Here we go again

Meeting time Chapter 2

" Bye dad! " I wave to my dad as he pulls out of the drive way. I guess he's going to go pick up my brother. My step-brother. 

I wonder what he's like. Is he nice? Mean? Tall? Broad shouldered? Smart? 

I tap my foot on the curb as I wait for the bus to come. Dad offered to drop me off at school today after he picked up my brother, but I want to talk with my friends on the way to school. 

I put in my ear buds and lean against the stop sign as I wait. This is boring. I might as well look at the car catalog I packed this morning. 

I pull a car catalog out of my bag and begin to flip through the pages as car pass by. A car honks at me and someone whistles as they pass. I look up and make a not so nice gesture back. Dumb collage boys. 

I hum to the song as I flip the page. A large shadow blocks my sun light and causes me to look up. Lenny opens the doors of the bus and talks in a funny voice. " Ladies and gentlemen, I'm you new bus driver. " 

Kurt smiles at me and chuckles. " Morning Maxi. " 

" Hey guys. So, um, you get a new job or something? " I ask as I get in. " Or was Nick too high to drive today? Again. " 

" Numero two. " Kurt says looking back at the bus. 

" Figures. " I nod and head to the back. I slide into the seat with Kiethie. " Hey Kiethie. Girls. " I smile at Donna and Charlotte.  " Guys. " I wave at Andre and Greg. 

" Hey Max. " My heart flutters a bit as Greg talks to me. I may have a tiny crush on him. Okay fine. Not very tiny. I have a big, huge crush on him. But, he'd never notice me. He probably only thinks of me as a friend. 

" Have a good day Max. " Lenny and Kurt say as I hurry off the bus to my class. 

" Alright little birds. Find your nest man. Float down. There we go. And we're in. Alright guys. Normally we don'y have this exciting news this late into the term but, we have a new student joining us today. Braden Higgins. " Everyone looks back at me. I wave and give a sarcastic smile to the class. 

Braden looks back at me and I give him a genuine smile.

" There's a seat over there. Why don't you go cop a squat? " 

Braden walks away from the spot the teacher directed him to go. He looks at the kid behind me and the boy holds out his wallet. " No. I sit here. " The boy, Ryan Lamont scrams as fast as he can. 

" Maxon! Why didn't you tell me you had a brother? " Greg asks as he looks at Braden who's right behind me. 

" I just found out yesterday. " 

" That's plenty of time to tell us. " Andre smiles at Braden. 

" Well sorry. I was busy working on my homework from last night. " I roll my eyes. 

" It's ridiculous how they give homework the last week of school. " Andre complains. 

I turn around to face my brother. " Hey. I'm Maxon. You're half sister. These doof's are Greg Feder and Andre McKenzie. My friends. " I smile at him. 

" I'm Braden. " He says as he nods to the guys. 

I turn back to the teacher as the boys talk.