Chapter Text
The day started gloomy, not quite letting on what beautiful things could happen on a day like this. Max did his best attempt to make sure that their picnic date went smoothly. But Max repeatedly looked over at Roxanne and noticed her serious frown. He feared that she wasn’t having a good time. Time to break the ice!
“So, uh, are you excited?” Max asked.
“Max, we need to talk.” Roxanne said.
Oh no, this isn’t good!
“Uh, sure? Let’s go sit at the picnic table.” Max suggested.
So the two walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down. Roxanne sighed softly. Max was getting more worried.
“Listen Max, I love spending time with you and you really are a great guy but…I think we need to break up.” Roxanne sadly admitted the truth.
Max was shocked beyond belief! Was this some kind of living nightmare?!
“What?! Why?! Is it because of the weather?!” Max hoped that it was.
“No, I’m really sorry about this. But something happened a while ago. Oh, how do I put this, remember the new guy at school?” Roxanne tried her best to put it as gently as possible.
Max nodded. “That hippie surfer guy? Scott Woodstock?”
“Well, this is what happened-”
[ Flashback:
“Miss Roxanne Rover!” Principal Mazur called.
“Yes sir?” Roxanne approached him and a male teenager standing next to him.
The male teenager was very handsome. He had dirty blonde curly surfer’s hair. He wore a multicolored striped button up shirt, blue surfer shorts, hippie sandals, white gloves, and a seashell beaded choker necklace.
Roxanne blushed shyly. “Hey.”
“Miss Rover, this is Scott Woodstock. He just recently transferred here. I’d like you to give him a tour if you please?” Principal Mazur said.
“Of course sir!” Roxanne nodded politely.
“Excellent.” Then Principal Mazur left the two alone.
Roxanne nervously smiled. “So ready for the tour?”
——-
After Scott got used to everything, he and Roxanne walked to their first class together.
“So, you like it here in Spoonerville?” Roxanne asked.
“Yeah, I recently got a groovy job at the Bean Scene.” Scott replied. “You want to hangout after school? I have to go to work there part time but the place is totally chill.”
Roxanne felt like she should go. “Sure, I love to.”
When school finally was let out for the day, they went straight to the Bean Scene. Roxanne first walked inside and she was immediately taken by the background music.
“Hey, what’s the name of the song playing?” Roxanne asked.
“That’s Hippie Jazz by GUD.” Scott replied. “I personally select the grooviest of jazz music, for smooth and easygoing vibes.”
“Your taste is amazing.” Roxanne said as she shy-fully tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Thanks. Like a latte?” Scott offered.
“Yeah, I like it a lot-oh! You mean a latte!” Roxanne giggled.
Scott playfully giggled along with her.
“Yes, I would like a latte please.” Roxanne said.
“Our special is The Dirty Hippie. It’s a cold brew, hemp milk, matcha powder, and lavender syrup combined to make a deliciously sweet, earthy, creamy, and floral fresh take on the dirty matcha.” Scott explained.
“That sounds great, I’ll have one.” Roxanne replied.
“That’s ten dollars.” Scott said.
Roxanne paid for her latte. She happily listened to a girl’s poetry on life as Scott made her latte. Then Roxanne noticed that Scott was doing some kind of art in her latte. When he brought it over and set it down in front of her, she saw the artwork. It was a flower with a heart in the middle! Roxanne was speechless.
“It’s beautiful, thank you.” Roxanne blushed.
“You’re welcome. I’d better go wait on other tables.” Scott said before he went to the other tables.
Roxanne sighed but then gasped when she realized that she was falling in love with Scott! Oh, what was she to do? She liked Max Goof. He was very sweet and understanding. Not to mention his cute laugh! But she apparently really liked Scott too! Maybe it’s just a temporary crush? But over the next few days, the more she started to come to the Bean Scene where Scott worked…the more she became very certain!
That’s when she decided that Max deserved to know the truth, even if it hurts him.
End of Flashback ]
—-
“So, I need to tell you the truth. I hope you understand, Max. I really do like you! But I can’t ignore my feelings about Scott. Please don’t take it the wrong way. I hope that we can still be friends.” Roxanne finally finished explaining.
Max just sat there, speechless. All those years of pretending to be friends in front of her overprotective dad, that big date at the House of Mouse, and secretly hanging out between classes…all down the drain! Max thought he had it all for certain but now, the new Hippie Guy has apparently stolen Roxanne’s heart! What is he to do?! Maybe talk to his dad about it?
“I…I need to think this through.” Max said before he got up and left.
“Okay, I understand. Bye!” Roxanne called out to Max. She looked concerned about breaking things off with him. But she hoped that he would come around.
——
Max went straight to his dad at home. “Hey Dad?”
“Max, welcome back!” Goofy said cheerfully. “You’re just in time for afternoon snack!” He held up a plate of cookies.
