“I—uhm—I have to go. It’s getting late.”
“But—”
“Excuse me,” she cuts me off, voice shy. “It was nice, Nova. I’ll see you in history. I can save you a seat, if you want.”
She leaves her tray full of food behind, grabs her backpack, and clutches her pink notebook. As she rushes past, she collides with Maxwell. Her bag tumbles to the floor.
I move to help, but Maxwell beats me to it. They both kneel, reaching for the bag. Aurora snatches it first.
“I... um... I’m so sorry,” she mumbles, face red.
Maxwell gives her a faint smile. “It’s fine. You okay?”
They freeze, staring at each other far too long. By then, Vincent has sat down beside me, sliding his arm around my shoulders. I lean into him, watching. Steven doesn’t even look up from his manga.
A phone rings across the cafeteria, jolting Aurora out of her trance. She jumps to her feet, nearly knocking into Maxwell. Tugging at the loose strands of her hair, she adjusts her denim skirt and her bag on her shoulder.
Maxwell notices her notebook lying on the floor and picks it up, flipping it open.
Aurora snatches it back instantly, glaring at him. “Didn’t they teach you not to snoop through other people’s stuff? Idiot.”
My jaw drops.I love this version of Aurora. Go, girl!
Vincent and I exchange a grin. He steals a bite of my cheesecake while I swipe a fry from his plate.
“You’re the one who bumped into me,” Maxwell shoots back, folding his arms. “I was only helping. Maybe watch where you’re going before calling strangers names.”
“Fuck you, idiot.” Aurora spins on her heel, storming out. The cafeteria door slams behind her, earning a few stares. As she goes, her hair clip slips to the floor.
Maxwell picks it up, pockets it casually, and sits down in Aurora’s abandoned seat. He sets his guitar beside him.
Steven ignores him completely while Vincent keeps eating my cake.
I fidget, not sure what to do. Maxwell meets my eyes and raises an eyebrow. Without thinking, I push the M&M’s toward him. He blinks, then wordlessly places one of his two muffins on my tray.
My face lights up and I grab that chocolate treasure instantly. “God, this is so good. I’m Nova!”
Maxwell chuckles, running a hand through his brown hair. His eyes are bluer than ice. “I’m Maxwell. But my friends call me Max.”
I sit cross-legged on the bench. “Max? As in Max Martin—the one who wroteBaby One More Timefor Britney Spears?”
Steven groans. “Knew you’d say that.”
Vincent chuckles, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Max nods. “He also wrote for Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne.”
“No way! Since your name’s Max, we could start a band. You write, I sing. We’ll be like Max and Britney. Isn’t that genius? Wait—Are you team Camp Rock or High School Musical?”
Max looks confused. “Uhm... Camp Rock?”
I grin. “Cool. We can be friends. Wanna be my friend?”
He nods with a laugh and I smile as we fist-bump.
Steven shuts his manga. “Speaking of bands... how’d the audition go?” he asks to Vincent, then adds flatly, “And since when are you friends with Max Radley?”
Max shrugs. “We both joined the band. And he’s not my friend. We’re just band buddies. I’m only here to print sheet music after lunch. And, by the way, I don’t give a damn about being friends with you.”
