Max slid his head down the wall.
He regretted it instantly. The move allowed Logan to tower him even more. His knees buckled under him. He had forgotten how scary this younger Parker twin could be. He was more used to Jae being aggressive since they guy didn’t exactly hide it.
Logan, on the other hand, had a more silent approach until he had his prey cornered. Then, when he had them where he wanted, he’d strike. Known survivors were only around 0-0.01%. He was the perfect example for the saying, ‘It’s always the quiet ones you should look out for’.
At least, that was what ran through Max’s thoughts.
They tend to exaggerate a bit at moments of panic and fear.
“Have you gone deaf?” Logan ridiculed. His fringes swayed from the tilt of his head, “I asked about the party. I didn’t have the chance to attend so you’d need to enlighten me on the subject.”
Max gulped. He blinked feverishly, “Wha-What do you mean what happened? Nothing happened. Just joking around a party while intoxicated.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“I—” He paused, “If you already heard about it, why are you still asking me?!”
“To see if you’d be truthful or not” Logan snorted, “I need to know how severe this punishment should be.”
“On a scale of 0 to 10? I’d say about a -100. Good talk!” Max said in a rush. Then, he attempted to duck under one arm.
An inch later, Logan trapped him into a headlock.
Max grabbed the arm around his neck and tried to pry it off. His fingers gripped around the rigid muscles. He stopped, squeezing them instead. He whistled, “Dude, you are so ripped. If Alex doesn’t want you, can I have you instead?”
The pressure on his Adam’s apple increased. A choke escaped out of his lips. Maybe a joke wasn’t the best way to approach the situation. Was this how he would die? Should he say his farewells? Max wondered. Would his life flash before his eyes? Should he pray for forgiveness?
“Alright, no need for that” Alex interrupted. She placed a hand on Logan’s upper arm, “Come on, that party was such a long time ago. If anything, Max already redeemed himself when the other students tried to get to me.”
Logan glanced at her from the corner of his eye, “I don’t think that was enough though. He has to be good for something else too.”
“You both can date at the Phantom Ship! I’d even give Alex her own VIP pass!”
“Hmm,” he looked up at the ceiling, “Nah, I don’t think that’s good enough.”
“Please decide faster. I am running out of air” Max wailed. He thought about using his feet to push them back. Except, he’d end up falling on Logan. That probably wouldn’t be a good move.
“I promised Alex I’d do her Math homework. How about you take over for me?”
“Deal!”
Logan gave the headlock one last squeeze. When he released, Max fell on his hands and knees. He coughed as he gasped for air. His breaths sounded hoarse. He wrapped a hand around his neck, trying to calm down.
“Wasn’t that a bit too much?” Alex asked, scowling at Max’s state.
“I could have done worse,” Logan answered, “But you wouldn’t like that, would you?”
She shook her head lightly.
“I thought so.”
Max stood up and walked in Alex’s direction. His face filled with gratitude, making her raise her eyebrows. He spread his arms like an eagle, saying, “Alex, Alex, my angel, my savior… you are the sunshine of my days, the moonlight of my nights. For you, I—”
Logan blocked him with a palm to his face. He shoved Max backwards, his fingertips jabbing into the skin, “You are still on probation. Don’t push it.”
“You got it!” Max raised two thumbs when he got his vision back.
Alex chuckled at the exchange.
A loud knock echoed from the door.
Lauren and Colin pulled their chairs out of the way. The door knob rattled and Ms. Kich stepped inside the room. Her bead eyes assessed the commotion. Then, they landed on Alex. The student replied with a tight smile.
“Hrm,” the receptionist grunted, “The hallways are clear except for the papers. Principal Parker instructed me to escort you to his office. The lawyers have also arrived.”
Max, Logan and Alex headed for the door. Colin and Lauren already left and waited in the empty corridor. They heard the faint voices of teachers. Everyone else must have gone to class, they figured to themselves. Carla passed through the doorway after them.
She and Lauren smiled at each other. Colin lifted an eyebrow. It seemed like they shared a secret. He watched as they looped arms and strolled ahead. He flickered his gaze to the door. Max soon came out.
Colin clasped a hand on his shoulder, “Congrats, you’re still alive.”
“Yeah, thanks, bro” Max snorted. The both of them walked side by side. Then, Max snapped his head towards him, “How come you’re so calm about this? Did you also know? Am I the last one to know about these things? What else are you keeping from me?”
