Thanks for the reviews guys! I luffles you. =D
Dedicated to: Athena, SkyeLuver, Ninjastar954, MaxXFang-TogetherForever-, Elise the Amazing, Maximum love, Padfootlover109, Hiya, ButterflyRosethorn, The Seagull, Skyler.125, ADarkWingedForever, xXB-A-C-O-N Spells LOVEX, Angel's Detective, wings
(Sorry for the weird spacing. I typed it on my iPod and emailed it to myself again. It was the only way I could write another chappie. XD) FIXED AS OF 4/3/11, 2/10/12, and 11/21/12! =D
MPOV
I sighed, tightening the elastic on my ponytail as I looked around my new room. The walls were pale green, and completely bare, paired with shiny, wood-paneled floors. There was no furniture, just the walls, floor, and a long window on one side.
Oh goody.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to work on you," I told the room aloud, putting my hands on my hips. Predictably, the room did not respond.
"MOM!" I yelled, not turning around.
"MAX!" she called back, probably from somewhere downstairs. I smiled; this was a routine for us.
"Can I go out to get some paint and stuff for my room?" I asked loudly, mentally deciding on designs and paint schemes. There was a pause from downstairs.
"Are you sure you want to do that immediately? We just got here two hours ago, Max!" my mom reminded me, her voice sounding closer. I turned around and headed out the doorway to my room.
"I know, it's just that it's so boring in here! I'm suffocating!" I complained, trotting down the staircase. I could hear Mom sigh from somewhere to my left, and followed the sound.
"Alright, then." Mom emerged from the new laundry room, wiping her hands of on her jeans. "Go get Ella. We'll go to that hardware place downtown that Linda Rianild told me about."
I frowned at the unfamiliar name. "Linda Rianild? Who's that?" I asked, following Mom out to the garden. Ella was lying in the hammock I had set up, plugged into her iPod and reading a book.
"A lady that lives just down the street. She came over to welcome us while you were upstairs," Mom explained, heading over to Ella. "We were talking about the neighborhood and such. Linda says she has a son your age."
"Oh?" I asked, not really paying attention as I retied the elastic on my ponytail. Tons of wispy bits were falling out of its grasp, and the hair in my eyes was really beginning to bother me.
"Yes. She said his name was Nick, I think." Mom tapped Ella's shoulder, and my sister looked up, pulling an earbud out.
"Yeah?" Ella glanced from the pages of her book to Mom. Apparently she was at a good part. Tough luck.
"I'm taking Max to go get things for her room. Would you like to come with us?" Mom offered, sitting on the hammock next to her. I tapped my foot impatiently, crossing my arms. Ella stuck her tongue out at me before answering.
"Sure! I want to paint my room. It's so boring, I feel like I'm suffocating!" Ella groaned, marking her place in the book with a leaf.
I raised my eyebrows at Ella, smiling. "Great minds think alike," I told her. She grinned, and we finished our ritual together.
"And then, there's ours," we chorused. Ella and I had an odd sort of connection, and we often said the same things. Every time this happened, we would repeat that particular quote. It was just so true for us!
Mom smiled. "You two are so much alike, it's just a bit creepy."
"Hey!" I yelped, smacking her arm lightly. "That's not nice to say about your beautiful, wonderful daughters!"
"But it's the truth," she teased, getting up out of the hammock. Ella and I groaned in unison, standing up and following her to the car. "And there you go again, which just proves my point. Are you sure you're not twins?"
"You should know that we aren't, Mom. You gave birth to us!" Ella pointed out as we got into the car. Mom smiled at us in the mirror while we buckled in, backing slowly out of the driveway.
"I know, I know. You don't look anything alike either, so I don't think you're twins," Mom reasoned. I smirked as I adjusted my seatbelt, watching the houses flash by while we passed.
