7 Jules
1803 Words
Max went to class alone the following day. That was fair, he thought, considering things would be much more dangerous moving on. It was no longer petty piracy that they were dabbling in. They were going up against a powerful security company, backed by several powerful groups. There was no doubt, they were starting to tread in dangerous waters. Once they stepped in, it was only a matter of time until they were noticed. That is why Max decided to review his plan carefully, making sure that he would have an escape for Trae if ever he wanted to come back.
After class, he went back to his shared room and found Trae there, who seemed to be packing a sports bag.
“Trae! Didn’t see you in class man.”
Trae smiled at Max faintly but didn’t make eye contact.
“Sorry man, I went to another period. Been tryna’ keep me busy.”
Trae patted Max on the back as he brought his sports bag and headed toward the door.
“Hey man, I’m gonna head to the courts with some classmates. See ya’ later aight?”
He waved as he turned and closed the door shut. It was Max alone again. Max shook it off as he readied for his next class. He took his notebook from his bag. Without thinking any further, he carelessly chucked his bag onto his bunk.
Max turned around and looked over at Trae’s computer, which was shut off. The bulky machine had not seen any kind of action since they had it brought over. Everything about it was brand new. The screen was expertly made, the keyboard had not gathered any dust yet and the CPU was completely top of the line. Max couldn’t help but think about how Trae was so excited to help him out with new projects. All of this thinking just ended up making him sad. He ran his fingers along with the keyboard, and let out a deep sigh.
Suddenly, a loud ringing to signify the start of a new period blasted through the PA system across the school. Max had been so lost in his thoughts, that he had forgotten to start heading to class. He quickly scrambled out the door and sprinted over to his next class.
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As he burst through the door, everyone in the class, including the teacher, looked over at him. The silent staring made the situation incredibly awkward as he shuffled to the back to find his seat.
“Right, err… Mr. Burner?”
“Yes ma’am,” Max said, embarrassed.
“Next time maybe instead of threatening to break down the door, a simple knock and open would suffice, don’t you agree?”
The class laughed as Max took his seat, smiling nervously. The teacher looked over to him and gave him a nod, telling him that everything was ok, before getting back to the lecture that she was starting on. With a sigh, he put his notebook on the table and reached into his pocket for a pen. After feeling around his pocket for a little while, he shoved his hand all the way in. He checked his other pocket with little success as well. After patting down both his front and rear pockets, he hung his head. Max realized that they were in the bag he left on his bed.
Suddenly, a hand reaches over with a black ballpen. He looked at it as it started to shake impatiently.
“Freshman, ma’am is gonna be pissed at me if she sees me trying to talk to you. Hurry and take the pen,” said the girl just seated next to him.
He took it and smiled at her. As soon as he lay his eyes on her, he gasped almost a little too loudly, catching the teacher’s attention yet again.
“Is there nothing you can do quietly, Mr. Burner?” she asked, shaking her head.
“Yes ma’am! I-I mean no ma’am!” he stammered, as the class chuckled again.
“Hmm, just keep it down,” she said as she turned back to the whiteboard.
He lay his face onto his notebook, trying to forget the several instances of embarrassment he had to endure the past few days. As he lay there, and tried to take notes, a piece of paper was tossed onto his paper, from the girl next to him.
“Sorry.”
He looked back over to the girl. It was the same girl that he had crashed into as she ran down the hall. The same one who looked at him with annoyance and irritability. Now she offered him a kind, and almost guilty, smile. He returned it with his own, as he wrote on the piece of paper she gave him.
“I’m sorry about the other day. I wasn’t looking.”
He was surprised to see that she returned his response.
“Your fault for not watching your way, freshman.”
He replied again.
“I got a name you know.”
“Right, and what would that be?”
“Max Burner.”
“Cool.”
“What about you?”
“You tried asking me already didn’t you?”
He looked back up at her as she gave him a playful smile. His heart started to beat faster as he was weak to her feminine wiles. With a light chuckle, the smitten freshman replied again.
“Yeah, but I’d still like to know.”