“Thanks, but I think I lost my appetite.” Max muttered. He sighed sadly.
Goofy set the plate down and walked over to place his hand on his shoulder. “What’s happened, son? Trouble at school?”
“Nope, I just got back from Roxanne breaking up with me. Apparently, she fell in love with this new guy at school. I just don’t get it! I should have known that it was all too good to be true from the beginning.” Max explained. “I can’t compete with a hotter and more skillful guy! Should I try to win her back?”
“Well, uh…” Goofy looked disconcerted. “To be honest, son, you can’t change someone’s heart. If she’s decided that she likes that other fella, well, there’s not much you can do, y’know? You’ll just end up pushing her away if you try to force her to love you.”
He looked to the side, his lips pursed. “Sometimes…it’s just better to…let it go.”
“Well, Roxanne asked if we can still be friends. Is it better to still be friends with someone if you can’t be in a romantic relationship with them?” Max asked.
“That depends, Maxy…do you think you
could
?” Goofy asked, looking at him with pain in his eyes. “Could you really be content to watch the woman you love kiss another man, hold his hand, say her vows to him?”
“Well…honestly, I don’t know. I don’t want to be a jerk.” Max admitted. “Hey Dad, have you ever gone through something like this?”
Goofy nodded. “...Yes. With your mother. I…couldn’t even bear to look at her picture, so I took them all down. You were so little then, Maxy…”
“No way! She left you for another guy?! I always thought she died in a car accident or something.” Max said, shocked. This was why they never talked about his mother.
“But, uh, I don’t let it get to me!” Goofy nodded, smiling. “I certainly didn’t take Mickey up on his offer to sabotage their wedding, heh…or their honeymoon…or steal their car and trash it…he can be a little…extreme sometimes, when he wants revenge, whether for himself or others. That’s why a lot of people don’t cross him, you know, but I guess that one kid that Oswald brought in is fearless or something, a’hyuk!”
“Woah, I didn’t know that Uncle Mickey had that kind of side to him!” Max said in awe.
“He doesn’t show it much, especially not to you and the other kids.” Goofy smiled fondly, thinking of Donald’s nephews. “But, uh…back on topic, I think…it might be healthier for both of you if you didn’t try to stay friends. At some point, things will break down, words will be said, and people will be hurt. Tale as old as time, really.”
Max sighed sadly. Looks like it’s time to say goodbye to Roxanne forever. “Okay, Dad. I guess I should go call her and say goodbye.”
“Well, try to be nice about it, you still have to see each other at school.” Goofy reminded him.
Max nodded and sadly smiled. “Thanks for the advice, Dad.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any cookies?” Goofy offered. “Chocolate has a way of cheering you up.”
“Well, it’s not me to pass on chocolate chip cookies. Thanks Dad.” Max replied as he helped himself to a couple of cookies.
Goofy smiled and rubbed his head affectionately. “It’s gonna hurt, for a while…but, you’ll get through it. Surround yourself with friends and family and it’ll soon be a sad memory.”
——
After Max called Roxanne and explained to her that he didn’t want to be friends because he didn’t want to accidentally say hurtful things in which she replied that she understood and wished him for the very best, Max hung up. Surely now, this will soon be behind him…right?
Unfortunately in the average town of Spoonerville, word gets around fast! Especially if you’re a teenager in high school. Even though it was Max’s last year before graduating, many of Max’s schoolmates were talking about the breakup. Max quietly walked down the school hallway as he passed by, he heard hushed whispers of the breakup.
“Did you hear?! Max and Roxanne broke up!”
“Yeah, apparently she is now dating the new guy, Scott.”
“I hear that Scott’s family is from either California or Canada.”
“No way! He’s clearly from California! He surfs!”
“I hear that Scott’s parents are environmental scientists of sorts.”
“I hear that they do cool family activities such as recycling things like an old swing set into a new swing set with hanging hammock chairs and hikyoga!”
“What’s hikyoga?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s hiking and yoga together.”
“Cool!”
“Think that Roxanne just dumped Max because he really was a geek after all?”
“Poor guy, think he’s miserable?”
“Of course! Who wouldn’t?!”
“Does this mean that Max is back as a lame loser?”
“Maybe Roxanne dumped Max because Scott is way cooler?”
“Sounds like it’s that case.”
Max walked up to his locker. He opened it and gathered his books for his first class. His two best friends approached him.
“Hey Max, sorry about Roxanne.” P.J. said.
“It’s fine.” Max said in a tone that tells his friends that he wasn’t fine.
“Man, that’s rough! Getting dumped during senior year.” Bobby commented.
“Well, I’d better get to class.” Max said before he shut his locker closed and made his way to his first class before the bell even rang. Both P.J. and Bobby looked at each other, worried about their best friend.