X
Victoria Chase peered at the phone.
It was a little known fact that Maxine was her best friend. She hesitated to say me and Maxine are best friends - she didn’t want to pin the responsibility of agreeing with her on Maxine without actually discussing what they were - but Maxine was certainly her best friend, of that she had no doubt.
Maxine was the only person who would stick by her no matter how much money she was payed.
Maxine was the only person who might save her, even at the risk of her own life and happiness.
Maxine, who refused to sleep anymore then was necessary to not collapse dead.
Maxine, with those wide, doe-like eyes.
She shook off the thoughts as they strayed farther from how good a friend Maxine was. Strayed further into the territory of what Maxine was like, what made Victoria worried every time she looked at her friend - her best friend - and saw deeper bags under her eyes and skin that looked less and less healthy.
Anyway. The point.
The point was, Maxine was her best friend.
And she was acting a little suspiciously.
At first, Victoria had been almost happy. It started with the way her eyes seemed just a touch brighter, and the look of exhaustion whenever she got a text was instead subtle brightening that made her look so much better.
Maxine was really beautiful when she was happy.
That was what had gotten them together in the first place - what had made them friends. Victoria had seen her in a tiny, weak moment, when a doe from the nearby woods had bumped her palm gingerly. Victoria had been only a little less surprised then Maxine had been - and then her surprise had washed away when Maxine had smiled, and her whole face had seemed to flush with happiness that made her eyes sparkle.
She had been unable to stop herself from talking to the girl - from interrupting the moment, if only so she could affect it. That tiny little snippet when light seemed to refract just right and everything lined up perfectly.
She had interrupted with a snide insult, and regretted it the moment the deer ran off and all the happiness flooded out of Maxine’s face, replaced with a look that was just…
Tired.
They had ended up being friends because Maxine just never stopped being nice, no matter how many insults she hurled, and eventually she just got tired of insulting her with no effect.
Their interactions had slowly grown lukewarm. Simple little things, that happened because they lived on the same campus and went to many of the same classes.
Then they had had a long conversation about photography that broke the ice, on an empty afternoon with two cups of coffee between them.
And now Maxine was her best friend.
And Maxine was texting someone new.
She knew it was someone new, because of how Maxine reacted when she saw one of the texts. When Kate texted (what a plebeian name: Kate), she just looked accepting. Like it was just something she had to do, like eating or sleeping. Something she felt very little about. When they met in person Maxine enjoyed herself far more - she clearly liked Kate a lot - but texting was never something she enjoyed.
But now, sometimes, she would get a text and check it and it was like her face would just… light up. Like it had when the deer bumped her palm, or in those rare moments when she saw a perfect shot and frantically stopped Victoria in the middle of whatever she was doing to get a picture.
And Victoria was suspicious. And, loath as she was to admit it, worried.
And Maxine’s phone had just buzzed.
She glanced at the bathroom door. Maxine would be back any minute.
She snatched the phone and turned it on, putting in the passcode in a moment.
Maxine told me that code in confidence.
She ignored the tiny, guilty voice as she read the text.
hey dork. gotta minute?
She stared, confused. She checked the contact name.
Punk Friend ;)
Maxine did something similar for every contact name - the full name, and an emoticon for them. Victoria’s, for example, was: Victoria Chase >:X
And, of course, Kate’s was: Kate Marsh :)
She had a few others - mostly people Victoria hadn’t met or didn’t care about. Someone named Warren with a 8p and someone else called Dana with a :7, along with a few others she didn’t care about.
She stared at the winky face (god she hated that term) and wondered what exactly that was supposed to mean.
And it wasn’t even a name.
She glanced anxiously at the bathroom door again, just as it opened. She quickly turned the phone off and set it back where it was, composing her face into boredom in less then a moment.
Maxine sat back down with a soft smile. “Did I get any messages?”
She considered lying for a moment, before resolving that that was both A: pretty shitty of her and B: not likely to go well.
“Yeah, one.”
Max’s face brightened a touch and Victoria felt a little sick.
She reached for the phone and checked the message. She smiled a little wider, and glanced up, before suddenly stopping herself. Her face screwed up just a little.
She tapped something back to the mysterious contact (why wasn’t it a name, she didn’t understand) and set it down.
“What was that about?” She said, trying not to sound desperate as she took a sip of her tea.
Maxine smiled softly.
“Just a friend of mine wanting to talk.” She smiled at Victoria as she said, “I told them I was busy.”
Victoria felt just a tiny bit of warmth seep into her bones, and tried not to think too hard about the way her stomach clenched.