Chapter 3: Hate
Max
The black-haired girl enters the principal's office and sees two men. A broad, baldy, black-skinned man behind the desk – Principal Wells – and a slender, brown-haired man in a marine-blue suit with a white shirt and a red-grey-striped tie.
"Ah, Miss Caulfield. Please, sit down." The Principal says, pointing at the left chair in front of his desk. Principal Wells takes his seat behind his desk and the unknown, yet familiar looking man, takes the right chair, right beside of Max. "Miss Caulfield, may I introduce you to the patron of our school, Mr. Sean Prescott."
'This is why his face looks so familiar.' Max thought. 'Chloe mentioned that messing with this family is a big mistake and the fact, that this guy is here, proves it. Just great! Have I already kissed my scholarship good bye? Now is the time.'
Sean Prescott reaches hand towards the small girl and gives her a fake smile. "Hello, Maxine. Nice to meet you!"
Max shakes his hand with a strong grip. Mr. Prescott's face grimaces because of the pain, making his fake smile fading. "Pleasure." The black-haired girl says plainly.
"Miss Caulfield, I assume, you already know why we called you in?" Max just nods. "Well, we all want to get over this matter as quickly as possible. So, please just tell us what happened in the restroom, yesterday?"
While telling the whole story, beside the part with Chloe, the principal makes some notes on a sheet of paper. After she finished, Max signs the testimony and thought about leaving, until Sean Prescott addressed her. "Why were you in the restroom?"
A puzzled expression rushes over Max's face. She knows that she probably shouldn't piss him off, but she can't suppress some cynicism. "Taking a piss, taking a dump, having a meltdown; take a pick!"
"Miss Caulfield, stop offending Mr. Prescott and answer the question seriously." Wells says to her in a warning tone.
She just shrugs. "Why should I? It's a stupid question and none of his business. A good question would be what was Nathan doing in the girl's restroom with a gun?"
Max and Wells look at Sean Prescott, who just keeps smiling at the girl and won't take his gaze off her. "Mr. Wells, please leave us alone. I need to have a private talk with Miss Caulfield." After shaking off the first surprise, the Principal nods and leaves his office. Mr. Prescott stands up, walks to the window and looks out of it, while Max follows him with her blue eyes.
'A man, who throws the Principal of this school out of his own office, has definitely too much power. The shit is about to hit the fan. Fuck!'
"Miss Caulfield, you lied in your testimony." He says with a calm voice.
"How so?" she answers firmly.
"You didn't mention Miss Price with one word." Turning around, the slender man looks into her eyes. "I know, I know. She's your friend, you want to protect her. Bla, bla, bla, yadda, yadda, yadda. The thing is, she blackmailed my son, bringing him into a very weak position. A weak position that could weaken everything I build and I can't allow that. So, I need to destroy her credibility to ensure that no one will believe her."
'Ooh Miss Caulfield, I'm just destroying your friend's reputation, so don't worry. His he cereal?'
"Miss Caulfield, I'm a Businessman. You know, quit pro quo." He leans towards Max, his hands resting on the Principal's desk, his smile gets wider. "If you change your testimony, blaming everything on Miss Price, I will make sure that your scholarship will be permanently upgraded and I'd even consider buying you some new photo equipment."
'Is this douche-bag bribing me? What the fuck! All he cares is his fucking business; it isn't even about his son's injuries. Such a self-centered asshole!'
"Before you answer let me make one thing clear. I can be your best friend, making your life very comfortable or I can be your worst enemy, making it a living hell."
Max stands up, staring directly in Mr. Prescott's brown eyes. "You think you can make my life a living hell?" She scoffs. "I'm already in hell, so there wouldn't be anything new. Fine, take away my scholarship, sue me, I don't give a shit! But mark my words: I'll never betray my friend. Never! So, stick your offer into your ass and fuck you!"
Sean Prescott
Sean Prescott stays behind after Max left the office. His face is grimaced by anger, because if he can't stand one thing in the world, than the fact, when something's not going the way he wanted to. 'Oh Maxine, you made yourself a big enemy today. I'll make you pay and I make your punk-friend pay. You'll regret the day you set a foot into Arcadia Bay!'
