Chapter 2
At the dorms, Jake and Max got settled while Kyle and Ham watched.
"Okay, well, this is good enough for me. How about Kyle?" Max said. "Are you sure you want to go up now? We could go up after dinner," Ham suggested.
"Nah, let's get this over with," Kyle replied. So the four walked down the hall until they got to the end. "This is it?" Kyle asked. Jake and Ham nodded. Kyle opened the door. One bed was already made up, and the other was shoved in the corner.
Suddenly Ryder popped out of the closet. "Who are you?" Ryder asked in his British accent. "Kyle Valenti, your roommate."
Ryder looked past him to see Jake, Ham, and Max. "Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds."
"Go to Hell," Jake answered.
"Sure, you first," Ryder retorted as he walked out of the room past Jake.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Kyle said when Ryder was gone.
"Yeah, sure." Ham said.
Meanwhile, Scout, Paige, Will, and Caroline were sitting on the dock talking.
"Miss me?" Caroline asked Will.
"Of course."
"Did you miss me?" Scout asked Paige.
"Yes, I did. I missed you so much." Paige giggled.
"So is Finn teaching poetry class again?" Will asked.
"Why, so you can tutor me again?" Caroline answered.
Scout pulled his roster out of his pocket. "Let's see: Math, Science, History, Computer Science, English, and Poetry with Finn."
"Hurrah!" Caroline cheered.
"That's good to hear." Everyone turned to see Finn. "Good to see you all back, especially you, Will."
"Hi, Finn, thanks," Will replied.
"So who are we studying this semester?" Paige asked.
"How do you feel about Edgar Allen Poe?" Finn smiled.
"Cool!" Scout exclaimed.
"So Will, are you still open to tutoring?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Well, see you all around."
"Bye Finn!" All four answered.
Will watched Finn walk away. "Hey, Jake, hey, Ham," Will said as they walked up with two guys Will didn't know.
"Hi guys," Ham said.
"Hi," Jake answered.
"Are you going to introduce your friends or just let them stand there feeling stupid?" Scout said, smiling.
"Very funny," Ham replied. "This is Max Evans and Kyle Valenti." He pointed everyone out to Max and Kyle. "The loudmouth is Scout, that's Paige, Caroline, and Will."
Everyone said hello.
"So where are you guys from?" Will asked as the four sat down.
"Roswell, New Mexico," Max replied.
"You mean the place with the UFO crash?" Scout asked.
"Yup," Max replied.
"Oh, Scout I almost forgot," Jake started to say. "And Will, Bella wants us all to meet tonight at the diner."
"What about?" Paige asked.
"She didn't say, but I'm sure she won't mind if you joined us."
"No, that's all right," Paige replied.
"So who are you guys rooming with?" Will asked, changing the subject.
"Jake," Max replied.
"Really?" Will and Scout asked, raising an eyebrow at Jake, who shook her head.
"How about you, Kyle?" Will asked.
"Ryder."
"Are you kidding me? Man, I feel sorry for you," Scout replied.
"Is he really that bad?"
"Don't answer that question," Caroline said.
"Speak of the devil," Paige said, standing up. Everyone looked up to see Ryder coming their way. "I'll see you later." Paige kissed Scout on the cheek.
"Me too." Caroline kissed Will and the two girls took off.
"Don't leave, Caroline, the fun is just beginning," Ryder yelled after them.
"Buzz off, Ryder," Will said.
"Well, hello, Krudski," Ryder replied. Ryder looked around. "Well, isn't this a treat, my roomie, the two lovebirds, Krudski, and Calhoun all in the same place."
Kyle and Max looked at Ryder funny after the lovebird remark.
"Oh, you didn't hear these two were getting busy during the summer?" Ryder laughed as he lit a cigarette.
"Go away, cancer boy," Will said.
Ryder smiled. "So are you going to help with my poetry again this year?"
"Very funny, but unless you want to have to fork over all your money, no."
"Pity." Ryder walked away.
"What was he talking about?" Max asked Ham and Jake.
"You don't want to know," Jake answered. "Anybody hungry?"
"I am," Will replied.
"Yeah, me too," Scout joined in. "You guys coming?"
"Yeah, we're coming," Kyle answered.
Later at Friendly's: Sean and Bella sat in a booth in the front corner. When Scout, Will, Jake, and Ham walked in, Kyle and Max had changed their minds and decided not to join them.
"Hi," everyone said, greeting each other.
Will sat next to Bella, then Scout, Ham, and Jake.
"Come on, Bella, what happened?" Jake asked impatiently.
