Escaping Maximoff

Put Your Records On

Zach Davis was a grade-A asshole. Not because he walked around the school like he owned it, beat up anyone who sat at his usual lunch table, or objectified girls from behind the bleachers while he smoked, but because he had created a huge traffic jam in the corridor. I mean, sure the other stuff was terrible, but I was in the biggest rush to hand in my art assignment since it counted towards my overall grade, and the deadline was in less than a week.

I pushed past gawking teens, whose full attention was devoted to the utterly pathetic fight between Zach and some guy in the grade above. I tried not to grimace as I stepped over a splatter of blood, which I could only assume had come from the grinning mouth of the ginger boy now standing over the body of the senior, his wild eyes searching for his next opponent. Unfortunately for some poor freshman, Zach's attention landed on him. The older boy grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground, simply offended by the look in his eyes.

I sighed and tried to sneak past the scene, hoping the redhead was too engrossed in the whimpering freshman to notice me push through the final line of onlookers. Much to my dismay, the boy he was attacking let out a squawk that sounded a little bit like 'help' – it was kind of hard to tell when Zach was squeezing the air out of his lungs. Nevertheless, it turned his aggressors gaze towards me.

I ignored the ginger twat's stare, focusing instead on the boy trapped under his grip. His wide eyes blinked up at me, begging me to put a stop to the rampage only a privileged, rich jerk could perpetrate. The boy had more money in his pocket than cells in his brain; someone needed to put him in his place.

I sighed.

"Let him go Zach," I said, my voice monotone. I couldn't have sounded less interested if I tried.

He disgustingly wiped the mix of blood and saliva from his mouth and rose to his full height, shooting his victim a quick glare that warned him not to move a muscle. "Why should I?" He challenged, a small smirk tugging at his cracked lips, enjoying the confrontation.

"I don't know, maybe because it's kind of pathetic to pick on people weaker than you." The crowd held their breath, waiting for his reaction. His nostrils flared slightly as he stepped over the freshman, not stopping until he was inches away from me.

"What did you just say?" He whispered, his stale breath wafting into my face, making me scrunch up my nose as he talked. I wondered if anyone had ever told him about the miraculous invention of breath mints. My reaction seemed to fuel his anger more as he cracked his knuckles 'threateningly.' I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the pitiful excuse of a human being in front of me and his humorous attempts at being intimidating. Nothing could even come close to the terrifying encounters I'd had with Wanda Maximoff; Zach Davis was laughable in comparison.

"She said that you're pathetic, Gingy." Sam came to my rescue, positioning himself between me and the now infuriated boy. Luckily he possessed enough brain cells to know that this wasn't a fight he was going to win, with an enraged huff, he stormed off, but not without shooting me a glare that promised consequences for my intervention.

The freshman stood up with Sam's help, quickly thanking me before hurrying away. I followed his lead and left as well, desperate to get away from the masses of people and the impressed stares that followed me along the corridor.

I didn't manage to escape those stares until I was tucked safely at home later that day, hungrily devouring a delicious bowl of cereal.

"Is it true you beat up Zach Davis?" I scoffed, dropping my spoon and turning to look at my cousin Ryan, who was leaning against the door frame, grinning cheesily at me.

"What do you think?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the ridiculous question. There was no universe where I could beat anyone up; my noodle arms forbid me from being able to do any damage.

"I think you made him cry," Tristan said, pushing past his twin to get into the kitchen, stealing the open box of cereal I had left on the counter.

"You know, I did hear that he was found sobbing in the bathroom earlier today," Ryan remarked as he came to rest against the table next to me, taking my bowl and claiming it as his own in the process. I sighed, both amused and worried by the rumours, knowing Zach would be out for revenge when he heard them.

"Who was crying?" My aunt walked in, with Leo – my youngest cousin – trailing not far behind. She tutted when she saw her sons eating, "Really boys? Dinner will be ready in half an hour." They smiled innocently at her, not-so-sneakily giving Leo a small handful of the sugary treat,
despite Julie's unimpressed look.

She shooed them all out of the kitchen so she could finish dinner, pulling a face at me that seemed to say, 'can you believe these goofballs actually came from me?'

"God, you're the only other normal one around here," she said, rolling up her sleeves as she roamed around the room. I chuckled nervously; if only she knew. I think my lack of brain cells and stupid confidence when it came to standing up for myself kind of constituted to pushing me towards the not-so-normal side.

I tried not to think about whatever retribution I would receive once Zach recovered from his embarrassment, while my aunt blasted 'Put your Records on' and danced around the space, eventually pulling me up to join her. I'd face whatever consequences were coming my way some other day; Gingy could wait.