Max was eventually released on a Friday, and she and her parents who'd just arrived from Seattle spent the weekend at the Price-Madsens'. A weekend mostly spent convincing Mom and Dad to let her stay at Blackwell until graduation in a series of increasingly heated debates until eventually, they gave in and returned to Seattle on Sunday without her, after a festival of hugs and kisses and tears. Max stayed with the Price-Madsens on Sunday night and was set to return to Blackwell on Monday.

On Monday morning, Kate and Warren stood waiting in the parking lot, after agreeing to meet their friend there. Assuming she'd come with David, they looked for his car, but to their surprise the chief of security arrived alone.

"He didn't drive her?" Kate wondered.

"Weird," Warren commented. "Maybe she didn't want to ask too much from him… if I had known, I'd have driven her here myself with my new wheels…"

Kate glanced at him, amused. "You sure wouldn't mind driving her around, would you Warren?"

Warren blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know, it's cute seeing you try this hard to impress her, but one day you're gonna have to actually tell her how you feel."

"Kate!" Warren said, now beet red. "I don't know what you imagine but…"

He was interrupted by a loud, very loud engine roar as a Frankenstein's monster of a vehicle parked just next to them, startling them. It was a pickup truck that looked like it had served in the Gulf War. Both. And Vietnam. And maybe Word War II. From where they were, they could distinguish a bobble-head Elvis on the dashboard, a skull and several other trinkets hanging from the rear view mirror, and on the driver's seat…

"Max?"

They stood there with their mouths agap as their friend left the truck and greeted them with a hug.

"Hi guys!" she said like it was a very normal day. "How are you?"

"Max, what… what is this?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, where did you get that truck from? American Rust?"

"No, this… this is Chloe's truck. Joyce gave it to me, said it would be more convenient for me to move around town than the bus, and it was breaking her heart to see it parked in the garage, unused…"

Her smile faded and her voice took a sad tone as she continued: "And she said Chloe would've wanted me to have it. You know she gave it a name? Bane of Arcadia. When we were kids we were really into pirates, and we made a ship with cardboard and scrap wood, and that's how we called it. She was Capt'n Bluebeard and I was her first mate Long Max Silver… silly, isn't it?"

She then realized she had started to cry and shook herself up, picked up a tissue to wipe her eyes and apologized: "Oh shit, sorry guys, here I go again!"

"Don't worry," Kate said. "And what about the necklace? Was it hers too?"

Max was in her usual attire of skinny jeans, t-shirt and hoodie, but she was now wearing bullets as a pendant. She nodded. "Yeah, it was. Joyce said she never went without it. I'm not sure I deserve it, but this way… it's like she's still with me. Maybe she's not really gone and we've just fused like in Dragon Ball, you know? Moe Pricefield, sounds cool, doesn't it?"

The three of them giggled at this and it eased the tension.

"So," Warren asked, "are you ready for your grand return?"

"Hell no, last thing I want is a grand return. Just go back to class and blend in… actually I'm terrified everyone will look at me!"

"Yeah, I know how that feels," Kate said. "Being the center of attention is very, very embarrassing."

"Oh, Kate," Max asked with concern, "are you still being bullied over that video?"

"Oh, no, don't worry about that, it's gone and forgotten. Everybody's been very nice to me since Nathan… well, since then. But after you tried to… you know, a picture of us coming out of the dorm door together ended up all over the Internet and the newspaper, and now everyone thinks I'm some kind of superhero… I get nicknames like Supermarsh, Angel of Blackwell, Marsh Power… I didn't expect to become this popular and I'm not sure I like it."

"Yeah, must suck…" Warren agreed.

"No, you don't act like you're on my side," Kate replied with mock anger, "need I remind you who started the 'Marsh Power' trend?"

Max snickered. "Wow, looks like a lot of stuff has been going on while I was away. Feels like I've landed in Bizarro Blackwell, where Kate is popular, Victoria is nice…"

"…and we've got a new photography teacher."

"Yeah, I've read the email… hope he's nice and not a creep like the other one… how do you feel about that, Kate?"

"I dunno… I kind of liked photography class, so part of me is happy to have a new teacher, hopefully he's gonna be nice and interesting… but the other part of me just wants to hide under my bed at the very thought of stepping into that classroom again…"

"Looks like we're both terrified today… hey, you know what? Let's set up a code! When one of us says… like, 'Trigger', the other one takes her back to her room, immediately, no questions asked. What do you think?"

