Memories A Pricefield story

Chapter four

Surprisingly, Max slept all through the night. No tossing and turning, no waking up at 2 and not being able to go back to sleep until 7, and no dreams. With meant no nightmares. Maybe this was the universe telling her that going back to school was a good decision. First things first, she went to Kate's room to say good morning. She knocked on the door and Victoria answered with a smile.

"Hey Max," Victoria greeted.

"Hey Vic. I just came to say good morning to Kate."

"Oh, she's showering. But come on in." Victoria gestured for Max to come inside. "I got up early to get breakfast from Two Whales. I got you bacon and eggs, is that okay?" Max bit her lip and nodded. Bacon and eggs were Chloe's favourite. She wasn't really sure if she would be able to finish breakfast, but she tried, and hardly left any on the plate. When she was finished, Victoria fished out a brown bag from somewhere in Kate's closet.

"Uh, Kate got you a bunch of snacks for throughout the day. And there's a few water bottles in there as well, I think." Max chuckled and shook her head.

"Kate'll be and amazing mom one day," she said.

Victoria smiled and looked down. Max could just hardly hear her mumble "Yeah... yeah she will."

"Well, I'm gonna go get my stuff together now. When Kate comes out, tell her I said hey."

"Oh that won't be necessary. We're walking you to all your classes."

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Victoria was serious when she said they were walking Max to all her classes. Even in the classes they didn't share together, they would always appear at the door minutes before the bell. Max was grateful. As she had suspected, there were lots of eyes on her throughout the course of the day, and a few obnoxious snickers from the football team, but Victoria's aggressive nature and Kate's reassurance made Max feel... somewhat normal.

"Second to last class Max," Victoria said once they reached science class. "Are you prepared for... well, you know." She was talking about their last class of the day, Photography. The thought of it was enough to make Max's skin crawl. But she forced a tight smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Not a whole lie. Not the full truth ever. Kate must have caught on because she squeezed Max's hand reassuringly.

"Remember Max, me, Vic, Courtney and Taylor will be right beside you the whole time." Once Max and Victoria became friends, Courtney and Taylor started being friendlier towards the girl and now they were all pretty much on good terms. She wouldn't call them friends, per say, but maybe Causal Acquaintances. And it was pretty cool that they were willing to create a sort of protective shield around Max. "And the new teacher knows about everything. So if anything becomes too much for you, you can just go outside on your own. Okay?" Max nodded and the second warning bell went off.

"Okay, see you two next period." She waved goodbye to the two blondes and went inside her science class, taking her usual seat beside Warren.

"Well if it isn't Doctor Max!" he greeted in his usual cheery tone. Max smiled softly.

"Hi Warren, how are you?"

"Meh, no complaints at the moment. I went to the Drive In with Brooke the other week, and that was cool." Max had to stifle a laugh. "But... now normally I wouldn't ask a question like this, but with you being back in class and all, well I just thought-"

"Warren," Max interrupted, "It's okay to ask me how I'm doing, y'know? It show's you care."

Warren blushed. "You don't think it's a stupid question?"