Bathroom (Max x Bradley) - Maxley

CHAPTER 4

I just silently stared at the Bradley, not sure if I was having a nightmare or not. It is just not humanly possible to meet one person so often in one day. It seemed as if he was following me around.

I stared blankly before myself, slowly counting to ten and rethinking my life choices.

"Max, buddy, are you okay?" snapped PJ his fingers in front of my face, hoping to get me out of my trance. Bobby seemed to understand what I was thinking and started laughing silently behind me. Not very silently, may I add. Numerous people looked disapprovingly our way, that is how 'silently' he laughed.

The only positive thing about this was, that it seemed as if Bradley didn't notice I was here yet.

Bradley started the tour, walking inside of the main building, and instructing everyone to follow him. PJ, Bobby, and I were the last, avoiding the Upper-snot as much as possible.

He showed us the place where we would get our schedules and IDs from, the main study hall, and some of the classrooms as well. The whole tour took about an hour, and not once throughout the tour had I had the chance to be interrupted by our annoying tour guide. Thank God.

At the end of the tour we were seated in the assembly hall and showed a video about the rules of the school. My friends and I sat at the very back, hardly paying any attention to the video, rating some chicks on Instagram.

As we scrolled past a hot blonde chick on a motorcycle, who was a total ten, the next picture of a girl popped up. I stopped smiling. I quickly looked away, not wanting for the memories to come back. PJ and Bobby quieted down and shut off the phone. They knew what happened. That day, Roxanne-

"The whole video you couldn't shut up, but now, suddenly, it seems you all ate glue. Why so quiet?"

I didn't even notice that Bradley was near us. Near is a big word, he was practically looking from behind my shoulder.

I just shrugged him off, not in the mood to discuss this with him. Especially not him.

But he wasn't having it. He kept on asking until the lights turned on, which was the indicator for him to get up and continue the tour.

"We aren't finished yet, freshman," he said quietly before getting up and walking to the front of the hall, ready to grab everyone's attention. He ended the tour there and sent everybody off to the secretary to get their schedules and school IDs. He made sure to wait for us till we left the room to join us.

The mood was still sour, and nobody spoke. After a while, Bradley slowly disappeared to take a phone call, from which he never returned. I was a little disappointed deep down, but right now I couldn't seem to care. My mind kept on going back to Roxanne and the summer from five years ago.

"Hey, Max. You gotta get your head out of the gutter. I know it still hurts, physically and mentally, but she didn't deserve you and you should move on," Bobby spoke up first.

He was right. I had to forget her. But it was quite hard to do so. I squeezed my shirt, lost in my thoughts, but nodded a little to let the others know I heard them.

They guide me towards the secretary's office, where I am handed my schedule and ID, and leave without a word. We went to the cafe we went to yesterday, getting us some coffees. The mysterious girl from yesterday is on the stage again. PJ is totally into her, absorbing every one of her words, not listening to Bobby complaining about how single he is. I tried to live a little, so I mentioned his high school crush Stacy. He turns red but stops complaining. We all know he only acts tough, but he will do anything to get a chance to see Stacy again. He never got the balls to ask her out in high school, and now he regrets it every day, reminding us of it at least once a week.

As I make fun of him, the numbness starts retreating. We continue to bicker until the mysterious girl decides to sit with us.

"Well hello there again, big guy. How are you spending this splendid day so far?" PJ answered her like he was the modern Shakespeare with a poem as if he was practicing it. He probably was. He leaves me and Bobby with our jaws touching the ground and leaves the café with the amazed artist.

"Well, at least one of us is getting laid tonight," comments Bobby. We slowly make ourselves on the way to our dorm. As we are walking through the city, we here a loud disagreement. Our curiosity got the best of us, and we walked towards the sound.

There in an alley was a girl fighting off a man, who was clearly drunk, not winning the fight. The girl was oddly familiar. Bobby recognized her faster than me and jumped in to help her.

He managed to make the guy leave, and only then did I recognize the girl: it was Stacy!

They started to talk, Bobby being all flustered. I only gave him the thumbs up and walked back to the dorms alone.

When I got to our room, I got ready for bed and climbed in.

A night, all alone. No PJ, no Bobby, no dad, no teddy bear. Just me and the nightmares.

I closed my eyes, hoping the monsters had forgotten all about me, but I would lie if I said they did. That day was one of the worst in my life, and now it haunts me through the night, not letting me sleep.