Chapter 4 of I Hate Wonder Woman
(A/N:SORRY I JUST STARTED HS BUSY BUSY sooo much homework that I sould be doing now and I based the school lightly off of mine, shock is pretty cool...Just going off my 1+ years old memories of Banff. And it was last summer. SUMMER. No snow, sorry if I made any mistakes. Also this is more of a filler... So sorry if parts of it are booooorrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnngggg.
NHaqueWaters: thank you thank you! :D I love suggestions. I'm glad I'm not being too cliche. I worry so much about that! And your ideas were good. Im going to use some of it, but at their stage of 'hidden passion' :P, Fang probably wouldn't get jealous unless Max accepted like, six dates, which would make her...Lissa. :D but I will incorporate your ideas!)
MAX P.O.V.
I entered the Coles bookstore on the lower level. I had left Fang and Iggy on the upper floor whilst Fang was trying to think up the genius response of 'still'. Ohs well, they could find me.
I spent a few minutes in the aisles, picking up books. I knew almost exactly what I wanted. I walked out with the two books. Some of the stuff that I wanted, wasn't here, but I recalled seeing a thrift store nearby.
Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I stepped out into the cold. The view was breathtaking. The small town streets were covered in a blanket of white snow, and the looming mountains were also white, dotted with the occasional green. The sky was a frosty blue, the comfort (for me at least; I love rain and storms) of dark, ominous clouds moving towards Banff.
I made all my purchases in the basement thrift store, interestingly underneath the 'hemp' store.
"Max!" Called out a voice.
I looked over to see Gazzy waving at me, Nudge, Angel and Mrs. Martinez behind him. "Hey, Gazzy."
"Where's Nick and James?" Mrs. Martinez asked me.
"I went to a bookstore and must have wandered off. Sorry." I said.
"Do you want to join us? We're going to visit a small art gallery that my friend works at, then to a tea store. You'd like that?"
"That would be ace!" I said cheerfully, which isn't me.
"Yay!" Angel cried. "Maxy!" She wrapped me in a hug, her golden curls spilling out of her blue hat. Aww. She was so precious!
The art gallery was really cool. There was some interesting works there, and it turns out that Mrs. Martinez's friend was actually an artist on display. Unlike 60% of the small gallery's work, her 15% wasn't landscapes. Her art was to my taste -dark and provocative. It was also really hard to describe. On the way out, there was a bowl with button-pins in them saying things like 'stop in the name of art' and art happens. There was also a web adress for the gallery. [ww(dot)affta(dot)ab(dot)ca].
We only had a half hour before our dinner reservations, so we went to check out the tea store. 'Twas a tea lovers heaven! It was the dogs! It smelt like tea, and there was, naturally, tea everywhere. We stood around for a few minutes before I decided to treat myself to a bag (not as in a single pouch, but a Maggie of loose leaf tea, sixty cups worth) of blue mango tea. (A/N: I would go back to Banff just for blue mango tea, if not for the scenery, quaintness, awesomeness etc.) Gazzy was sniffing around and mom -er, Mrs. Martinez, Nudge and Angel were fascinated by the blossom teas, which, when put in cold water kind of flourished into a spiky bunch of tea leaves, like porcupine quills, with a flower on top. It wasn't as pretty as it sounded.
And from what I remember, it didn't taste great either.
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That night in the car, I pulled out my bag, stuffed to the brim with the things I had purchased in Banff. Most of us, save Mom , sorry- who was driving and I were sleeping. I didn't think Fang was really asleep, just faking. I guess I could read him. But he was still confusing. He was such a jerk all the time and went and apologized. A few times. And then there was the barfing thing. That happened sometimes when I thought about what happened. I mean, I nearly barfed on his hand when I got the news about Ella. I don't know how I even managed to keep composure. I guess it was relief, I loved Ella so much, she had been my sister and best/only friend, but after what I did... I was just glad she wasn't stuck suffering in the horrid hospital anymore.
Way off topic. I can't think about this anymore. I rooted around in my bag, also for a pen and some paper and began to write out each note. I knew it was kind of stupid, but I had bought everyone a little gift in Banff, just as a thank you for their hospitality. Usually, I didn't bother thanking people or even bothering with them period, but the Martinezes seem nice and I didn't want to mess this up too badly. I'd never tell Dad this, but sometimes I was tired of traveling everywhere. I was tired of running away from his grief about moms death, and I just wanted to settle down somewhere and make friends, which I stopped taking pains to do. I never knew when I would leave, and it was always the same suckage everytime I left a friend. I didn't mind being alone, but sometimes I wanted a friend, you know?
