It was lunch time now, and Max had been lucky enough to not have Draco in any of his classes so far. He did have Ava in his second period, but she didn''t say a word to him; Max figured she wasn''t too happy about detention even if she did deserve it.


    Max grabbed his lunch, and started to look around for an empty table, but Richard waved him down before he could find one. Last year he''d ate with them on occasion but only the day of track meets so they could discuss strategy. Now that he thought about it Max was fairly sure he told Richard that he preferred to eat alone.


    Looking at the table from his distance he could only see one empty seat available, and it was the one across from Kacey, who Richard was sitting next to. She was looking at Max with her arms crossed, and she had an impatient look on her face.


    ''So that''s the reason.'' Max thought, "Great," he muttered under his breath.


    It took a lot for Max to stay on Kacey''s good side. He wasn''t sure how he would manage to stomach a conversation with her. Nonetheless, he placed his food on the table, and sat down across from her.


    "Hey Mad Max!" Richard exclaimed.


    "Ugh, are you seriously going to eat that trash in front of me?" Kacey asked.


    "What?"


    "Your lunch, moron. Why don''t you just pack your own food like everyone else here?"


    Max looked down at his food, and then everyone else at the table. He was the only one who hadn''t brought his own boxed lunch.


    "Doesn''t your dad own the school?" Max spat back.


    He couldn''t help himself.


    Kacey almost choked back her drink; she started laughing so hard her voice started to echo through the cafeteria, and she was the only one, even her friends didn''t seem to get what was funny.


    "Oh, that''s adorable," She finally said, "no no, he doesn''t own it. It''s flattering that you''d think so."


    Somehow, she didn''t register what Max said as an insult, he breathed a sigh of relief at that.


    "What do you want?" Max asked.


    "Sorry man, I know you like to eat on your own, but Kacey wanted to talk to you, hope that''s cool."


    "Yeah, it''s fine," Max said refocusing on Kacey.


    "There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about," She started, "first, Jess caught you skulking about this morning with that brute Draco, and that girl Ava. Why?"


    Max knew that people would eventually have questions about his relationship with Ava and Draco, but this soon? Kacey is relentless; though this wouldn''t be a problem if it weren''t for Draco''s dismal display in class earlier, and Ava''s backtalk, so Kacey loathes her too. Wasn''t the first day of school supposed to be relaxed?


    "Draco was a childhood friend of mine, he- "


    "Was?" Kacey interrupted.


    "Yes, we''ve grown apart, but his parents have asked me to help him integrate into public school, so – "


    "So, you haven''t seen him in a long time, and that''s why you weren''t expecting such crude behavior."


    "That''s right." Max said.


    "And Ava?"


    This would be a more difficult lie to pull off. He could say that she was a new neighbor, and that he was simply helping her with directions, but that was a problem for a few reasons. First it could lead the discussion to his place of residence – the orphanage, a thinly veiled secret that Max hoped to keep low-key. Second, it''s something that could easily be proven false.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Max considered telling Kacey that she looked lost, and so he decided to help her out, but Max has no precedent of lending a helping hand to people, especially if it didn''t benefit him in some way.


    "Oh, babe that''s on me," Richard interjected. "After you told me there were going to be lots of new students this year, I reached out to Max and asked him to keep an eye out for anyone that looked like they needed help."


    ''What the hell is he doing?'' Max thought.


    "Oh really? Then why were you so surprised to see him earlier? If you''ve already had a previous conversation, you wouldn''t have looked so surprised."


    Richard laughed, and placed a hand behind his head. "That''s why I texted him a week ago."


    Max wasn''t sure what exactly was happening here, but that shut Kacey up. If she continued to press Richard for information, like asking him to show her the texts, it''d make her look insecure, and her relationship with Richard was a powerful one; she couldn''t afford to make their relationship look weak.


    This raised a concern for Max though, was he that easy to read? He was always able to lie with ease, but this time did Richard somehow sense that he needed help? This meant one of two things to Max, either he was losing his touch, and was more perceptible than he believed, or that Richard possessed a level of intelligence that he didn''t consider. Max quickly discounted the first possibility, and accepted the other as the fact.


