colors (max mayfield)

•dart the pollywog?•

"Max! Oh God, this is more disgusting than when I saw my brother's butt."

Joe and Max walked through the halls.

"I still don't get why they call him Zombie Boy," Max said, clutching her skateboard at her side, "I mean, I get it. He got lost in the woods for a week or something, but why is he a zombie? Because everybody thought he was dead?"

Joe obviously couldn't tell her the truth.

"Yeah. There was a funeral and everything," Joe replied quickly, hoping Max would stop asking questions.
"After a week?" Max asked, clearly not buying it.
"They found a body, it wasn't Will's, but I guess it looked like him. The body was super decomposed though, so I guess it was hard to tell," Joe shrugged.
"What?" Max asked with an eyebrow raised, "Okay, that's not funny."
"Cmon, Max, why would I joke about my best friend almost dying? It's true. Everyone here knows it," Joe explained to her, trying to just get her to drop the whole thing altogether.
"Okay," Max mumbled.

The pair walked to Mr. Clarke's class. Mr. Clarke was once again rambling on about something to do with the human brain. Joe didn't really care. She was distracted.

In the dim lighting, Max still looked so beautiful. How was she able to do that? Max was staring at Will though. Oh, God did she like him? Is that why she was so curious? There was no way. She hadn't even talked to Will. Joe pushed the toxic thought out of her mind, trying to ignore Max's intense stare and at Will.

Suddenly, Dustin busted in the door. The door slammed against the concrete walls drawing everyone's attention to the curly headed hot mess that was Dustin Henderson. Joe rolled her eyes. What was he up to this time?

"I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke," he panted his apology, his backpack hanging off one shoulder, "Really, I am so sorry. Please continue with the class."

He made his way to his seat with the rest of the party. Mr. Clarke went on with his lesson about crowbar's and brains. Joe didn't care. Science just wasn't her thing, as much as she adored Mr. Clarke as a person.

She saw the boy's lean in, clearly whispering. It was times like this she felt left out of the group. Stupid seating chart. Dustin turned around, looking at Max and I.

"A.V. Club. Lunch," he whispered loudly at us.
"Dustin!"

Dustin whipped back around, clearly being caught by Mr. Clarke, who scolded him for talking in the middle of class. Joe chuckled lowly, making Max laugh as well.

Max thought Joe was super pretty when she laughed. The way she bit her lip to control the sound from escaping from her peach colored lips made Max blush. She'd never tell her that, though.

__________________________________

After class, just as the bell rang for lunch, the party gathered in the A.V. Room. Dustin set his Halloween costume proton pack on the table, opening it up with hesitation. Everyone gathered around in anticipation.

Inside was some weird slug thing, it looked almost, alien. Dustin didn't seem to care about the disgusting appearance of his new pet.

"His name is d'Artagnan," Dustin said, lifting the small creature gently from its cage, "Cute, right?"

Joe scoffed.

"That thing is as cute as my brother's butt," Joe stated, making Mike smile and Max snicker, "Anyways, what kinda name is d'Artagnan?"
"Well, it's Dart for short," Dustin replied.

He was oddly calm for someone who had just found some weird critter.

"And he was in your trash?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of her.
"Foraging for food," Dustin nodded, "You wanna hold him?"

What a weird way to flirt.

"No, no," Max shook her head furiously.
"Yeah, don't bring that thing anywhere near us," Joe said.
"He doesn't bite," Dustin claimed, moving closer to the two girls.

Both began to panic and say no, but the small, slimy creature was forced into Max's hands without warning.

"Oh God, he's slimy!" Max exclaimed, passing him forcefully in Joe's hands.
"Max! Oh God, this is more disgusting than when I saw my brother's butt," Joe shrieked, passing him to Lucas.
"You talk a lot about your brother's butt," Max grinned, trying to ignore the slug that was being passed around.
"Shut up," Joe huffed, pushing her shoulder slightly, but still wearing a grin.

Lucas and Will had their turns holding Dart, both had the same reactions as the girls did. When Mike got a hold of him, he stayed surprisingly calm, lifting the small thing up to his face so he could study it better.

"What is he?" Mike asked, his eyes not leaving the green-yellow slug.
"My question exactly," Dustin smiled, slamming down his reptile and amphibian book, "At first, I thought he was some type of pollywog."
"Pollywog?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's another word for tadpole," Dustin explained, getting all technical, "A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad."
"She knows what a tadpole is, Dustin," Joe cut him off.

Max gave Joe a smile. Max didn't like being treated like an idiot. Billy treated her as such all the time.

"Alright, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" Dustin opened up his book, "Well, Dart isn't. He doesn't need water."
"Yeah, but aren't there non-aquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asked, glancing down at Dart, who made some type of weird noise.

It sounded strangely familiar to Joe, but she brushed it off. She had never seen this thing before.

"There are two types of terrestrial pollywogs. Indirana Semipalmata and the Adenomera Andreae," Dustin explained, pointing to them as he flipped through his book, "One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"
"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Max asked, clearly thinking Dustin was out of his mind.
"Do you guys see that?" Mike asked, leaning forward toward Dart, "It looks like something is moving inside of it."

Joe leaned forward, cringing at how nasty the creature truly was up close. They all began to lean forward, studying the creature. Joe leaned the desk lamp towards Dart. The creature screeched in pain, jumping back into the darkness. Joe raised an eyebrow. Pollywogs don't typically jump away from light, even she knew that.

Dart began to run, straight for the edge of the table. Dustin luckily had his hand out in time, ready to catch the small slug. It jumped into his hand. Dustin began to coo as he comforted the small creature.

"I got you, little guy," Dustin smiled at Dart.

Dart made a small noise. They did seem to have some type of strange bond. The group watched in curiosity. Will looked slightly alarmed.

"And there's another thing," Dustin stated, looking up at us, "Reptiles, they're cold blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."
"So, then what exactly is he if he's not a pollywog or a reptile?" Joe asked, looking up at Dustin.
"Then," Dustin lit up, "I've discovered a new species."

Joe wasn't so sure. This creature seemed oddly familiar, and she wasn't sure why. She looked over at Will, who looked super strange. He looked almost like he was having another episode, which worried Joe greatly.

"Will?" She asked, just as the bell rang.

Everyone jumped up. Will came out of his trance, looking over at Joe. She gave him a concerned frown, rubbing his arm slightly. He gave her a small smile, letting her know it was okay, but it didn't change her amount of worry. They all left to go show Mr. Clarke Dustin's new pet, and or, discovery.