You Have 86,400 Seconds To Find Me

11:00pm (72,000 Seconds Remaining)

   "God, Max," Macy's voice filled the car, sending a harsh chill down my spine. "I miss you. I miss your goofy grin and your wavy brown hair and the way you always smell like summer rain. I miss the way you make me laugh and the way you make everything in my life seem okay when it is so not."

   Macy lifted her hand up to her face and pushed her auburn hair back behind her ear, the same way she always did when it fell in her line of vision. I miss you too, I thought, knowing that I would give anything to be there with her right now. 

   "If there is one thing I have learned in the past few hours, it is that the farther away from you I go, the more I miss you. I want you to know, Max, that you are the greatest part of my life. Since the day I met you, you have always been there to catch me. I'm sorry I didn't confide in you as much as I should have. I know I should have told you what was going on with me sooner. I know I should have let you help me. Deep down, I think I knew you were the only one who could have."

   I thought back to the day I first met Macy, my first day at the new school, in the cafeteria. 

   "I'm the one who found you, remember?" Macy asked, smiling at me, or the lens, technically. "That first day? I know you do, because you always remember the important things. That's what I love about you. It's like you know a moment is going to be important when it's happening so you store every detail up in that smart brain of yours for safe-keeping. You were sitting there at the table all alone drawing and I remember thinking that I just had to come save you from yourself. And I'm so glad I did, Max. It is by far the best decision I ever made. So, I guess I just want to thank you for being such a pathetic loner that a girl like me would have no choice but to go sit and talk to you. Thanks, Max. Really."

   And then, Macy reached forward towards the camera and the video ended. 

   

   "Hey, Max! It is Max, right?" Macy had said, as she sat down across from me that first day, in the cafeteria.

   I looked up and nodded. "Oh hi, um, yeah. Maxwell Brennan. Nice to meet you," I said, as I reached my hand out to shake hers, being polite.

   "Macy Sales," Macy said, as she shook my hand, then un-capped her bottle of 7-UP and took a sip. "So, whatcha drawin'?"

   "A dragon," I said, feeling a little stupid for not being caught drawing something a little more, I don't know... Interesting?

   Macy leaned over in her seat to get a better look. "Whoa, dude," she said, reaching over and turning the page toward her. "You're, like, crazy talented. I could never draw something like that."

  "Oh, really? Thanks," I said, smiling at her. She was the first person I had a decent conversation with all day. 

   "No problem," Macy said, smiling back. "So, Maxwell Brennan, what's your middle name?"

   I looked at her for a moment, hesitating. "Um... It's James," I said, wondering what she needed to know my middle name for. 

   "Leigh," she responded, without skipping a beat. "Favorite color?"

   "Red," I answered.

   "Green. Movie?" She asked, as she threw a Dorito into her mouth.

   "Beverly Hills Cop."

   "Ooh, good one! Mine is Serendipity. Okay, where did you move here from?"

   "Cape May, New Jersey," I answered automatically. "You?"

   "Right here," she said, chuckling to herself that I was asking the questions now. "Riverside, Rhode Island, born and raised. Any siblings?"

   "Nope, only child."