Kate's face glowed with relief. "Sounds like a great idea. I'm totally for it."

"Great! Okay, now… let's all face a new day at Blackwell?"

Warren, with a big smile on his face and cool demeanor, stepped between the two girls and put his hands on their shoulders. "And you know, girls, you can always count on your Knight in Shiny Armor to protect you from all the Blackwell baddies!"

Max rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, but Kate giggled and blushed a bit, obviously not used to being talked to like that by a boy. First, they had to head to the dorm so Max could put her stuff back in her room before classes began. The walk from the parking lot to the main campus area went on alright, but as they neared the fountain at the center of the campus, Max got increasingly agitated as she saw other students and staff turn to her with various looks of curiosity, compassion or judgement in their eyes. She thought she could hear their thoughts: Hey look, Suicide Girl is back! Hope she's okay. You think she's gonna try to jump again? Poor girl, she must have suffered so much! What a weirdo!

Trembling, she clenched her fists and looked down at her feet, trying to obliterate the outside world from her mind. Kate, noticing her trouble, stepped closer by her side and grabbed her hand. This relieved the brunette a bit and they made it to the entrance of the dorm without any accident. There, they came across Victoria and her minions Taylor and Courtney, who were sitting on the steps, chatting. Victoria had a scratch on her cheek, as if she'd been attacked by a cat. As soon as they saw Max, the three girls stood up and greeted her:

"Hi Max, welcome back!"

"How are you?"

"You sure you're ready to come back to class?"

"If you need anything…"

"I remember I was devastated when…"

But Max could barely listen. As they spoke, they surrounded her and put their hands on her shoulders and her back in a compassionate manner, but to the poor girl this situation was getting terribly oppressive. Their words were now nothing but confusing echoes to her ears as she felt her heartbeat go haywire and struggled to breath. Panic settled as she felt the lack of oxygen and dark red shadows began to obscure her vision. She wanted to struggle, to run away, but all she managed to do was grab her elbow with her free hand and squeeze it tightly, as her lips moved to mutter a weak:

"Trigger."

Fortunately for her, Kate heard. After asking the girls to please give them some space and Warren to step ahead to clear the way, she quickly dragged her semi-conscious friend to the safety of her room.

As soon as Max came to her senses on her bed, she curled into a ball and focused on slowing down her breathing. After a couple minutes, she heard Warren ask if she was okay, and looked up to see him sitting on her couch while Kate was at the foot of the bed. Both were staring at her, concerned.

"Yeah," she said as soon as she managed to speak again. "Don't worry guys, it was just an anxiety attack. I do that sometimes, I learned to control them I just… need a few more minutes to unwind."

With slow, deep breathing, she uncurled and lay flat on her back, trying to relax every muscle in her body.

"What happened to spook you like that?" Kate asked.

"Well, it's just… everyone was looking at me, and Vic and the girls… didn't expect them to act so nice and concerned and all. That's exactly what I didn't want. I don't want the whole campus to come tell me they're sorry and offering help or whatever. Don't get me wrong, it's sweet of them, but…"

"You don't want to be the 'special case'?" Warren asked.

"Exactly. I don't want people to act different around me, I just want life to go on like normal."

At this moment, they heard a knock at the door, and a voice:

"Max, it's Victoria. You scared me out there, are you okay?"

Max closed her eyes and sighed.

"Don't worry," Kate said as she stood up, "I'm going to talk to her, tell her to spread the word that you don't want any special treatment."

"Supermarsh to the rescue!" Warren cheered.

Kate rolled her eyes: "Just keep an eye on her, Warren."

Then she left. Max could hear her and Vic's muffled voices down the hall, then everything went silent.

"You gonna be okay?" her friend asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," she said after taking another deep breath. Then she moved to open her bag, taking out the doe Victoria had given her, and hugged it along with her teddy bear. "I just need a couple more minutes. Can you talk to me, please? Tell me what's been up in Blackwell while I was away."

"Oh, well, the big thing was a fight between Juliet and Victoria yesterday."

Max raised an eyebrow: "A fight?"

"Yeah, but like a real one. It happened right outside on the lawn, from what I got Juliet accused Victoria of sexting Zach. It escalated real quick, first they were talking, then screaming, and the next thing you know, they were rolling on the lawn, clawing at each other's face."

Max let out a laugh: "So that's why Victoria had a scratch!"

"Yeah, she's been trying hard to hide it with tons of makeup, but you just can't not see it."