    Max looked at the other students sitting at the table, but didn''t notice anything strange. He did pay special attention to Jess; this was the same girl that kept Kacey from lashing out at Mrs. Kilbert earlier. She had short blond hair, and wore pink colored glasses that were larger than your usual glasses. He got to school around 7: 00 AM so that meant Jess liked to be early too, he''d keep an eye out for her tomorrow.


    "Oh..." Kacey said, unsure of how to proceed.


    "Is that everything?" Max asked, he''d have to thank Richard later.


    "No, not yet" Kacey said. "Tell me again why you won''t join the track team this year?"


    ''Oh, this again.'' Max sighed.


    "Babe, we talked about this, Max is – "


    "Again, I have a job, I need to work," Max said, exasperated.


    Kacey rolled her eyes as Max spoke, "Look, we almost won state last year, and I hate to admit it, but with you on the team we might win."


    A few members of the track team were seated at the table, and they were listening intently; they had a vested interest in Max running track.


    Max cocked his head to the side, and crossed his arms. "What was it you said earlier? Something about ''stop wasting your time with this idiot.''"


    "So what? You want an apology?"


    "It''d be a start."


    Max didn''t care about an apology, he knew that Kacey wouldn''t mean it, and it''d be half assed, but actually seeing Kacey apologize, now that''d be a funny sight, half assed or not, but if Max knew anything about her, she''d weasel her way out of it somehow.


    "We both know an apology won''t change your mind so don''t act like it would."


    "Fair point," Max said, "so what, are you going to pay me or something?"


    "Please, don''t say stupid things."


    "For the daughter of a businessman you''re pretty awful at negotiating," Max said, "Usually, you offer something greater than what the other party has already put on the table."


    Kacey held up her lunch box. "I could offer you the crumbs off my plate, and it''d still be worth more than minimum wage."


    Max looked at Richard throughout their conversation, why the hell is he dating this girl?


    "Instead, I''ll give you a career at my daddy''s company after you graduate, and on top of that I''ll owe you a favor, no questions asked, if I can do it, I''ll do it."


    A favor from Kacey would be valuable, but would that be worth the time it''d take to run at those track meets? Not only that, but Max had the Azrael matter to consider; whoever he was competing with might have the upper hand if he spent time on childish games like track & field. Max also had Ava, and Draco to think about too, how could he lead them if he was busy at practice.


    Then again It wasn''t like Max couldn''t stop going to meets in the future after Kacey fulfilled her end of the bargain, plus there was room for flexibility here. Why not test the waters and see where it goes? After all, it''s not every day you got to bargain with the richest girl in school.


    "I have conditions." Max said raising a finger, "first, you''ll leave Draco and Ava alone. No spying, no scowling, and no revenge. Again, they''re new students, and should be treated as such. Second – "


    "For me to honor that condition you''ll need to get them under control. If they bring the same energy to school tomorrow that they brought today, it''s over."


    "I''m glad that guy listens to you. If you weren''t there then a fight might''ve broken out." Richard added.


    It was true, Richard would''ve probably stepped in if it weren''t for Max. In a way Richard was warning him even now, if Draco acted up Richard would put an end to it. In terms of physique Richard had Draco beat no question, and for most students that''s where feuds started, and that''s'' where they ended, but for Draco? He''d track down where Richard lived, and he would kill him in cold blood; that''s the impression Draco has left on Max. Another reason why he''d need to speak to Vivi.


    "Don''t worry about it, I''ll talk to them."


    "You better, now what''s the second condition?" Kacey asked dryly.


    "Because I have a job to take into account, I will practice on my own terms."


    It was Richard who spoke up this time, "at least train with the team once a week that way we can get some practice in doing relays."


    "I''ll see what I can do."


    "Tch, practice on your own if you want, but if your performance during the meets is sub par the whole deal is off, and I swear to God I will make Draco, and Ava''s lives a living hell." Kacey said.


    "Then it''s a deal." Max said, raising a hand to shake Kacey''s.


    She simply looked the other way, and instead it was Richard who shook his hand.