Chapter 8. An old enemy

"Well, maybe I should start working part time as a psychologist."

Mocha sat down in the sofa and took a sip from her cup of tea.

"What do you mean?" Max asked and looked at her. She giggled softly.

"Only that Bobby have been telling me about almost the same thing that I sense you're going to talk about," she answered and put the mug down on her coffee table.

"That he kissed me?" Max looked down into his own tea and so he wasn't able to see Mocha's expression. If he had, he had been one of the few whom had seen her in chock. She gathered herself quickly though and leaned forward towards Max. She put a finger under his chin and tilted his face so that he was looking at her.

"Tell me," she then said and looked him deep into the eyes. He raised his hands in the air with a sigh.

"What is there to tell you more than that he...Bobby..." Max's voice faded away as the word still felt too unfamiliar in his mouth together with Bobby's name.

"Just tell me what happened," the woman before him said soothingly and leaned back against the backside of the sofa. Max looked at her with disbelief and then out through the window. As he watched the silent snowflakes he started to tell her about the whole incident with him finding the smokes which led to the fighting and the kiss. She listened, without interrupting and when he was done she watched him during silence as he took a sip from his now cold tea. When she didn't say anything he lowered his eyes and a sarcastic laughter escaped from his lips.

"And you know what? You wanna know what the most fucked up thing about this is?" he said without meeting her eyes.

"I wouldn't express myself like that, but yes," she replied. Max looked at his hands.

"It wasn't...unpleasant," he finally said and swallowed nervously.

"It was a good kiss," Mocha stated without any further curlicues. Max nodded and smiled weakly at her straightforwardness.

"So what are you going to do now?" she asked in her soft voice. He shrugged.

"What is there to do? Guess I have to confront him somehow..."

"Sure," Mocha said and stood up to remove the cups. When she bent down to pick up Max's she placed her free hand on his chest.

"Just don't forget to listen to this," she continued before taking his mug and walked out to her kitchen with her usual, floating moves without giving him time to respond. When she came back Max had stood up and was ready to leave. He reached out his hand towards her but she just ignored it and hugged him before following him to the door. Just when he was about to leave she said:

"Oh, and say hello to "the fly in my soup" from me if you see him."

Max turned around and looked at the smirking poet.

"The who?" he asked in confusion.

"Didn't you know?" It seems like Uppercrust is back again from the hospital."

/\/\/\

Bradley Uppercrust III, king over the college by birthright, stood up from his comfortable armchair, his throne, and looked out over his remaining companions. They were one man short and Brad smiled mischievously as he thought of the power he possessed here at campus. After the incident with the fire and Tank's unfortunate rescue, he had to make sure that there was no doubt on who was ruling this place. Getting his right hand expelled and charged with assault was not the hard part. The hard part was gaining respect when sitting in a wheelchair. Bradley was now able to walk almost perfectly as long as he used crutches for support and whenever someone even looked at him in a rude way, the Gammas were there, making it very clear that their leader's glory days were not over yet.

Bradley's life was back on track: he had survived being thrown into a freaking airship, he had regained his status at the college and he was with people he could trust. There was just one little detail which failed his life from feeling perfect. That Goof-boy and his friends were still at the school and people loved them! Bradley had not yet managed to avenge his humiliation and he blamed those three and especially Maximillian Goof. But he could wait. He was, most of the time, a patient man and he would wait for them to show a weakness. And the moment they did, he would strike and leave them just as humiliated as he had been.

/\/\/\

Bobby sat in the gym hidden behind three big exercise machines. He had no idea what they were called or what they did but since no one seemed to use them as long as the snow was still on the ground, he found it the perfect place to dwell. The main reason was that he was hiding from Max. He knew he would have to turn back to the dorm eventually but he didn't want to think about it. And he would not go back until he was sure that his roommates were fast asleep. The other reason for him being at the gym where he could be alone was that (yes people this is true) he was studying! The test would be in a week and he had finally realized that if he were to fix things he had to at least make this. The shit with Max... Well, it had been like this for many years (without the kissing part though) and he knew that he would never be able to deal with that if he was to be thrown out from college.

"Baby steps," he told himself. "Avoid Max, pass test, talk to Max... maybe..."

That was the way he would handle it. One thing at the time. He knew that Mocha wouldn't really agree with the "avoiding"- part but he didn't really care. His head felt like mashed potatoes and he couldn't get hold of more than one thought at a time. He needed to be alone. He needed to focus.

He stared down at the book in his lap. He actually knew some of this but the rest was just weird. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. No smoke detectors or fire sprinklers could be seen. He lit a cigarette and let the smoke fill his lungs. He felt his mind clear up and a feeling that he would succeed replaced the thought that everything was lost. He could make this!

/\/\/\

It was late when Max finally entered the dorm. He had been at the library, studying and secretly looking for Bobby but with no success. When he now took off his clothes before going to bed he saw that PJ was already sound asleep but that Bobby's bed was empty. Max sighed and lay down in his bed. Memories of the day flashed before his closed eyes and he fell asleep with a burning sensation lingering on his lips.

/\/\/\

Author's note

I'm sorry for the long wait and that when I finally update it's very short. This is mostly just a filler chapter and to upload something so you won't grow too tired of me :)

I actually did some research now about smoking cannabis and I realized that maybe I haven't portrayed it the right way before. Anyway, it said that a person who smokes, at first gets very clear in the head, which is why I thought it would fit together with Bobby studying. Now don't get me wrong: I DO NOT support smoking cannabis or anything like that, because of the long term consequences and the risk for addiction.

Just thought I had to make that clear XD