Get Home (Angus & Julia Stone)
Max woke up to the sounds of drums and guitar. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling which the sun had started to light up while Angus Stone's voice filled her ears. She stayed like that for a while, thinking about life. About Chloe and Rachel. Especially Chloe.
She couldn't believe that they made up without a hitch after all this time, after she had imagined all of those terrible scenarios in which the one who used to be her friend said horrible things to her. Horrible but deserved, she thought. Chloe should've been more angry. Not that she would complain of course; as is, it was easier for both of them. But the guilt still gnawed at her, and she knew that it was here to stay, for a long while if not forever.
Anyway. Now wasn't the time to think about that, she had to get ready for classes. Being late was the last thing to do at a place like Blackwell, especially during the first week.
Max sat at her desk. Thankfully, she had arrived at the same time as everyone else, and the only glare she recieved was from Victoria, as usual.
Being at Blackwell felt weird; It was so, so much different from her life in Seattle, and she still wasn't used to anything, but some stuff – like Victoria's glares and remarks – already felt like the norm.
She superbly ignored her and looked at the door, just in time to see Ms Walker enter, along with her mighty aura. It was already the third lesson that she gave them this year, but she was still as impressive as she had been the first time she saw her.
Gabriel Walker was in her mid/late twenties. She had blond hair, the same length as Max's, and wore big round glasses, which reminded her of those who could be seen in pictures taken in the 1930; which contrasted with the rest of her clothing since she always wore simple jeans and plain T-shirts, with a different color each day. Today was light orange.
"Silence please!" She said wile trying to cover the chatter. Realizing that almost nobody had heard her, she frowned and bruskly slammed her hand on her desk.
"SILENCE!"
Everyone suddenly stopped talking, looking at her in surprise. Never before had she been forced to scream, but then again never before had the class been this noisy.
"Thank you", she similed proudly.
The lesson started from where they left it the day before. Max was sucked in, mesmerized by Ms Walker's words. She was in the middle of explaining black and white's effect on the perception of the image when a phone rang. Max sighed, closing her eyes. Couldn't people just... put their phones in airplane mode during class? At the very least? She opened her eyes again, only to be faced with Ms Walker staring at her.
"Could you please turn off your phone, Max Caulfield?"
Max looked down at her phone in shock: It was ringing, and the name 'CHLOE' was written in big letters on the screen. Horrified, Max pressed the 'I'm busy' button and turned off the device while hastily apologizing, more embarrassed than ever. Gee Chloe, that was the worst moment you could've chosen...
"Be careful next time Max, or else this kind of things could appear on your record. And that includes all of you young folks", she said while looking at the rest of the class. "If I hear another phone I swear you'll hear about it big time."
She went back to her desk. Max felt someone looking at her and rose her head to catch Victoria's gaze. She was staring at her, a little smile on her lips.
"Are you that stuck in the eighties that you don't know how to silent a smartphone, Maxine?" she whispered.
"Shut up" was the only thing she could muster, looking back at her notebook.
"Woah, what a comeback! I shouldn't have expected better from the Great Maxine Caulfield" she smirked while putting the emphasis on the end of her surname.
"Shut. Up." repeated Max
Ms Walker had barely resumed her lesson, writing stuff on the board, when another phone rang. She stopped dead, then slowly turned around to glare at a petrified Victoria who was alterning between looking at her phone and their teacher.
The ringing stopped, the class went silent. Finally, after a few seconds:
"Ms Chase"
"Y- Yes?"
Another pause.
"I must say. When I told you all earlier that this shouldn't happen again, I wasn't expecting it to be so soon"
Victoria's face was a mix of shame and guilt. Max noticed her lower lip shivering.
"Consider yourself lucky. I won't hold it against you but ONLY because until now you've been one of our model students. If that happens again, however..." She left her sentence trail off, while Victoria released the breath she had been holding.
Ms Walker's excuse seemed weird though. From what Max had seen since she met her teacher a few days earlier, she didn't seem to be the kind of person who would avoid tarnishing a student's record only because of it being spotless; quite the opposite in fact. She must have her reasons, I guess... Whichever they may be.
Ms Walker went back -once again- to the board. Max leaned toward Victoria, and smirked:
"She should've taken ten points from Slytherin"
"Shut up Maxine. Just... Shut up" she sighed, visibly unable to find a convenient answer.
Max didn't argue and went back to the lesson, a smile on her lips. She could see Victoria's profile not far away from her. She seemed to be pouting, her hand supporting her head and her palm covering her mouth. She seemed almost human. Kinda cute...
CHLOE:hey mad max
CHLOE:u ghosting me again arent u
CHLOE:see u in 5 years
CHLOE:u know i could die of sadness
CHLOE:max im dead now
MAX:Chloe I'm in class right now uuuugh
MAX:I can't even
CHLOE:u better call me back its important
MAX:I will, just wait a few hours ok? I'll call you when I'll be back in my room.
CHLOE:cant u just get out of the class 4 a few minutes
CHLOE:tell teacher fk off?
MAX:No..?
MAX: (눈‸눈)
CHLOE:now imma die of anger
MAX:See ya in a bit, Chloe (^_^)/
CHLOE:ugh
"Finallyyyyy! Mad Max!"
"Indeed here I a-"
"You sure took your time! You have that many classes?"
"-m... Well yeah, and you almost busted me in Photography earlier.... I forgot to turn off my phone and it rang in the middle of the lesson"
"Whoops, sorry about that!" she said on a joyful tone which didn't seem sorry at all. "So, you ready to hear the news?"
