Scales Chapter Four {Apples}

This is Chapter Four!! :D

 "That's what you're eating for lunch?" Kyla asked. "An apple?" 

She nodded. "Yummy." Maxine said happily, patting her belly. 

"Come on, Maxine, you have to eat more than that." Her best friend urged. "Want a bite of my sandwich?" 

She offered out her half-wrapped ham and cheese sandwich, which, to Maxine, looked about as good as a four course meal. But she declined and turned to her less welcoming apple, its green shine reminding her of the poison apple in Snow White. 

"Well?" She asked, her mouth full of ham and cheese. "You going to eat or what?" 

Maxine shrugged. "I... I don't know." She pushed the apple away, peering at her arms and noticing how flabby they looked, jiggling. 

"No." She thought to herself. "Not until my arms are flab-free." 

"Maxine." Kyla wined. 

She held her hand tight. "Kyla, trust me. I'm just a little... less hungry. That's all." 

"Promise?" 

"Of course." She told her, and felt guilty for lying. The waves of cafeteria noise roared over her growling stomach. 

Kyla smiled. "I... um... wanted to tell you something."

Maxine turned towards her, giving her best friend her full attention. She remembered the disappointing encounter with her mom the day before and how alone she felt without her attention. She didn't want Kyla to feel the same way. 

"It's just that..." She bit her lip and her eyes filled up with tears. "S**t this is so hard to say." She cupped her hands around her chin, holding her face. 

"It's okay." Maxine said softly. "Just say it." 

Kyla looked up and smiled wearily at her. "I-uh... I'm moving, Maxine."

She just sat there, letting this information sink in. Kyla had been her best friend ever since her dad had left. She had been the shoulder that Maxine needed to cry on. They shared everything, like best friends do. There had never been a day where the two hadn't spoken. And most of all, they were always there for each other. 

Another thought appeared in her head. Maybe it was like Kyla came into her life when she needed her the most. Like some sort of guardian angel. And when guardian angels leave, life turns good. Like they don't need them anymore. Maxine knew she'd miss her, there was no doubt, but maybe this was some sort of sign that things were turning up. 

"Oh, Maxine." Kyla hugged her tight. "Don't... don't cry. Please." 

She felt her eyelids. She had been crying, and not realized it. Her tears were wet, dampening her cheeks. She wiped them quickly with her fingertips and pulled away from her hug. 

"I'm not... I'm just overwhelmed, that's all." 

Silence. Kyla fiddled with her belt before looking up at her again. 

"I'm leaving on Friday." 

"Okay." Maxine tried to accept this. The thought of her leaving. It was almost as painful as the moment she realized her father was leaving. But... no. Comparing the two would be horrible. Her father had left her because he didn't fit into her life. Kyla fit too tightly into her life. 

"Why are you leaving?" She asked, taking a deep breath. "Where?" 

"My mom got a job transfer." Kyla held both of Maxine's hands in hers, tracing the lines on her palms. "We're going to Seattle."

She looked down at the glossy cafeteria floor. It reminded her of the floor at Marlow Studio, the only place that she didn't have something to worry about. The only place where her thoughts and worries said "See Ya!" and she got to be Herself. Maxine Tantillo.

"Can I help you clean out your locker?" She asked. 

Kyla nodded. "Study hall." 

The bell rang and Maxine picked up her glazed red apple, tossing it up and down in her hand. Kyla stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder. The two grabbed hands and made their way out of lunch with everyone else. 

Everyone else. That's the only thing she had ever wanted to be apart of. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Milo, go pick up your sister from ballet, would you?" 

"Kay, Dad!" He calls from the living room, pausing Super Smash Brothers. Ed's over and they've been playing ever since they've gotten home from school. 

Ed makes a face. "Aw! I was just about to beat you!" He says, frustrated, grabbing his coat and pulling it over his shoulders. 

Milo hits the back of his head. "You can beat me when we get back." He tells him. "Now come on." 

He jingles the keys as he takes them off of the rack by the door. "Shot gun!" Ed calls as they make their way out of the door. 

"Dufus." Milo laughs, getting into the driver's seat as Ed slides into the passenger seat beside him. 