"Oh shit, to think I missed that!"

"Meh, you didn't miss much, it was okay but would've been a lot better with mud…"

Max laughed again and threw her pillow at her friend: "Figures, you perv!"

They both had a good laugh as Warren threw the pillow back at her, and eventually, as they were calming down, Warren started growing nervous and trying hard not to show it. Kate's words were still in his mind. They were having a good time here, was it an appropriate moment to actually ask her out? Or maybe not, she'd just had an attack after all… maybe if he just hinted at something?

"So, uh… other than that, they're having a Hammer marathon at the drive-in in Newberg this weekend."

"Hammer?"

"Yeah, you know, those old British horror films, they're pretty fun. Saturday it's gonna be a Dracula special, with Dracula, Brides of Dracula and Prince of Darkness. Christopher Lee as the Count, can't miss it!"

"Sounds like fun…"

Crap. She didn't say more. Did this mean she was interested in going with him or not? He was about to ask when she spoke again, changing the subject:

"And what about that new photography teacher? Have you heard anything about him? Or her?"

"Yeah, apparently it's a guy. I didn't hear much, except he's from Europe and was recommended by the Chases, that's how Blackwell managed to get a new quality teacher in this short time."

"The Chases? Like…"

"Victoria's folks, yes."

"Damn… hope he's not a pretentious as them."

"What? I thought you had made peace with Victoria?"

"I have. Still feeling weird about it. But still, I don't like the Chases. I follow the Chase Space on social media, and the way they write… ugh, they sound so much like those condescending high art types I can't stand!"

Kate came back saying classes were starting soon. Max was now feeling better, so they all left her room, with Max now noticing the many candles and letters left beside her door, as well as the message on her slate that read: "Wherever you go, here I am". Sweet. But she was gonna have to clean that up soon, it looked too much like a memorial and was freaking her out a bit.

The morning went on pretty much okay. Victoria had spread the word just like Kate asked and all the other students were being careful not to do or say anything special to or about her. The teachers, however, couldn't help but ask her to stay after class to lecture her on how she can talk to them anytime and blah blah blah…

At lunchtime, she sat at the cafeteria with Warren and Kate, and when Kate excused herself to the loo, Warren felt like it was the right time:

"So, uh… bout that Hammer marathon… do you want to go?"

"The Dracula films? Oh… I dunno, I mean… it's gonna be hard to convince Kate to go see a vampire flick, let alone three…"

"Kate?"

"Yeah, you didn't want to ask her too?"

Warren felt cold sweat forming under his arms. His chest was pounding like a war drum. Now or never, boy!

"Actually, I was thinking about going… just the two of us. Like a…"

He felt his mouth suddenly go very dry and struggled to finish his sentence: "A date?"

For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened. Max just stared at him in silence, her eyes wide, her mouth agap, her face colorless.

"Oh," she said eventually. "I, uh… I… okay… I kind of expected this to happen…"

She started rubbing her neck and looked down at her plate while struggling with her words:

"Warren, I… I don't know how to say it, but… you're an awesome friend, really, but I don't think… not like that, you know?"

"You… don't like me this way?" Warren asked, blushing with disappointment. His heart sank.

"Well, it's not about you, really, it's me…"

"No, Max, don't do that to me! Don't try to make up excuses to make me feel better, it's… I'm a big boy, I can handle rejection!"

Seeing her friend get angry made Max shrink in her chair.

"It's not excuses, I mean it, Warren, please don't get mad! Listen…" she took a deep breath to soothe her own racing heart, feeling her whole body panic at what she was about to say. "It's very hard for me to say it, but my therapist said I have to learn to speak up, so there we go. Warren, you're one of my closest friends here, so I think you deserve to know that… I've never actually been interested in any boy. Not here, not in Seattle."

"You mean you never had a date?"

"Nope. Never. But it's hella confusing because I never did mind much, yet since I've been here at Blackwell, I found myself looking at… girls…"

Warren grew pale, his eyes wide as if he had just seen a flying saucer land right in front of him.

"Waitasecond, Max, are you telling me you're… gay?"

Max blushed real hard upon hearing the word. "I don't know," she said. "I'm really hella confused right now. All I know is that boys are… nice, okay, but when I go take my shower in the morning, and see all the girls in the hallway and the bathroom, in their underwear… I like to watch. And it creeps me out so I'm afraid of talking to them and that's why they all think I'm kinda weird, staying in my room. Does this mean I'm gay? Oh dog I'm gonna have another panic attack just talking about it!"