'Nudge,' I wrote. 'I hope you like this and that it fits you. Max' Short and sweet. I put it on top of the coral-pink vintage forties dress that I had found at the thrift store and placed it on her lap, in the minivans row behind me so she wouldn't wake.
'This shirt seemed to fit you. Hope you like it! :3 -Max' I put this one on top of the shirt I bought Iggy. It was green and said 'Player' in yellow on the front. I placed it too, gently on his lap, a difficult reach because he was riding shotgun and I was in the bucket seat across from him.
'The store owner said her name was Celeste, and she's an Angel just like you! :) -Max' I put the stuffed Teddy that looked like an angel on Angel's lap along with the note in her spot beside Nudge. Instinctively, her sleeping arms curled gently around the bears white fur. Awww. Adorable.
'Gazzy... I was going to get you some yummy food, but then I learned why you were nickname what you are... So hope this is okay.' I had gotten Gazzy a book on explosives. I hoped he wouldn't misuse it.
'Thank you for everything. :)' I wrote on the inside cover of the book on veterinary history I had gotten Mrs. Martinez. 'I know it sounds boring, but my mom was a vet, just like you and she enjoyed it. ~Max'
I was going to give it to her later, so I didn't distract her while driving. There was only one gift left to give. Mr. Emotional. I guess you think either that 'no, he is not unemotional, this whole time he's been angry(!)' or 'this is such a cliché. I'm going to stop reading now.'. If it's the latter, I have no idea if this would be a stereotype; I don't read teen romance. I usually read something in the horror genre, something disturbing, something original, such as Lullaby or something provocative, such as the Room. These books don't often have hugely romantic plots. If it's the former, yes, he is unemotional! The only time he shows emotion is a) when he glares at me. :I or b) when he has a cookie! Which smell really good. I went to have one yesterday, and he slapped out of my hand- literally. Then with ninja skills that I am jealous of -I mean, my ninja skills are fairly epic as well- and caught the cookie two inches above the ground.
I pulled out the books, and I think that he would like. One was a book about famous serial killers and the other one was American Psycho. I personally was only about nine chapters in. It was a bit perverted and it was mostly a bunch of yuppies being arse holes, but it was supposed to get nice and disturbing. (A/N: Efffing yuppies in that book...D:)
'Fang,
Hope you like it, arse-head. : D
Max.'
I thought for a moment, then crossed 'Fang' out and replaced it with 'Mr. Sentient'. Oh, how I love sarcasm. This too, I placed on his lap, though less gently because I thought he was wasn't asleep.
Like all times, I was right.
"What's this?" Fang asked, not bothering to open his deep, obsidian eyes. Oh gosh... Did I really say that? I better not be turning soft. That would be the end of me.
"A gift. I bought one for everyone." I replied tersely.
"What is it?"
"Stop talking. You'll wake everyone."
"You're talking."
"Kuso kurae. If you want to know, open your eyes dipwad." I snapped. And slapped his leg, since he was beside me.
"Dipwad?" Fang snickered. "Didn't know that was British."
"It's not as though I've only lived in England. I've spent most of my life NOT there. I assimilate myself quickly. In a week, I'll probably won't be using much British speak." I explained.
Fang gave an imperceptible nod. I stifled a yawn, all of a sudden exhausted. I forced my eyes open, staring at the mountain view and the beginnings of Calgary, but my exhaustion got the better of me. I pulled my legs onto the seat next to me and leaned into Fang, falling asleep instantaneously.
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Fang P.O. V.
The strangest thing happened over the rest of the weekend: Max and I became almost friends. I finally accepted (to a degree) that she was here, no changing that, and that I should make the most of it. Of course, that only happened when I made sure that my cookie supply was secure. (Mom made sure to make a few extra cookies.)
Yeah, yeah, my soul and morals for a freaking cookie.
"So what do you think so far?" Iggy asked Max. We were standing in front of our school,(Calgary Academy) a grey brick building, the snow in front of it a mushy colour to match
"It's rather stereotypical." Max noted, in her adorable accent.
"So you don't like it?" I asked, bewildered. Everyone seemed to love this school. It was a very prestigious school, and had a very good reputation. Even I liked it, as it was going to be great for getting into a good uni and was otherwise decent.
