Here We Are (Maxpres) | ✔️

Chapter One

   "So, what was with that dramatic reunion earlier?" Nikki asked, sliding into the seat beside Max. He simply shrugged. "Hell if I know. We've never really gotten along, so... Yeah."

   Nikki opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it. She faced the front of the classroom, almost as if she was looking for someone. Max ignored it and instead looked around for any familiar faces. He noticed Harrison near the back, pulling flowers out of thin air to flirt with a girl. Neil, who was sitting near them, rolled his eyes at the gesture and returned to his book. Erid was also in the back, looking bored out of her mind.

   Lost in his thoughts, Max didn't notice when someone walked up next to him.

   "Mind if I sit here?" The voice snapped Max out if his thoughts. He glanced up at the voice's owner: Preston.

   He scanned the rest of the room quickly. "Isn't there somewhere else you could sit?" he muttered.

   Preston stood up straighter. "Well, I'm pretty sure you've noticed there are no more seats, smartass."

   Max looked around the room again. The other teen was right- every seat was taken except for the one next to him. He sighed, returning his gaze to theatre boy. "Fine."

   "It's not like either if us had a choice," he thought, watching Preston sit down. His expression was smug, earning an eye roll from Max. Soon after that, the teacher walked in and class began.

                                •~•

   The bell rang and Max was the first one out of classroom. He hastily pulled out his schedule and school map, trying to figure out where to go next.

   "Damn, Max, what's the rush?" he jumped at the sound of Nikki's voice. He looked to his left, seeing the girl keeping pace with him. "How the fu-"

   "I'm on track," she interrupted. "And football. And volleyball. And hopefully both softball and soccer in spring," Nikki turned her head to look at him. "Are you doing anything? Sport or club wise."

   It took Max a moment to process everything his hyper friend had said. "Not really," he answered meekly. He stared at a poster as they passed it. "Hey, where's Neil?"

   "Oh, he managed to skip a grade. He's a sophomore, while we're just freshman. So his schedule's a lot different." Nikki had started to skip beside him. "Speaking of which, what class do you have next?"

   "Um..." He glanced at his schedule and halted. "Creative writing? When the hell did I sign up for that?"

   Nikki shrugged. "I have Agriculture, so..." she started walking backwards and gave him finger guns. "See ya around!"

   And with that, she ran off. Max sighed, flicking his gaze from his schedule to the numbers on the classroom doors. In less than a minute, he found the right room. Taking a deep, irritated breath, he stepped inside.

   The room was colorful and brightly lit- two things that made Max more annoyed. He quickly took a seat in the back and stared out the window, waiting for class to start.

   He wasn't surprised to see that not many people were in this class. Only nine at the moment, counting himself.  He didn't recognize any if them, except for Tabii. He continued to stare out the window, bored.

   "God dammit."

   "I swear to fucking god..." Max thought, turning towards the classroom door. Sure enough, the person who spoke was none other than Preston Goodplay.