Chapter 33
I jumped into the water and chased after Fang. Of course everyone steered clear while Fang and I screamed and splashed each other.
"I don't see why you guys splash each other for revenge… you're in a swimming pool and you're already wet!" Gazzy pointed out.
"Oh," Fang and I realised at the same time.
"Yeah dude, it's when she's dry that you want to push her in," Iggy told him.
"Hey!" I exclaimed in disapproval.
"What?" Iggy asked me.
"I normally get Fang but I can swap to you just as easy!" I warned him.
"Fang, leave her alone what did she ever do to you?" Iggy suddenly changed his mind.
"Thanks a lot, Ig, I thought you had my back," Fang scoffed.
"Hey you said that Max was your favourite," Iggy pointed out.
"Well I didn't hear you saying that it wouldn't be the same without me," Fang reminded him.
"Is it just me or are Fang and Iggy beginning to sound like they're married?" Gazzy asked the rest of us.
"No they sound like they're married," Nudge, Ella and I all said together.
"Thought so," Gazzy nodded.
"Come on let's leave them here and go watch a movie," Nudge requested.
"Nah, we'll go and play pool and wait for them to join us, tease them excessively and then watch a movie," Ella suggested.
"Yeah that idea is better," Nudge agreed.
We slipped out of the pool, dried off and headed to the pool room (as in the game) on the first floor. By the time we got there Iggy and Fang still hadn't joined us. Nudge played against Ella while Gazzy and I watched. Gazzy spent most of his time gazing at Ella and my heart went out to Nudge who seemed to notice.
It was a good ten minutes before Iggy and Fang found us.
"What are you guys doing here?" Iggy demanded.
"We couldn't stand to see you fight like that, we thought maybe your marriage would be over," Gazzy joked.
"Oh come on we weren't that bad," Fang protested.
"Are you kidding me? You sounded like you were fighting with Max!" Ella laughed.
"What so Max and I sound like we're married?" Fang demanded.
"Basically," Iggy, Nudge, Ella and Gazzy agreed.
"Hey!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry, Max, but it's true." Nudge grimaced.
"Fine," Fang and I grumbled.
"So, Fang, first you were married to Max and now you're married to Iggy?" Gazzy checked.
"Oh, Fang, I feel so unloved," Iggy gasped.
"Why should you feel unloved?" Ella demanded.
"Because, I was the second choice!" Iggy cried.
"This is getting annoying," Fang sighed.
"Alright you've had your fun now let's go watch a movie or something," I commanded them all.
I herded them up the stairs and to the cinema room I chucked in the second Harry Potter film since I couldn't think of anything else and sat on the lounge in the fifth row. I was soon joined by Nudge and Ella. The boys sat in the bean bags. Well they piled them up on top of each other and argued over whose tower was taller. Boys could be so stupid sometimes.
I didn't really pay attention to the movie I was thinking about Midnight and what it felt like to ride him. To feel like I'm flying like one of those birds in the flock, like I had my own pair of wings. I began to think of the whole flock with wings. Not small dainty ones but big powerful but elegant ones. Nudge of course would have tawny brown wings to match her brown skin. Fang would have black wings of course, Gazzy would resemble a barn owl, looks cute and sweet but secretly deadly hence his nickname. Angel would remind me of well an Angel with wings as pure as the freshly fallen snow. Ari well I could just imagine him with giant wings and clumsily flying through the air. I seemed to imagine myself with wings of different shades of brown. Iggy seemed to be a mystery I was almost blind as to what his wings would look like. I imagined them similar to Gazzy's but lighter in shade. Ella didn't seem to have wings but yet she seemed like her strengths would be on the ground.
Maybe fang was right in the sense that while we were a flock of eight there were only seven in the sky. If Ella did have wings though, they would probably be a brownish red colour with white spots. I imagined the birds but replaced their bodies with our own. I imagined us soaring at unimaginable heights feeling the wind through my hair and gazing at the world below.
