A/N I got the idea of this chapter after the Saturday I posted this story. So this stuff is what happened to me when I was about 8 or 9, about 4 or 5 years ago. But they have a storm shelter when we didn't. I was actually in bed asleep when this happened. It's amazing I didn't get killed.

And I have a new story called Flock Facebooks. Check it out!

Journal NOT a Diary!!!

Max's Journal

April 30, 2010

I sat up in my bed so fast I slammed my head against the ceiling. I cried out. Some siren was going off. A very loud siren was going off....somewhere. I jumped from my bed and ran out in the hall. "What is that?" I yelled over the siren. Heads poked out of everyone's room.

"Storm alert!" Mom yelled. She shoved us all in the living room, where the sirene was eardrum-busting loud. She hit the 'Weather Snooze' button. (A/N That's what's on our strom alert: Weather Snooze.) A lower beeping came before a muffled voice in a microphone I couldn't understand.

"What did it say?" I asked after everything was quiet, except for the wind and rain whipping the house.

"Tornado warning," Mom said. "Come on. The neighbors have a huge storm shelter." I glanced out the window. A family was running over to the house across the street, and a woman rushed them in a hill with a door beside their house.

Angel looked around nervously. "You want us to go out in that thing?"

"Don't be afraid of a little rain," Mom said. Suddenly there was a loud rumble from outside that made the whole house shake. Angel and Nudge screeched and clung to each other. "And a lot of thunder." In all my life, I never knew thunder could shake a house. An earthquake maybe, but not thunder.

"But I don't want to get my hair wet!" Nudge screeched.

I walked over to her. "It's either wet hair or your death!"

Nudge's eyes got big and she swallowed and nodded. "I'll get my hair wet." I hated to scare her like that, but it was the only way.

Mom looked at me. "Max, I'm going to take the others on over. Grab my phone and keys and lock the door before you come over." I nodded. Mom unlocked the front door and shoved them out. Gazzy guided Iggy, while Fang kept a grip on Nudge and Angel so they wouldn't blow away.

After one last huff, I got Mom's purse off the table and fished out the house key. I would just take her whole purse. I stepped out of the house and, with the wind blowing my hair everywhere, stuck the key in the keyhole. I tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge. I jerked and tugged. Suddenly it came out, making me fall backwards. Mom's purse spilled and I didn't have the key.

"No!" I yelled. I made a grab for the key, but it flew off with a bunch of recites. I grabbed her checkbook with her cash and stuffed it back down in her purse.

I ran towards the neighbor's house. I could see the tornado forming at the end of the street, coiling over and over like a snake. It was only a few feet from the ground, and building fast. I banged on the storm shelter door.

A young woman, probably in her early twenties, opened the door. It was too dark to tell if her hair was brown or black, but she had bright blue eyes. "Hello! I'm Gertrude. And you must be Max! Your mother has told me so much about you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure she has!" I shoved past her into the shelter and tossed the purse to Mom. "The key got stuck. I dropped it and it flew off with a bunch of recites."

Mom frowned. "You lost the house key?"

I avoided everyone elses gaze. "Yes. Sorry."

Mom shook her head. "Well, nothing we can do about it now." She suddenly froze. "Did ALL the recites fly away?"

"Most of them."

She immediately started searching through her purse. "No! It's not hear!"

Okay, now I know this seems crazy, but I had a strange feeling I lost something important.

"What?" I asked.

"My lawyer gave me that recite. I have to have it for my plane to Atlanta. Oh, my boss will be mad!"

Mom was about to go on a buisness trip to Atlanta for a training course or something. And Sam refused to take a step in our house after the court. They wouldn't even come in to get their luggage, all their junk was still in our house. Eh, maybe the tornado will pick it up.

"Sorry Mom!" I said again.

She sighed. "It's okay, Max. It's not your fault. I should have got that pesky lock fixed months ago."

"Um, okay then." As long as I didn't get in any more trouble, I was fine. I sat beside Fang and played with my hands.

(A/N my stupid long line won't work. Just pretend this is a divider)

Okay, that I just wrote was going to be the end of my entry, but before I could write -Maximum, there was a knock at my door.

"Come on," I said, quickly closing my journal and shoving it under my pillow. Fang opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him.

"Hey," he said, sitting down beside me.

"Hey."

"That was sort of rough today." It was about six in the morning, and none of us had really cared to go to sleep after that. It was amazing we even got in our own house! But luckily Mom remembered she hid a spare key under a porch board.

"Yeah. I lost our key. And I probably got Mom fired." I looked down and ran my foot on the carpet, making it darker and lighter.

"She didn't blame you, neither does anyone else. It was the stupid lock's fault." After he saw I wasn't buying it, he sighed. "You didn't get your mom fired, Max. She called her boss and said she'd be a little late. She just has to go the whole process like most people."

I waited, but he didn't say anything. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, yeah. The bad thing that would happen didn't."

Standing up, I sighed. "Fang, it's not loosing Mom's stupid recite that I'm upset about!" He raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't understand." Even I almost didn't. I just wanted him to comfort me. I know, I'm weird like that.

As if he was reading my mind, he stood up and wrapped his arms around me and a tight hug. Butterflies appeared in my stomach. "When you figure it out," he said, "I'll be here." He kissed my cheek and rubbed my back.

"Hey Max, I--" Nudge froze. Fang and I immidiatly split apart. "Oh, sorry." Nudge's face was bright red.

So the next few minutes were very awkward. You don't need to know that, Ella. Nothing that concerns you.

--Maximum