How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 116

"There's no escape."

The day that every teenager had been dreading was here; the PSAT's, the practice test that led up to their their SAT's.

This was Max's version of doomsday, the thing that would be the death of him. Ever since he had started becoming more advanced in his empath abilities, he could feel everything. Every single emotion that ran through somebody's body, regardless to whether he had a connection with them or not. Given that the whole school was ridden with nerves, it made him incredibly uncomfortable, similar to a bunch of bees attacking his insides and refusing to fuck off. The early morning start hadn't helped either, given that his Saturdays usually involved staying in bed until one in the afternoon.

"Where's Lydia?" Kira asked the question that had been bugging her for a while, absentmindedly slipping her hand into Scott's. While she agreed with her friends that it was too early for this, the idea of sitting in a silent room for three hours was even more torturous than anything else.

"She took it her freshmen year so she's checking in on Jade," Stiles pointed out, leaning against a locker. The cue to get into the exam was wild— you'd think they were in line for a popular concert or something. But no, instead they were waiting for the worst day of their lives. It was at times like this that he really envied Lydia and her 5.0 GPA. He wished studies came that easily for him.

"Does that mean I could have taken it some other time?" Malia groaned, seriously about to lose it if the others had coincidentally forgotten to tell her that part of the task. She would have much preferred to have another few weeks to study, to cram in as much facts as humanly possible.

"Malia, you've studied harder for this than any of us," Scott exclaimed, trying to boost the girl's confidence. For someone who had been stuck in a coyote's body for eight years, she had came on leaps and bounds. If you took maths out of the equation, she was genuinely really smart.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to do good."

"Well. It's do well, not good," Stiles pointed a finger in the air as he spoke, correcting his girlfriend on her poor grammar. He suddenly found great interest in the ceiling when his friends shot him glares, Max even going the extra mile to kick him in the shin.

"You're doing this. Because while we're trying not to die, we still need to live. I mean, if I survive high school, I'd like to go to college. A good college," Scott told them his life plans, hoping that his optimism would rub off on them— even if it wasn't true to his own emotions.

"Speaking of near death experiences, how's our favourite witchy?" Lilith peeked their head into the group, an arm wrapped around the seer's shoulder.

"I see you're fashionably late, as always," Max scoffed, raising a challenging brow at one of his best friend's. If it was the end of the world, you could still trust Lily to finish her makeup or grab that one bag that just couldn't be left behind. Christ, he wouldn't be surprised if they jumped back into a fight for a lost high heel. "She's okay, still in a lot of pain. Lucky bitch doesn't have to sit the PSAT's today. Maybe I should invite Calliope back to finish me off," he joked, filling the gap in the moving line.

"It's only three hours. We can survive three hours," Kira shrugged, trying to have a positive outlook.

Max's phone beeped in his pocket, a message from his sister coming through. Speak of the devil and she would appear. She was wishing him good luck, with a promise of store-bought waffles when he came home. Before he even had time to reply, the group were being beckoned into the exam room.

"Gloves off, please," an examiner barked loudly, gesturing to the satin material on Max's hands. The man knew exactly who he was and exactly why he was wearing them, yet this was simply one part of his plan falling into place.