There was a rat in the bathroom. Max noticed it as she was looking at herself in the mirror. It was just there, on the floor, minding its own business, a few feet from her. Curious, Max made herself very small and tried to approach it slowly. She wasn't afraid of rats. Actually, she thought rodents in general were pretty cute. Except the big, ugly red-eyed sewer rats, but this one was not one of those. Just a cute black rat sniffing the floor in search for food. She cautiously took her camera from her bag, eager to add a snap to her collection on Arcadia Bay's wildlife. The rat spotted her and hurried to the dark corner between the last stall and the wall. The young photographer hurried in its wake. There was nothing in this corner but the fire alarm on the wall and some cleaning supplies. The little rascal was now standing on its hind legs, trying to smell the top of a metal bucket. Quickly, she aimed and shot, then grabbed the photograph as it came out and shook it a couple times before admiring her work. At that moment, she heard the door open. She turned around, but she couldn't see the door from where she was, hidden behind the stall. The person paced nervously about, breathing heavily, and Max was surprised to hear a male voice speaking to himself:
"It's cool, Nathan… Don't stress… You're okay, bro. Just count to three…"
Max very cautiously crept to the edge of the stall to take a peek, eerily conscious that she was spying on a scene that was far from normal. But it wasn't like she had a choice, for there was no way she could leave the bathroom without being spotted. Nathan was now standing in front of a sink, head down, his hands grasping the earthenware. He kept muttering to himself:
"Don't be scared… You own this school… If I wanted, I could blow it up… You're the Boss…"
Max was in a heated debate with herself about whether she should ask him if he was okay or not… she was definitely not the kind of person to take such initiatives, plus Nathan was kind of an asshole, so…
Her train of thoughts was interrupted as the door opened again, this time to let in a tall, blue-haired girl dressed like a punk. Definitely not a student, Max would've spotted her sooner if she was.
"So what do you want?" Nathan asked the newcomer in an abrupt manner.
"I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say," the punk girl replied, equally abruptly. "Now, let's talk bidness…"
As she spoke, she started inspecting each stall, and Max backed down, afraid she might come all the way to her. Luckily, Nathan spoke again and interrupted her inspection:
"I got nothing for you."
"Wrong," the punk declared as she turned back to him. "You got hella cash."
"That's my family, not me."
"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid. I know you been pumpin' drugs n'shit to kids around here…"
She then moved closer to him, in an intimidating manner, and added: "I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now…"
"Leave them out of this, bitch," Nathan muttered, grasping his sink so strongly his knuckles went white. But the punk girl didn't care and kept tormenting him:
"I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself…"
This time Nathan sprang up, released the sink and turned around, pointing at her menacingly: "You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!"
Max gasped when she saw he wasn't pointing at the girl with his finger at all: he was aiming at her with a gun! The girl stepped back and raised her hands, scared.
"Where'd you get that?" she asked. "What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!"
Nathan rushed to her and pushed her against the wall. The girl instinctively grabbed the gun and tried to wrestle it out of him.
"Don't EVER tell me what to do," he roared, clearly out of his mind. "I'm so SICK of people trying to control me!"
"You're going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs-" the girl said, trying to talk sense into him.
"Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, would they?"
"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"
On these words, the girl attempted an escape and shoved him off as hard as she could. Nathan fell back, and there was a flash, and a sound of thunder.
"No!" Max yelled, forgetting her fear for a second and rushing out of her hiding spot. Nathan turned to look at her and froze. His gun escaped from his hand and seemed to swim to the ground in slow motion. The girl was also falling slowly, and Max could see every detail of her bloodied shirt and the stunned look on her face as her knees hit the tiled floor, and then she tilted on her side, ever so slowly.
Only when her shoulder hit the floor did time resume at its normal pace and Nathan, terrified by what just happened, only cast a brief look at Max and the girl before running out of the bathroom. Max hurried to kneel by the girl and put her head on her lap.
"Hey there," she said, trying to sound comforting despite her heavy panting. "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay!"
Then she looked up to the half-closed door and yelled out for help. When she looked back down, the girl seemed to be falling asleep.
"No no no, wait, open your eyes, stay with me! Oh shit oh shit oh shit, just please don't fucking die!"
The girl opened her eyes, and they were suddenly illuminated by a flicker of recognition.
"Max?" she asked.
Max gasped. How did the girl know her name? She took a couple seconds to study her features: the beanie and blue hair made it hard to recognize her, at first, but now that she looked more attentively… she felt a ball of ice form in the pit of her stomach. No, please no…
"Chloe?"