He takes out his phone and dials. "Yeah, Sean here. Listen Rob, I need a favor. Find out every piece of information about a Maxine Caulfield…Yes, school records, charges, parking tickets, just everything…Great, thanks!"
Then he dials another number. "Marge?...Please give me the number of the Two Whales Diner's manager."
'The game begins. We will see who's the one getting fucked in the end.'
Max
She left Blackwell Academy in her car, an old Volkswagen Type 82. She bought this neat little vehicle from an old veteran in Seattle, who taught her some things about guns and survival stuff. After a good paintjob - olive-green wasn't really her taste, black was more her stuff - she could name this bad boy her own. It wasn't very fast, but had a cool sound and was very sturdy.
Her fist hits the steering wheel a few times. 'This son of a bitch! I could kill him! Fuck! Why? Why is this always happening to me? All I want is to finish school in peace and become a photographer.' A tear drops on her leg. 'Okay, Max. Calm down! I need to ask Chloe about this blackmailing that this asshole mentioned. I know, it shouldn't be my business, but if I'm dragged into this shit either way, I could at least help her. Fuck this school! Fuck this town! Fuck everything! Chloe is the only one who matters right now!'
Max arrives at the Two Whales Diner, parks her car and enters the Diner. She sees Chloe sitting in one of the booths in the back of the diner; makes her way to her and swings herself into the seat.
"Hey, there's my Mad Max!" Chloe says to her with a happy voice.
The doe eyes of her friend are quickly dwelling with anger. "Don't call me that ever again!" she hisses.
Raising her hands in defense, the punk tries to calm her down. "Whoa, easy Max! Didn't mean to offend you. Bad mood?"
Max looks out of the window and then back at her friend. Her gaze became more worried than angry. "Chlo, please be honest with me. What is going on between you and Nathan?"
Looking at her hands, the blunette tries to find the right words, but before she could start, Joyce interrupts. "Well, look who's here for a free meal. Who's your friend?"
The small girl just smiles at the strawberry-blonde waitress. 'Wowser, Joyce hasn't changed a bit. It looks like time avoided whole Arcadia Bay for 5 years, except Chloe.' "Hi Joyce!"
It takes Chloe's mother some time to identify the unknown person, but as she recognized the voice and the freckled face she startles, nearly dropping the can with coffee in her hands. "Max? Oh my god, y-you've changed." Then she looks to her daughter. "You should've told me that she's back in town."
"And spoiling the surprise? No way!" the punk mocks.
"Okay, that's only one bacon strip for you, missy! And what can I bring the young lady in black?"
"Oh, c'mon, mom!" Chloe pouts.
Max giggles as she watches Chloe and her mom. 'It's like back in the old days. They both fought very often, sometime William had to intervene, but they always laughed about it later. Now I realize some more tension between them.' "I'll take a big pile of pancakes!"
"Big pile of pancakes coming right up." She confirms. "Nice to have you back, Max!" And heads back behind the counter and into the kitchen.
The black-haired girl focuses on Chloe again as she starts to tell her about Nathan. "It was maybe a week ago. I was in a shabby bar, having a beer and there he was, Nathan fucking Prescott, waving around his money; totally drunk. I thought he would be an easy prey and I needed some money, badly. So, I walked up to him, bought him some drinks and wanted to make him so wasted, that I could talk some dough out of him." She stops for a moment and sighs. "But I underestimated this little fucker. He put some stuff into my drink and next thing I remember is that I woke up, all dizzy and shit, and this little creep crawled towards me with his camera. I tried to kick him in his balls, but just hit a lamp. Luckily, it distracted him enough, so I could bail. It took some time for me to realize what just happened and after I was sure, I wanted to make him pay. And that's all; I just wanted some money from him to keep my mouth shut about his little, dirty hobby. Who would've thought that he would bring a gun…" During her story, Chloe gaze wanders from her hands over the table to the window, but never towards Max. Just now she looks at her and sees that she stares onto the table. Her face shows pain and anger, and her fists are clenched so much that her knuckles are completely white.
