Agents

Chapter 9: True feelings

Max's POV

     I was vaguely aware that it was morning when I sat up, until Dwayne swung his stupid foot over the side of his bed, effectively hitting me in the face. I ignored it and pushed it to the side and sat up.

     "I really hate bunk beds." I muttered to myself and stood up. There were knots all over my back and I bent over backwards to get them out when someone punched me in the gut.

     "You really have to be more observant of your surroundings." Dwayne laughed at my crouched over position on the ground.

     "You're just mad I nailed your ex-girlfriend." I coughed and stood up slowly.

     "You nailed my ex?" he questioned, not that he was angry about it or anything.

     "Just kidding, but I wish I did." I said groggily.

     "I wouldn't care, she wasn't getting anything from me." he walked to his side of the room and pulled a shirt from the ground.

     "I know that. You're saving yourself for someone special." I snickered and he threw his shirt at me.

     "Hey can I have that back please?"

     "Nope." I pulled the blue cotton shirt over my head, and some washed out jeans on from the floor. Our room was the mother of all pig styes. The bunk beds were pushed to the far right of the room and I'm sure there was a dresser next to the window and desk that was across from the door. A sliding closet made up the wall on the left side of the room, and all in between were mounds of clothes that covered an old road print carpet. Dwayne headed over to the closet and opened the doors just a crack and grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, then slammed it shut so everything wouldn't come tumbling out.

     "BOYS! BREAKFAST!" mom called from downstairs and Dwayne and I had a rush to the door. I got there first before he tackled me and threw me aside. I tried to put him in a head lock but he punched me hard in the side and twisted my arm behind my back while flipping us over.

     "Don't try to beat me, I'm just better." Dwayne laughed and dashed out the door first. I knew he was better, he was trained better, and I knew that if it ever came down to it he would win. That just put me in a sour mood, like every other day I knew I wasn't good enough. A bowl of oatmeal, four plates of bacon, a pan of roasted potatoes and three stacks of pancakes were laid out on the dinning room table when I got downstairs. According to mom breakfast was the most important meal of the day, because it got you ready for all of the amazing things you would do within the next 24 hours. According to Richard, dinner was the most important meal of the day because it was the only one that you didn't risk throwing up as a result of harsh training.

     "Are you ready to die today?" Manny said from the opposite end of the table. Way to put me down even more. Beating Dwayne was the only thing that mattered to me, all of the rest of my stupid brothers sucked worse than I did, but for some reason the agency still wanted us. I loved my brothers, but I'm still angry with them for what they did to Caira, and how they continued to treat her.

     "Don't say things like that at the table." mom scolded Manny and he hung his head in shame. I laughed at him under my breath and he shot me a glare. I flipped him off before mom smacked me on the side of the head and we had to finish eating before going to Richard's.

     "I really don't feel like puking after that wonderful breakfast." Dwayne said sarcastically and we all laughed. He wasn't such a bad guy underneath all that shit.

     I sulked on the short walk across the thin stretch of grass that separated the houses. Caira was probably asleep as we entered through the back door and down into the basement. We made no sounds as that was a part of this test, to see how quiet we could be and how well we could do it as a team.