Chloe snorted, and drops of blood escaped from her mouth.
"Fuck that," she said, "giving up on me for five years, and when we finally meet again I'm fucking dying."
Max blinked, her eyes itching with the tears coming up, blurring her vision.
"Chloe, no, please no… please don't die, please no…"
"Why the fuck do you care? I could've died a hundred times in five years and you wouldn't even have noticed."
"That's not true, Chloe! I never gave up on you! I… I just couldn't, I…"
"I what? Forgot how to use a goddamn phone?"
Max didn't answer. She had nothing to say, she just knelt there, crying, watching helplessly as her childhood friend, her Chloe, faded away.
"Wanna make up for lost time?" Chloe asked.
Max startled. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm dying, Caulfield, I just got a couple seconds left. Just offering you a chance to prove that you still care about me."
"Yes! Of course, yes! Tell me, anything you want, Chloe!"
"Alright, then…"
The blue-haired girl raised a hand and rested on Max's head. "All you have to do," she said, "is walk with me in Hell."
And on these words, Chloe gripped Max with astonishing force and raised her head to put her mouth open wide on her friend's throat. Surprised, Max struggled to get away, but Chloe was impossibly strong, her arms like an industrial vise. She tried to wiggle her head free to no avail, and yelled out for Chloe to stop, yelled out for someone to help, but the only one here with them was that stupid rat, now staring at them, doing nothing as Chloe started biting Max's throat wide open, tearing the flesh apart, letting rivers of ruby red blood flow out on the tiles.
Max opened her eyes with a startle. She couldn't move, and couldn't see anything. She struggled for breath, and felt like she had just fallen asleep on a wet towel after taking a bath. She felt a presence, no, several presences at her side. Where am I? Who are these people? Then little by little, she regained control of her muscles, and her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness to recognize her good old dorm room. Now she remembered. Chloe died two weeks ago already, and this… was just her same old dream, this one with a twist. But why was she so wet? Dog, was it her own sweat? And why, why had all the girls in the dorm gathered in her room to stare at her?
"Are you okay, Max?" Kate asked as she turned on the bedside lamp. She and Dana were kneeling by her bed, while all the other girls were standing behind, all looking very concerned. Max was too astonished to talk, she just stared at them, wide-eyed and panting.
"Jesus, Caulfield," Victoria said, "that must've been a really bad one, you woke up the whole dorm screaming!"
"Nightmare again?" Dana asked.
"Max? Can you talk?"
Kate grabbed her friend's hand, increasingly worried that she wasn't answering. What if she was having a stroke or something? But to her greatest relief, Max finally managed, after a good struggle, to whisper something:
"Kate… many… too many…"
"What did she say?" Dana asked.
"There's too many…" Max whispered again.
"Too many people," Kate explained. "She doesn't like crowds much, you know. I think I can deal with her, could you…?"
She punctuated her sentence with a nod toward the other girls waiting behind. Dana nodded in understanding, gave Max a comforting pat on the head, then stood up to face the crowd.
"Kay, girls, we should all go back to our rooms, now. Max will be fine, Kate's taking care of her."
"Another mission for Supermarsh," Brooke sneered from the back of the room.
"Shut up, dork!" Victoria snapped.
"You don't call me a dork if you don't want me to blast you a HammerFall at six am, my Queen."
"Careful Vicky," Courtney intervened, "you know she will do it."
"Yeah, careful Vicky," Brooke added. "You better apologize, or else."
"I don't negotiate with terrorists!" the blond queen yelled in outrage.
"Vic, please!" Taylor begged.
"Now choose wisely Victoria," Brooke said, "for the fate of the dorm lieth in thy hands."
Victoria rolled her eyes and sighed. Sometimes, being a queen meant sacrificing one's pride for the greater good of the kingdom: "Okay, Brooke, I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Master Scott," Brooke corrected.
"Don't push it."
"Can you girls please take your bickering outside?" Dana scolded like an elementary school teacher. "Come on, shoo, give them some space!"
And with great gestures of her hands, she pushed everyone to the door. There were some mumbled protests, but eventually they were all back to their rooms, leaving Max and Kate in peace.
"Sorry about them," Kate said. "Are you feeling better?"
Max let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Yeah," she said. "Thanks. Wowser, that was a scary one… did I really scream that loud?"
