it could be worse ~ lumax

moving day

Today was the day. Max would be moving out of the only house she considered home.

It was bittersweet. She was trying to be optimistic about this new stage in her life.

A few days ago, she started her second year of high school. If she was being honest, it wasn't much different than middle school. The only difference was her peers growing up. However, some were taking longer to mature than others.

Susan pulled into the driveway, and Max couldn't believe this was going to be her new house. It was a one-story, 2 bed, 1 bath house. She didn't want to seem spoiled, but this place was a shack compared to her dad's house.

The young teenager walked inside her new bedroom. The walls were gray, per her request, with dark oak vinyl flooring. A week or two ago, Max helped her mom install the vinyl flooring; it was an easy peel and stick.

Thank god Max found comfort in small spaces because this room was one-third the size of her old one. She was excited to decorate it. A part of herself believed she could reinvent herself because she got to start all over with her room.

A car honk led Max to set down the box in her room and go back outside. Matt arrived with the U-Haul that contained all their furniture.

Matt's house wasn't furnished, so everything from the old house came with them. All three of his kids hopped out and began helping. Max was very grateful the kids didn't live with their dad. Having them in the house 24/7 would drive her nuts.

Once the U-Haul was opened, Max grabbed the most important box. The brown cardboard box was filled with her books and vinyl records. If she needed an escape from reality, books and music were her best friends.

Walking to the front door, she heard a ruckus from across the street. There was a little girl who looked to be four years younger than her. She had beautiful dark skin and tons of clips in her hair. The girl played with a boy who was most likely her brother. If Max had to guess, he was her age or a year older. They were playing some game that involved basketball. Max didn't even register she was staring until the boy made eye contact with her. The dark-skinned boy smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.

Maybe this move wouldn't be too bad. She thought to herself.

"Stop gawking at our new neighbor and shoot the ball! It's your turn, nerd!" The little girl yelled at her brother. He rolled his eyes, and Max tried to hide her smile as they turned their separate ways.

By the time everything was brought into the house, it was almost 10:30 p.m. Max was exhausted and starving. It was going to be another 20 minutes till Matt got home with the pizza.

An overwhelming feeling began to consume the redhead. Where was she going to put all of her stuff? She couldn't figure out where to put her mattress and dresser. There was a way to maximize space, and she knew it but just couldn't figure it out. Everything was just scattered around her room, waiting to be organized. Her curtains were laying on her mattress, boxes of books on the ground, her clothes that were held in bags sat in the corner which took up a fourth of the room. Max could hardly see the dark flooring with everything that was stuffed into her room. Suddenly, Max felt like crying. It was all too much to handle right now. All she wanted was to go to bed, but she couldn't find any of her bedsheets or blankets. Everything was so cluttered that her breath began to grow heavy. Anxiety consumed her body. 

A few tears began to roll down her cheeks. Max could feel her bedroom getting hot and stuffy. She needed fresh air, but when she tried to slide her windows up, they wouldn't open. White paint clogged the window tracks making them impossible to open. The redhead was getting frustrated as she felt she couldn't breathe.

It only took 15 steps to get out the front door from her room. Max felt the cool air spread over her skin. Goosebumps started to appear over her glass skin. She looked up at the sky with her hands on her head, trying to catch her breath.

Surprisingly, the sky calmed her down. Out here, she could see the stars a lot clearer than at her old house. They twinkled and flooded dark the sky. It was peaceful.

Despite the itchiness, Max laid down in the grass and looked up at the sparkling stars. She hoped her grandma was one of them, looking down at her.

A distant voice startled her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on ya," The dark-skinned boy from earlier commented. He noticed the confusion on her face. "I just saw you out here and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Lucas Sinclair."

"My name's Maxine, but everyone calls me Max." She responded and gestured for him to sit down next to her.

"So, what brings you to this spectacular neighborhood?" He asked sarcastically.

"My mom wanted to move in with her boyfriend, so here we are..." Right as she said that, a car pulled into her driveway. Finally, food is here. "Speaking of the boyfriend."

"Do we have a problem with the boyfriend?" Lucas asked, curious.

"I have no problems. You get to decide for yourself," Max got up and brushed the grass from her jeans. "It was nice meeting you, Lucas. Maybe I'll see you around."

"See ya, Max," He smiled at her and walked back to his house across the street.

Lucas began to wonder about Max. He didn't know her age, grade, or even her last name. The boy hoped he would get those answers. She seemed like a pretty laid-back person, and Lucas liked that about her. However, he wasn't going to assume anything about her because of the few words they said to one another. Max was a mystery that he hoped to uncover.

The pizza fumes hit Max's nose, and she realized how hungry she'd actually been. The girl consumed a few pieces and fell right asleep. She didn't even care that her bed had no sheets on it. Max was glad Lucas came to talk to her. Although he scared the shit out of her at first, he seemed pretty nice. He was outgoing which was the opposite of her, but maybe she needed an outgoing extravert in her life.

This was the main first chapter of the story, so I hope you enjoyed it! I love reading comments/feedback so feel free to leave some.