"No. I like it. It's just stereotypical, which I don't mind." Max waved her arm, gesturing to the obvious jocks, nerds, drama kids, etc. in their separate cliques. And of course, the slutty cheerleaders, shivering under thin opened jackets, made that way to show off their boobs. "It's nice. I'm just saying."
Iggy and I nodded. I never quite realized it before.
"And if I didn't know better, Fang would be in that group." Max pointed to the 'emo/punk/goth/' group.
"No, I'm more of the Prince of Darkness type." I said. Max laughed, the sound ringing in my ears.
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MAX P.O.V
Wow...this had to be one of the most normal places I had ever been. I was always homeschooled or private schooled, where everyone was super rich. I felt like a fish out of water. I was so different from them, and the only thing I shared was my wealth, which actually surpassed much of theirs.
I guess it wasn't something I shared with people. My dad was the VP of a huge company. Think of a big company, any one. One that you think is huge and independent, even if it had a bunch of subsidiaries. Anything. A website, food company, television company, even a software company. My dad probably owns it. And my grandfather, he's the president. Collectively, our estate is somewhere in the 10 or eleven figures. That high. I guess you could say we are really fortunate, but all that glitters isn't gold. My life is far from perfect. It's so cold when I'm there. I mean, if I wanted to go to school here, I could. My dad would send me to any highschool -or university; I actually had graduated the year before with honors- If I (he) wanted to go to, and I'd be there. Before I graduated, I applied for this program so I could go to this school on what people over here call a 'victory lap'. I didn't need one, but I just needed to get away and feel normal.
No one actually knew about any of this. It wasn't something I shared with anyone. So I definitely wasn't going to tell Fang. I had a sense that already thought I was full of myself. But I wasn't. I knew that I was a bit of a burden on y father, who really didn't need a residence, just hotels, bur kept short term ones for me. I knew that I could be really unkind and annoying. I knew that I could be... Just too me. This was my chance to change that.
I had two of my four classes with Fang and Iggy, who shared classes, and lunch with both of them and Nudge, who was in Year 9.
The bell four fourth period rang, and I made my way to lunch. One more period, than back to my new home. I made my way to the next door Mall/Plaza, where I was to buy dinner -er lunch. I was walking alone. I still wasn't quite so used to waking up so early and I was too tired to focus on anything but classes. I think a few people had asked my to join them, but I politely turned them away.
My mid shin Doc Marten boots made a pleasant crunching sound in the dirty, trampled thin snow as I made my way over to a coffe shop I recognized. Not because it was particularly famous or in a GINORMOUS chain, which it was, but because it was something my dad and grandfather owned, Jeb and Jeb Sr.
I figured that I'd eat there. It was only fifteen minutes into my lunch so I still had an hour left to read and nap a bit, hoping I could catch up on some z's.
Sadly, the place was really quite full. School traffic, I guess. Before I ordered, I managed to find a empty table hidden in a dimly lit back corner, where it seemed almost magic. Not because it was sparkling like a gay vampire, but because it seemed almost quieter and less hectic than the rest of the bustling coffee shop.
Stepping up to the counter, I ordered a peppermint tea, spinach and feta quiche and a small cookie. Fat/Cal city, but I had a high metabolism and was pretty active. I made my way over to the corner, lithely making my way between the choking mass of people and sat down on the worn brown seat.
I scuffed my steel and faux leather (I had my boots specially made so I would have , but not wear animals) against the floor, where it seemed that long ago, someone had done the same thing as me for a long time as me. There was a dark brown groove in the floor in the same pattern that I moved my feet.
I chewed slowly. The
Quiche here tasted better than most places, even though it was the same recipe for each place. It wasn't the best, but pretty good. Decently eggy, not too feta-y or spinach-y, but slightly too salty. It was okay.
I spent the better part of the hour there, trying to get through some of War and Peace, which because I hadn't much time, I was only twenty of so (out of, like, 1400) pages in. When it finally was time to go to school, I realized that I actually had a free period. YES! That was really lucky. My schedule was 3 classes in the morning (not really anything academic. Just art courses and one college level maths course. ) and lunch, then a free period. I could stay here all afternoon and nap. And it was like this every day for the entire semester! Yes! I quickly gulped down my lukewarm tea, then went and bought another one before settling down to nap.