Kate winced. "To tell you the truth, it was heartbreaking. You were screaming like 'stop, please', it really felt like someone was in your room trying to kill you, and then you screamed Chloe's name. And the sound of your screams, it was so… primal. You sounded really, really terrified."
"Oh dog…" Max buried her head in her teddy bear in shame. "That's awesome for my reputation, now they're gonna call me Nightmare Max. What a total loser I am…"
"Stop saying that! You don't have to be ashamed of having nightmares. I still do, you know… and so does Victoria. I hear her mumbling in her sleep, almost every night. Those walls sure are thin. But yours… it wasn't your usual nightmare, was it?"
Max sat up and grabbed her water bottle to take a drink before telling:
"No. Started as usual, you know, reliving that same scene, over and over… only this time there was no butterfly. You remember, I told you the reason I was hiding in the bathroom when that happened was because I was chasing a butterfly to take a picture? Well this time it wasn't a butterfly, it was… dog I can't remember. But that's not the worst of it… the worst was…" she had to stop to swallow back a ball of tears. "When it really happened, Chloe was already unconscious when I got to her. This time, in the dream, she was conscious. She recognized me. Talked to me. Said…"
She couldn't hold it anymore and burst in tears. Kate came to sit next to her and pulled her in a hug.
"She said I abandoned her! And then she said there's only one way to make up for it… she killed me, Kate! Bit my throat open and let me bleed dry!"
Max was now reduced to a sobbing mess, her face buried in her friend's shoulder, and Kate sat pale, horrified by what she'd just heard.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "It's so horrible… but it's okay now, Max, it was just a dream. You're safe here, now."
She kept comforting her until Max calmed down and lay back down with a heavy, fatigued sigh.
"You think that she sent me a message from beyond? To let me know how mad she is at me?"
Kate lay down next to her, facing her, and thought for a moment before answering:
"I don't think so. What I think is… you told me many times how guilty you feel for not calling her in all those five years you've been away. Perhaps the fact that she bit you represents your own guilt, eating at you, and the blood flowing represents the energy you're losing beating yourself up over this."
"You think so?"
Kate shrugged: "Just an idea, I'm not an expert and interpreting dreams, but that's what it feels like to me. I didn't know Chloe, but if she was your friend, she would tell you to stop feeling guilty. Of that I'm sure."
"I guess so… you think she's happy, like… up there?"
"Of course I do. Do you want…?"
"What?"
Kate hesitated. "Well… I know you're not really into this, but I was thinking maybe it could help. Do you want to… pray for her?"
Max's eyes opened wide. "Pray? Wow, uh, I dunno… never done that before. Yeah, why not? What am I supposed to do?"
"It's not very hard, really. You just close your eyes and repeat after me. But be careful, when you repeat it's not just reciting, you have to mean it, with all your heart."
"Okay… well, let's go then."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to relax.
"O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered," Kate whispered.
"O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered," Max repeated.
"Accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant Chloe Price, and grant her an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints."
"Accept our prayers on behalf of thy servant Chloe Price, and grant her an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints."
"Through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."
"Through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."
"Amen," Kate murmured as a conclusion before crossing herself. "So, how did it feel?"
Max opened her eyes: "It felt… good, actually. Do you think it's okay if I'm not really a believer?"
"Yes it is, don't worry. God loves everyone, you may not believe but your heart is pure, and that is more important."
Max's wet eyes shone bright with emotion and she pulled Kate in a tight, heartfelt hug. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Anytime," Kate answered while hugging Max back.
"Kate… would you mind sleeping with me tonight?"
Kate smiled: "Course not."
And the girls settled themselves under the sheets and turned off the light. After a couple minutes of silence, Max spoke again:
"Are you sleeping?"
"No. Not yet."
"Mind if we talk?"
"No, you want to talk about something?"
"Anything, really. Just, you know, to think about something else."
"Okay. Well… do you know Warren asked Brooke out to the drive-in?"
Max groaned. "So why exactly are we talking about Warren?"
Kate giggled. "You said 'anything', remember? So, I take it you and him…?"
"What do you mean? You were aware of something?"
"It was hard not to notice all his efforts to woo you."
"Yeah, I like him but it was embarrassing, sometimes… ugh. Anyway, he asked me out yesterday."
"Really? When?"
"Lunch. While you were in the bathroom."
"And I guess you turned him down? Why?"