'This fucker. This motherfucker drugged and touched my Chloe! I should've broken him some more than just his finger and his nose! This whole family is corrupt.'
"Max, are you okay?" the punk asks with worry in her voice, eyes fixed on Max.
"Y-yeah, it's just…"
Her talking is interrupted by the burst of ceramic on the floor and the shouting voice of Joyce. "This is bullshit, Nick! You know I need this job!"
A fat, baldy man with pale skin walks behind Joyce out of the kitchen. "I know, but if I don't do it, he will close the diner for good and we will all be unemployed."
The waitress turns around and Nick almost runs into her. "And you know that I will lose everything. The house, the car, my daughter's college-fond…everything! I worked my ass off for this diner for over twenty years, and this is how you thank me?"
Chloe stands up and walks to her mom. "Hey, what's going on?"
"I just got fired."
"What?! Why?" the bluenette asks with a surprised voice.
"Tell her, Nick!" she says furiously and crosses her arms in front of her chest.
"I-I just received a call from Mr. Prescott and he insisted that I should throw Joyce out or he will close the diner."
Max stays still all the time, listening. Her anger rises again. 'This motherfucker tries to destroy Chloe by ruining her family. Oh god, Chloe. In what deepshit trouble have you gotten yourself into? Doesn't matter, I'll need to help her!'
"No…fucking…way! You can't do this!" says the bluenette. "Nick, listen dude, my mom's the best waitress here and everybody loves her, if you throw her out, an important part of the Two Whales will be gone."
Nick brushes his sweaty and bald head and sighs. "I know. I know. And I'm so sorry. Normally Mr. Prescott let us alone, 'cause we're an important part of Arcadia Bay. I don't know what had pissed him off. But I can't do anything about it…sorry, Joyce."
Joyce takes off her apron and throws it into her manager's face. "Y'know what, Nick? Fuck you! I'm out of here, and don't even think about asking me to do some underpaid hours here!" She rushes out of the diner and Nick heads back into the kitchen, leaving Chloe and Max alone.
"So, no grub for us." Chloe says with a scoff. "Damn, I should've never gotten involved with this little freak. This is all my fault!"
"Chloe." The small girl speaks with a calm voice. "This isn't your fault, it's mine." She tells her about the interview at Blackwell, how Sean Prescott tried to bribe her. While listening to her story, Chloe sits down and covers her face with her hands. Max knows that this is too much for her; that this is another dimension of bullshit; a dimension she never experienced before.
After Max finished talking, the punk-girl stands up and leaves the diner. Her friend follows her outside to see her leaning at a wall, taking deep drafts from her cig. 'Damn, this shit is really getting to her.' "Chloe?"
Turning her head, the bluenette gives her a faint smile. "Hey Maximus, wanna hang out a bit more and get something to eat?"
Max shrugs. "Yeah, why not? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just need to get used to the news. Fuck, it's so much harder without weed." She answers. "Let's head to my place. I'll make us some sandwiches and then we make out. How does that sound?"
'Make out? Damn, girl. Stop teasing me!' "Yes to the sandwich, no to the make out."
Chloe shrugs. "I can live with that. You still know where I live?"
"Yep, 44 Cedar Avenue." Says the small girl and heads towards her vintage car.
"Wait, this old bucket is yours?! And I thought my truck was an old-timer" Chloe asks with awe.
"No, your truck is a pile of junk; my 'little bucket' is a classic piece of history and never failed me." Max mocks with a wink, enters her car and tries to start it. But as she turns her key, nothing happens. 'What the fuck!' Chloe stands outside, laughing out loud upon the epic fail. 'Great, now I'll never hear the end of it.'
"Looks like your 'little bucket' took the shit. Pahaha 'classic piece of history', 'never failed me'." She mimics her friend. "That was an epic fail, Caulfield! Wanna have a ride in my pile of American junk instead?" Max gets out of her car, locks it and heads toward Chloe's truck, without any other word, pouting.
