The Chess Club

Chapter 4

The next morning, Max woke up to an unfamiliar sound. The sound that woke Max up belonged to no other than Roxie. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he looked out to the window in hopes of finding what was causing Roxie make so much noise early in the morning.

Max saw that Roxie was still sitting and typing away on her computer from last night, and it seemed that finally the pressure had gotten to her and she was frantically scratching her head and complaining to the computer screen. Max raised an eyebrow and laughed at the scene that Roxie was making for no reason.

She does the craziest things. I have been laughing too much recently because of the weird things she does.

Max frowns at his thoughts and goes to wash up and get ready for the second day of school. Many people think the second day would be better than the first, but to Max the number of days going to school didn't matter; it was always going to be awkward walking down those corridors with everyone ignoring or pointing at you no matter how many times you experienced it.

Going into that bathroom, he did his utmost best to take a shower as quickly as he could and get out of that bloody tub also 0last night's dreams weren't helping his situation at all. Basically dressed and ready for school, he looked at his watch Max realizing that he had time to spare because of the rude awakening that his next door neighbor had gifted to him.

Well, at least I get to eat a proper breakfast thanks to her weirdness of talking to herself, loudly.

Searching the fridge for something to eat, all he could find were last night's leftovers and a bit of toast, butter, jam, and honey. Jam and honey, the two things that Max's father loved having for breakfast, at least that's what he could remember from the time that everyone wasn't too busy and they ate breakfast together every morning without fail. However, Max's father got a promotion and got really busy with his work in the bank. Moreover, his mother started feeling neglected and started seeing another man. Max knew because of the cologne that he could smell on her mother when she sneaked home late at night. Max's father wasn't a dumb man. Max was sure that he knew, but he was a quiet man who never stood up for himself. Max shut his eyes tight and shut the fridge's door with a big thud.

I should clean out the fridge soon.

Losing his appetite, he grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal and poured just a bit of milk. Max hated milk, it made him want to puke. Whenever he ate cereal, he just poured a little enough to moisten the cereal. Taking a spoonful of cereal, he finished his breakfast. Taking the last pieces of the toast from the fridge, he made himself a sandwich and shoved it into his backpack. He locked the front door and stood in front of the gloomy place he called home. Then he turned his head to look at the house next to his. Max didn't know why, but it looked vibrant and happy in hid eyes.

He stood in front of Roxie's house. It seemed like he was glued there. Maybe deep inside he was hoping for Roxie to come out and start bothering him.

You have known her for one day. One day! Now she is all you think about! Get a grip!

Shouting at himself for being so damn naïve. He was about to take a step away from the house when he heard the front door opening and he hides behind the tree between the two houses by instinct. Taking a little peak, he unnecessarily felt disappointed seeing that a blond woman in her late 20s walked out the house and ride off in her car instead of Roxie. Max came out of hiding and mentally slapping himself started walking towards the bus station.

Sitting and waiting for the bus to arrive, a police car passes by and the reason that it caught Max's eyes was because of the person that was sitting in the backseat. The person sitting in the backseat looked no older than Max and he had headphones on like everything was okay. Seeing the police car and the passenger made Max remember the time that he was sitting at the back of a police car. While roaming the streets at night being a bit tipsy, Max and his old friends picked a fight and let's just say it got a bit out of hand. The supermarket's cashier called the police because of all the things that their fight had caused damage to. Max's friends escaped the police leaving Max and the other group's leader making them the only ones to have a trip to the police station. Max's father was called and Max was taken by his father. After they had gone home, Max's father didn't say anything except, "I won't always be there." At the time, Max laughed his old man off and shut the car's door without ever looking back and entered the house while Max's father went back to work.