"Hey, hey, Max, easy there!" Warren said, protectively putting his hand over hers on the table. "All we know so far is that you're more into girls than boys, and that's okay! No matter what you are, we'll still be friends if you want. Actually, I'm glad you told me."

"You are?"

"Yeah, it makes me feel better knowing I just can't compete. Really, don't worry."

Max's panic started to ebb, replaced by a comfortable warm feeling. She smiled: "Thanks, Warren. It means a lot to me. Just, please don't tell anyone."

"Sure. Does Kate know?"

"No, and I… well we're very close, but she's so, you know… conservative, I don't want to freak her out."

"I'm sure she wouldn't reject you."

"I'm sure of that too, but she could still feel uncomfortable around me, and I don't want that."

"Do you, like… like her?"

"What?" Max startled in shock. "Of course not, stupid! She's my friend! She's beautiful alright, and she's the sweetest person I know, but I really don't think she's into girls."

"Okay… so, anyone else?"

"Warren, if I had a crush, I sure wouldn't tell you!"

"Oh, come on, why not?"

"Because I'm sure you're already imagining me and Kate in the shower right now."

"Hey, not fair!" Warren cried out in mock outrage. "What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"A guy, is what I think you are," Max laughed, "so there's no way I'm fueling that dirty mind of yours!"

"Alright, fair enough," Warren conceded, raising his hands in defeat, all the while with a big mischievous smile on his face. "You know we can still have that movie night as friends if you want?"

"While it sure sounds like fun, I think you should rather ask another girl, so it'll be a real date."

"A real date? With whom? This school is quite short on girls who are interested in geeky Warren."

Max cast a glance at another table on the other end of the cafeteria: a black-haired, bespectacled Asian girl in a Star Wars hoodie was shooting daggers at her upon seeing their joined hands. Brooke Scott of course, usually not too nasty if you got past her dry cynical humor, but turning aggro whenever she thought she saw her and Warren flirting. Max smiled, feeling playful.

"Oh I'm sure there are girls," she told her friend, "if you keep your eyes open."

"You sound like you know something," Warren said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Will you tell me?"

"Nope. Don't wanna make it too easy for you."

Warren was about to answer when Kate returned. Quickly, they pulled their hands away and when she asked what they were talking about, they lied and said random stuff.

After lunch, Max returned to the dorm on her own, telling her friends not to come with her, it was okay, she had a quick thing to do and would be back in a couple minutes. Once alone in her room, she set her plan in motion. Warren was an awesome and loyal friend, so if she could give fate a little shove his way to make him happy, you bet she would! Talking to Brooke was out of the question, she just couldn't gather the strength to face her up front. Writing, however… she hunted for a pen and a piece of paper and quickly scribbled:

Dear Brooke,

We don't really know each other, but I know you don't like me much. And I know why, you're crushing hard on Warren. Yes you do, it's really obvious. So here's a couple things you should know:

Warren is an awesome friend, but nothing more. For real.

He asked me to come with him to a Dracula marathon in Newberg this Saturday. I can't make it this weekend, but he still wants to go, and it's always more fun to go to the movies with someone, right? Maybe you could, like, casually let it slip that you love vampire flicks. Even if you don't like vampire flicks, you will love vampire flicks because you're not stupid, are you?

Now it's your call, you go girl!

xomaxo

Then she slipped the paper under Brooke's door and left the dorm, smiling like an idiot all the way.

Math Lab was pure torture like always, but she made it through, and after that class came the dreaded moment to meet the new photography teacher! As Max and Kate walked toward the art room, with Kate getting increasingly anxious with each step, they ran into Victoria, Taylor and Hayden talking in the hallway. Victoria was speaking and seemed pretty excited:

"I tell you, we're gonna have a blast! My parents told me he has such a passion for…"

"Hey Vic," Max interrupted, "are you talking about our new teacher? Mr Lacroyx?"

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"What?" Max asked.

"It's French, you redneck!" the blonde replied with that trademark Chase arrogance. "It pronounces Lacrwah."

"Oh, sorry, Ms Chase, I didn't know you were such an authority on the French language!" the brunette replied sarcastically. She was glad they were on good terms now, she could afford to be sarcastic with her without fear, and Victoria seemed to like it.

"Je parle très bien le français, merci," she replied haughtily. "My parents made me learn, they said it would give me an edge in the art business. And I'm glad they did, it's such a classy language."

