Kate had been to the Two Whales before, but all of her previous trips there included rides on the bus system that Blackwell ran to allow students to get to places in town—it was always a horrible schedule and led to lots of sitting around on a school bus or on a bench waiting. However for once she was excited to get to feel the wind in her hair as she sat in the front seat of Victoria's BMW Convertible.
She looked over to see Victoria still looking rather unhappy about the encounter she just had with her friends, and back behind her to see Max spacing out in the seat directly behind Victoria.
"Isn't this wonderful Max. I've never been in a BMW, or a Convertible before. You?"
Max seemed distracted as the car made its way to the main road. Kate looked at her rather concerned for a moment before Max looked over and finally responded. "Oh, same here."
What Kate noticed and that Max didn't is that Victoria's eyes seemed to be consistently glued to her rearview mirror, and they seemed to be in that scrutinizing mood that Victoria had been in all morning. Despite her excitement she just closed her eyes and felt the cold breeze against her skin. It was so nice of Victoria to let us ride with the top down even though it's October. But I think the heater will be mandatory on the way back.
The rest of the ride to the diner was in silence. Max seemed to perk up as they approached, but still said nothing. Victoria parked the car and hit the button to close the top. "What do you need us to do Max?"
"Um, wait for me?" Max said hesitantly. "When that I need to do is done then I'll text you and we can have lunch or something."
"More like brunch since our breakfast was so rudely interrupted," Victoria grumbled.
Max seemed to miss it or ignore it, Kate wasn't sure which, as she got out of the car.
The door shut and Victoria and Kate waited alone. Kate looked over to Victoria a bit nervously.
"What is it Kate?"
"The way you're staring at Max, Victoria. What's up with that?"
Victoria sighed and reclined her seat back. "I'm worried about Max. She's hiding something from us."
Kate took Victoria's reclining in her seat as an invitation that she could do so as well. She let out a little yelp as it went back, but once she was reclined she looked over at Victoria and sighed as well. "I think you're right."
Victoria arched an eyebrow as she looked at the top of her car. "I didn't expect that you'd agree with me."
"Why? I think you are right. Max has certainly not been herself. She's not really talked with me about what happened that day and why she seems so affected by it."
Victoria turned her head to look at Kate now. "She's not said a word about it?"
"Nothing."
"Me neither."
The two of them sat in the car quietly for a few minutes before Kate spoke again. "I'm sorry Victoria."
Victoria sat up and turned to look at Kate with confusion all over her face. "What do you have to be sorry about?"
"That Max and I am costing you friendships and costing you Vortex Club, I know how much it meant to you."
Victoria laughed and settled back into the reclined seat. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I wouldn't be any place but here."
"Why?" Kate asked, sounding bolder. "I mean I know you felt bad for how your actions were causing me to think such dark thoughts. But you didn't need to stay for my sake, and I'm sure Max is just as surprised."
Victoria took a deep breath but didn't respond.
Kate frowned. Aww crap, I pissed her off.
"You ever have a moment that forces you to re-evaluate everything that you are and have been?"
Kate couldn't help but laugh at that. You gave it to me Victoria with that video. "Yeah," she responded quietly.
"That moment was Monday for me. All those things I told you were true, I am an insecure little bitch who makes herself feel better by making everyone around her feel shitty. I've been the so-called Queen of Blackwell, but I'm really its biggest asshole."
"That doesn't explain," Kate said before being cut off.
"Three things happened Monday Kate. First Nathan killed someone. When he was babbling as he came out of the school about drugging you I felt so shitty I deleted the video on the spot. Then Max, for all her aloofness and not giving a shit what people think about her, was the most serious I've ever seen her when she told me I needed to stop you."
"Right, you told me that."
"And the third was I found out that you were actually contemplating suicide. I don't know if I could have handled it if you had actually tried, or even succeeded in taking your own life. I know I would have felt responsible for it, and would have been responsible. I want to be a famous photographer, not famous for driving a classmate to suicide."
Kate remained quiet this time.
"In that moment I realized that well, I had to act like a human being if I wanted to change my legacy."
"But Victoria, you're only eighteen years old," Kate said in a comforting tone.
"That doesn't mean that my legacy can't be affected by my actions now. The art world is a rough business, it's kill or be killed, and I figured by shutting out everything and everyone who could be a threat to me I could have that fearless killer attitude it takes to make it. You and Max were threats, Courtney and Taylor weren't."
A loud giggle erupted from Kate. "Me, a threat, you've got to be kidding me Victoria."
"I'm not. Your pictures convey a sense of small town life, a slice of Americana. Your pictures remind me of Norman Rockwell paintings, and that's the highest compliment I think I could give Kate. A teenage female Norman Rockwell photographer could take the art world by storm."
Kate started tearing up. "Wow, thank you Victoria, I don't know what to say that you think so highly of my work."
"And Max," Victoria continued, not responding to Kate's thank you, "sure she takes a whole bunch of selfies with her retro camera, but admittedly so do I with my phone. Her pictures have a life and an energy to them that I don't have at all in my pictures. As much as I talked a big game about winning the Everyday Heroes contest, I was freaked out that Max would have entered something."
"I see. So why do you stay instead of going back to your friends?"
A long, drawn out sigh escaped Victoria's lips. "There's just something about everything that's going on at Blackwell that tells me that I'm making the right choice. I don't have to have my armor up around you and Max. For the first time since I was little I kind of feel that I can just be myself, it's always taken lots of alcohol or drugs to make me feel that kind of freedom. I like experiencing it sober."
"You know, if we're not cool enough for you—"
"KATE!" Victoria shot up once more, "Don't you get it. You're what I need. You don't judge people for any reason, for someone religious, you're probably about the most chill person I know. And with Max, she just cares so little about what people think of her that I feel I can be myself and she won't care either. I don't know how I classify you two quite yet. I'm not sure if friends is the right word, but in this new world and with this new Victoria Chase, you two are who I need to be around."
Victoria remained sitting up waiting to see how Kate would respond.
"Oh alright, I guess you're cool enough to hang with me and Max."
Victoria smiled and laid back once more. "You have no idea how comforting that is to hear. And Kate, I know I said we'd trade off making sure that Max is taken care of, but I think I'll stay with her again tonight if that's alright."
Kate nodded though she looked curious. She didn't pursue it any further. Bad Kate, thinking that Victoria is up to something instead of just wanting to help.
Several more minutes passed in silence before both girls phones went off.
"Wow!" Kate exclaimed, "We've been here for an hour already."
"About time Max, I was getting hungry."
Kate put her seat upright and got out of the car. "Coming Victoria?"
"Yeah, just a second," Victoria replied, looking as though she was checking her makeup in the mirror.
Victoria looked once more at the text message from Max and exited to the main menu. She scrolled down to her deleted text messages and pulled up the one from the unknown number.
You'll find answers in Max's room in the morning. -CC