Iron & Wine

Chapter Twenty Eight - Max on a Milk Carton

Chapter Twenty Eight-Max on a Milk Carton

Monday morning arrived too soon. My weekend went by too fast, and I'd spent it dreading the start of the week. I had to go to school and face Max. I'd expected an angry phone call from her by now, but got nothing. She must have been super pissed at me.

I threw on a sweater and grabbed my purse as I made my way out to the kitchen where Julie and Lattie were already eating.

"Morning," greeted Julie. "Excited?" she added, sarcastically. I just shot her a please-don't-joke look. "Sorry!"

"No, it's okay. I'm just being a baby."

"Do you think Max is still angry?" asked Lattie. She sat on an upside down mug and was nibbling on an apple that looked a little too big for her to hold up.

"I hope not. But its Max, she'll probably milk it for a while." She looked confused by that comment, but I was too tired to explain it to her. "You ready, Jules? I'm heading out now."

"Yep, I'm just gonna clean up and grab my bag. Meet you downstairs?"

"Sure." I hopped down off of my stool as she went to her bedroom. "See you, Lattie."

I approached the large double doors to the art studio, paused and took a deep breath before I entered. My eyes immediately went to Max's seat. I expected to see her sitting there, all stiff and proper with her nose in the air, but instead, I found an empty stool. I searched the room to see if maybe she hadn't taken her seat yet, but she was nowhere to be found.

I slowly walked toward my work station, knowing I should be relieved that she wasn't here but couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Max never missed class. She was Hitler when it came to attendance and all that.

My stomach tightened and my heart pounded as I sat down and began to work on my project. By the time lunch rolled around, I still hadn't calmed down. It felt like I was running on way too much coffee or something. I mindlessly made my way to the cafe cart where I always met Julie and Will for lunch.

"Hey, Avery," called Will. "Over here." He and Jules had grabbed a bench just across from the cart. I searched the yard nervously as I walked over and sat down.

"Whoa, are you okay? You're so pale!" Julie cried as she felt my forehead. "Avery?"

"Max isn't here today," I said quietly.

"So? Shouldn't that be a good thing?" she asked.

"Yes, it should. But it's not. I feel...I feel like...I dunno guys. Something is wrong. Have you heard anything?"

"No, I haven't. You?" she looked to Will. He shook his head.