"Warren's nice. But…"
The words I am gay flickered in the tip of her lips, but she decided against it. What if her friend felt uncomfortable sharing a bed with a girl who could be into her, even though their relationship was, in Max's mind, purely platonic friendship?
"He's just a friend, you know? I'm not really into him. And yes, I knew about Brooke, cause I'm the one who set them up. Warren doesn't know, though." She giggled. "It's cute that he didn't dare tell me yet."
"Wow, Max Caulfield, matchmaker extraordinaire! You're full of secrets!"
"I take it as a compliment."
"So, is there another boy, then?"
"Hey! Are we talking about my love life, now?"
"You said 'anything'?"
"Alright, so what about your love life?"
Kate blushed, even though in the dark Max couldn't see it.
"There's not much to talk about, really."
"Oh, come on, not a single crush? I can't believe that."
"There are a few boys from church who are cute, but they're older…"
"And in Blackwell?"
"No-one's wearing a purity ring in Blackwell."
"Oh. Dealbreaker?"
"Yes. That may sound stupid, but I do believe in the One True Love. When I meet the right one, I need to be sure, you know? Don't want to give myself away to some dumb bro who will dump me or cheat on me the week after. Like Zach, or Logan. So I'm still waiting, even if everyone makes fun of me and calls me a prude, that's the way I am."
"I'll never make fun of you for that, you know? I respect that a lot. And I'm sure your patience will be rewarded and you'll find your soulmate one day. And marry and have lots, lots of children!"
Kate giggled and added: "Lots of children who will love their Auntie Max!"
"Ouch! I appreciate the honor, but 'Auntie' makes me feel old!"
They kept chatting light-heartedly until Kate dozed off. Max stayed awake a little more, enjoying the warmth and safety of her friend's embrace. She had not felt this good at night in a long, long time. Finally, she drifted to a peaceful sleep.
When she woke up, she gently put Kate's arm away from her shoulders and reached for her phone, cautious not to wake up her friend. Morning already. Well, at least she got to enjoy a few hours of decent sleep.
"Wakey wakey, little bunny!" she whispered as she softly shook Kate's shoulder. Kate answered with a groan, then, after a pause, a mumbled "whattimeisit" without opening her eyes.
"Not too late, you can take a couple minutes to wake up. I'm gonna take a shower."
And on these words, the brunette grabbed her shower stuff and headed for the bathroom. After enjoying the nice, hot water, she left the booth, in her underwear, and froze when she saw Victoria, Taylor and Courtney, already washed and dressed, gathered around a sink, putting on their makeup and chatting. Well, actually the chatting stopped as soon as they saw her. They greeted her timidly, and she greeted them just as timidly, wishing she were just about anywhere else. Of course they were embarrassed to see her, after that scene last night! She could imagine what they were thinking: What should we do? Ask if she's okay? Ask if she wants to talk? Act normal, or act normal but extra nice?
It was Victoria who took the first step, she turned to her friends and said she'd catch them later. Taylor and Courtney got the message and left the room.
"How are you doing, Max?" Victoria then asked as the brunette took the mirror next to her to brush her hair.
"Quite okay. Thanks."
"Are you sure? You had… quite a nightmare…"
Max sighed: "It was just a dream. A bad one, sure, but still just a dream. Nothing to write home about."
"Alright…" there was an awkward pause during which Victoria chewed on her lip before adding: "Still, if you want to talk…"
"Nah, it's okay, that would only rub in the salt."
This is way too fucking strange! Nice Victoria, this I can get used to, but empathic Victoria? I'm not ready for that yet!
Then Nice Max intervened: Come on, that was cold! She's trying here, she doesn't deserve to have the door slammed in her face!
So she decided to change her attitude, she attempted a shy smile and added: "But, thanks Vic. I appreciate."
Victoria, who at first looked hurt by Max's rebuttal, smiled faintly herself and nodded.
"Oh by the way," she added, "Taylor and I were planning on having lunch at Two Whales, to compare our photos before LD. Why don't you and Kate come along?"
LD: Lab Development Class, on Wednesday afternoon. Or, as the photography students used to call it, Judgement Day. The rule was simple: each student got to develop one picture using the art room's expensive hardware (well, for those who didn't work on Polaroid, of course) and submit it to the teacher who would then review it in front of the entire class. Needless to say, when your pic was at the bottom of the pile, you had to endure two hours of torturous anguish waiting for your judgement to come. And today was their first LD session with Monsieur Lacroix, so nobody knew what to expect. But that wasn't what made Max raise an eyebrow:
"Two Whales?" she asked. "I thought you were more a Bean Hip Café type."
