Life Imitates Art

Part 22 - Judged Too Soon

"What's your poison?" Courtney joyfully asks.

Max picks some strawberry lemonade cooler thing. I'm one of those latte drinkers, and Courtney and Molly get hot chocolates. She doesn't even need to ask her pal before we put the order in. Meanwhile, Molly perches her overdressed self on a comfy seat opposite two harder chairs. I suppose the person picking seats gets to hand-pick theirs, so that's only fair.

The four drinks are served on a tray that I elect to take. Courtney insists she would be fine with it, but I can only see disasters coming if she tries to do anything precise with spikes like those on her feet. Even if she is well-practiced, I can only foresee calamities.

Courtney sits opposite me and Molly across from Max, who I think might be coming to the realisation that this isn't a date. It's unclear whether Molly is even turning his head that way. I know "Racing Stripes" is certainly catching his attention.

Molly takes a small sheet of orange tablets out of her crossbody, pops one into her mouth and swallows without even a drink of water.

"Don't worry. Just a prescription! So, Max, Tess has told me you draw?" Molly sits smugly while sipping on her hot drink. It might just look smug to me. She might just give off that vibe a little. God, I'm so b*tchy at times!

"Yeah, you could say that. I upload to DeviantArt and I draw physically too. You can check it out on your phone if you like. It's MaxineMoonlight."

Courtney and Molly flick their eyes over to Molly's phone where she already has it loaded up.

"Oh sh*t! You're Maxine? I came across your stuff a few days ago while looking at cute outfits!" Her enthusiasm is too unfiltered to be a bit. She must actually be impressed.

"Oh... thanks! I'm not used to meeting fans." Seems Molly isn't the only smug one.

"You've got some talent for sure! And M would love to wear pretty much all of that, eh?"

"Oh you know it. I wonder if you ever would, Max. Ever drawn something so cute or perfect that you wanted it to come to life so you could wear it yourself?"

"Oh. No. Um... well, I only draw girls. That's not just a Maxine thing online. Even in my sketchbook. If you ever saw it, it's all just cute girls in dresses and skirts and such. So I wouldn't wear anything I draw, no."

Molly's strategy seems to be to try and rip this problem off like a wax strip. She isn't being delicate about it at all. Direct and to the point. Courtney did warn me about that, and she was that way on the phone also. At this rate, she'll end up doing more harm than good for Maxine if she is real.

"Shame. It'd look great on you." She keeps turning the screw.

"Not sure about that one, if I'm honest."

"Don't knock it til you try it! I can even help."

Max takes another slow sip, visibly a little shaken-up. He excuses himself to the men's room while I try to talk Molly out of being so honest about the intentions.

"Molly, I'm not sure that's the way we should be doing this. You're making him uncomfortable."

"I know."

"What? What the hell do you mean by 'you know?' Why would you keep doing it?"

"I know how this works. He's gone to the toilet because he is uncomfortable. He is uncomfortable because I'm right about him wanting to wear what he draws. Same thing happened to me for years. The dysphoria seems to go to the natural exits."

"No offence, Molly, but that doesn't mean it works that way for Max as well. You making him unwell helps no one."

"Well, I'll ask you this. You mentioned he's been wearing skirts for a few days now. You've been jokingly referring to him as a girl. How does he respond to it? Does he always need to use the toilet afterwards?"