She looked back at him, with the same smile, although a little more wary. Her eyes fell back down to the note as she wrote on it again. After finishing, her hand stuck out to him as she pinched the note between her index and middle finger. As he reached for it, she tossed it back onto his desk, and gave him a surprise handshake. Surprised, he looked back at her, expecting to see another face that said, “haha! I gotcha!” Instead, he looked over and saw a beautiful, calming, and gentle smile. He gulped down, and returned it again. Sensing his awkwardness, she giggled lightly, and returned her focus to class.
After feeling like he was taken on an emotional roller coaster the past few days, he figured it would be best to get back to class after he opened the note. He unfolded the small piece of paper again, and read what it said.
“Julia. But you can call me Jules.”
When he looked back over to her, she faced the front of the class. Quickly, she turned over and gave him a quick wink. He felt like an i***t to be this giddy over a girl in his class, but also thanked his stars that he could relive this part of his life again. After that, he shook his head, and turned his attention back to class.
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The class ended without any further cringe worthy moments on Max’s end as he put his notebook back in his pocket. He offered the pen back to Jules, who at this point was still packing up her things.
“Thanks for letting me borrow this,” he said, handing the pen to Jules.
She smiled as she took it back.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon, freshman,” she said before correcting herself. “Sorry, Max, right?”
The sound of her saying his name was like music to his ears.
“Yeah, it was kind of a shock to be honest,” he said, scratching the back of his head to hide his embarrassment.
“Oh I could tell it was a shock,” she said giggling slightly.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
She looked around and realized that there was no one in the classroom. It was the last period for the day, so everyone should be headed back to their dorms.
“So, you wanna head back to the rooms?” Max asked, noticing her surprise.
She smiled but shook her head.
“Ah, I don’t live on campus. I should be getting to the dropoff at the main gate.”
“Oh, I see,” Max replied, slightly disappointed.
She looked at him a little longer, and then patted him on the shoulder.
“Wanna walk me over?”
Suddenly, he brightened up a bit.
“Sure!”
The two walked from their classroom in the science building and headed toward the gate, all while maintaining an enjoyable amount of conversation.
“So, Max Burner, where you from?”
“Ah, I’m from the bronx. It’s not far from here.”
“Oh, the bronx? But that doesn’t really explain your accent, which sounds anything but the hood,” she said, as she put her hand up to her chin inquisitively.
“Originally, I and my Momma Clio are from New Orleans. I spent some time there before she looked for a better livelihood here in New York. So my accent is creole.”
Her eyes widened in curiosity.
“Wow! I’ve never had a southern friend before! What’s it like in New Orleans.”
Max tapped into his reserve memories from the old dweller of this body, and remembered parades, gumbo, and other wonderful food, loud yet loving neighbors, and a lot of good times.
“It’s a lot of fun. You could enjoy the parades there. And the food is definitely to die for. Creole and Cajun are the best cuisines in my book. Ever had gumbo?”
“No! But I wanna try!” she said excitedly. Suddenly, she mellowed down a little. “Though, I don’t think I’ll be allowed to go.”
Max stopped for a little.
“Why not?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t think my dad thinks it safe for me to be anywhere else but at school or home.”
“Why? It isn’t like anyone is hunting you down or something right?” he said with a light chuckle.
She didn’t respond and suddenly became really gloomy. Prior to this, they hadn’t realized how far they had walked, and already wound up at the gate. She ran on ahead and stood on the sidewalk. With a quick turn, she shouted back at Max.
“I’ll see you in class, Max Burner!”
As if on command, the second she turned back to the street, a long stretch limousine pulled up onto the sidewalk. A man in a suit walked out and opened a door for her, as she stepped inside. With that, he turned to Max, eyed him for a little, and then nodded at him. Max nodded back, as the man stepped back into the limo. Within seconds, it sped off.
Although the last part was a little surprising, he shook it off as he couldn’t help but focus on one thing. The way she said his name sounded oh so sweet.
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Later that night, the man named Jasper Locke sat in a car outside of NYIU again, as he chatted with his lowly associates.
“Not much protection is there. She walked up to the sidewalk with no guards and stepped into her limo. Not the slightest bit of protection,” said the person on the other end of the line. “...except there was a boy with her. I’m assuming a schoolmate.”
Jasper smiled, as he sucked smoke from his cigar.
“I don’t think the boy will be a problem, will he?”
- Writer