A small smile twitched at the corner of Colin’s lips, “No, I didn’t know. I found out the same way as you did.”
“Then, why do you act like you already knew it beforehand?”
“It’s because…” Colin began to say, “Things just began to make sense. Set aside Alex’s real identity, her gender as a girl came as no surprise. Have you ever observed her and Logan? Even just recently? He always picks her up before school. He also does the same for lunch time.”
“He does but—”
“But what? When you finally have a girlfriend, you’ll understand what I mean.”
Ms. Kich watched over the students from behind. Alex and Logan were the ones closest to her. She focused on them more than others. They stood about a foot apart as they strode down the hallway. Never in her life did she think a drama of this magnitude would ever happen. If any of the news studios picked up this story soon, the landline would be ringing non-stop.
When they entered the staff room, they saw that the others had waited in the sitting area. She proceeded ahead of them and knocked on the door to the Principal’s Office, “Sir? They’re ready for you.”
A faint affirmation reached her ears. She whirled her attention towards the teenagers. Nudging her head towards the office, she opened the door.
Alex took the initiative and went inside. She took a deep breath, getting ready for whatever lied ahead. The main subject of the situation was her. It only seemed right that she entered first. As soon as her foot stepped on the carpeted floor, a pair of skinny arms wrapped around her.
“Oh, Alex!” Her aunt gushed. She pulled Alex the rest of the way, unblocking the doorway, “Are you alright? None of them had done anything, right? Don’t worry. Every PR team we have is on the move about the storm. Everything will be taken down. If things won’t fade away, we’ll publish a public statement. I’m sorry to tell you but we might have to reveal your past—”
“Lilly,” Atty. Peyton called, patting her upper arm, “You might want to mention those later. Right now, we should worry more about Alex’s mental state. That must have been traumatizing.”
“Hold up! Wait a minute! Uncle, did you know about this?!” Max exclaimed after stepping inside, “Since when? Are you also part of the traitor squad?”
James shifted his attention towards his nephew. He frowned and flicked Max’s forehead, “As a lawyer, you should understand that I am bound by confidentiality about my clients’ affairs. This is greater than your personal interest. Or would you accuse all the employees of the school about this?”
“Wait, wait,” Max scoffed breathily, “Except for the students, everyone in this school knows?”
“A person of Ms. Alexandra’s status needed utmost security,” Principal Parker answered from his desk. A grim expression etched on his face, “Her father personally asked for the conditions and oversaw all negotiations.”
“I have the feeling that the reveals aren’t over yet…” Max muttered, choosing to stand beside Carla. She and Lauren sat on a bench.
“I can’t believe that girl had been here” Lilly suddenly groaned, releasing her niece. She ran her fingers through Alex’s hair, “I feel like this is partly my fault.”
“What do you mean?” Alex questioned. She stared at her aunt in confusion, “You’ve done nothing but help me. How could this be your fault?”
Her aunt sighed dejectedly, “I went to work immediately after you gave me that flash drive. We called the Conary’s and sent an official letter of violation about Skye’s restraining order. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have made a personal visit instead and never take my eyes off Skye.”
James rested a hand on her back, “It’s no one’s fault. Even if you had been there, we’d never know what she had up her sleeve. With the technological advancement of today, it would be easy to leak the information on the internet.”
“Skye is just so adamant at ruining Alex’s life because of what happened years ago. Atty. Peyton is right” Carla voiced out, “One way or another, she wouldn’t have stopped until she took something Alex treasured.”
“See?” Alex cut in. This time, it was her turn to hug her aunt, “We’ve all done the best we could. There’s nothing to be done about the past. We just need to figure out what to do from this point onwards.”
Lilly swallowed back a sob, squishing Alex’s torso, “Since when did you become so mature? Besides, why am I the one being comforted? Isn’t it supposed to be you?”
Her niece chuckled, “I’m fine. I already had all the comfort I needed. I’ll get through this.”
Alex couldn’t describe how warm her heart felt. Despite all that happened, this blanket of warmth guarded and supported her. She peeked at everyone in the room over her aunt’s shoulder. She took her time and absorbed the faces of the people that stood by her side. The fuzzy feeling gradually bigger in size as she did.
A few tears welled up at the corner of her eyes. The contrast of this moment and the time she sat alone at the backseat of the car distanced greatly. Her chest tightened as it sank in—that these people would walk through fire with her. She didn’t believe in such statements before…
… but that began to change now.
And someday, she’d have to show these people how much their presence meant a lot to her.