He puts the car into reverse and rolls out of the driveway, turning onto Edwards Drive. "So you like hanging at your dad's, huh?" 

"Yeah." Milo agrees. "I mean, Ruby's not like a real sister so it's nice." 

"You like Wendy?" 

He shrugs. "Sure. She's nice." 

"Better than Jeffrey?" 

"Better than Jeffrey." He says, smiling and waiting at a red light. "I mean, it's just nice to get away from the Stones." 

Ed pulls out a pack of gum and offers Milo a piece, which he declines. "And Ned." He adds before popping a piece of his own into his mouth. 

He looks at the steering wheel, studying it. "Yeah." He admits sheepishly. "And Ned. It's like we're not even brothers anymore." 

Noticing his best friend's sad tone, Ed says, "Hey, Man." He punches him in the shoulder. "We're like brothers." 

"True." Milo laughs. 

Ed is an only sibling, doesn't know what a real brother feels like. Milo tries to keep this in mind. Really, Milo and Ed aren't like brothers. They're like best friends. Like classmates. Like neighbors. Just not brothers. A brother is more than somebody who you play XBox 360 with on rainy days, or somebody who you sit next to at lunch. A brother is somebody who you grow up with, share a room with, take vacations with, celebrate holidays. You share bags of potato chips with a brother, fight over whose turn it is to take out the garbage. You make memories with a brother, whether good or bad. A best friend is entirely different. 

"Hey Dude, guess what." Ed seems suddenly excited, shaking in his seat and looking out the window, then back at Milo. 

"What?" He asks. 

Ed smiles and says, "I have a girlfriend." 

Surprise fills Milo's mind. "You? Have a Girlfriend? Like, you mean a girl likes you?" 

He nods. "That's the clear definition." He says hesitantly. 

"Man that's awesome!" Milo high fives him and turns onto Danish Avenue. "Who is it?" 

"You wouldn't know her." He says, a bit too proud of himself. "Met her at last week's Batman Discussion Group."

Milo feels like bursting into laughter. That just killed the moment. 

"Ooh. Fancy." 

"Her name's Sheila." He says. "We're going on our second date tomorrow night. And to the comic book convention this weekend."

"Wow. What a girl." Milo says unenthusiastically. It's kind of funny. How happy Ed is that he found her. 

He brushes off his shoulders, something Milo's only seen people in the movies do. "I know." 

He rolls  his eyes at his friend and parks in the parking lot at Marlow. "Okay, so I'll go in and get Ruby. Wait here, okay?" 

"Okay." Says Ed, examining a hula girl bobble head that is perched on top of Milo's cluttered dashboard. "I'll watch the Milo- Mobile."

He tries to ignore the geeky comment his best friend just made. That's what he's been doing for the last two years that Ed has been living in the house next door. His parents got them together at first. They were fourteen, so like every other fourteen year old boy they still had dreams of superheroes, video games, regular teenage things. But when Milo aged to be sixteen, his maturity level at sixteen as well, Ed seemed to lag behind in his younger years of dungeons and dragons. Sure, Ed was awesome to hang around with, but he seemed more like a fourteen year old side kick than an equally old friend. 

He turns back once to see Ed talking on his cellphone, then shakes his head as he heads in to get Ruby. 

Ruby. He wishes Ruby were more like a sister to him. But she's not. She's his stepsister. Wendy, his stepmom, had Ruby Catherine Jones before she had even met Milo's father. And on good days like Tuesdays and Thursdays, Milo went over to his dad's. But the bliss never lasted for long, because every night at some point he had to walk back into that dreaded Hell that he hated so much. 

He stands in the doorway, once again watching that girl. He wishes he can remember her name. But he can't go a second without only thinking about how graceful she is on the dance floor, her body floating above the ground. It's a view Milo has only had once- that was last Tuesday. 

She blushes as she sees him in the doorway, then walks over to him. "Oh. Hi, Milo." 

He doesn't know whether to be guilty or happy that she remembers his name. But he puts on a smile, unsure of his emotion. "Hi..."

"Maxine." She says. "We went over this last week?" She chuckles.

"Yeah." He says. "Sorry about that." 

