Chapter 21
"Max! Max MaxMaxMax!" a frantic voice cried, waking me up the next morning. I squinted at whoever had just invaded my room.
"Nudge? What's the problem?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "What time is it?"
"We're going to be late for school!" Nudge complained. "Why didn't you wake us up? We're still trying to get Gazzy out of bed!"
I yawned, slowly standing up. "Not my problem, remember? Why don't you ask Fang? He's the new flock leader, after all."
"Maaaaax," Nudge started to whine again, but I shoved her out of my room and quickly dressed.
When I walked downstairs for breakfast, Nudge was going ballistic. Fang was just sitting there eating a bowl of cereal, looking completely oblivious, and Iggy was covering his ears with his hands.
"Max always wakes us up on time for school!" she was yelling at Fang. "We're going to be late!"
I rolled my eyes. "Nudge, it's okay. The bus doesn't leave until…" That was when I glanced at the clock.
The bus was coming in two minutes. I was about ready to grab everyone and throw them out the door, screaming, "Move movemove!" until I realized that was Fang's job now.
So I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter, waiting to see what he'd do.
Gazzy walked into the kitchen, still in his Spiderman pajamas and clearly half-asleep. "Morning," he murmured.
"Morning," I replied, ruffling his hair.
"Guys! We have to go!" Nudge was screaming, standing at the door with her pink backpack slung over one shoulder. "The bus is here!"
Fang calmly stood up and put his bowl into the sink. "Okay. Let's go."
Nudge sighed. "Now you say that!" She grabbed Gazzy's arm. "Come on!"
"I'm still in my pajamas!" he complained.
"Change when you get to school," Nudge responded, shoving his backpack at him.
In the end, we didn't even come close to catching the bus. When Fang finally managed to get everyone out the door, the bus drove away.
"Greaaaaat," Nudge whined. "We're so dead."
I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Fang. "What's your plan now, Flock Leader?"
Silently, Fang unfurled his wings.
"We fly."
~~::~~
"I like the new flock transportation!" Iggy called as we zoomed towards the school.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, Fang is such a great leader. He can't get everyone up in time for school."
Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to disagree.
"Let's do this every day!" Nudge squealed happily, flying over me.
"So much better than that dumb old bus," Gazzy agreed.
By the time we landed behind the school, I wasn't in a very good mood. "Have a good day," I told Gazzy and Nudge as they headed towards their classes, their hair a mess from the wind.
"Bye!" Gazzy called, and they disappeared down the hall. Just as the bell rang, of course.
"Oh, look. We're late," I said with a pointed look at Fang.
He just shrugged as I yanked the door open to our classroom. Everyone looked at us as we walked inside.
"Maxine and Jeff, you decided to join us today?" Mrs. Jenkins asked as we took our seats. A few kids laughed. Of course, everyone had found out about the whole 'ditching the field trip' thing.
"My name's Max," I grumbled as I pulled out my notebook.
"Today, we are going to be studying the…." Mrs. Jenkins began, and I started tuning her out, as usual. Maybe if I just failed all my classes, Jeb wouldn't make me go back to school.
Why had I ever agreed to let Fang be the leader? Everyone seemed to want him to be the leader permanently now.
I'm such an idiot! I thought, wanting to bang my head against something.
Sneaking a look over at Fang, I saw Jaz whispering something in my ear. They both looked over at me, and Fang cracked a smile.
My fists clenched and I did my best scowl at them.
"Miss Ride?" Mrs. Jenkins' voice brought me back to reality.
I turned to face her. "Uh, yes sir? Ma'am! I mean ma'am!"
A whole bunch of kids started laughing. Mrs. Jenkins looked a little red in the face, but she persisted with her question.
"Maxine, what is the answer?"
"Uh….what is the question?" I tried, still annoyed at her calling me by the wrong name, but she just frowned.
"Miss Ride, I'm waiting."
I bit my lip, trying to remember what she'd just been talking about. Only I hadn't been paying any attention, of course.
"Iggy, what's the answer?" I whispered.
"How would I know?" Iggy responded. "I never pay attention."
I snickered. "Me neither."
"Miss Ride, kindly give me the answer or I will send you to Mr. Robin." Oops, I had forgotten Mrs. Jenkins was still there. Going to the principal's office was about the last thing I wanted to do, so I quickly said, "Is it….24?"
Everyone burst out laughing, but one look from Mrs. Jenkins silenced them. "Maxine Ride, we are doing history, not mathematics. Do you enjoy making a mockery of my class?"
"Uh huh!" I responded, before I could stop myself.
Her face hardened. "Then I'm sure you would enjoy talking to Mr. Robin about that. Kindly exit my classroom, now."
"Mrs. Jenkins, you can't send Max to the principal!" Iggy suddenly blurted out, and I stared at him.
Mrs. Jenkins smiled, but it was cruel smile. "Then perhaps you'd like to talk to him, as well."
~~::~~
"This sucks," I muttered, kicking at the wall.
"Yep," Iggy agreed with a sigh.
"Mr. Robin's going to kill us!" I yelled, putting my hands on Iggy's shoulders. "He's going to take us to the School!"
"Then we need to stop him!" Iggy decided, balling his hands into fists. "So he won't hurt anyone!"
"But… Fang's the leader now," I murmured, looking at the ground. "That's his job."
Iggy frowned. "Max, Fang's not the real leader. You're the only leader of the flock. You're the only person that will ever be the leader."
I glanced over at him. "Well, then why do Gazzy and Nudge think Fang's so great? Even Angel probably thinks so, and she's only three!"
Iggy reached over and took my hand. "But we all know who the real leader is," he said. "You."
I opened my mouth to say more, but that was when the office lady said, "Mr. Robin will see you now."
Iggy squeezed my hand, and I nodded. "Let's do this," I murmured, and then we walked into the principal's office together.