"My mom came back. My little speech must have slapped her back into reality. She just showed up the day before the auction. She talked to dad and Grace, and then signed the deed over to me because she didn't want Charley to have it. Then we talked. Oh, Scout, I asked her. We're not related, she told Charley that to piss him off. I met him, my real dad and he's not what I expected. Then my mom offered for me to go and live with her. But as I told her before, the station is our whole lives, I can't leave that."
"Wow!" Will said.
"Scout?" Bella asked.
"It's funny, I got so used to thinking you were my sister, that well, you know."
"Yeah, I do." Bella hugged Sean.
Scout turned to Sean. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try and steal your girlfriend."
Sean smiled. "Thanks. So Will, you're back at Rawley?"
"Yup, they said that I'm too much of an asset to let go." Will smiled.
"Um, Jake,'' Scout said, "what are you going to do about Max?"
"You have a roommate?" Bella picked up on it right away.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"What are you going to do?" Sean asked.
"I have no idea. Ham, I wish I had told you yes."
"Maybe I could talk to my parents again."
"Anything would be better than my current situation."
"If Max is with you, who is Kyle with?" Bella asked.
"Ryder," Jake answered.
"That poor kid," Bella said.
"Yeah, well it's a good thing he's only here on a football scholarship," Ham said. "He only has to deal with Ryder for four months."
Meanwhile in Max's room, Kyle and Max were talking, while Max unpacked.
"So why are you down here again?" Max asked.
"Cause the guy is playing poker and I didn't like the guys he hangs out with."
"You have mail," said a voice on Max's laptop. Max picked it up and sat on his bed next to Kyle.
"It's from Maria." The e-mail was a picture of an alien key chain. Underneath the picture, it said, "This is what I'm going to do to Tess and Michael if they don't shut up." Max and Kyle laughed. Max e-mailed Maria back with a picture of Rawley Academy.
"Okay, is it just me or do you think there's something going on between Jake and Hamilton?" Kyle asked.
"Oh, yeah. There's definitely something happening."
"I wonder what's Ryder's deal. I mean, a bully usually has a reason why."
"You mean like when your friends beat me up because of Liz."
"Yeah, like that. Sorry about that."
"It's okay. Actually I don't blame you."
The door opened and Jake and Hamilton walked in. "Oh, hey, guys," Jake said, a little surprised. Hamilton was about to leave.
"Wait a sec. I've got pictures."
"Huh, what?"
"From New York."
"Oh, yeah." Jake handed Ham the pictures.
"They're all doubles."
"Cool, see you tomorrow."
"Bye."
"Bye, guys."
"Bye." Max and Kyle answered as Ham left.
After Ham left, Jake walked over to her computer and turned it on. Max reached into his pocket and pulled out Maria's cedar oil. Max showed it to Kyle and they smiled. Max put the bottle on the night stand.
"Well, I"m going to try and get some sleep. See ya later, Max. See ya, Jake."
"Night, Kyle," Max replied.
"See ya, Kyle," Jake answered.
Kyle left. Max laid down on his bed.
The next day, Max woke up to find Jake already gone. Max walked down the hall, took a shower, got changed, and went to get breakfast. Later he found Kyle and the two went to History. After History, Max had Poetry and English with Finn, but there wasn't a classroom listed. Max was confused; he hadn't met Finn yet, so he was totally lost.
Then Max saw Hamilton and Jake. "Hey, guys."
"Hi, Max," they answered.
"Where is Finn's class? I have it next."
"It's on the green, by the art building," Ham said.
"Oh." They walked away. Then Max realized that he didn't know where the art building was. But they were gone, so Max walked around the buildings. Then he saw two girls with Literature books and notebooks. One girl was tall with red hair and freckles and the other was of average height with blonde hair.
"Excuse me?" The girls looked up. "Hi, I'm a little lost."
"Hi," they replied. "Where do you want to go?" the red head asked.
"The green, I have a class there."
"Finn's class?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah."
"That's where we're going. You can join us," the red head answered. "My name is Lena."
"Hi, I'm Max. And you are?"
"Gwen, hi."
"So where are you from, Max?" Lena asked.
"Roswell, New Mexico."
"Interesting," Gwen said smiling.
Max flashed them a smile.
"Well, this is the green," Lena said as they walked up to a group of kids who were sitting.
"Hey, Max," Will called out.
"Hey, Will." Max sat with Will, Scout, Caroline, and Paige. Lena and Gwen sat next to Max as Jake and Ham walked up.
"Hey, Lena, how are ya doing?" Jake asked as they sat down.
"Okay, you?"
"I'm cool. So who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is Gwen, she's my cousin."
"Hi, Gwen. I'm Jake."
"Nice to meet you."
"Welcome all," Finn announced as he walked up. "I'm Finn, I teach coed Poetry and English for the boys. I'm sure you've all got your books, so will you all turn to page 10."