"Ah, but we could be fraternal!" I suggested, craning my neck to see a couple of girls walk by. They were walking two dogs on bright green leashes, and both were utterly adorable. I have kind of a soft spot for animals, especially dogs, birds, and dolphins. They were all so dang cute! And a pod of dolphins could beat the crap out of a couple sharks! Oh yeah, gooo dolphins!
"I thought you were arguing against being twins, not for it," Ella whined, poking my arm. I scowled playfully at her.
"Oh my dear sister, how are you so dim when I am bursting with brains?" I asked her, ruffling her hair. Ells pushed me off, scowling back at me.
"Don't mess with my hair! I just straightened it," Ella complained, carefully rearranging her already perfect dark brown locks. I shook my head sadly, wondering where I had gone wrong. Where did Ella learn to be so girly-girl? I was anything but that, and I was her big sister. Aren't big sisters supposed to be role models?
"We're here," Mom announced, cruising into a parking space. I blinked in surprise.
"Really? So soon?" Ella asked, sounding as surprised as I felt.
"Yep, it's only a five minute drive to get into the main shopping area," Mom explained, stepping onto the sidewalk. "We could have walked, but we'll be carrying paint cans and who knows what else on the way back. Now, let's go!" Mom set off cheerfully down the road, Ella and I following cautiously behind. This town was a lot smaller than the city we had lived in previously, but I liked the small, homey feel it gave off. Instead of a Starbucks on every corner, I spotted a small cafe with a sign reading, The Dolphin Domain. That sounded right up my alley. Dolphins and caffeine all in one cute little shop? I'm in. I made a mental note to go in there sometime soon.
We stepped into a hardware store a couple minutes later. The store, Wickman's Finest, was large and neatly organized. The paint cans and sample were laid out near the front, and I immediately bee-lined towards them. Ella wandered towards the back of the shop, while Mom
browsed through the lawn furniture names on all the paint cards were really interesting, and I read several without even looking at the colors, just relishing the sound of the names.
Coral Goddess, Ivy Dream, Greek Isle Dance, Passion Sunrise.
Mmmmmm... Delicious. Some people would be shocked to know that Maximum Ride actually enjoyed words like that. Those were the people who didn't know me, and frankly, I didn't particularly want to know them. After I had my fill of cool names, (Graceful Moonshine!) I actually began to look at the paint samples. I had been thinking of purple, but now I was faced with hundreds of different colors. It was a near-impossible decision to make. I finally decided on four colors, one for each wall. Each was chosen partially because of the name, and partially because of the hue. The wall with the long, low window would be Forever Cerulean, aka a really pretty shade of lightish blue. The wall my bed would be next to would be Washed with Gold, a shimmery, metallic dark golden color. The doorway wall was Sweet Benevolence, a dark violet swirling with lighter purple streaks. A final wall was Love the Night, which, to be put quite frankly, was plain black. Black was one of my three all-time favorite colors though, so I didn't care.
I pulled out the paint swatches and hurried down the aisle to find my mom. She was standing with Ella at the back of the store, next to a huge, dilapidated pile of multicolored bean bags. Ella was pointing at several with a pleading expression on her face, while Mom didn't look very convinced. I sidled over with my paint cards, absentmindedly flipping my hair over my shoulder as I did so. It was kind of a habit for me to throw my hair behind me constantly; it got pretty annoying to me at times, but I never wanted to cut it short. Secretly, my one vanity was my long, dark blonde hair. It was almost a light brown, but if you looked at it, you immediately knew it was blonde. There were also natural lighter blonde streaks scattered near the front of my
head, blending into my tresses nicely. What can I say? I like my hair long.
While I was going off-track thinking about my secret love for my hair, Ella was begging Mom for a couple bean bags. "Mom, pleeeeeeeease can I get just two? I can't decide between the pink one and the yellow one!" Ella begged, using her Bambi eyes for good measure. Mom sighed, averting her eyes from Ella's pleading face.
"I don't know, Ells. You only need one," Mom pointed out.
"No, what if I invite a friend over? I would want to sit on my bean bag, but they might want to also!" Ella argued. "Pleeeease Mom? Please?"