"Well, I love to go there, but the Café doesn't have Joyce making the best burgers in town. And no, before you ask, I don't feed on salad alone."
This made Max giggled. "Really?" she asked. "Damn, I would've bet on it! Salad, and detox smoothies."
"I won't lie, that's pretty close to my usual diet, but I like to indulge in a cheat meal once in a while. So, you coming?"
"I, uh…" Damn, she really wants us to be friends! Go on, Max, don't be so chickenshit about it! "Sure! I'll ask Kate."
"Great! See you later then!"
Victoria and Taylor were already seated at a booth when Max arrived at the Two Whales at noon. Dog, after the pure torture of Wednesday morning classes, her brain was cooked and she was craving for a burger! She greeted the girls and let herself slide on the seat facing them.
"Kate didn't come?" Victoria asked.
"Nope, she's having lunch with Dana today."
"Dana? I didn't know they were hanging out."
"Me neither."
Dana the captain of the cheerleading squad was one of the most popular girls at Blackwell. Not only she was very gorgeous and talented, she was also very kind and approachable to everyone. In fact, Dana was one of the few people at Blackwell who were really nice to Max when she arrived in September, along with Kate and Warren, but unlike the latter two, Max hadn't spent enough time with Dana to actually call her a friend. And as far as she knew, neither had Kate.
"Yeah, that's weird," she went on. "Kate told me Dana needed her help on a project and insisted to take her out on town for lunch. Well, I'll know more this evening, I guess. What about Courtney?"
"She's head deep in organizing the Halloween party next week, no time to have lunch in town. By the way, I didn't ask you if you wanted to come?"
"To a Vortex Club party? Hella no!"
They chatted a bit, mostly bitching about the morning classes, until Joyce came to take their order. Max immediately rose to give her a warm hug.
"Hi, Max!" the waitress greeted her. "It's always so good to see you! I hope you're doing well at Blackwell? Those kids better treat you well, or I'll rip'em a new one!"
Max giggled. "Thank you, Joyce, but don't worry, everybody's been really nice to me since I came back. It's not always easy, but I'm carrying on. In fact…"
The girl nodded toward her companions and Joyce's eyes grew wide when she recognized them.
"Victoria Chase? Taylor Christensen? I never thought you two would be hanging out with Max!"
Victoria shrugged, smiling. "Things change. It's good to see you, Joyce. How are you holding up?"
Joyce sighed. She tried to smile and look relaxed, but she had huge bags and dark circles around her eyes and she looked like she was constantly on the verge of yawning. This made Max's heart sink. Obviously, Chloe's mom barely slept more than two hours a night.
"Not too bad, hon. Been taking extra shifts here, and David took a couple night shifts at school. Busy days and nights, but hey, gets the money rolling in…"
Money wasn't the only reason, and Max knew it. Joyce and David were working themselves this hard to spend as little time as possible at home, a home without yelling, without cursing, without slammed doors and without super loud punk music from upstairs… a home silent like a tomb.
"Hope you're coming to visit us this week-end, Max?"
"Of course, Joyce," Max answered, smiling warmly.
"Great! Now, what can I get you girls?"
Victoria and Taylor ordered cheeseburgers with salad and iced tea.
"Shut up," Victoria said playfully when she saw Max smirk at the mention of salad. Then Max ordered a double cheeseburger with fries, a large Coke, and a slice of pecan pie with whipped cream and a coffee for dessert. Joyce raised an eyebrow.
"I had World History and Algebra this morning."
"Ouch," Joyce said. "I'll make sure to give you a double serving of whipped cream with your pie, then."
While they ate (and while Taylor marveled at the amount of food Max was able to stuff into that tiny lanky body of hers), they chatted about this and that. Max had never had the chance to actually talk to Taylor before, and she'd always seen her as some kind of NPC, a minion of Victoria's who would follow her blindly in everything she said or did, without any personality of her own. She was actually pretty good-natured and down-to-earth when given the chance to be herself, and Max thought they may be getting along in the long run. OMG, am I for cereal considering joining Victoria's clique? That would make it very weird if the bitchy trio turned into a quintet with me and Kate. That would make it less bitchy, for sure. Maybe together we could do some good around Blackwell. Turn the Vortex Club into a healthier thing, for instance. Fuck, Max, do you hear yourself here?