She waves her hand in a "Pish- Posh" way. "It's no problem." She stands awkwardly at a distance from him, unsure of what to say next. "So you came for your sister again?"

He nods. "Have you seen her?"

"I was actually teaching her earlier." She nods, her hair tied back in a lose bun, flopping up and down. 

"Really?" He asks, trying to remember to be witty. "So that's where she gets her talent?"

Her face flushes a bright red, reminding Milo of a field of roses. "Um, thanks. It's really nothing."

"It's really something." He corrects, trying not to laugh like a pleased little school girl. "I wish I knew some steps." 

Surprise fills her face. "Really?" She looks behind her, to make sure Ruby isn't out of the changing room yet. "I could... uh... show you a few." She bites her lip in anxiousness. "If you want." 

He nods as if he's not surprised, trying to contain his happiness. "I would like that." He replies, stepping out onto the floor. 

Maxine raises her eyebrows, not sure how she got him to so far as going on to the dance floor. But she accepts it, holding out her hands to his. He grasps tight and she can't help but remark on how sweaty and nervous his hands feel in hers. But she holds sternly to them, her fingers curling around his, as she begins to lead. 

"So you step back, I step forward." She orders, him stepping back in a quick motion as she steps into the gap between them. "Good. Now do the opposite." 

She steps back as Milo steps forward. 

"Now together." Their feet are straight across from each other, the tips of their toes touching through his sneakers and her ballet flats. He looks up from his shoes and comes eye to eye with Maxine, who just might be the most gorgeous and perfect girl he's ever laid his eyes on. 

"Good. Now one foot to the left." 

He looks back at his feet, making sure he doesn't ruin the moment by acting like... well... Milo. He wants to make sure he's not Milo, the Klutz. He wants to be Milo Kypton Davis, who can dance just as gracefully as Maxine. 

"You're like a natural." She comments, and his head shoots back up at her face. They're so close to each other, he can feel her crisp breath against his cheek. "You haven't had any experience?"

"None." He says. 

She looks exasperated. "Well, I guess it runs in the family blood then?" 

He wearily shakes his head. "Actually, Ruby isn't my blood sister. She's my stepsister." 

"Oh." She says. "I always thought you had either a lot of brothers or one sister."

"Both." He answers. "Well, at my mom's it's my brother, I'm sure you know him. Ned Davis?" 

"Oh yeah, him." She says. "He's in a couple of my classes." 

He nods. "And BJ and Heath Stone." He continues. 

She looks shocked, her jaw dropping to the ground as if it shatters into a million pieces. Then they remember that they're dancing. "They're your brothers?"

"Stepbrothers." He replies hazily. He wasn't sure if they were nice enough to even be that. "And Ruby is my stepsister on my dad's side."

"I don't know my dad." Maxine admits wearily. "He left when I was seven." 

He swallows the sadness she just passed on to him. "I'm sorry about that." 

"It's fine." She shrugs. Although anyone who really knew Maxine could tell it wasn't fine. "Now dip." 

He brought down his hand, leaning forward as she fell back into it. And it seemed perfect. Maxine looked up at Milo, not exactly sure what was happening. Were they friends now? What was their status. 

"Max-" 

"Davis?!" 

Shattered. The moment- ruined. His hands tremble and Maxine falls to the ground. They both look up, although they know whose standing in the doorway. 

"What the Hell do you think you are doing, Davis?" 

He trembles, his voice not sure what to do. Apologize to Maxine? Finish his sentence? Explain to Kevin? 

"I asked what the Hell is going on?!" He grabs Maxine like she's an object. "Get in the car. I'll be out in a second." 

She runs out, grabbing her gym bag and giving Milo a sorry look. He shakes it off. 

"Okay, Davis, I gave you a warning." He said. "Did I or did I not tell you to stay away from Maxine Tantillo?"

But he doesn't have to answer. Ruby pops out of the changing room. "Woah I heard some noise and... let's go Milo."

Milo grabs her hand reluctantly, practically pulling her out of Marlow Studio. He's never been so happy to see her. 

Kevin's last words boom through the high ceiling. "I'm not finished with you, Davis!" 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Reviews Please! I would really appreciate any criticism.