✓ Wake Up, Mike ⇔ Mileven {1st - "Wake Up, Mike" Trilogy}

Thirty Seven

Mike.

I was woken up by my mom at six and I hurried to get dressed. The sooner I get dressed, the sooner I see El. It's Monday and I have to ride to Will's, pick up El, then we have to all ride to meet up. It's a busy morning, but I'll get used to it.

I was completely dressed and practically ran downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Michael, slow down, you need to eat breakfast," My mom scolded, but I shook my head.

"Not hungry, thanks Mom! Bye everyone," I was being really loud, but I don't care. I ran into the garage and opened the door, then walked my bike out and closed the door again. The ride to Will's house went so fast because of how occupied my mind was. I wonder how El will do? What will she wear?

I hopped off my bike and jogged to Will's door. I knocked and he came out first.

"She's still getting ready." He smiled cheekily at me, noticing how I looked a bit nicer than usual. It's my first day at school with my girlfriend, I need to look decent. She'll probably be wearing something nice, so I wanted to, as well. No big deal.

The door then opened again and El stepped out in the plaid dress she bought with Nancy. She looked so pretty, I was honestly a bit unstable. Her hair was wavy but neat and she had it pinned back with a little barrette. The dress still looked perfect. She looks perfect.

"Ready to go?" I breathed out, and she nodded with a small, shy smile.

We got on my bike and she made sure to tuck her dress under her legs so it wouldn't fly up. It was an odd sight, considering I've obviously never had to worry about that...now I'm thinking about me in a skirt, what the hell?

We met up with Dustin, then Lucas, then rode off to school. We got there and the yard was pretty full, and El looked rather nervous. But we got off the bike and I immediately grabbed her hand, soothing her a bit. Everyone turned to stare at us as we walked towards the school, and the first person to catch my eye was Troy. He gave me an uneasy look, and I couldn't help but smirk a little. He knows what she can do, but no one would believe him. He's scared of her.

We walked to science class and Mr. Clarke let us sit near the back, where there was two empty seats right next to each other. We took our seats, and El was looking around curiously. I didn't say anything, I just let her look around. I looked to the front of the room to see Dustin and Max talking. Her face was bright red, so I'm assuming he asked her to the Snowball. It made me happy, to see him happy. Will and Lucas were just looking at him with shocked-but proud-expressions.

We went through all of my morning classes slowly, and she looked absolutely lost the entire time. I expected her to be, considering she had no idea what any of it was. Except for english class, she knows how to read so she caught up fast. She started reading bigger words, and she looked so happy. She was probably more than happy to feel like a normal kid. And probably the only kid in history to like school.

Lunch was similar, we all ate and El tried to avoid all the stares. If anyone was bothering her, I'd tell them to go away. Nothing exciting happened until we went outside. We were sitting at a picnic table, just talking to El about how school was going, when we all felt someone approach the table.

"Hey, uh, could I sit with you guys?" It was Max, I didn't even have to look to know. I finally turned to her, and she was squinting from the sun. She was in a puffy coat and her hair was in braids on the sides of her head. She had freckles and they were very visible in the sunlight. Dustin motioned for her to sit next to him, and she made her way over with light steps. There's something about her that makes me uneasy, almost like she shouldn't be here.

I'm not sure why it went so silent once she was there, but El didn't speak another word. She just nodded or shook her head. Or shrugged, if it wasn't a yes or no question. It was unsettling and weird. Dustin talked the most, considering he wanted Max to feel welcome. I couldn't bring myself to be nice and make conversation, she just gave me a weird vibe.

We went through the rest of the classes and went home, but I couldn't shake that feeling. I couldn't shake it for days.

Max has a secret, and I want to find out what it is.

~

edit, 5-5-19: The queen has entered the chat