Eventually, they started comparing the pictures they were going to present at LD this afternoon. Praise and opinions were given on Vic and Taylor's work, and surprised was expressed when came Max's turn and she announced that she had nothing to show.
"What?" Victoria asked. "You're not going to submit any picture for class? Not sure Monsieur Lacroix would like that, he thinks so highly of you already."
Max raised an eyebrow: "Is that jealousy I hear, Vic?"
"Not at all," Victoria replied while quickly straightening herself. "That wouldn't be worthy of a Chase."
Max snorted and replied: "Well, I really didn't have any inspiration this whole week… guess you can see why… but, I suddenly had a flash, this morning, and I was thinking of taking the pic during lunch break, and then you invited me, Vic, and so I thought I was gonna head there straight after lunch…"
"Oh, and what's it going to be?"
Max smiled mysteriously. "Now, that's a secret. You're gonna have to wait until class."
Victoria groaned: "Not nice keeping us on edge, Caulfield! We want to know!"
"Speaking about class… there's something I wanted to ask you both, now we're here… you girls went to Monsieur Lacroix's place before me, did you notice anything… strange?"
Victoria's brow furrowed. "Strange? What do you mean? He was lovely and fascinating and we had a great time."
"Yeah, us too, but still, there were some… okay, first, Kate was scared by a rat."
Taylor's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "A rat? Like, in the house?"
"In the living room, yes. I didn't see it myself, and neither did Warren, but Kate said it was a very big, black rat that ran away when she screamed."
The two blondes exchanged puzzled looks.
"No. Sorry Max, we didn't see any rat when we were there."
"It's okay. What about the shiver? Did you shiver when you got inside the house?"
"Oh, yes!" Taylor said. "Now I see what you mean! I did, and I thought it was a bit weird, like it was a bit colder than it should be."
"Me too," Victoria added. "I didn't pay attention then, but now that you mention it…"
"And one last thing… you had dinner with him, didn't you?"
"Yes, it was a very simple yet very elegant dinner-"
"Did you see him eat?"
"Well, yes, we had tea, and then wine-"
"I'm not talking about drinks, but food. Did you actually see him eat any food?"
"I don't know, I wasn't paying that much attention, we were talking. You're getting weird, Max!"
The brunette sighed. "Nevermind," she said. "I'm probably overthinking this. Kate had a strange gut feeling about him on the way back last night, and it probably got into me…"
"You know, Kate's probably still in shock after what… happened to her…"
Victoria's voice trailed off as she uttered these words, and she looked down, blushing. Max knew exactly why.
"She forgave you, don't forget," she said.
Victoria nodded: "I know. The hard part will be forgiving myself… anyway, we're done here?"
"Yup," Taylor said. "Gotta go back, I promised to Courtney I'd give her a hand before class."
"And I need to take my pic," Max added.
They left the diner after Victoria insisted to pay, and outside on the parking lot, she asked Max if she needed some help with her mysterious pick. Max smirked:
"Trying to see what it is before everyone else, right? I don't really need help, but you can come along if you want. Give you a ride?"
Victoria looked at the truck with utter disgust. "In that thing? No fucking way!" She then pointed to a shiny red Audi parked nearby and added: "Got my own car here, I'll follow you."
Victoria waited patiently as Max finished wiping her eyes with a tissue. It was a beautiful day. Sitting on the bench, she gazed absent-mindedly at the sunlight shining through the leaves of the trees around them and onto the lawn. Birds were singing. There was life in the kingdom of the dead.
"Sorry," Max said pitifully as she sniffled and put the tissue away. "Turned on the waterworks again."
"Don't worry about it," Victoria said. "Was a pretty heavy photo session. You sure you're okay with it?"
"Yes! It was tough, but I love how it came out. I'm sure she would've loved it too."
"I'd bet on it."
Victoria took out her pack of cigarettes, put one in her mouth, and offered one to Max. The brunette considered it for a few seconds and shrugged.
"You know what," she said, "time to live dangerously."
This made Victoria snort as Max accepted the cigarette. Victoria lit it, Max took a drag, and immediately started coughing her lungs off. This made Victoria laugh even more.
"First cigarette always does that, Caulfield. You'll get used to it eventually."
"Or not," Max replied as she crushed the cigarette under her foot and dumped the butt in the bin near the bench. "Guess that's definitely not for me."
They sat for a while in silence, Victoria smoking and Max looking at the trees, when finally she asked:
"Vic, tell me about her."
