Saving Max

Prolouge

As I walk out of my last class, I let out a loud sigh. Stepping into the parking lot I dig my keys out of my purse and press the stiff unlock button, keeping my head angled towards the ground. School's finally over, but unfortunately my day has only just begun.

"Bella!" I hear my friend Katie yell, her voice seeming to come out of nowhere in the sea of students. Looking up curiously, I see her dragging her boyfriend, Adam, over to where I'm standing.

A smile instantly forms on my face at the sight of them, peace flooding through my body. "Hey!" I greet them excitedly, throwing my arms out to give them a quick hug.

"Are you going to the hospital today?" Adam asks, shrugging a loose arm over Katie's shoulder once we all pull away.

"Yeah." I sigh, puffing out a long breath that can barely be heard over the roar of the cars surrounding us. "I just took some time off last week. I'm starting up again today." I add the last part in an exhausted manner, shoving my hands roughly into my pockets. I love my job, but sometimes all I want to do is go home and sleep; something which I haven't been able to do in a long, long time.

"You're crazy, working so much. I'm surprised you still have energy left at the end of the day." Katie says, shaking her head disbelievingly at the thought of my work and school combination.

"I don't." I tell her truthfully, partially saddened by my own words. "As soon as I'm done at the hospital I'm back at home and in bed. I don't have the energy or the time for much of anything else." I say with a shrug, continuing to walk to my car, my two friends following close behind me.

The asphalt is hot on my sneaker-clad feet, burning up in the steamy May weather, but I pay it little heed. The only thing I can focus on is how I'm possibly going to get all of my work done after my shift today. Running a hand through my tangled hair in thought, I come to terms with the fact that it probably won't be happening. With my work schedule, I usually have to rely on early mornings to get all of my homework complete.

"You should let loose a little bit. We're juniors, Bella, you should be enjoying the time you have left in high school. You know, going to parties, getting drunk; not working until dark at the hospital, taking care of old people." Katie urges. I let out a long, tired breath at her words, looking over to her with an unamused glare. I know she means well by what she says, but we've already had this conversation probably a million times. She should know by now that I don't want to change anything about my life. I might complain sometimes, but I truly am happy with my job.

"Katie, I'm perfectly fine with what I'm doing with my life right now. I'm great, even. I'd much rather go to work and spend my time studying so I can get into a good college rather than going out and partying every weekend, not being able to remember what I did the night before. I don't see the point. I don't think that sounds fun at all." I tell her, waving my hands around animatedly in front of me to try and get my point across. It's the same speech I give her every time she brings it up, and it's the same one I'll be giving her for months and months to come.

"Okay." She sighs, giving up surprisingly fast and intertwining her hand with Adam's. "We're going to go have dinner at his sister's house. She's starting to show now, you know. It's so exiting!" Katie says cheerfully, a grin spreading wide across her face. Adam's sister, Megan, is three and a half months pregnant. They have dinner over there every other week, because Katie absolutely adores Adam's family. She practically lives with them. She and Adam have been together for five years now, too, so his family is pretty well accustomed to her presence, as well as her antics.

"Have fun. I'm already late, so I have to go. See you two tomorrow!" I wave hurriedly to them as I hop in my car, throwing all of my things carelessly in the back seat, smiling to myself as I start the car, I back out of my parking spot and make my way to the hospital.