A Thousand Light Year Journey

Chapter 11: Newness

"Shut up." She mocked. Max switched from being fun to suddenly being savage. Back to her bitchy face.

She puts down the phone and fixed her things.

"It's late. I gotta sleep early." She said.

"Hey! Did I say something bad?" Glay asks as she walk away.

While Max tries to sleep, with her lights off and her facing the opposite side of the door, someone knocks and opens her door.

"Hey Max.." It's Glay. "I've seen people on the Television do this, and I think it's nice to--"

"Just say it, Glayden."

Glay paused. Max waits for him to say whatever it is. He breathes heavily and looked at the walls.

"Good night."

Max smiled. She didn't say anything. But she thinks he was cute when he thinks too much before he say something like that.

Fast forward to monday morning, Max drives to school like the usual. The only addition is Glay sitting beside him eating a sandwich. Wearing Maxee's father's plain shirt and pants.

Max tells him what time he should go to their meeting place and how.

"Okay, so see that time there on top of your phone?" Max said, trying to point it to him while driving.

"Okay...." Max nodded.

"I'll be out by 16:30. You should be back to the tree where i'll leave you before that time. Okay?" Max explains.

"Oh... Okay."

When they finally arrived, Max temporarily parked her car to the side and showed Glay their meeting place. A pine tree in front of the gate of the univeristy.

"Okay, you wait for me here. But since you got a plenty of time now, You can just... roam around. Explore." Says Max.

Glay just nodded while looking around.

"Here, I got you some cash you can use when you get hungry." Max hands over the cash to Glay. "Ugh. I feel like i'm talking to a kid." She added.

"Good luck to you exams, Maxee." Glay said.

"Alright, I gotta go."

Max rushed to the entrance.

Max looked back with that face again. Glay's familiar with the meaning of her facial expressions by now. And he can tell that she's embarrassed of what just happened. Everyone suddenly looked at them. Specially Glay.

Max just ignored him and continued walking 'til the crowd blocked Glay's view of her and lost track of where she went.

It's Glay's chance to know more about earth. He took a stroll around, not far from where they're gonna meet, 'til he saw a big building. A mall. He entered and sees people with their friends etc., some kids, then he passed by an outlet with loud music. He stopped and look. It's an arcade.

He went inside, his eyes looking everywhere. The colorful neon lights made him speechless. He sees someone playing the big claw crane. It's a big aquarium-like claw crane with human sized stuff toys in it.

He spectated first to see how it goes. Then later on, when he gets how it works, he tried to tap the kid who's currently playing.

"Can I try?" He asked.

Then the kid in line next to him faked a cough

"Ehem. Hey, old guy! there's a line, you know?"

Glay quickly walked to the kid in the last line. He was currently in the 8th

After almost 20 minutes in the waiting line, it's finally his turn. But the crane is not moving.