Read Online Max Baker: Guardian of the Ninth Sector by Matthew Cronan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Matthew Cronan
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Urban, Paranormal & Urban, Superhero
Ads: Link
that other boys stare at her…and while I feel that they do so with lust in their hearts, I feel that you do so with a longing, but also with a sadness.”
There was a long pause as Max continued to look at Mr. Shook.
“We used to be really good friends,” Max said. “And maybe I had a shot with her a long, long time ago, but now she’s the head cheerleader and going out with the quarterback of the football team, and I’m…well, I’m me.” The words slipped out a Max's mouth. He had never liked being himself. Despite the great lengths that he had taken not to fit in, he had always wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of the looking glass.
“And as much as I would like to pretend that she still cares a tenth about me that I do for her,” Max continued, the frustration still prevalent in his voice, “I would be surprised if she even remembered my name.”
“My boy,” Mr. Shook said, shaking his head, “when you grow old like me, you will learn that this life is too short to worry about things that could have or should have been. You will learn that when one is presented with an opportunity, despite how far reached that opportunity is,” the old man paused for a moment and smiled at Max, “you must take it.”
Max’s cellphone buzzed loudly in his pocket. The old man nodded for him to take it.
“These cellphones will be the death of me,” Shook said, still smiling at Max.
Max pulled the slender phone from his pocket and placed it on the desk between them. The LED screen read:
ONE NEW MESSAGE
Below that, an envelope rotated on the screen. Below the envelope was Kennedy’s name. Max hesitantly slid his finger across the screen to unlock the phone. The message automatically popped onto the screen:
English Proj. Saturday, Library, 9:30?
Looking up at Mr. Shook, Max could feel a smile flirting with the corner of his mouth.
“You can thank me later,” Mr. Shook chuckled.
Chapter 7
Standoff
“So let me get this straight,” Noah said, shoving another piece of the rectangular school pizza in his mouth. The two of them sat alone at a small round table in the corner of the gigantic cafeteria. They watched as students poured into the room, some of them heading directly to stand in line to wait for food, others immediately finding their friends to gossip about the morning events.
The cliques that existed in the courtyard before school were skewed by the setup of the cafeteria. The gothic emo kids sat at the same elongated table as the nerdy kids. At another table, the greasers sat at the opposite end from Bible beaters. Max and Noah had never formed any sort of allegiance with any of them, so alone they sat at the small table.
Max stared down at the text message from Kennedy as Noah finished chewing his mouthful of pizza.
“Mr. Shook called you out in front of the entire class for staring at Kennedy, awkwardly assigned you two as partners, and he did all of this in an attempt to hook you two up?” Noah asked, still furiously chewing the food in his mouth.
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” Max said, thinking back to the embarrassment of that moment and wondering if this opportunity would truly be worth it.
“Way to go, Mr. Shook!” Noah exclaimed. “I know that he can be kind of a hard-ass sometimes, but I’ve always respected that guy. I mean you’ve got to respect a man who wears a tweed sports coat with elbow patches right? I mean who does that anymore?”
“My sentiments exactly,” Max said, putting the phone back in his pocket.
As Noah and Max sat there talking about the incident, Max trying to put into words the utter embarrassment of it, Kennedy entered the cafeteria alongside Corey Peterson and a posse of cheerleaders and football players. Kennedy and Corey led the way, his arm draped over her shoulder. Just the sight of him touching her made Max’s blood boil.
“I still don’t get it though,” Noah said,
There was a long pause as Max continued to look at Mr. Shook.
“We used to be really good friends,” Max said. “And maybe I had a shot with her a long, long time ago, but now she’s the head cheerleader and going out with the quarterback of the football team, and I’m…well, I’m me.” The words slipped out a Max's mouth. He had never liked being himself. Despite the great lengths that he had taken not to fit in, he had always wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of the looking glass.
“And as much as I would like to pretend that she still cares a tenth about me that I do for her,” Max continued, the frustration still prevalent in his voice, “I would be surprised if she even remembered my name.”
“My boy,” Mr. Shook said, shaking his head, “when you grow old like me, you will learn that this life is too short to worry about things that could have or should have been. You will learn that when one is presented with an opportunity, despite how far reached that opportunity is,” the old man paused for a moment and smiled at Max, “you must take it.”
Max’s cellphone buzzed loudly in his pocket. The old man nodded for him to take it.
“These cellphones will be the death of me,” Shook said, still smiling at Max.
Max pulled the slender phone from his pocket and placed it on the desk between them. The LED screen read:
ONE NEW MESSAGE
Below that, an envelope rotated on the screen. Below the envelope was Kennedy’s name. Max hesitantly slid his finger across the screen to unlock the phone. The message automatically popped onto the screen:
English Proj. Saturday, Library, 9:30?
Looking up at Mr. Shook, Max could feel a smile flirting with the corner of his mouth.
“You can thank me later,” Mr. Shook chuckled.
Chapter 7
Standoff
“So let me get this straight,” Noah said, shoving another piece of the rectangular school pizza in his mouth. The two of them sat alone at a small round table in the corner of the gigantic cafeteria. They watched as students poured into the room, some of them heading directly to stand in line to wait for food, others immediately finding their friends to gossip about the morning events.
The cliques that existed in the courtyard before school were skewed by the setup of the cafeteria. The gothic emo kids sat at the same elongated table as the nerdy kids. At another table, the greasers sat at the opposite end from Bible beaters. Max and Noah had never formed any sort of allegiance with any of them, so alone they sat at the small table.
Max stared down at the text message from Kennedy as Noah finished chewing his mouthful of pizza.
“Mr. Shook called you out in front of the entire class for staring at Kennedy, awkwardly assigned you two as partners, and he did all of this in an attempt to hook you two up?” Noah asked, still furiously chewing the food in his mouth.
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” Max said, thinking back to the embarrassment of that moment and wondering if this opportunity would truly be worth it.
“Way to go, Mr. Shook!” Noah exclaimed. “I know that he can be kind of a hard-ass sometimes, but I’ve always respected that guy. I mean you’ve got to respect a man who wears a tweed sports coat with elbow patches right? I mean who does that anymore?”
“My sentiments exactly,” Max said, putting the phone back in his pocket.
As Noah and Max sat there talking about the incident, Max trying to put into words the utter embarrassment of it, Kennedy entered the cafeteria alongside Corey Peterson and a posse of cheerleaders and football players. Kennedy and Corey led the way, his arm draped over her shoulder. Just the sight of him touching her made Max’s blood boil.
“I still don’t get it though,” Noah said,
Similar Books