The punk-girl swings herself behind the wheel, still a sheepish grin in her mouth, while Max sits on the passenger's seat. "Dude, never trust German cars!"
"It's probably just the battery, which is an American brand, dork!"
"Outch! Lacking a bit patriotism, huh? Hopefully you never have to talk to Sgt. Step-shit. Hey…uh…you mind if we take a slight detour to my dealer? My stash has run dry and I definitely need some shit to cope all this."
Max just shrugs and rolls with her eyes. "As long as I don't have to buy anything."
Kate
Kate stands in the middle of Dana's room, looking at her feet. She hears the door closing. 'I feel like I've been fed to the wolfs.'
"So Kate, now give me the juicy details." Dana asks without any hesitation, after closing the door.
"W-what details? I-I told you everything."
Lifting her head, the cheerleader looks into her eyes and smiles warmly. "Aw, c'mon Kate, you can't keep secrets from me. Besides, lying is a sin, isn't it?"
'Dana has been my friend since I started to attend Blackwell. Even so she's in the Vortex Club, she always watched over me and held the bullying hyenas at bay. But lately she's got too involved in other activities that she couldn't always be there for me. I don't blame her; at least she has a social life. Nevertheless, I trust her.' The Christian girl gives in to her seducing voice and gulps. "T-there was this one s-situation with Max."
Dana's eyes widen in surprise. "With Max?! Tell me, tell me!" Kate tells her about the awkward situation that happened between her and Max. The brown-haired girls smile gets wider and wider with every detail and increasing blush in her friend's face. "Looks like someone has some butterflies in her stomach." She teases.
Kate just blushes even more and tries to look away, but Dana holds her head in position and the smaller girl sees some sparkle in her eyes, something she's never seen before. "D-Dana, c-can I go, please? I-I need to practice with my violin a-and do some studying a-and…"
The taller cheerleader gives her a little kiss on the deep red cheek. "Of course, sorry for bothering you. See ya later!" she says calmly.
Leaving Dana's room, Kate heads to her dorm in a bee-line. 'Did she just kiss me? She never did that before. And this odd look, after I told her about Max?' After the door closes behind her, she leans against it with a deep sigh. 'This is all too much for me. First the bullying and now these strange feelings. Oh lord, please help me to understand the meaning behind all of this!' she thought, holding her golden cross necklace in her hand.
She changes into her regular clothes, a white blouse, dark blue skirt and blazer; takes out her violin and starts to play. The sound flows through her body, giving her new hope, filling her with life. She loves playing the violin. It helps her calming down; to process the latest events. Sometimes she has the feeling that she's closer to god when she closes her eyes and let the melody engulf her mind completely.
Drawing was the other activity that helped her through difficult times. Kate noticed some time ago that her drawn pictures always mirrored her feelings, her inner thoughts. When she had a good day, the pictures were bright, full of life. But when she had a bad day, they became dark and depressive. Today, her drawing is completely different. It is colorful, playful and some kind of romantic. She looks at it for some time. 'Is it possible? Is this the meaning of my feelings? Am I actually…'
Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud bang of a door, followed by a series of loud bloodcurdling screams. She knows this voice, it's Max! Kate drops the picture and rushes out of her room.
"I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH! DIE, DIE, DIE!" she hears Max scream out of her room. 'Oh my god, what is happening to her?'
Some girls are already standing in front of Max's room; some others are just looking out of their rooms. She stands in front of the door and listens to the ongoing screaming, accompanied by thuds. Dana touches her arm. "What's going on, Kate?"
"I-I don't know." Suddenly every sound inside the room dies, leaving just silence throughout the whole floor. Kate lifts her hand and knocks at the door.
Chloe & Max
"Okay, Max. Play it cool, 'kay?" Chloe says to her friend in a calm voice. They've parked the truck at the beach, heading towards an old RV.
"Why? Should I be worried?" the black-haired girl asks, seriously.
