Meet Max Payne

Today was the day Max was joining us, and I felt anxious and giddy. I tried not to care, but it was really hard. I was getting dressed when the alarm of the basement went off, startling me. Anxiety filled me like a balloon being filled with helium. I walked down the stairs heading to the basement and found out that it was dad's new secretary, Mia Mendez.

"Morning Mia," I said as I leaned next to the wall facing her. "Oh morning Bellona," she replied as she re-entered the password, this time successfully. "I am sorry if I scared you there, just that things are so jumbled up that things just slip my mind," she explained as she entered the basement. I asked her if dad would be coming home early today. "Uhm sure he will, honey, that I promise," she assured me with a smile. "I hope so," I muttered as I walked out, ending our conversation.

I was with Ms. Petes, our history teacher, my favorite teacher. We were sitting in the classroom, arguing about the Drawing Fire book that she had gifted me on my birthday last year. "Ms. Petes, you have no other choice but to agree that my analysis was far more detailed than yours. I clearly stated every single thing from the meaning to the deeper meaning," I confidently stated as I sat on the chair in front of her. "Well, Ms. Crude, I do not agree with you, and I am not going to agree to anything, not now or ever," she responded while marking our scripts.

As we were discussing, the bell rang, indicating the start of our lessons. Everyone entered the class, chatting and laughing. I stood up and went to sit on my usual seat allocated at the back of the class. Ella entered the class with her little pack, and her presence disgusted me. She was not my favorite person. "Morning, Ms. Petes. I see you got a new shirt. I was seriously tired of seeing you wear your usual black clothing. Red suits you better. Red symbolizes blood and devils, and you are a history teacher who teaches war and bloodshed. And a daredevil at that, what a touché," she said sarcastically. "Oh, Ms. Grey, lovely of you to notice that. You know if you used that thought in my test, maybe you would have passed with a touché mark. At least I am a daredevil in the things I do. What about you? Where else do you daredevil in besides other people's business?" Ms. Petes responded, smiling sarcastically at Ella. The class laughed silently, careful not to provoke either one of them.

Just as we were about to start our lessons, Principal Grey entered the room with a tall boy by her side. I immediately knew it was Max Payne by his dark aura. He was dressed all in black and not wearing a uniform, either because he hadn't received it or he was trying to make a grand entrance. "Morning class," Mrs. Grey greeted us with a warm smile. She had nice long brunette hair that complemented her blue eyes, and her smile was charming, just like my mom's. She introduced Max as our new student and asked me to show him around during lunchtime or preferably tomorrow morning. "Just great, stuck with the devil himself," I thought to myself.

"Oh, okay. Please, Mr... introduce yourself," Ms. Petes requested. "Max Payne is my name," he replied shortly. "Okay, Mr. Payne, tell us more about yourself," Ms. Petes prompted while looking at him intently. I slightly chuckled, or at least I thought I did, but everyone looked back at me. Ella rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Sorry," I said, lowering my head. Max was sitting on the row after me, slightly behind, but still within arm's reach. It was lunchtime, and I had to quickly walk away before he could ask for a tour. I was in no mood to deal with a bad boy.

As I went to the cafeteria to fetch food, someone tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn. "You know, you could have politely said no," he remarked as he passed by, bumping my shoulder. I looked for a table to sit at, but every place I tried was either full or unwelcoming. Eventually, I decided to sit next to the table near the dumpster. It was meant for the garbage sorters who came every Tuesday to sort plastics and biodegradable waste. I didn't mind sitting there since it was clean and gave me some space to breathe.

While I was staring at my food, something hit my face, followed by a roar of laughter. I removed a banana peel from my face, but as soon as I did, more started coming in. I tried to dodge the peels, but I ended up falling to my misery. Some people laughed, while others pitied me from afar. Ella smirked at me, enjoying my humiliation, surrounded by her friends. It was as if the more they humiliated me, the more satisfied they became. My face was covered by my hair, which had turned pink as I tried to hold back the tears. A shadow crouched in front of me, and I looked sideways to hide the tears slowly falling. "Max, get away from her. She smells like garbage. You don't want your nice self to smell like her," Ella sneered. "Are you okay?" Max asked me. I was surprised but too embarrassed to answer. I quickly stood up and ran towards the bathroom, only to fall again. People laughed even harder. I struggled to stand up, shaking terribly. Someone held my shoulders, helped me up, and walked me out of the cafeteria. They accompanied me to the toilet and then walked away. I knew who it was, but I didn't want to talk to them.

Max had helped me, but why? He was part of Ella's gang, and none of them liked me at all. Was it some stupid plan to make me like him and then embarrass me? I was confused. He didn't necessarily help me; he just lent me a hand. Maybe he's not really a bad boy. People think he is a bad boy...