Max & Chloe's Hella Shitty Coffee (Life is Strange)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once again Max found herself sat by the lake. The last of the September sun appeared spent while Max was sick, and the unease in the sky echoed throughout her. She couldn't help but feel threatened and jealous of this girl who spoke on behalf of her own best friend. In her absence it seemed Rachel Amber had taken Max's shape and stretched the malleable structure, so Max could no longer fit.

Max's feelings of unease were augmented when she looked up to see the blonde towering over her. Rachel Amber was everything Max Caulfield wasn't. The girl was 70% leg, 30% hair and boobs and 100% stunning. She was perfectly developed while Max still had the appearance of a prepubescent teenage boy. Rachel's social status was clearly aeons above Max, and this made Max doubt the foundation of her bond with Chloe if this was the kind of person she was hanging out with now. More than anything, Max feared Chloe had outgrown her.

"Max? Hi, I'm Rachel." Her voice seemed smaller and more uncertain than Max had expected but her eyes never stopped piercing into hers. Max tried to hold her stare as she searched for words, but it was Rachel who won the power struggle.

"Yeah, I err, I recognise you from the other night." Rachel gave a small nod as if she was accepting what Max had said before moving to sit by her side on the grass. Every move was calculated and formal, from the way her knees bent, and she stroked her skirt before sitting, to they way her posture remained upright, and her head tilted slightly downwards to return her gaze to Max. Everything about Rachel Amber made Max feel small.

"Max, what are you doing here?" Rachel's face was quizzical, but it was Max who was now confused.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Max responded.

"I mean here, in LA, what are you doing here?" She once again asked with a constant emphasis on here.

"I would think that's obvious. I'm studying here, same as you I presume." A small but noticeable hostility was in Max's voice.

"But that's my point. It's the same as me, the same as Chloe. The world is an awfully big place Max, what are the chances of that?"

"What are you suggesting Rachel? That I knew she'd be here and that's why I came? Believe me I'm as surprised as you." Max's voice was now a few decibels louder, while Rachel's remained composed.

"No, I mean I don't think so. It's just Chloe always described you as a New York bound girl, but LA has been our destination for years. I suppose it wouldn't make sense for you to be the same person you were when Chloe knew you, but still, why did you choose to come here?" Max didn't like the use of the past tense infinitive, but Rachel's demeanour had softened, and with a heavy sigh so did Max's.

"I honestly don't know. Your university is more than a place you study it's the place you call your home. When it came to it New York didn't feel like a home, but something was drawing me here."

"Makes sense." Rachel muttered, eyes on the ground.

"Rachel, why did you ask me here?"

"It's Chloe, she's... well she's kind of gone into shut down mode since she saw you the other night." Rachel paused briefly to gauge Max's reaction before continuing. "At first she was so happy you were here, she wanted to break into every dorm on campus until she found yours."

"That sounds like Chloe." Max said with a smile.

"Yeah, but it was late and we were tired so we just drove home instead. The next day she would barely speak, and things haven't really improved since. Max, I don't want to make you feel guilty, but the truth is that Chloe felt betrayed and abandoned when you stopped contacting her, and I think all those feelings have come back after seeing you. I'm worried about her Max." Max hated the idea of being the cause of Chloe's pain.

"I know she did Rachel, and believe me I do feel guilty, but Chloe doesn't want to see or hear from me so what can I do."

"This isn't a conversation you can have over the phone, but it's one you guys need to have if you're going to heal. She might not want to meet up with you, but I can tell you where she's going to be."

Chloe working in a coffee shop. Max just couldn't picture it. Chloe had never been punctual, she'd always been clumsy, and her customer service was appalling. Max wasn't sure that Rachel and herself had the same wishes on the outcome of her forced meeting with Chloe, but she was grateful to Rachel for telling her where Chloe worked and her shift patterns. Rachel's only condition was that their meeting and what had been said stayed between them. Chloe's next shift at the campus coffee shop was tomorrow afternoon, and Max planned on stopping by after her first day of lectures was finished.

When she arrived back at her dorm Max was tempted to head straight for her room, but Victoria had a point the other day – Max hadn't been very sociable since arriving at UCLA. With a renewed sense of optimism Max redirected herself towards the communal kitchen and social area of their halls.

The light was off, and the space was empty, but it was nearly 6 so Max suspected people would be down to make food soon. She took her headphones out of her pocket and placed one in each ear. Listening to the soothing sound of her playlist, Max waited for her flatmates to join her.