At that moment she was interrupted by Brooke who, as she was casually walking by playing with her phone, declared: "Victoria aime la biffle! How classy is that?"

Then she walked away cackling like a madwoman, leaving a very confused group of students and a very angry Victoria.

"Classless peasant!" she muttered.

"She spoke French?" Kate asked. "What did it mean?"

"You don't want to know, Kate. Really, you don't. Anyway, yes I was talking about him."

"Is he really a friend of your parents?"

"Yes he is. I never met him personally, but my parents showed me his work. They're super fans of him. They met him when they did an exhibition on ancient photography. He's like a historian of photography, he knows everything on the 19th century, and he's one of the very few professional photographers who still work exclusively on daguerreotype. We're so lucky he accepted the job! Hopefully he won't be an über-creep like the previous one!"

"Not too anxious?"

"No, not much. I called my therapist yesterday to be mentally prepared."

"You can call your therapist on a Sunday?"

"Yes, my parents hired a very expensive one, available 24/7. And I got some nice Dr. Bowers medication too, works wonders. How about you, Kate?"

The Christian girl shivered and grew even paler at suddenly becoming the center of attention.

"Well," she said after swallowing hard, "I'm nervous, I don't know if I'll even be able to walk in the room…"

The bell rang at that moment, and Victoria, Taylor and Hayden went to sit inside the classroom. Max took her friend's trembling and sweating hand, muttered a few comforting words, and gently led her to the door. But when they came within five feet of the door, Kate started hyperventilating, and as they came one foot closer, she gasped:

"Triggertriggertrigger!"

Max immediately led her away from the door and grabbed her shoulders. Kate had tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Sorry," she whined, "I'm sorry, I can't, it's too…"

"Hey, don't worry! Remember the code? I'm gonna take you back to your room, and we'll see what we do once you get better, okay?"

Kate nodded and thanked her friend, feeling pathetic. The two of them started turning around to leave the building when they almost bumped into a man. Max shivered, but not out of fear or stress. It felt just like the room temperature had dropped a couple degrees, all of a sudden. She looked at the newcomer: he was clad in an expensive-looking black three-piece suit and carrying a leather messenger bag. He had short, raven hair, pasty skin, and he was wearing square rimless glasses that had a light bluish shade. Surely one of those self-tinting glasses that adjust to the ambient brightness. Other than that, there was not much to say about him. Max had never seen a man whose figure and face looked so remarkably unremarkable. If not for his unusually white skin and classy, gentlemanly attire, he was the kind of guy you'd never notice in a crowd. He looked so bland even his age was difficult to pinpoint, he could be anywhere between thirty and fifty. He spoke, and Max noticed a heavy French accent:

"Excuse me ladies, I am looking for the photography class, is it the right way?"

"Mr. Lacrwah?" Max asked.

The man smiled at her. "I am, and you are the first person I meet here to actually pronounce my name right! Are you two students of mine?"

"Yes, but… I'm not sure we can attend today, my friend isn't feeling too good…"

"I see…" the man turned to the Christian girl and smiled warmly at her: "You must be Kate Marsh?"

The girl nodded, still shaking like a leaf. The man stooped to be at her level and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, but then he flinched when he saw her pendant.

"Are you okay?" Max asked, surprised and confused.

"Sorry," he said after regaining his composure. "Displaying religious symbols at school is frowned upon in France, I am not used to American customs yet."

Then he shifted his attention to Kate again: "Will you look at me, please?" he asked with a very soft voice. "Thank you. Mademoiselle Marsh, I have read your record, I know what you have been through with… my predecessor, and you have all my sympathy. I can assure you I will do everything in my might to make you comfortable. Should you choose not to attend, this will not have any adverse effect on your record. However, I would be most glad if you at least tried. If, at any moment, you do not feel comfortable, you are free to be excused and have your friend here, Mademoiselle…"

He turned to Max. "Caulfield," she said.

"Caulfield," he resumed, "take you to a place where you feel safe. No adverse actions and no questions asked. What do you think?"

Kate felt very strange, looking in his eyes and listening to his voice. Suddenly, it felt like all tension was melting from her mind and body, she felt all warm and gooey inside, she started smiling without even realizing and accepted the offer.

Wowzers, Max thought, that guy's a natural anxiolytic!

Once they were inside the classroom and seated, the new teacher stood to face everyone and finally properly introduced himself:

"Good afternoon, everybody! I will be your new teacher from now on, my name is Sébastien Lacroix and I will give extra points to those who pronounce it right! I'm joking of course, I cannot do it… I would if I could, though."