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I was woken by feeling my phone buzz on my cheek. I groggily sat up and pulled my phone from it's spot on my cheek.
A call from Iggy... When did I give him my cell phone number?
"안 용" I said, pronounced 'an yong' and was Korean for 'hey'.
"Whoa. What?" Iggy asked quizzically. "Uhhh. Do I have the wrong number?"
"If you weren't planning on calling me, than yes." I said, smirking.
"Okay, Maxie, dahling," Iggy crooned. "Do you want a ride? Were in front of the coffee shop."
"Okay one sec. Do you want anything? I've been here since lunch."
I heard Iggy's voice in the background. After a moment, he came on again. "Yeah. A chocolate chunk cookie and a coffee berry tart."
"I don't know why my dad put that on the menu. It is so nasty." I grumbled.
"What was that?" Iggy grilled.
"I'll be out in one minute." I ran to the counter, and quickly ordered, waving to Iggy and Fang when the pulled up. I ran out into frigid air, my black jacket slung in the crook of my arm, a bag of our snacks in my hand, the warmth piercing my fingertips.
"Hey." I greeted, sliding into the backseat of Fang's and Iggy's car, which Fang seemed to always drive. "You didn't save me shotgun. Even though I brought treats!"
"Sorry." Iggy told me, grabbing the bag I was holding out. Iggy gave Fang the cookie and took the tart for himself.
"Iggy, those are rubbish. I don't know how you like them." I told him bluntly.
"I know." Fang agreed. "They're nasty."
"Oh, shut up." Iggy spat jokingly and turned on the in car iPod dock and Fang turned onto the road. We had a twenty minute drive to our home.
Iggy and I unanimously began to sing 'Lowlife' by Theory of a Deadman loudly. Luckily the windows were up and the music wasn't too loud so we didn't get any dirty looks as we drove. Fang sent a look back and his lips began to quirk into the smallest little smile and as he turned away, I felt my face quirk into a smile.
For the rest of the car ride, Iggy and I sang along to music, wot whatever lyrics we knew, even screamo and rap. We switched between Fang's iPod and Iggy's, and I can bet that you can guess who had which music.
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FANG P.O.V
Max had disappeared into shortly after dinner into her room and had been in there for a few hours, so I decided to check in on her.
I pushed open her door and saw her sitting on the ledge that jutted out from the window. Her laptop was on her lap, and the pale blue glow from it was the only light in the room. I walked over to her. She was watching some next anime.
"What are you watching?" I asked.
Max looked at me, then pulled a pair of headphones down around her neck, hidden by her hood. "Huh?"
"What are you watching?"
"Oh. Deathnote." Max replied. "Ever seen it, Smiley?"
I groaned. "One episode. Can I join you?"
"No. This is episode twenty." She replied. "And there's no room on this ledge." She tapped the inch of space between the pillow she was sitting on and the end of the wood.
"Eh. Cool. I'm going to go mess around on my blog now. Nite." I gave a small wave on my way out, but I had the feeling that as I closed her door, she was only focusing on Deathnote.
After I finished a post asking my readers to send me the funniest story's they've ever had over a winter break as the 'Funny Winter ChocoYum' contest,(I get ad money from my blog, and sometimes companies donate prizes, in this case ChocoYum Corp.), I noticed that there was a unposted blog from a few days ago. I just added a note saying that it hadn't posted before, I posted it without reading and went to bed.
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MAX POV
That morning at school was really strange, and I had no idea o what was going on. Until lunch, that is.
I walked quickly down the hallway on my way to homeroom. I always liked to get there ten minutes early and listen to music. As I passed a group of garishly dressed cheerleaders, their high pitched chatter stopped and *purposely* badly masked snickers commenced.
I couldn't exactly hear what they said, and I didn't care. Gossip girls where everywhere, all the same, no different, not worth your time. Then in home room, people started pretending to barf around me, put things under their shirts and act like they were pregnant. I continued to ignore it throughout the day, which was accompanied by whispers of 'barfy' and 'prego' a few people, mostly jocks, came up and me if mornings were tough before running away, laughing as if they were small children playing 'Nicky Nicky Nine Doors'. Still, I did not respond until my last period before lunch that day, Gym.
I was changing into my uniform, my shirt halfway over my arms which were over my head, when one of the cheerleaders came up to me. Unflapped, I finished taking off my shirt and grabbed my gym shirt.