"Fine," Mom decided wearily. She turned around and noticed me, standing and silently twirling a lock of my hair between my fingers. "Max, do you want a bean bag too?"
I nodded eagerly, smiling at Ella. It helped that Ella got everything she wanted, because then usually I got stuff too, without having to do anything. "Sure Mom, that'd be awesome! Can I get a silver one?" I asked, pointing at a certain one. It wasn't that fake 'silver' that was actually gray, but truly silver. Mom nodded, watching Ella pick out hers.
"You can get another one also, since Ella is getting two," Mom told me, grabbing the silver one and tossing it into our shopping cart. I smiled, picking out an ice blue bean bag and placing it on the silver one. Ella came over with her bean bags and laid them on top of mine. "Okay then. Max, did you get your paints?" Mom asked me, wheeling the cart towards the cash register. I nodded, flashing the paint swatches towards her.
"What colors did you get?" Ella craned her neck to see my choices.
"Washed with Gold, Forever Cerulean, Sweet Benevolence, and Love the Night," I reported, lifting the swatches to show her again. Ella nodded, pointing at her own swatches in the cart.
"I got Passion Sunrise and Mellow Notes, also known as pink and peachy-colored," Ella explained. "My bean bags will go really well with them." The lady at the cash register handed us our paint buckets, and we made our purchases. The car ride home was quiet and uneventful, the only sounds being the rustling of the four bean bags in the trunk. Once we got home, I grabbed my paint buckets and some of the paint supplies we had purchased, heading directly to the stairs. Once back inside my bare, boring room, I spread the paint sheets and pried the lid off the can. Dipping my brush inside, I immediately got to work. Five hours later saw me standing, paint-splattered and tired, in the middle of a room with one blue wall, one black, one violet, and one gold. Dang, that had taken some serious elbow grease, but I was finished. At least I didn't have to do this tomorrow, along with the homework I would no-doubt have. Mom had arranged so Ells and I could be enrolled in the nearest high school ahead of time, although it was a quarter of the way through the school year already. We had our class schedules, P.E. clothes, and locker combos at the ready for our first day at Cromwell High. All I had left to do now was wait for the paint to dry, locate my boxes of stuff the movers had left in the living room, and decorate my new room. With a happy sigh, I walked out of my room and downstairs, following my nose to the kitchen. It smelled like garlic, and garlic is one of the best things ever! Obviously, Mom had made dinner while I was painting my room.
"Dinnertime!" Mom sang from inside the kitchen. I rocketed in, pausing as I spotted a pot of pasta, two saucepans filled with marinara, and a tray of garlic bread. I gaped at the assortment of delicious foods, feeling my stomach rumble at the sight.
"How did you find all the cooking stuff, Mom?" Ella asked, coming in behind me. "I can't find any of my things! What am I going to wear for school tomorrow?"
"You could always wear your bathrobe," I suggested, grabbing a piece of garlic bread. Ella stared at me incredulously. "What?" I demanded. "It would make a statement!"
"Yeah, and the statement would be, 'I'm stark raving mad!' " Ella muttered, swiping another slice of bread. Mom shook her head, then pointed at a stack of paper plates.
"It took me an hour to find the pots and such, then I had to go out and buy food supplies, so I didn't have time to find the plates and silverware. Dig in, girls!" Mom waved her hands dramatically, and we rolled our eyes at her before pouncing on the spaghetti.
"That. Was freaking delicious," Ella declared, tossing her plastic fork down on the empty paper plate. I burped in agreement, smiling contentedly.
"Thanks Mom," we told her in unison. I grinned at Ella, and started the tradition.
"Great minds think alike-"
"And then, there's ours."
"Amen," Mom finished, tossing her plate in the trash. "Now, let's go find some of your things so you'll be ready for school tomorrow!"