"No. But…" Chloe sighs. "Sometimes Frank can be very edgy, especially when he's blazed. So, if he yells at you or tries to be the tough guy, don't go all berserk on him. Frankly, he's a cool and descent guy."
Max just shrugs. "'kay." Chloe gives her a look from the corner of her eyes and the smaller girl just rolls with her eyes. "Fine, I won't beat the shit out of him, if he yells at me, satisfied? Damn, stop treating me like I'm a psycho!"
The punk-girl lays her hand on her friend's shoulder, knowing that her arm would stay attached to her body this time. "I never said that you are a psycho, but you seem to get a bit overprotective around me. Not that I complain about this sign of dedication."
"You wish, dork!" Max smiles and gives her a push with her shoulder.
"Yes, I do!" Chloe mocks back with a wink, while knocking at the RV's door.
The door opens and a tattooed, tall guy, with blonde hair, a beard and worn-out clothes stands in front of them. "Whaddaya want, Price?"
"Hi Frank, I…uh…I need some weed."
He scoffs. "You want some weed? Well, what news! What about the stuff I gave you two days ago?"
"That shit was bad. Didn't work at all. Now I want some A-class stuff and a discount!" Chloe demands, trying to go all badass on him.
Breaking out in loud laughter, Frank tries to catch a breath. "The A-class stuff, I see. And how are you gonna pay, huh?"
"Stop shitting around the bush and put it on my tab…and don't forget the discount!"
Suddenly Frank's expression gets dead serious, no more laughter, no smile. "Listen, you tick! As long as you don't pay your fucking bills, you won't get the good stuff! And do I look like a fucking bazar to you? There are no discounts! Either you pay or you're out! And now beat it!"
"C'mon, dude! You know I need it!" she pleads.
'Chloe pleads? Is she that addicted to this stuff?'
But Frank stays adamant and pushes her away. "NO!" he yells and draws a knife. "Listen bitch, get some fucking money, pay your fucking bills or I'll…"
Suddenly a small hand grabs his hand with the knife in a tight grip, pulls at his arm and before the blonde guy can even protest, an elbow strikes down onto his forearm. A loud crack echoes over the beach as Frank Bower's forearm breaks, followed by his scream and his knife is dropping to the ground. A sneaker kicks it in the nearby flora.
He looks up and into the stern and emotionless face of Max. "My arm, you stupid bitch broke my fucking arm!" he whines. His arm, now having a slight different angle, is shaking out of shock; blood is dripping to the ground.
'Open fracture, ooopsydaisy.'
Chloe rushes towards her dealer and tries to help him up. "Max! What the fuck have you done?! Frank, are you okay?"
Max's eyes widen in unbelief. 'Is she actually crawling up his ass?'
Frank pushes the bluenette away, again. "Don't touch me!" He holds his arm and hisses through gritted teeth. "We're done, Price! That's it! No more fix for you!"
"What? No, Frank! Please don't do that to me! I didn't know that she would do that."
'The hell?! This guy almost stabed her! So much for best friend.' Max thought as her heart began to ache.
"Fuck off, Price! You brought this maniac, so it's your fucking fault! I'll give you two weeks to pay your bills, after that, my supplier will get his money from you!" With these words, Frank Bower's shuts the door with a loud thud.
With a slight shock, Chloe stares at the closed door for a while, then turns her head towards Max and looks at her. The bluenettes eyes are dwelling with anger and hate, but are met with unbelief, sadness and even more anger. Ignoring her friend, Chloe heads for her truck with big steps; Max follows her.
The punk-girl punches the gas. "I'll bring you back to Blackwell." she says emotionless, eyes fixed on the road.
"Asshole!" Max answers quietly.
Chloe kicks the break and the truck comes to a sudden stop in the middle of the road. "What was that?"
Now Max looks at her. "You heard me! Asshole!"
"What the fuck, dude! You're the asshole here! You fucked things up with Frank!"
"I was trying to help you!"
