Just off the Key of Reason

KENZIE'S POV

We had decided to sit outside, since it was nice out. I was leaning against the garage door with Pete, Winnifred in my lap, eating a Hostess cupcake. William and Maya were sitting together across from us on the pavement, hunched over, looking at the news paper for a house.

Andy and Joe were playing Hacky Sac in the grass a little bit away, and Patrick was humming something under his breath next to me, but not leaning up against the garage door.

I looked down at the cupcake with a bite out of it and looked at Pete. “I’m not hungry anymore, Pete, finish this.”

I didn’t give him time to say anything before I shoved the cupcake in the general direction of his mouth. It smeared on his nose and lips and chin, and he turned his head to glare at me.

“What?” I shrugged. “I said finish it.”

Pete growled, and Patrick and I laughed, William and Maya leaning their heads up and looking at the mess on Pete’s face.

William rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking back down at the paper. Maya did the same, like it was normal for Pete to have chocolate cupcake on his face.

“I’m gonna go get more juice, Maya. Come with me, bitch.” I joked, and she sighed before starting to get up and dust off the butt of her pants. I placed the doll by my side, and stood up myself.

Maya groaned when we stepped inside. I looked at her from the corner of my eye. “What? Did I interrupt your precious Bilvy time?” I teased. She glared.

“No, you idiot,” she stepped over the pile of backpacks by the living room doorway, “it’s just so hard to find a house that we can afford, because of all the baby expenses.”

I shook my head, opening the fridge. “Stupid money-suckers, them childrens.”

“Unamused Maya is unamused.” She stated this obvious fact. “I’m working really hard on this, since all the good houses are taken. You and Patrick picked first off, but me and William had to wait.”

“William and I,” I corrected. She practically shot steam from her ears.

I shrugged. “Why don’t you just have William do all the work? That’s what I would do, if I were you.”

“But you’re not me, you’re Kenzie.”

I nodded and smiled, shoving things over in the fridge to get to the juice boxes Maya’s mom kept for her little brother. He wouldn’t care if I stole one, the little twerp. He likes me. I’ve never met him, but I know he would like me and offer to share his juice boxes all the time. So, y’know. Might as well use this power I have for knowing the future.

When we walked back outside, Patrick was cradling the baby, the fake bottle to it’s mouth. Pete was leaning over his shoulder, watching, while wiping some of the cupcake off his face and sucking it from his finger into his mouth.

I stopped dead in my tracks and Maya bumped into my back, before furrowing her brows and looking at what stopped me. Her eyes bulged.

“Whoa.” She said.

I blinked. “Whoa is right.”

Patrick looked at me and gave a shy smile, shrugging his shoulders ever so slightly. “She was crying, and you were in there, so, I thought, and I was right, she was hungry.”

I walked to the other side of Patrick and plopped down, leaning my head on his shoulder. “You’re a natural father, Pattycakes.”

“Thanks,” Patrick mumbled, smiling down at the simulation. Maya rolled her eyes and sat back down next to William again, picking back up on her work as William grew a mischievous grin on his face, putting down his own work. Maya paid him no attention, flipping through the newspaper pages as Pete glared at William in what was obviously total jealousy.

Seriously. She had no idea how many boys thought she was pretty.

William started humming something under his breath, before starting to play with Maya's hair, stroking loose strands that floated away from her head back into place. Pete and I stared incredulously, Maya taking no notice until William started to pet her head slightly. Turning around with a terrified expression, she stared at William's hands.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked, her eyes wide as saucers. He grinned like the cheshire cat. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

Maya gave him a long, frightened stare, before burying herself back into the project, Pete very obviously seething in anger.

--

MAYA'S POV

Back at school, Kenzie and I were sitting in Biology, discussing current events in wildlife and nature. William sat across the class, a relief, but it didn't help that Pete was sitting behind me.

"What are some current events?" Mrs. Parsons asked, and my hand shot up immediately. "The Perth Zoo introduced Echidnas to their collection."

Kenzie's dozing head immediately shot up. "Enchiladas? What?" she yelled, as the whole class burst out in laughter. I was in a giggle-fit, before repeating, "I said, Echidnas. Baby Echidnas." I was about to die of oxygen deprivation as Kenzie burst out laughing as well. The class continued with the discussion, but Kenzie and I were otherwise preoccupied with passing notes.

Seriously, I heard enchiladas. I need food. Kenzie had scribbled onto the sheet, and I bit my lip, giggling.

Is there ever a time you DON'T need food? I asked, about to pass the note to Kenzie but getting the note snatched. I whipped around, finding Pete crinkling the note. "Abracadabra?" He whispered nonchalantly, shrugging, a small grin lingering. "Now pay attention."

I glared at him. Killjoy.

--

My freshman extracurriculars were classes I unfortunately didn't have with Kenzie - I was stuck in Woodwork, so I sat back and enjoyed watching kids drill things and hammer their own thumbs.

"Uh, hi!" Someone spoke next to me, and I jumped. I was used to being left alone during freshman classes. "Uh, hi?" I replied, turning around to see who it was.

It was another girl - slightly taller than I was, with puffy, dirty blonde hair, dressed in skinny jeans and a Green Day t-shirt. "Hi, I'm Phoenix!" She smiled widely. A bit too widely. I was scared already.

"Uh... Maya." I replied, nervously offering a hand. She shook it with an amount of energy that was scary to see in a girl that was probably only an inch taller than I was... And I wasn't very tall.

"So, I heard you were hanging out with like, Pete and his friends?" Her voice suddenly became an octave higher, and I knew this was about Pete. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Yeah, we're... Friends." I replied, shrugging.

"Oh my gosh, seriously?! We should totally hang out later! Uh, cell number?"

I gave her my number. I still regret it.

--

After class, my phone was buzzing.

No, seriously. It was buzzing like a mosquito on crack.

"Can't you turn it off?" Kenzie complained, and I shook my head. "It's buzzing too frequently, I can't get it to stop so I can turn it off."

"I'll smash it for you." Pete offered, and I rolled my eyes at him. "You do realize my parents would kill me."

William sighed impatiently, snatching the phone from me. "Let me read..." He mumbled, doing something to my phone that stopped the vibrating. His eyes darted back and forth across the screen, before he started cracking up. Impatiently, I snatched my cellphone back from him before reading the texts.

OmGz!! i can c u w/ Pete, how hawt is he??!?
do u thnk u can get him to like consider goingg out w/ me??!?
LOL wat is with that girl w/ the multicolor hair? sooo weird wtf
pete is SO cute lol, idk why he's so obsessive over you.

I think my eyes signified how freaky these texts were, since Kenzie pried the phone loose from my hand and started reading, before frowning. "Maya, who is this girl?"

"This girl from my woodwork shop, Phoenix." I replied, blinking. What? Obsessive? Pete? Me? Who was he, Edward Cullen? (oh god, I hope not.)

Kenzie groaned. "That girl's been after Pete since she was in the sixth grade." She sighed, before doing something to my phone that made it start buzzing again. "New texts... Want me to read them out loud?"

"No, but do you know how to block numbers?"

"I do." Pete volunteered, and I sighed. "Fine. Just block that girl's number, please and thank you."

"Whatever you want, darling." He said, but before he could grab my phone, my phone suddenly shut off on it's own. Shocked, I stared as Pete took my phone and attempted to turn it on.

"Did... Did my cellphone just die?"

"I think it did."