Max

Two weeks passed with only minor discrepancies. It had quickly become evident her stepfather – whom she referred to simply as David, despite his obvious displeasure – expected them to follow a similar pattern to the one he had lived by before joining households. Ella and their mother had not complained, attempting to adapt for a man clearly accustomed to having things a particular way. Max, however, was not so sympathetic. She had her own habits, and he had his; she respected that, but not a thing in this world would convince her to accept such outrageous changes. She was not self centered; Max spent several afternoons doing dishes, she could relinquish a television for a couple more hours every day. Max was open to a few, minute changes.

She would not, however, get up at ungodly hours on the weekend, just so they could eat breakfast, then spend several hours, which could be put to much better usesleeping, awake. God forbid she ever actually cook, as he had insisted one afternoon when her mother and Ella had been out picking up a few things the house required. She had learned the hard way cooking was not her thing, not unless they wanted some serious remodeling done to the kitchen. That was not an experience she wished to revisit. Her mother and Ella had quickly supported her in the belief that cooking should remain a Max-free aspect, but for the simplest of tasks.

Max had just begun to roll out of bed when the door was forced open, slamming into the wall. It was one of her sisters she deduced, considering she hadn't heard anyone coming up the stairs. She was too tired to figure out who. What was the reasoning behind that infernal beeping that had woken her up?

"Max!" Said girl winced at the shrieking voice. Ella, definitely Ella. "Get up and get ready right now, you're going to be late!" No sooner had her brown haired sister stated her demands did the door slam shut, and the rush of footsteps sound on the stairs.

Late? Max thought to herself, sitting on the side of her bed, trying to pull an answer from her sleep-deprived mind. Oh, right. School. Even in her mind the words were sour. Summer had ended much too quickly. A few moments passed, as she mused how nice it would be to return to the luscious, feathery pillow a mere couple inches away, and put off this whole horrid experience at least one more day. Her door creaked open, and she glanced toward the noise to see Angel peeking in.

"Come on, Max, it won't be that bad." The young girl gave a tiny smile which, despite her tired state, Max returned. It had shocked her, immeasurably, to learn she and Angel got along better than Ella or their mother. Max wasn't the sort who got along with children – quite often she simply didn't have the patience. It seemed she'd found a soft spot for the kid. Whether it was the uncharacteristic heart-to-heart they'd had when Angel had first arrived or something completely different, the angelic blonde had taken a liking to Max. Around Ella and her new stepmother Angel was still reserved, a little shy, even. Around Max, she seemed just the barest bit more open and at times Max could see the little girl she seemed almost afraid to be.

"Sure, sure." The brown eyed girl yawned before shooing her away. "Go on and eat, I'll be down in a bit."

"Alright, Max." The little gremlin agreed before prancing down the hall and stairs, considerably quiet compared to Ella. All distractions downstairs, Max prepared herself mentally for the day before standing to quickly rush through the usual morning routine. Hair and teeth brushed, adequately clothed in hoodie and jeans, backpack in hand, Max deemed herself ready and raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. Max smothered another yawn as she walked by the oven, snatching a stray piece of toast as she made for the door.

"We goin'?" She called between bites, glancing back at her two younger siblings.

The trip to school was short and uneventful. Ella and Angel led the way, both excited and eager at the prospect of finally starting back. Max, on the other hand, was not the least bit thrilled, and hung back a few paces behind to observe. The neighborhood and people seemed nice enough and everyone seemed to be happy here, and that was all that was important to Max. Admittedly she was not a very social person, so there were not many friends she had been forced to leave behind. There house was on the outskirts of town, but the walk was still a short one, and before long they were standing outside Riverdell Elementary – Angel's stop. Ella smiled and gave the youngest of the girls an encouraging hug, before urging her toward the school.

Angel returned a weak smile, although Ella did not seem to notice.

"Come on, Max, we need to go or we'll be late!" The brunette called, turning toward her. Max eyed Angel a moment, pausing, before shaking her head. Although she hid it really well, the kid was scared as hell, she realized.

"You go ahead, El." Max decided, waving her sister toward the school they would be attending a few blocks over. "I'll catch up, kay?" Ella was startled and glanced at her oldest and youngest sisters. Then a light seemed to go off in her head, and a thousand watt smile spread across her face as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay then, I'll see you during or after school!" Tugging her book bag over her shoulder the onyx haired girl began skipping – quite literally – off to school. No more than a few steps into it Ella turned back with an odd look somewhere between amusement and worry. "Oh, and Max? Try not to be too late for school." With that comment Ella turned and again began making her way to school.

Max took a moment to watch after her younger sister, a faint smile of bemusement sitting on her lips. Quickly she shook it off, and turned to Angel, also her younger sister, she reminded herself. "Ready for your first day of school? I know you're excited, so how about we go meet some people?"