At her words, I groaned. Ella's reaction was the complete opposite. Judging from the volume of her squeal, she was very excited about starting school here. "Yay! Now I'll be able to find all of my makeup and clothes and shoes and school stuff and the materials for The Plan-" Mom's eyes widened at these words, and she almost imperceptibly shook her head. Ella cut her words short, suddenly flustered.
"What Plan? Why do I feel that the word Plan is capitalized?" I demanded, stopping short of throwing my plate away. I narrowed my eyes at the two very-guilty looking members of my family. They were up to something.
"Umm, I have no idea, Max," Ella dithered, twisting her napkin in her hands. "Maybe you're going more crazy than you already are?"
"Ha ha, very funny Ells. Now what are you really up to?" I tossed my plate in the trash and stalked menacingly up to her. Ella gulped visibly, glancing at Mom for assistance. Mom stepped forward, a determined look in her eyes.
"Max, honey, you'll see tomorrow. Now stop torturing your sister and go find your clothes and sleeping stuff," Mom ordered, shooing Ella and I out of the kitchen.
"This isn't over," I hissed at Ella. She smiled sweetly back at me.
"Of course not, my dear vengeful sister. How much of your room did you finish painting?" Ella asked, swiftly changing the subject.
"All of it," I informed her smugly. Ella's jaw dropped.
"What? I only finished two walls, and Mom was helping me!" she complained. I smirked at her importantly.
"That's because I'm Maximum Ride, and you are Ella Martinez. The difference in our awesomesaucetasticnosity levels is just too great for even your braniac mind to comprehend, Ells," I scoffed. "Now let's find our junk."
We were knee-deep in boxes and bags of all our earthly possessions, and wondering how the heck we were going to locate all of our stuff.
It took about an hour, four pairs of scissors, a sharpie, and some duct tape, in case you were wondering. Ella tugged all of her boxes into one corner of the living room, while I claimed another. We stacked Mom's boxes in the third corner, and the general supplies were pushed into the remaining one. Ella cut carefully through the tape on a box labeled, ELLA'S SCHOOL CLOTHES, looking unreasonably excited. "OMG I can't wait for school tomorrow!" Ella squealed. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I can," I muttered, prying open another box. The contents brought a real smile back on my face though. "It's all my useful stuff!" Happily, I surveyed the contents; most of my bookcase, a soccer ball, a few trophies, my cleats and shinguards, a few pictures in frames, and a backpack full of random junk. I grinned as I dug my soccer ball out of the box, and dropped it to my feet. Soccer was my passion. I felt like I could fly every time I hit the field.
"You're gonna have a lot of fun here, Max!" Ella insisted, attempting to steal the ball from me. Instead, I Croifed it with my left foot and turned to keep the ball from her. A smirk tugged at my lips as she groaned resignedly. We always would play keep-away whenever I had my ball out around the house. I usually won.
"How do you know I will?" I demanded, absentmindedly tapping the ball with my feet. "In case you've forgotten, I'm Maximum Ride. I don't make friends very easily."
"I know," Ella groaned, her happy façade momentarily slipping. I smirked again. "However, Mom said that Mrs. Rianild told her that her son Nick has a lot of friends that would love to meet both of us. Apparently, Nick himself isn't very sociable either, but he has a tight circle of friends."
Trust Ella to find this information out on her first day in town. "You little eavesdropper!" I accused, lifting the soccer ball up to my knees. I began to juggle while we continued the conversation.
"I am not an eavesdropper!" Ella protested, her eyes following the ball as it bounced up and down. "Mom told me this herself!"
"Ok then. Second question: what makes you think I'll like this Nick kid?" I asked, actually a bit curious. A wicked smirk blossomed on Ella's face, and I was immediately wary.
"Oh, if Nick is who I think he is, you're going to love him," Ella predicted. I rolled my eyes, trapping the ball under my left foot.
"Whatever you say, Ells," I muttered, pulling a sleeping bag out of a box. "Whatever you say."
This is pretty long, and I have no idea how to transition into the next part smoothly, so I'm gonna insert a chapter break... Review please! I'll try to update this quickly!
~TMI~