"Oh, you wanted to help me? And how am I supposed to get my hands on some pot now, huh? The next descent dealer is fifty miles away and he definitely won't put me on a fucking tab. You cut me off, bitch. Let alone that I have to pay him 3,000 dollars in two weeks!"
"Then maybe you should stop taking this shit or get a job and earn some money to pay your bills!" Max shouts at her.
"Oooh! So, now you're my fucking mother, or what?"
"NO! I'm supposed to be your friend, but apparently your drugs are more important to you than a friend!"
"Yes! Yes, they are! And you know why? For the last five years, they were always there for me, unlike you!" Max stares at Chloe, her blue eyes welling up with tears upon the hurting words. "Oh boohoo, are you crying now, because the truth hurt? Well, cut it! You gave a shit about me, about how I was doing, about my feelings. I was here, all alone, while you were in Seattle, having a great time."
"HAVING A GREAT TIME?!" Max yells at the bluenette, who looks at her surprised. Her voice shivers as she continues in a normal volume. "The last five years were hell for me. I'd like to eradicate them from my life."
"Ooooh, here we go again with these ominous, terrible five years." Chloe mocks. "You know what? Just tell me! C'mon! Share them with me! Let's see who got it worst!"
'C'mon, tell her, Max. No, she wouldn't understand; she would despise me. She's already making fun of me; making it a competition.' "Chloe, I-I can't…"
"Why not? Let me guess, they weren't terrible at all. You just made things up to get attention. You're an attention-whore." The bluenette continues to mock.
Max looks at Chloe in unbelief. She sobs; her voice shivers and tears are flowing down her cheeks. "Y-you have n-no idea! I have memories inside of my head that would break your soul into pieces. You said you were alone? I was too! Especially after you told me that you never wanted to see me ever again. I was in Seattle, all by myself; with no one to talk to. My parents were going through a divorce, I had no friends and you just shut me out. But either way, it was always about YOU; about YOUR loneliness; about YOUR feelings. Have you ever thought about me and my feelings? Have you ever considered that these last words you spoke to me before I moved to Seattle might have hurt me? NO!" Max opens the passenger's door and gets out of the truck. "I FUCKING LOVED YOU, CHLOE; BUT YOU BROKE MY HEART AND YOU JUST DID IT AGAIN, YOU STUPID, ARROGANT BITCH!" Max slams the door shut with such a force that the window shatters into a thousand pieces and starts to run.
Chloe remains in the truck, staring at the passenger's door with a surprised expression. 'She loved me? I broke her heart?' A tear drips onto her lap, than another one, than a whole flood. Max's words slowly seep into her mind and with every passing second the pain increases more and more. 'She loved me and I pushed her away! I hurt her! I fucking hurt my Max! My little Max! I'm such a despicable bitch! I don't deserve her! I…I don't deserve to live!'
Max
Max runs. She doesn't know where to, she just continues. The wind catches her tears, carrying them away. Running helps to suppress the pain a bit, but it was too much. Meditation won't work anymore.
Max reaches Blackwell Academy after what felt like a thousand miles. She heads straight for the dorms, avoiding other people. She stopped running as she stands in front of her room. The black-haired girl opens the door and slams it shut with a loud bang. All the anger, the pain, the emotions, the hate are crawling onto the surface now that she isn't running anymore. She takes off her bag and throws it against the wall, ignoring what would happen to its content. Then she sees Chloe's name on her punching bag and with a loud scream she starts to punch the shit out of it.
"I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU STUPID BITCH! DIE, DIE, DIE!" The thuds of her bare fists against the surface of the bag are accompanying her screams. With every punch, more and more blood stays on it. Max doesn't know how long or how often she punched the bag, but in the end it is covered with her blood and Chloe's name has vanished. Only a gap, from which sand rinses onto the ground, is left.
Breathing heavily and without any left emotions, Max collapses to the ground, landing on her butt. She leans against her couch and starts to cry into her blood stained hands.
A knock disturbs the silence. "I already turned down the volume, now fuck off!" Max answers.
"Max? It's me, Kate!"
'Kate!'