"Max! Max!" I heard a voice call to me from somewhere far away. I slowly zoned back into reality and the voices became clearer.
"Max!" Ella called me.
"Huh?" I asked.
"The movie's finished. Did you even watch it?" Iggy asked me.
"I must've zoned out." I shrugged.
"Are you ok?" Fang asked me cautiously.
"Yeah, I'm fine just a bit out of it. I started imagining all of us with wings," I explained. I relayed my thoughts to them and watched them as they listened to me.
"Hey, you know it would be so cool if you could turn thoughts into reality. OMG if that were true I would have a house made of cheese! But then I would eat it and I wouldn't have a place to live and then I'd be homeless and have to live on the street and I would look dirty and have to beg for money and people would scream when they saw me coming and then you lot wouldn't recognise me so when I came to you for refuge you would just turn you backs on me and shut the door. Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" Nudge screamed and fell back onto the couch.
"Nudge, how is this related to us having wings?" Iggy asked her as he rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know bu…" She began before Gazzy clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Thank you!" We all thanked Gazzy and laughed at Nudge trying to speak but Gazzy had a firm hold on her.
Eventually Gazzy released Nudge and went to walk with Ella. I saw Nudge's face fall almost instantly.
"You ok?" I asked her when the boys and Ella got ahead.
"Yeah, I'll get used to it, he's a friend and nothing is ever going to happen. I'll get over it," Nudge shrugged. She seemed convincing. She knew she had to get over Gazzy, I just wished that Gazzy knew the same about Ella.
"Max, do have any board games?" Iggy asked me.
"Wait, do you mean that Mr. Cool wants to play a board game?" I asked. He poked his tongue out at me and glared. "I think that we have monopoly in the top lounge," I told him. I found monopoly and the five of us convinced Fang to come and play with us which wasn't easy.
It wasn't long before Ella and Nudge were in the lead which wasn't fair. Iggy was coming last and Fang, Gazzy and I were all around the same. We had no hope of catching the girls up since they guarded their money with their life. We didn't get to finish the game since everyone's parents came to come and get them including my Mum.
We met them in the entryway and they all had their mouths wide open and their eyes almost popping out of their heads. Mum was having a nice conversation with Dad and the other parents.
"So um how long have you lived here?" Nudge's Mum Natalie asked Dad.
"Just over a year," Dad smiled proudly.
"Well it's quite impressive," Iggy's mum Claire gasped.
"Thank you, feel free to pop around at any time," Dad invited them.
"Thanks," Claire, Paul, Natalie and Gazzy's Dad Steve thanked Dad.
The flock left quickly and that just left Ella, Mum and I.
"Mum, I want to show you Midnight," I requested with a big smile.
"Alright," Mum agreed. I led her out the back of the house and to the stable. We walked in and I managed to get Midnight to come forward.
"Jeb, you've outdone yourself," Mum gasped.
"Val, you know she's always wanted a horse," Jeb pointed out.
"Oh, Mum that reminds me, Nancy says hi," I remembered. Mum looked shocked.
"Nancy?" She asked looking at me, she turned her face to Dad. "As in Nancy?"
"Yeah, I bought Max's horse from her," Dad explained.
"You mean you got in touch with her?" Mum demanded.
"Yeah, for a few years now," Dad shrugged. I saw a dark look come across Mum's eyes.
"El, let's go wait in the car," I whispered to Ella. We quickly snuck off. We didn't get far when Mum came storming out of the stables.
"Val!" Dad called.
"Don't you Val me!" Mum yelled. "How could you not tell me that!" Mum cried.
"Val, please," Dad tried.
"Don't, come on girls you've got school in the morning," Mum sighed.
I was officially confused, I gathered from Nancy that she and Mum had been friends but this was bizarre. Ella and I got into the car silently.
"I'm sorry about that girls, I shouldn't have done that in front of you," Mum apologised.
"It's ok, honestly," I assured her.
"Confusing but ok," Ella agreed. We spent the rest of the ride in mostly silence, leaving me to ponder over what just happened.