Terrible Ideas

Chapter Four

"Max," Max's mother said, and Max looked up from his breakfast. She frowned at him. "Are you doing okay?"

Max realized he'd been stirring his cereal without eating it long enough that it had all been reduced to mush. "I'm fine."

"Sure," Eva said, and Max glared at his sister. "Because you're just naturally a broody person."

"Max is trying to bring back his angsty tween years," Bastien said. "Before you know it he's going to upstairs blasting My Chemical Romance again, moaning about how we don't understand him."

"You don't understand me," Max mumbled under his breath and Bastien laughed. They were all sitting in the dinning room, their mother hovering in the doorway with a frown, arms crossed over her chest. They barely looked awake, and only Eva and Max had changed out of their pyjamas.

They had without a doubt gotten their looks from their mother. All three of them had her thick black hair and wide brown eyes. Her slender form and the pretty features. Her hair was in a messy braid down her back, tiny wrinkles framed her big eyes and her smile was tired but full of affection.

Bastien was the only one who looked at all like their father. Three years Max and Eva's senior and studying to be a mechanic. His jaw line was more defined, lined with dark stubble, and quite a bit taller than Max. Max used to be jealous of his brother's more masculine features, but that went out the window not too long after his falling out with his father. He couldn't say he was unhappy to have next to know resemblance to the man who left his mom.

"Are you sure you're okay, Max?" Max's mother asked again, giving him a wide eyed and sincere look. Max mustered up his most genuine smile.

"I'm doing okay, mom. Promise."

"Well, okay then," she nodded. Then she checked her watch and looked at each of them. "Who's going to be home for supper?"

"I've got work," Eva said, shoving the last of her toast in her mouth.

"I'm gonna be late," Bastien sighed. "Group meeting."

"I'm not gonna be there," Max said. "I'm going to go to Meg's."

"Alright. I'll leave dinner in the fridge, then," mom decided. "You guys can just heat it when you're hungry."

"Did he say Meg?" Eva asked no one. "When did you start hanging out with Meg."

"When she realized I was cooler than you," Max retorted, and Eva scoffed. Max took his bowl of soggy cereal too the kitchen.

"Well," Their mother said, a bit confused. "You have fun then, sweetie."

"You stay away from my friends, Max!"

"I'll do what I want," Max called back.

"He's so angsty," Bastien snickered. Max rolled his eyes but didn't respond, instead heading to his room to grab his bag.

"Mr. Levesque." Max jolted up at the teacher's voice, face flushing as he realized the class was looking at him. "I hope I'm not going to have to send you to the office this class."

"Right. Sorry," Max grinned sheepishly at the math teacher embarrassed to have been caught not-as-subtly-as-he'd-thought texting Brook under his desk. He quickly dropped the phone into his bag and the teacher resumed her lecture.

"Meg?" Chris asked softly from the desk beside him and Max didn't look at him.

"Brook," Max responded just as quietly.