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“You know Ayden and I aren’t really getting along at the moment,” I remind her. “We’re trying to stay out of each other’s way, so partying with him is not exactly at the top of my list.”
“Don’t be like that,” Max whines. “What is it this time? Can’t you guys just talk it over and move on? You guys will make up sooner or later anyway.”
What’s up with her today? Why is she being so callous? I glare at her and say, “It’s not that simple, and you should know that. I told you something happened between us.” I stare at my plate and jab my fork angrily at my pasta. “I mean, I tried to tell you guys what happened, but you kept interrupting me and giving me your opinion on everything. So it’s no wonder you only know half the story.”
Max shoots me a cold look, takes a deep breath, and then waves it off. “Forget it, it’s fine. I’ll ask him some other time,” she mutters, glancing over at Ayden again.
I nod, and at that moment, I hear a message notification. I quickly take out my phone, but the message isn’t from Noah. It’s from Sue, one of my friends in Tucson. She wants to know how I am and tells me about a party she went to with Tonya and Leah.
“Man, what’s so important that you keep staring at your phone the whole time and ignoring us?” Max asks.
I look up in surprise and still can’t understand where all this hostility is coming from. “What’s up with you? Why are you being so dark?”
“I’m dark? You have problems with Ayden, act like the victim, and then expect us to stay away from him.”
Now I’m getting really pissed. “What? When did I ever say that?! You can be friends with whoever you’d like.”
Max scoffs. “Oh sure, like you wouldn’t have a problem if Luciaand I went out with Ayden.”
I search Max’ face for some hint of a reason for these outbursts, but she just looks at me defiantly. Lucia stares at her food. Kate stares wide-eyed at Max and seems at least as bewildered as I am.
“You can’t be serious!” I snap back at her. “Go and make plans with him then. What do I care?”
“Fine.” Max stands up. “I will!” She glances at Lucia with a triumphant smile on her face. Then she turns and walks over to Ayden. I watch her exchange a few words with him, laugh at something he says, and flick her hair back.
“Has she completely lost the plot?” I ask.
“Max is going through a rough time,” Lucia explains quietly, leaning forward. “Her parents are fighting constantly, and there’s been talk of divorce. So Max is trying to spend as little time as possible at home and find ways to distract herself.”
I look at Lucia in surprise. Then I look over at Max, who’s still talking to Ayden. “Why didn’t she just say so? I would have been sympathetic.”
“She doesn’t want to let it get to her,” says Lucia. “And if she talks to us about it, then she has to focus on it. So she’s trying to distract herself.”
“And she needs Ayden for that?”
Lucia shrugs. “He’s her friend, and she doesn’t like being caught in the middle of things. Especially when she’s dealing with that at home too.”
“OK,” I sigh. “What can we do to help her?”
“We should spend more time with her so she can avoid being around her parents.”
I nod. “I can do that.”
“It would just be easier for her if she didn’t have to avoid Ayden and his friends, and we could all keep hanging out together.”
I glance over at Max again and nod. “I would never ask her tostay away from him – I told her that. And if we happen to run into him somewhere, I’m not going to run away.”
Lucia stands up, hugs me, and says quietly but emotionally, “You’re a good friend.”
Later, at training, I continue to work on improving my communication with Yoru. I run as fast as I can across the hall and try to remain calm and focused. It’s not easy, especially since my classmates and their key spirits can be pretty distracting. I have to pull my head in when a bird whizzes over me. Then I nearly slip in a puddle left over from an ice hex. And on top of all that, I’m still preoccupied with other thoughts, mostly about Max. I keep glancing over at her. She sends her hummingbird Flit shooting up in the air and then into a nosedive. Her movements are frenetic, and she looks unfocused, which isn’t surprising. Part of me can totally understand her not wanting to talk about her parents, but I can’t help wondering if she would have opened up to me if I were more attentive. I sigh. There’s no use wrecking my head over it. The important thing is to be here for her now and try to support her as much as I can.
Kate and Lucia are still showering. I’m getting dressed, and I see Max head for her locker. I go to her and say, “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I know it’s not much comfort, but I want you to know I’m here for you.”
Max nods slowly. “Sorry I was so rude earlier. I didn’t mean to be hard on you.” She takes a deep breath and continues, “Things aren’t easy for me right now, as you can imagine. And I don’t really want to talk about it. I just want to get on with things and not have to think about it.” She smiles tentatively. “So if you want to help me, then let’s hang out together now and then.”
I nod. “And it’s fine if you want to meet up with Ayden. The fact that he and I are not seeing eye to eye doesn’t change anything between you two.”
Max shoves her sports clothes roughly into her bag. “He doesn’t have time,” she says. “You and Kate already said you’re busy. So I have nobody to go out with.”