This got him a round of polite laughs from his students.

"Now," he resumed, "I have read all of your records and am well aware that this is a most… peculiar situation, as some of you have been victims of my predecessor Mark Jefferson's unsavory vision of art. Let me get this straight right away: I do not share his vision at all, and should you have any question or concern regarding your own safety or the safety of others, feel free to speak up immediately. I shall not, ever, tolerate any predatory behavior, for whatever reason. I hope this will be clear for everyone. Another thing we should discuss before we get down to the matter is the use of the informal tone. I know in America you do it, but in France there is a strict etiquette to adhere to, so I will be more comfortable if you address me as Mr. Lacroix or Sir."

Victoria immediately raised her hand and asked: "How about Monsieur Lacroix?"

"Even better," he said with a smile. "I see some of you know a bit of French."

Victoria replied in French and they exchanged a few pleasantries in this language. Max had no idea what they said, but apparently it was funny. She rolled her eyes. Oh dog, she thought, she's swooning! Discreetly, she grabbed her phone and texted Victoria:

Teacher's pet :p

To which Victoria replied by turning and sticking her tongue at her once their little banter had ended and Monsieur Lacroix had shifted his focus to someone else. At a moment, the teacher drifted toward Max as he was lecturing on the superiority of analog photography versus digital, and he froze when he noticed her camera.

"Ah," he said while picking it up to examine it. "A Polaroid JobPro! Exactly what I was talking about! Taking pictures with an authenticity state-of-the-art digital cameras could only dream of! Remember this, students: anyone can make a perfect photo if they buy an expensive digital camera with whatever billion pixels. Working with the imperfections inherent to an analog model, to create an image that really speaks to the soul, that is the true job of the photographer. Excellent choice of instrument, Mademoiselle Caulfield… wait, you are Maxine Caulfield then, the famed selfie expert? Excellent, I am very enthusiastic working with you."

Max blushed and shrank in her chair, definitely not enjoying being the center of attention. Of course, Victoria couldn't pass the chance to aggravate her friend by texting her:

Who's the pet now, Max Selfie :p

Max made a face at her while the teacher looked away, and both girls chuckled. The rest of the class went on without any further incident, Monsieur Lacroix spoke with passion of the daguerreotype and shared with the students his special project: since the walls had been stripped of every picture made by or referencing Mark Jefferson, he wanted to redecorate them with daguerreotypes of each of them. Of course, since a daguerreotype equipment was rather cumbersome and difficult to operate without a proper installation, they had to come to his house, and this would be an awesome opportunity to learn this ancient technique of photography first-hand. They could come in groups of two or three, so they could be reassured he meant no funny business with any of them, all they had to do was see him after class to make an appointment. Of course, Victoria jumped at the opportunity and booked a photo session for herself, Taylor and Hayden this very evening.

That night, Max went to bed in her good old room, feeling relieved that this day was over and, for the first time in a long while, looking forward to the future with excitement. Lying in bed, she put the necklace and a photo of herself and Chloe taken a few years ago on the pillow next to her, and whispered softly:

"Hi Captain. So this first day back went better than expect. You won't believe it: Victoria's actually nice to me now! The Bitch was not such a bitch in the end. We actually had fun teasing each other in Photography Class. The new teacher, Monsieur Lacroix, he's so awesome! So sweet, you should've seen him calm down Kate as she was about to have a panic attack! And he's so passionate, he speaks of 19th century Paris like he'd lived there! And I'm in the process of trying to hook up Warren with Brooke. Yup, creating couples will become my new pastime! I wonder who Kate could date? You know what, I think I'll finally feel good here in Blackwell. Since September I've been struggling to find my place, open up to people, I've been bullied and insecure, and the worst of all was what happened to you... but now, it's like the sun is coming back after the storm… I so wish you were here with me, Chloe, with my trusty Captain by my side, I feel I could truly be happy… I miss you so much… good night, Captain Bluebeard!"

She kissed Chloe's face on the photo, then, as she was about to switch off the light, she was startled by the sound of steps outside her door, followed by a piece of paper being slipped under it. Then the steps faded away, and Max got up to pick up the paper. It read:

Holy shit, he asked me out to the drive-in! You fucking rock Caulfield!

IOU!

-B

Max went back to bed, grinning. Things were definitely looking so much brighter now.