Hey! Sorry for the wait. Finals were killing me, and summer school is a thing… haha. I appreciate you guys sticking with me! Now for the second chapter. I wanted to take a moment to thank BlackAdder117 and Shinen no Hikari for taking time out of their fanfiction-ing to write their reviews for Little Lion Man~ I definitely work harder when I know people are waiting on me, ahaha. Now we're getting into what's actually in the film. I apologize for how long this chapter is… don't be afraid to tell me if they're unnecessarily long. I just have a lot of ground to cover! Ahah. It'll reach a regular length and speed once I get everything established (I PROMISE IT'LL BE LESS BORING!). Anyway, please let me know what you think! And thanks again for reading!
"Max…" A familiar voice flooded the younger Goof's ears, causing him to stir beneath his eyelids. He opened his eyes to a blanket of warm sun, a cornfield stretched far beyond his eyes could see. The air felt terribly recognizable as he heard the voice call his name once more. With little effort, his large hands pawed his way through the cornfield until it unveiled a colossal Greek pillar. Petals from seemingly nowhere circled around the figure who sat atop it, the wind carrying them gracefully around her as her long red hair rode the gentle waves.
"Roxanne?"
Of course he'd seen this before. It was quite some time ago, but the bronzing sun set suddenly, much earlier than its cue. Roxanne pushed her hair behind her ear while she gazed at him lovingly, almost beckoning him to her. As the wind intensified, his girlfriend beautifully stood up at the post, her brilliant white dress coasting above her ankles. Her arms stretched out from her sides, a truly blissful expression veiled over her tender features before turning her back toward him. Max continued to approach the towering pillar before noticing her body leaning over the side of her perch, allowing gravity to pull her downwards.
"Roxanne!"
Max thrust his arms out; it was futile as his brown eyes watched her body slowly fall to the ground. Desperation caused him to break out in a cold sweat, and his feet were seemingly rooted to the leveled out corn below him. Her dress blazed a luminescent trail behind her and moments before her flesh hit the ground—
Max shot up from his slumber, his chest heaving in intense breathing. Wide, frightened eyes darted to each of the corners of his room, lit only barely by the new day's rays that could break through his closed blinds.
That's… not how that dream usually went.
It had been some time since Max Goof had a nightmare. He glanced at his alarm clock that aptly read 4:46 am. After his panic subsided, Max, without thinking, pulled his cellphone out from his nightstand drawer and dialed his girlfriend. He finally realized the ridiculousness of his actions the moment he heard her voice filling the receiver.
…Max?
Shivers shot up the teen's spine; it was such a familiar sound that evidently even haunted his dreams. Why are you calling me at… He heard some shuffling and a distinct tap before Roxanne spoke again. Five in the morning? Are you okay?
Max immediately regretted the gesture as guilt clawed at his skin, prickling with goosebumps and nerves from waking up with such little warning. "I'm sorry for calling so early, and I'm fine—" He wanted to continue, but for some reason his mouth wouldn't acquiesce, his lips forming a distinct frown. And for a moment he thought Roxanne would hang up right there. However, Max stood up, ignoring the rigid cold of the wooden floorboards, and walked right up to his window and opened the blinds. "No, I'm not fine." Max spoke slowly. The words resonated hard with him; the teenager peeled back the insecurity gingerly. "Roxanne, I don't want to be away from you. I can't move to California—" –Max— "I mean, you got accepted to a ton of schools and I was thinking maybe you could—"
Max. The boyfriend quieted swiftly. I… know you're scared. It's okay. I'm scared, too. All my friends are here, and my family, and… you. Her voice shook off the initial gravel sound of awakening and began to take its normal, bubbly shape. …It's okay to be scared, Max. I've… I've already accepted, so I am going to California. This time, she was the one who spoke deliberately, permitting Max to soak in what she said. I mean, we can let this decision ruin everything… Or we can work through it. We need a chance to grow on our own. Max gulped, his eyes drilling a hole into the neighbor's tree in their front lawn. …It's not like I'll never come back, you know.
"I know." He paused as he finally drew his gaze back up toward the suburban skyline. The guilt he felt continued to rub his back, encouraging him to apologize. "I'm sorry for acting like this… I don't want to control your life or anything. I just want to be a part of it." Immediately, Max's eyes widened as the memory of his father, feet soaking in the water as the two of them floated downstream on Goofy's obnoxiously yellow car. He remembered telling him that he didn't need to run his life anymore, and his dad abruptly admitted, "I just wanted to be a part of it!"
Max heard a small, polite chuckle on the other end of the line. Of course you'll be a part of it. We made a promise, right?
"Right." Max smiled, his emotions creating excess noise in his already busy mind. Now, do me a favor. Don't let this put you in a bad mood, okay? You're going to college! It's time to get excited! This is supposed to be one of the most memorable times of our lives. I want to share it with you! Don't let me be the reason that you can't live your life to the fullest, right now. And if you can't do that…
He heard her click her tongue with mild concern, causing Max to assure her otherwise. "No way. I'm going to have a blast. And you better live it up, too." She agreed, and Max could feel the smile through her voice. Then, a yawn. "Hey, you should rest up for your flight. I'll call you when I get to campus." And with that, the conversation ended, and Max fell back into a dreamless sleep.
Max forced a grimace to his father as he presented his graduation gift—an ancient machine that Goofy quickly revealed as a calculator. The man continued to make every gesture he could to postpone his son's transition to college; Max hadn't noticed at the time, but the sadness veiled over his expression was as a thick as fog on a cold, rainy dawn. In all honesty, the teen didn't want feel responsible. He was on a positive high from his talk with Roxanne earlier that morning. She was probably sitting in the airplane right now, smiling beautifully to whoever had the honor of sitting next to her on the trip. He felt a newfound confidence in their relationship, and he couldn't be stopped—especially when he heard the erratic car horn from outside.