At the dorms, Jake and Max got settled while Kyle and Ham watched.
"Okay, well, this is good enough for me. How about Kyle?" Max said. "Are you sure you want to go up now? We could go up after dinner," Ham suggested.
"Nah, let's get this over with," Kyle replied. So the four walked down the hall until they got to the end. "This is it?" Kyle asked. Jake and Ham nodded. Kyle opened the door. One bed was already made up, and the other was shoved in the corner.
Suddenly Ryder popped out of the closet. "Who are you?" Ryder asked in his British accent. "Kyle Valenti, your roommate."
Ryder looked past him to see Jake, Ham, and Max. "Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds."
"Go to Hell," Jake answered.
"Sure, you first," Ryder retorted as he walked out of the room past Jake.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Kyle said when Ryder was gone.
"Yeah, sure." Ham said.
Meanwhile, Scout, Paige, Will, and Caroline were sitting on the dock talking.
"Miss me?" Caroline asked Will.
"Of course."
"Did you miss me?" Scout asked Paige.
"Yes, I did. I missed you so much." Paige giggled.
"So is Finn teaching poetry class again?" Will asked.
"Why, so you can tutor me again?" Caroline answered.
Scout pulled his roster out of his pocket. "Let's see: Math, Science, History, Computer Science, English, and Poetry with Finn."
"Hurrah!" Caroline cheered.
"That's good to hear." Everyone turned to see Finn. "Good to see you all back, especially you, Will."
"Hi, Finn, thanks," Will replied.
"So who are we studying this semester?" Paige asked.
"How do you feel about Edgar Allen Poe?" Finn smiled.
"Cool!" Scout exclaimed.
"So Will, are you still open to tutoring?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Well, see you all around."
"Bye Finn!" All four answered.
Will watched Finn walk away. "Hey, Jake, hey, Ham," Will said as they walked up with two guys Will didn't know.
"Hi guys," Ham said.
"Hi," Jake answered.
"Are you going to introduce your friends or just let them stand there feeling stupid?" Scout said, smiling.
"Very funny," Ham replied. "This is Max Evans and Kyle Valenti." He pointed everyone out to Max and Kyle. "The loudmouth is Scout, that's Paige, Caroline, and Will."
Everyone said hello.
"So where are you guys from?" Will asked as the four sat down.
"Roswell, New Mexico," Max replied.
"You mean the place with the UFO crash?" Scout asked.
"Yup," Max replied.
"Oh, Scout I almost forgot," Jake started to say. "And Will, Bella wants us all to meet tonight at the diner."
"What about?" Paige asked.
"She didn't say, but I'm sure she won't mind if you joined us."
"No, that's all right," Paige replied.
"So who are you guys rooming with?" Will asked, changing the subject.
"Jake," Max replied.
"Really?" Will and Scout asked, raising an eyebrow at Jake, who shook her head.
"How about you, Kyle?" Will asked.
"Ryder."
"Are you kidding me? Man, I feel sorry for you," Scout replied.
"Is he really that bad?"
"Don't answer that question," Caroline said.
"Speak of the devil," Paige said, standing up. Everyone looked up to see Ryder coming their way. "I'll see you later." Paige kissed Scout on the cheek.
"Me too." Caroline kissed Will and the two girls took off.
"Don't leave, Caroline, the fun is just beginning," Ryder yelled after them.
"Buzz off, Ryder," Will said.
"Well, hello, Krudski," Ryder replied. Ryder looked around. "Well, isn't this a treat, my roomie, the two lovebirds, Krudski, and Calhoun all in the same place."
Kyle and Max looked at Ryder funny after the lovebird remark.
"Oh, you didn't hear these two were getting busy during the summer?" Ryder laughed as he lit a cigarette.
"Go away, cancer boy," Will said.
Ryder smiled. "So are you going to help with my poetry again this year?"
"Very funny, but unless you want to have to fork over all your money, no."
"Pity." Ryder walked away.
"What was he talking about?" Max asked Ham and Jake.
"You don't want to know," Jake answered. "Anybody hungry?"
"I am," Will replied.
"Yeah, me too," Scout joined in. "You guys coming?"
"Yeah, we're coming," Kyle answered.
Later at Friendly's: Sean and Bella sat in a booth in the front corner. When Scout, Will, Jake, and Ham walked in, Kyle and Max had changed their minds and decided not to join them.
"Hi," everyone said, greeting each other.
Will sat next to Bella, then Scout, Ham, and Jake.
"Come on, Bella, what happened?" Jake asked impatiently.