"Is this something I should be worried about?"
"Well, that depends on how you see the thing"
"Uh... You're not pregnant, are you?" Max asked with a falsely worried voice and a smile on her lips.
"Uuugh, no, gross. You're one funny girl, arent'ya?" Chloe said with a sigh. "Anyway. There is something both me and Rachel have been thinking about for a few months"
"Uh huh?"
"And we thought about it again after you called me yesterday. You being here is the occaison we were waiting for" She took a deep breath, and then dropped the bomb. "We're going back to Arcadia Bay".
Silence.
"...Max..?"
Max couldn't believe what she just heard. Since the day before, she got used to the idea that her friendship with Chloe was going to stay digital. That since her and Rachel were so far away, they wouldn't be able to actually see each other, at least not before a long time. And here was Chloe, saying that they were about to come back.
"Uh, Max..? Don't tell me that this bothers you?"
"I.. Uh... You... YOU SHITTIN' ME THAT'S AWESOME!"
"Woah there Mad Max, hold your horses!" laughed Chloe after witnessing Max's roar.
"Shoot, my door was open. Wait a sec"
Max put down her phone and got up to close the door. Right outside was Victoria, wo was probably about to open her own before hearing Max. Now, she was standing against it, facing her, her usual smirk on her lips. She stayed silent.
"What now Victoria?"
"Chill a bit Max. I have the right to be here" She pointed a finger to the door behind her." That's my room you know"
"Yes, I know. Now, if you please don't mind" sighed Max before closing her door before she could answer, leaving a probably pissed Victoria alone in the hallway.
"Who was that?" asked Chloe as soon as Max picked up her phone again.
"Victoria Chase. She lives in the room in front of mine"
"Oooooh, that bitch!"
"What, you know her?"
"WE know her. Ain't that right? Victoria Chase."
"Ooooh yeah we do", said Rachel in the background.
"She was at Blackwell with us when we left three years ago" added Chloe.
Max stayed silent for a moment, thinking.
"But... wait. I was told that she came here last year because of our Photography teacher..."
"Well lemme tell you, she's been here for a wile. She probaly lied again. That bitch"
"Woah Chloe, calm down a bit. What did she do to you?
"She's fake. She's uptight. She's ready to do any nasty stuff to get to what she wants. She's always hidden behind a psychological wall and never shows her true emotions. That said when I think about it, last time we saw her she seemed more 'relaxed' than usual" Chloe laughed, so did Rachel.
"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on her?
"Uh, why would you say that Max? You barely know her and you already have proof that she's not honest. And you saw her, I bet she looks down on you. On everyone. She's a bitch and you can't change my mind.
"Well, she's well hidden behind her 'wall' and stuff, but sometimes she's just human. It's not often, but... Today for example, she was called out by Ms Walker because her phone rang in class, like mine. She didn't get anything in the end, but I swear, when our teacher turned her back, she started pouting. Pouting! And sometimes too, when she takes pictures on campus, she makes that face when she's focused. She frowns and snorts at the same time and it's so funny!"
"...Huh."
"What?"
"Well, you... no, nothing. You noticed all of that in a few days?"
"Three. I swear, I know that there is someone interesting behind all of that. And, I'm sorry Chloe, but I can't hate someone who pouts like that. I really can't"
"Huh."
"What?!?"
"Nothing, I said! Nothing. I'll stop insulting her if you want it so much"
"Oh, thanks..?" Well, that was surprisingly easy...
"Glad to see that you're so happy that you can't stop talking about us coming back though, huh?"
"Oh God I'm so sorry! Yes of course I'm happy!" Max beamed. "Where are you right now? When will you come back exactly?"
"Now that's more like it", Chloe smirked. "We're in Neah Bay, the Nor-"
"The northwestern town in the US – If you don't count Alaska" Max diligently recited.
"You know about it?"
"That's what David told me when I went to your house yesterday"
"Oh" Chloe's voice sounded bothered by something, but she quickly snapped out of it. "Anyway, yeah we're in Neah Bay. We still have stuff to do here, but we'll be back in two or three days"
"I can't wait to see you again! And to meet Rachel too" she added, remembering that Chloe wasn't alone.
"Likewise!" said Rachel's voice.
"We're planning to stay for a few months, we don't know how many yet. We'll see I guess. But one thing that we know for sure is that we won't stay forever, the road is always waiting for us" Chloe waited a bit before adding "You could come with us then..?"
"Oh... I'm sorry Chloe, but I can't leave Blackwell behind. I've been waiting for years to come here, I can't just leave it like that..."
"Figured you would say that", Chloe said with a smile in her voice "But you still have months and months to think about it. If... something bad happens and you don't want to stay... You're welcome to come with us"
"Don't get your hopes up too much" Max laughed. "But I'll keep that in mind. Thanks"
Victoria got up and walked to her door, stunned. What?!?
Way too much stuff had been said in what she just heard. She entered her room, closed her door and let herself fall on the bed.
Caulfield. Maxine Thea Caulfield is friends with Chloe Price. Chloe Price is coming back to Arcadia Bay. She's coming back to Arcadia Bay with her 'girlfriend' Rachel Amber. They still hate her (no surprise on that end though).
And fucking Caulfield defended her.
Dammit, she said that she makes 'funny faces' when she's focused or when she pouts.
Ugh. Why.
As if this day wasn't already shitty enough.