As if to keep him from escaping, Goofy enveloped his arms around him, rambling on about his future and his decisions and his academics. "Dad—my ride—" Max managed to cough out. His father immediately released him, muttering a clumsy apology before following his son downstairs to see him off.
The front door opened to a sight that rivaled the stereotypical college experience: Bobby leaning out his window, beckoning to Max with a huge grin, as PJ hopped out of the passenger seat to help with Max's suitcases. The VW bus rumbled and visibly shook. College rock blasted through the hitched windows, speakers crackling from old age. It was perfect. They wasted no time at all getting everything packed, and Max eagerly filled shotgun without looking back to his father.
"Be safe, Maxie! I love you!" His father called to him, his voice wavering somewhat as he was left in a cloud of exhaust smoke.
As the three hit the road, Max's hands bubbled in excitement. He couldn't stop his fingers from eagerly tapping his knees if he tried. The energy between them was radiating, even trailing behind them at their high speed. Finally, Max mildly understood Roxanne's words of beginning a new chapter of their lives—college was going to be great, he just knew it. They air guitared and eagerly shared stories of what they felt the university would be like through the first half of the drive. Bobby exited the freeway, however, and they found themselves lost.
PJ was perched in the shag backseats, his face deep into a map. "Okay dude… south." Bobby nodded. "No wait, uh…" Finally, defeat washed over his features. They'd been at it for a good half hour. "Oh, I don't know, man. What do I look like, Magellan?"
Already, this began to look like a terrible idea.
Max let out a laugh. "PJ, you couldn't even spell Magellan."
His friend continued to peruse the map, ignoring his joke and letting out a frustrated grumble. "Try turning on Louie." The car shifted lanes before another shout from the backseat. "No no no, the other Louie." Rubbing his temples, Max then turned to PJ, saying something about Louie Dewey Hewie, poking fingers at the map in equal exasperation.
Bobby finally snatched the map from beneath the two. His eyes behind his dark circle frames widened in understanding. "No, it's right here, this way." He showed Max as he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Hey Peej, Bobby's right." Max began to point out the street before thinking aloud, "Hey Bob… who's driving?"
As if on cue, the motley crew looked up from the map and saw the bus heading toward a huge semitruck. They all erupted in screams as Bobby swerved dangerously off the road into a tall grassy field. After Max had shaken the indisputable feeling of déjà vu, they serendipitously found themselves back onto a street alongside the university.
Their eyes turned into dinner plates, soaking in the nearly alien environment. Everyone looked so much more mature, and Max felt his jaw drop slightly at the houses, the grass, the students, all harmoniously fitting together like puzzle pieces to a chapter of life. "Check. It. Out!" Bobby called, his fist excitedly working the lever that rolled down his window.
Max grinned wide as his enthusiasm spillled over the brim of his existence. "Gentlemen, I welcome you to the first day of the rest of our lives!"
"Wow, that's pretty deep. Did you get that off a bumper sticker?" His quirky friend remarked, leaving both PJ and Max to chuckle to themselves as they found their dorm. After parking, the three pulled out their luggage and headed into the large building, receiving three silver keys to the room that would house them for the year.
The door revealed two bunk beds and a huge window overlooking the campus. The walls were bare, almost begging for Max to paint them with his posters of skateboarders, Bobby's musicians, and PJ's movies. The opportunities seemed endless, and they had only been there for a good hour and a half. Max claimed a lower bunk while PJ took the one above him, leaving Bobby with the lower bunk of the other couple.
"Do we have another roommate?" Max asked, curious as to who would take the last bed.
PJ struggled with his luggage before pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper from his jeans' pocket. "Uh… Yeah." He squinted at the text. "Cameron Rios." PJ read aloud, emphasizing each syllable of their future roommate's name.
Of course, at the sound of the name their dorm room door flies open to a scrawny boy, short in stature, carrying a briefcase and a rolling suitcase. He let out a muted sneeze as he walked through the hallway. The three exchanged glances. He continued to move without a word, his bespectacled gaze noting which beds were taken and resting his things in an unoccupied corner of the room. Only once a few minutes passed in awkward silence did the boy acknowledged his roommates. "Oh, hi."
"Heeeeey." Bobby greeted casually from his bottom bunk.
"I'm Cameron. Nice to meet you. I hope we all have a productive year together." His words were curt, and Max could tell his voice was prone to pubescent cracking. The other boys agreed vaguely.
In an attempt to break the uncomfortable air, Max grabbed his skateboard that had been leaning on the wall by his bunk. "Let's do some sightseeing, guys." He suggested, pulling on his helmet. Bobby and PJ suited up and hurried out the door, leaving Cameron setting up his desk quietly. "Cameron? Wanna come?" Max asked considerately, though the back of his mind hoped this kid would decline. He'd only slow them down.
"No thanks. My sister's a sophomore here, and she's given me an adequate tour."
"…Oookay." Max replied as he made his exit.
Weird roommates aside, the teen was really exited to get out on the street and scout around for their future X-Games competitors. He met up with his friends and he mounted his board, shifting all his thrilled nerves out onto the pavement, like they should be. He told Roxanne he'd call her once he got onto campus, but they still had some time to soak in the sights. Plus, he'd actually want something interesting to talk about with her. She probably had all these stories already from being on the west coast. It was Max's time to fully absorb this new experience, and find his place. If only two hours could make him feel this liberated, he couldn't wait to see what the next year had in store for him.