"About her? You mean Chloe?"
"Yes. You guys knew each other, right?"
"Kinda, yes. To say there was no love lost between us would be an understatement. I've lost count on how many times she threatened to, quote, smash my face in so hard I'd sneeze through my ass for the rest of my life, end of quote."
Max giggled. "Typical Chloe. She said the exact same thing to Patty Myers when she bullied me in elementary school."
Victoria laughed with her. "She had quite a colorful language, we can agree on that. And I'll give her credit for having serious ladyballs, the day she was expelled from Blackwell she left a farewell gift by tagging the girls' room floor to ceiling. That was awesome."
"Oh, dog, she really did that?"
"Like Hell she did."
Then, in a most un-Victoria-like manner, the blond uncrossed her legs, slouched her shoulders, rested her elbows on her knees, and looked down, lost in contemplation. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "we didn't get along, but there was something I admired in her. She didn't try to blend in, didn't give a fuck what other people could think of her. She was just Chloe Price, whole package, take it or leave it. In that way, you remind me a lot of her."
"Thanks, but you have quite a high opinion on me. I don't behave the way I do because I want to make a statement or something. I'm just… not good with people."
"You are, Max. Trust me. After all, see how much you changed me in a couple weeks! I used to bully you, and now we're friends!"
Max startled. "Friends? Do you really consider us as friends?"
"Don't you?"
"I don't know… I just don't want you to feel like you have to. You know, out of… guilt, or pity, or something."
"I don't. I promise, Max. I like you, I really do. You see, I like Taylor and Courtney, but I'm aware they mostly follow me around because I'm the queen of Blackwell, laughing at all the bitchy things I do or say. And I don't blame them, I was like them a few years ago. But you… you don't care about that. You're just being yourself, kind and caring without ulterior motives, and you bring out the good in me. I like it." She stopped to shed a tear that had started to appear at the corner of her eyes. She snorted. "Look at that, now you managed to make me a big pile of mush! Bad influence you have! Anyway, as I was saying earlier, you and Chloe, you're pretty much alike… except she was a lot more brash and fierce. I think you can guess why we didn't get along."
"Yeah," Max giggled, "you were not exactly an easygoing person yourself."
"Too true…"
There was another thoughtful pause before Max asked:
"Vic? Do you know what was going on between her and Nathan?"
"No," Victoria replied coldly as she stiffened at the mention of his name. Max could see her jaw tighten.
Way to go, Max! Could you be just a little more insensitive, please?
"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess it hurts to talk about him. You looked close."
"We were."
"Were you two… like…"
"Dating?" Victoria looked at her, surprised by her question, then she turned her gaze toward the sky and sighed. "We did, for a while. When we met, on our first year at Blackwell, Nathan was very shy and withdrawn. Surprising considering he's the son of the richest man in Arcadia Bay, right? I think his father's presence was… too much for him. Crushing, you know? Anyway, this confident, tough guy side that you saw? It's a front. That's what I liked about him. He was kind, and sensitive. Too sensitive. We'd been dating for a couple months when I discovered a… darker side. Nathan had mental issues. Mood swings, mostly, with bouts of aggressiveness and paranoia. He took a shitload of pills. And his father… his father wouldn't help him. Nathan needed care and support, he needed a real psychiatrist, counseling, anything, but all his father would do was get him hooked on pills and pray he stayed under control. I guess he was afraid of his precious reputation, if it came to be known that the heir of the Prescott family had issues… we broke up. I just couldn't date a guy like this, it was too much for me to handle. But I didn't want to abandon him, he needed help, so we remained friends. I bet you hate him and want to see him rot in a cell for the rest of his life, and of course what he did was absolutely horrible and unforgiveable. Not only what he did to Chloe, but also what he did to Kate, and Rachel, and all the others… but I know the real Nathan behind the monster, and I hope he'll finally get the help he needs now…"
Victoria finished her sentence with a choked voice and quickly buried her face in her hands. Max just sat there in shock, looking at her shoulders twitch in rhythm with her tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably now. Max had never seen her so vulnerable, and felt sorry for her. Nathan was currently in Arcadia Bay Hospital, in the psych ward, getting treatment while awaiting trial, and of course she wished he were locked up in a sinister prison cell for eternity. In fact, she was afraid of herself when she gave it too much thought, because she hated him so much that a part of her, buried deep within her and that she had no desire to know, wanted to kill him in a slow and painful manner. But if he meant to Victoria even a fraction of what Chloe meant to Max, she had to do her best to comfort her new friend. So she slowly, cautiously as if she expected to be burned, put a hand on the blonde's back and whispered:
"I… I hope so too. No, in fact I'm sure of it. He'll get better, with time, and then maybe you'll see him again?"