"My mom came back. My little speech must have slapped her back into reality. She just showed up the day before the auction. She talked to dad and Grace, and then signed the deed over to me because she didn't want Charley to have it. Then we talked. Oh, Scout, I asked her. We're not related, she told Charley that to piss him off. I met him, my real dad and he's not what I expected. Then my mom offered for me to go and live with her. But as I told her before, the station is our whole lives, I can't leave that."
"Wow!" Will said.
"Scout?" Bella asked.
"It's funny, I got so used to thinking you were my sister, that well, you know."
"Yeah, I do." Bella hugged Sean.
Scout turned to Sean. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try and steal your girlfriend."
Sean smiled. "Thanks. So Will, you're back at Rawley?"
"Yup, they said that I'm too much of an asset to let go." Will smiled.
"Um, Jake,'' Scout said, "what are you going to do about Max?"
"You have a roommate?" Bella picked up on it right away.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"What are you going to do?" Sean asked.
"I have no idea. Ham, I wish I had told you yes."
"Maybe I could talk to my parents again."
"Anything would be better than my current situation."
"If Max is with you, who is Kyle with?" Bella asked.
"Ryder," Jake answered.
"That poor kid," Bella said.
"Yeah, well it's a good thing he's only here on a football scholarship," Ham said. "He only has to deal with Ryder for four months."
Meanwhile in Max's room, Kyle and Max were talking, while Max unpacked.
"So why are you down here again?" Max asked.
"Cause the guy is playing poker and I didn't like the guys he hangs out with."
"You have mail," said a voice on Max's laptop. Max picked it up and sat on his bed next to Kyle.
"It's from Maria." The e-mail was a picture of an alien key chain. Underneath the picture, it said, "This is what I'm going to do to Tess and Michael if they don't shut up." Max and Kyle laughed. Max e-mailed Maria back with a picture of Rawley Academy.
"Okay, is it just me or do you think there's something going on between Jake and Hamilton?" Kyle asked.
"Oh, yeah. There's definitely something happening."
"I wonder what's Ryder's deal. I mean, a bully usually has a reason why."
"You mean like when your friends beat me up because of Liz."
"Yeah, like that. Sorry about that."
"It's okay. Actually I don't blame you."
The door opened and Jake and Hamilton walked in. "Oh, hey, guys," Jake said, a little surprised. Hamilton was about to leave.
"Wait a sec. I've got pictures."
"Huh, what?"
"From New York."
"Oh, yeah." Jake handed Ham the pictures.
"They're all doubles."
"Cool, see you tomorrow."
"Bye."
"Bye, guys."
"Bye." Max and Kyle answered as Ham left.
After Ham left, Jake walked over to her computer and turned it on. Max reached into his pocket and pulled out Maria's cedar oil. Max showed it to Kyle and they smiled. Max put the bottle on the night stand.
"Well, I"m going to try and get some sleep. See ya later, Max. See ya, Jake."
"Night, Kyle," Max replied.
"See ya, Kyle," Jake answered.
Kyle left. Max laid down on his bed.
The next day, Max woke up to find Jake already gone. Max walked down the hall, took a shower, got changed, and went to get breakfast. Later he found Kyle and the two went to History. After History, Max had Poetry and English with Finn, but there wasn't a classroom listed. Max was confused; he hadn't met Finn yet, so he was totally lost.
Then Max saw Hamilton and Jake. "Hey, guys."
"Hi, Max," they answered.
"Where is Finn's class? I have it next."
"It's on the green, by the art building," Ham said.
"Oh." They walked away. Then Max realized that he didn't know where the art building was. But they were gone, so Max walked around the buildings. Then he saw two girls with Literature books and notebooks. One girl was tall with red hair and freckles and the other was of average height with blonde hair.
"Excuse me?" The girls looked up. "Hi, I'm a little lost."
"Hi," they replied. "Where do you want to go?" the red head asked.
"The green, I have a class there."
"Finn's class?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah."
"That's where we're going. You can join us," the red head answered. "My name is Lena."
"Hi, I'm Max. And you are?"
"Gwen, hi."
"So where are you from, Max?" Lena asked.
"Roswell, New Mexico."
"Interesting," Gwen said smiling.
Max flashed them a smile.
"Well, this is the green," Lena said as they walked up to a group of kids who were sitting.
"Hey, Max," Will called out.
"Hey, Will." Max sat with Will, Scout, Caroline, and Paige. Lena and Gwen sat next to Max as Jake and Ham walked up.
"Hey, Lena, how are ya doing?" Jake asked as they sat down.
"Okay, you?"
"I'm cool. So who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is Gwen, she's my cousin."
"Hi, Gwen. I'm Jake."
"Nice to meet you."
"Welcome all," Finn announced as he walked up. "I'm Finn, I teach coed Poetry and English for the boys. I'm sure you've all got your books, so will you all turn to page 10."