasman said, going to the blog. He clicked on the comment button and poised his fingers over the keyboard. "What do you want to say?"
"I can type myself. Scoot over." Iggy nudged him out of the way and started writing.
Post a comment: hey nicky-poo! I miss u sooooo much! I luv u! xoxo, lissa
"But Iggy," the Gasman said as Iggy submitted the comment. "She wouldn't actually write that, because he has stuff all over the blog about dating Max, and she wouldn't even know that Fang and Nick were the same person."
Iggy shrugged. "Oh well. Either Fang's gonna kick my butt or Max is gonna kick his. Either way, it'll be pretty funny."
Gazzy thought both Fang and Max were scary, not funny, when angry, but he didn't say anything else about it. "Let's go to the Apple store."
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"Look, he's going over there!" Angel whisper-screamed. The Eraser was headed away from them. "We can get out now!"
"We can't leave him alone in the store with all these innocent people!" Nudge told her.
"You sound like Max."
"That's what Max would want us to do."
Angel sighed. "So what do we do?"
"Um, um, okay. See that rack on wheels? On the count of three, you're going to leap out from behind here and charge it. Jump on it and send it right into the Eraser. I'll run behind him and make sure once he's down, he stays down. And then… we wing it. Ha, get it, wing? Right, sorry. One… two… three!"
Angel launched herself at the rack. She hurtled with it right into the Eraser, knocking him on his surprised face. Nudge straddled his back and twisted both arms so they popped loudly. The Eraser groaned.
All the customer's eyes were on the three of them now, and a security guard was making his way over. Angel searched for the Eraser's thoughts.
No, no, the cops can't get involved. I'm supposed to be getting that small shirt for Samuel! The photo shoot is today and he doesn't have his shirt yet! What the heck is this kid doing on my back?
Oh, no, thought Angel. The security guard was getting ever closer. Nudge?
What is it?
Um… he's not an Eraser. He's a real model.
Nudge gasped out loud and got off the guy. He stood up, rubbing his back, and glared at her.
"What's going on here?" asked the security guard, coming up beside them.
"Sorry, sorry!" Nudge stumbled all over herself trying to explain. "I'm really sorry! I had him confused for somebody else, that's why I attacked him! That's not like a federal crime or anything, right?"
"No, but you two are going to have to come with me so I can call your parents. Sir, you're free to go."
"Thanks," said the guy, glaring at the girls one last time before stalking off to the other side of the store, rubbing his head.
As the security guard wrote something down, Nudge gestured to Angel, and they took off running, out of Hollister.
"Hey! Kids! Come back here!"
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The Gasman looked up from the iPod he was holding to see a flash of brown and then a flash of blonde curls, followed by a security guard who wasn't running nearly as fast.
"Ig!"
Iggy turned around from fingering a different iPod. "What?"
"Nudge and Angel are being chased by a security guy!"
Muttering under his breath, Iggy started searching his pockets. "Of course they are. I can't wait until Max gets over her freaking flu. Here." He handed a small package to Gazzy. "We're going to catch up with them, and when we do, throw the bomb at the security guy. It'll just dissolve into smoke. It won't hurt him, but he'll lose track of us and then we'll be out of here."
"Got it!"
Iggy and the Gasman took off in the direction Gazzy had seen Angel and Nudge running toward. It wasn't long before Gazzy saw them trapped in a corner. He described the scene to Iggy, who cursed, again, and instructed Gazzy to begin the plan.
The Gasman threw the bomb, and the smoke made the security guard hack and cough. Nudge and Angel looked at them, wide-eyed, and then took off for the exit.
Once they were all four outside, they took to the skies, and Iggy looked in the general direction of Nudge and Angel. "Okay, look. I'm not going to ask. Just please, please, please, do not tell Max."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" Nudge said, saluting him.
I know, it's not a good ending, and the last part is rushed. But overall, I like it.
Review, pleeeeease?
