Max

Chapter 3

"How was school, guys?" Mom asked. We had just walked into the house, carrying our designated binders to do homework.

"Good, George made cookies," James replied, sitting down at the table. "I can't believe we got homework on the first day of school."

"Me too, at least I only have English."

"Sidney started planning early this year, huh?" Mom exclaimed.

"He knew we'd have homework tonight," I replied.

"Well, I have a little treat for tonight." James and I looked up at her. "I worked an extra shift, and we have enough money to go out for dinner."

"Aw, sweet!" James smiled. We rarely went out, since Mom didn't make much money at work. "Where are we going?"

"You guys pick. You're sixteen, you're perfectly capable."

James and I looked at each other, smirking. "Liberty Tavern!" we both cheered. We went there once a year on our birthday, and it was our absolute favorite place to eat.

"That was easy," Mom laughed. "Finish your homework, I'll take you guys later tonight."

"You guys have to tell me what it was like!" We had just ordered our dinner, and Mom started talking to James and I about school. "Who's your favorite teacher?" she asked me.

"Still Cunningham. But I like my English teacher, Mrs. Schmidt."

"Sounds cool. James?"

"Eh, they all seem decent."

"How's Mr. Hearse?" I smirked. "Did he yell at anyone for no apparent reason today?"

"Actually, yes. He yelled at Devon Keene for talking to his friend before the period even started." Devon was a senior, he played the trombone.

"Hearse doesn't like trombones, apparently."

The food came after a few more minutes of talking, and it tasted amazing. When we were done, we paid the tab, then headed home. I decided to listen to James practice the saxophone for a while before bed. He liked an audience anyway.

"So, I'm gonna start with a C scale, then actually do fun stuff." James picked up the saxophone and played, sounding amazing as usual. He saw that I was smiling, then winked at me. "We were supposed to sight read up until measure ten, but Hearse kept yelling at us and we never got to it. So this'll probably sound bad." He played, messing up a little bit, but not as much as he thought he would. I was impressed.

"James, you barely messed up. Be quiet." Just then, my phone buzzed.

"Hey, no phones during the performance!" James joked. "Common courtesy!"

"Sorry! It's George, I have to take this." I walked out of the room and picked up the phone. "Hey, George, what's up?"

"Hey, Max! Um... I was wondering, did you and James want to come over to my house for a sleepover party this Saturday? I'm inviting everyone in our friend group."

"Sure, what time?"

"Come over around three-ish. And bring a bathing suit, it'll be warm enough to swim." I hesitated for a second. "Sorry, you don't have to swim if you don't want to, I know you don't--"

"No, it's fine. I'll just borrow a shirt and shorts from James, I'll be able to swim."

"Okay, great. See you then!"

"Sounds good. Bye, George!" I hung up the phone, walking back into the room where James was practicing. "George is having a pool party this Saturday, I need to borrow a swimsuit."