Chapter Text
Max’s POV -
It kind of hurt watching dad drive away. I mean, i had been begging, wishing even, for this day to finally come. To finally have some alone time yet now that i’ve got it, i don’t know how to feel. Dad’s graduation cap is in my hand, I’m not sure when I picked it up but I squeezed it as soon as I couldn’t see his car anymore.
I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here for, just staring out at the road, as I look back all my friends are away. Bobby is probably just in the dorm, and Pete is probably just walking Vicki back home, but even though I know deep down where my friends are. I still feel alone.
I don’t feel in control of my legs as they walk me back inside, walking past Bobby on the couch and in to my own room. I take off my hoodie, I’m just in my tank top and shorts now. All I can do is look at myself in the mirror. All this year I had spent trying to get my dad away from me, or practising for the X-games but what was it all for? We won the games but we’re still just as popular as we were the first day we skated past everybody. My Dad’s gone now, so all the trouble in avoiding him feels like it was useless and Bradley somehow got the Gammas to forgive and worship him. Not only that but he hasn’t ever mentioned their little bet of Brad being his towel boy, and I sure as hell aren’t going to start a conversation with him to mention it. So everything I done just feels pointless.
Eventually I decided to ignore my thoughts and go for a shower. The water was freezing, of course P.J had used up all the hot water before he left. So as I shower in the freezing cold, the sun setting outside the glazed window I realised how hungry I actually was. Leaving the shower, I tie a towel around my waist as I peak out the door. Just to make sure Vicki was definitely not here as I walked to the kitchen. Noticing Bobby still watching tv on the couch.
“You good Max?” Bobby asked. His voice is nonchalant but I know he can tell I’m acting weird.
“Yeah I’m just tired I think man. I mean you don’t get to see your dad graduating every day, do you?” I replied with a dry laugh.
He laughed as well before turning back to the tv. I made some cereal with a cup of coffee and took it to my room. After eating I threw on a pair of shorts before collapsing on to my bed. Usually I’d sit on my phone for a while but tonight, all I could do was stare at my dad’s cap before falling asleep.
The sleep was rough and waking up to P.J telling me we’re late just made me feel oh so much worse. Even if it was a common occurrence for us each day to almost be late. I grabbed the first baggy shirt I saw and a pair of beige cargos. Before quickly brushing my teeth and heading to the kitchen.
I looked around realising nobody is here yet, I assumed they’d just left without me but I was proved wrong when I noticed their skateboards were still against the wall. Suddenly the two rushed out their separate rooms in complete sync. The way each ran on either side of me caused me to spin around. It felt like I was in some cliché Disney movie.
“Max come on man! That English teacher is gonna totally kill us dude!” P.J said, it was weird hearing him talk normally instead of poetically.
But he mainly talks like that when Vicki’s around. Sometimes I don’t even know what he’s saying anymore, but at least he’s happy. I looked at them and laughed a bit before grabbing my skateboard. We skated through campus as quick as we could, I was leading but the other two weren’t far behind. I looked up at the large building, ‘ ENGLISH ’ being displayed clearly in bold letters at the front.
We get to class just before the late bell rang and took our usual seats a couple of rows up. I still felt a bit dazed from all my thinking last night, and being in class was the last thing I wanted but I still just sat there.
Everything the teacher was saying didn’t sound like words so I just stared at the board and wrote whatever he wrote. Suddenly though something hit me in the back of the head, jolting me back to reality. As I touch the spot on my head that now felt weird. I realised it was a disgusting spit ball in my hair. Of course it was the gammas that done it, Tank to be specific. I assumed everything would be alright with him, after I saved him from nearly dying. But the next day it was like nothing had happened. They’d forgiven Bradley, and they were just as popular and annoying as ever.
I look over at my friends and they’re both looking at what the teacher had just wrote, their faces look slightly drained of colour. I look at the board to see what they were looking at, but all I see is ‘DUO project! Due a month from now.’ in the Teacher’s usual messy writing. I was confused what they were worried about. I mean usually the teacher lets us go as a trio if one of us pretends to cry or something like that.
“What are yous stressing about? Teachers always let us go as a three.” As I said this they both turned to look at me.
“Didn’t you hear him? He’s picking partners.” The usual calm tone of Bobby’s voice is slightly gone and I can tell why.
I mean that gives each of us like a 30% chance of getting partnered with a gamma. Not only do they all hate our guts, but their grades are terrible due to not doing any work. Yet at the end of the year they just pay the teachers to change them and anyone who’s been forced to work with them has to deal with the terrible grade they got due to only half the project being finished. No offence to Bobby or P.J but as long as I don’t get paired with one of them though I think I’ll live.