Victoria calmed herself down and rose her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks wet, and her makeup ruined. She sniffled.
"Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be able to look him in the eyes again. But thanks, Max. Really. It means a lot to me. I told you, you're good with people!"
This made the brunette giggle.
"Now," Victoria said as she stood up and stretched. "We better go back to school now. I'd like to fix that makeup before class."
She started walking and Max stood up herself and paced to be at her level.
"Wait, Vic," she said as she grabbed her hand to force her to turn to look at her. "I… I'm glad you see me as your friend, and I'll be happy to call you my friend too. I just wanted to say it."
Victoria smiled at her. A warm, genuine smile. "Caulfield, I hope you're not thinking about a hug, are you?"
I totally was.
"What?" She scoffed. "Course not, I'm too cool for this fluffy crap!"
And on these words, the girls left the cemetery and returned to their cars.
Monsieur Lacroix kept looking at the picture in his hands, embarrassed.
"It is… difficult," he said, which made Victoria wince.
It was nearly the end of Lab Development Class, and almost everyone had undergone the teacher's harsh but fair judgement already. Kate had received praise for a very heartwarming picture of an elderly couple kissing on a bench by the beach, with the sun setting behind them, a piece she'd called "Love Eternal". Monsieur Lacroix had called the work a bit naïve but beautifully emotional. Now it was Victoria's turn. Her entry was a picture of a homeless woman sitting at a bus stop, next to a large ad for McDonald's. She'd called it "The Problem With Our World", and explained the ad was meant to represent the comfort and excesses of consumer society while the woman stood for those many people this same society left behind.
"I see what you mean," the teacher said, "I get the symbols, the message, and it is very well done, on a technical standpoint, it is flawless. But I need to ask you a question here, Mademoiselle Chase: what did you feel, when you took this picture?"
"Well, as I said, I thought it was a good representation-"
"No, wait, I said feel, and you said thought. See the problem, here? You chose a picture with a political message, a picture that is meant to criticize the world we live in, and while you carefully chose what to shoot and how to shoot it, it doesn't feel like you felt any particular emotion taking this, other than: That will make a great picture. This is not art, this is journalism. Now, please let me clarify that there is nothing wrong with journalistic photography. But I know, Mademoiselle Chase, that you have more artistic aspirations, and I want to guide you in this direction. To make a truly artistic picture, you must use not only your brain and eye, but also your heart. I want you to try that for next week, Mademoiselle Chase: listen to your inner voice, let your instinct guide you. Now, last but not least, Mademoiselle Caulfield…"
Max shrunk in her seat, trying to control her heart that was beating like drums at a death metal show. She looked with terror as Monsieur Lacroix took her Polaroid picture, examined it, and froze, his mouth agap, his eyes wide behind his tinted glasses.
"Sainte mère de Dieu," he whispered. "This… this is exactly what I was talking about. It is… incredibly emotional, it is… can you explain the title?"
"Y-Yes," she stammered, panicking at being the center of attention. "It's… it-it means that if you really have a strong bond with someone, someone truly special for you, then nothing can tear you apart, for in time, you'll always end up together. Like… destiny? Sorry, it's a bit confused and corny, I know…"
"No, no, do not apologize, you took a picture from the bottom of your heart and soul, and it shows. This, everyone, is how you make a masterpiece."
On these words, he held out the picture for all to see. There was a moment of heavy, shocked silence. Then Max started weeping softly. Kate was the first to be at her side, holding her hand. Then came Victoria, who put a hand on her shoulder. Then Taylor. Alyssa. Daniel. Stella. Hayden. Everyone was gathered around her, offering their support and comfort, and while Max hated being the center of attention, this sudden display of affection made her feel all warm and wobbly.
The picture had been taken at the cemetery. It showed Max, laying on the lawn, on her side, her eyes closed, her face serene, curled up as if spooning a lover tenderly. But there was no lover to be seen: she was curled up around a tombstone, caressing it like the most precious thing in the world. Her arms were blocking a part of the stone from view, but half of the inscription was still visible:
CHLOE ELIZA
March 11, 1994 –
Beloved
And on the white strip below the picture, Max had written the words:
Partners in Time