"Max... Can I ask you a question?" The girl, one with bottle blonde hair, drawled.
"Just did." I said, starting to pull my shirt on.
"Where the baby bump?" She sqealed.
The locker room burst into laughter, except three people. On gothic girl, one girl with glasses, and a red headed cheerleader who I thought was Fang's girlfriend.
"Guys," She started. "Shut up. It's just a stupid rumor that is almost certainly not true. You're being jackwads."
Everyone turned back to their changing except for me. I walked over to Lissa, my shirt still half on. "Thanks." I said to her thankfully. "Do you mind telling me what this rumor is?"
Lissa pulled a scrap of paper out of her bag and wrote something on it in a purple pen. She handed it to me. "I think you should see for yourself. Here's the webpage link." She explained.
"Thanks." I told her again and pulled my real shirt on, throwing my gym clothes in my bag and running out. I went straight to the library to figure out exactly what's going on.
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FANG POV
When I saw Max in the hallway on the way to lunch, I waved her over. She was a ways away, but managed to see me, and immediately turned on her heel and sped off. I quickly walked over to where she must have been going. She continued to storm off. "Hey. Slow down!" I said, closing in on her.
Max stopped suddenly, and I had to backtrack to avoid running into her. Her head was down and a
Crimson plastic binder clutched in her left hand. She looked up, a scary look on her face. "You..." She murmured.
"Wha-" I started to ask, when all of a sudden there was a very painful sensation on my cheek.
"Knocked up at some goodbye party to some drunk dude?" She cried angrily. "Morning sickness?"
What was she talking about? Another sting on my cheek, and this time I knew what it was. She was slapping me -with the hard and occasionally sharp edge of her binder.
"Possible terrorist?" Slap. "Perfect at being perfectly condescending." Slap. "And a perfect you know what?" Slap. Slap. Slappity slap.
"What are you talking about?" I asked bewildered and probably bleeding from the cheap plastic edge of the binder. Normally, I would fight back, but I was still confused.
"You tell me, arse hole! Your words, not mine." This time she walked slowly up to my face. I still wondered what she meant. I never- oh. My blog. I wrote that on my blog. For the whole world to see and definitely my whole school. I felt kinda bad about that. That was really mean and the whole school would have read it.
I felt her warm breath on my face and realized how close she was to me. Was she going to...kiss me?
Obviously not, as she reached out and pinched my nose hard, then shoved my head back, causing a surprising amount of pain. I stumbled back, clutching my nose as she walked off, middle finger high in the air.
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...
I tried to apologize several times over the few day, to no avail. She didn't ignore me, which definitely seemed to immature for her, but she was cold. Frigid, really.
She managed to somehow dispel the rumor, and two days later, guys were practically throwing themselves at her, even though Max was oblivious to their flirts. Most people seemed to like her, since the cheerleaders and the jocks let go of the rumor so quickly. If they didn't like you, the rumor would go on and ruin your life. I had seen it happen before. I wanted to help the kid, but since I wasn't a jock (I worked out alone. I don't really like being around a million sweaty people) I was powerless to help.
I had heard guys asking her out or thinking about asking her out all day. I saw her at lunch, in the middle of a crowd, but as I approached, she managed to have wormed her way out without anyone noticing, except for one of my least favorite people, Dylan.
Ma didn't notice me and neither did Dylan as they walked to the cafeteria doors.
"Come on Max, just one date. I promise you'll like it." Dylan pleaded. My hands clenched into fists. I hated that kid, and what right did HE have to ask Max out?
Woah. 'Cool down dude.' I told myself. 'Its not like you own her.'
"I already told you. I'm not interested in dating anyone right now." Max sighed. "But we can eat lunch together, I guess."
I walked up to them. "Sorry to interrupt." I said sarcastically. "But can I talk to Max?"
Dylan looked at Max, and Max looked at me. I started to feel really annoyed. I can't be around Dylan, and he can't be around me. We've been enemies since he stole the cookie my MOM gave me in Senior Kindergarten. And since I never take any crap, I stole his dignity and entire lunch. And by taking his dignity, I mean that I took his apple juice box, and sprayed it on his pants and floor. He was called 'Mr. Pee Pants' until second grade.
Max must have noticed my annoyedness, because a satisfied smirk came over her face. She ignored me and looked at Dylan. "On second thought, Dylan, why don't we skip lunch and see a movie?"