Dirty Journalism

Max collapsed on his bed in his dorm. He never thought he’d be so happy to be back at school, but Thanksgiving break had been a bit of a nightmare at his parent’s house in Albany. His brother David, a senior at Berkeley, showed up with a girl he married in Vegas two weeks prior, which got their mother upset because she had “missed her baby son’s wedding.”

Max didn’t bother to remind her that she had another son, and that he was in fact the baby, not David.

Then Max’s next oldest brother Jason announced that he and his wife were moving from their Manhattan apartment to a house in New Mexico. This got their mother upset, yet again, because “all her boys would be so far away.”

Max didn’t bother mentioning that he still went to school in Brooklyn, which happened to be a little over a two hour drive away from Albany.

Lastly, Max’s oldest brother Steven announced he got a promotion and was taking the entire family to England over Christmas break. Their mother was thrilled because “none of them had ever been to Europe!”

Max didn’t bother to remind her that he had been on a month-long European tour for school two years ago.

Oh, and their mother made three pies—one pumpkin, one apple, and one chocolate pudding, saying, “My boys’ favorites!”

Max didn’t bother to remind her that he hated all three.

To put it lightly, he was more than ecstatic to be back at James Academy, away from the people he was forced to call family who didn’t really care about him anyway. At least here at school he had people who liked him.

Max sighed and stood up. Since Jeffrey and Scooter still weren’t back, he was going to see if Jackie was in her room on the floor below, hopefully by herself. Maybe she would be ready to talk to him again.

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Max tried to hide his disappointment when Lexi answered the door. He was surprised to see her look equally upset to see him. “Hey…” he said slowly, confused by her reaction to him.

“Er… yeah,” was all she said.

“Um, okay. Is Jackie back yet?” he asked trying to see in the room.

Stella appeared beside Lexi. “Come inside, Max,” she said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him in. Lexi closed the door behind them.

“What’s going on?” Max asked. He glanced at Jackie’s bed, only to see that all the sheets had been stripped. He shrugged it off.

“Promise you won’t get angry and throw things,” Stella ordered.

“What are you talking about?” Max asked confusedly. “Why… what’s that?” He pointed to a cardboard box that contained many of Jackie’s possessions, including wall posters, sheets, and her comforter. Jackie’s Nashville address was scribbled on the side, as if the box was to be mailed.

“We don’t want to have to be the ones to tell you this, but…” Stella started, shifting uncomfortably. “Jackie’s not coming back.”

Max stared at her. “What?” he asked sharply.

“She left James Academy,” Lexi said sadly from the corner. “That’s what she talked to us about the day we left for break. She called us yesterday and asked if we’d send the rest of her stuff to Nashville.”

Max opened and closed his mouth several times before repeating, “What?”

“All she said was that things were different,” Stella explained. “Something changed. She wouldn’t go into any more detail, except that there were some things she needed to forget.”

“You didn’t do something to her, did you?” Lexi asked accusingly.

Max clenched his fists angrily. “No! Why the hell would you ask that? What would I do to her?”

“Well something happened between you two,” Stella pointed out.

“Damn it,” Max muttered to himself. Did they think he had taken advantage of her or something? “I didn’t hurt her. I would never hurt her.”

Lexi and Stella nodded. They seemed to believe him. “Do you have any idea what’s up, then?” Lexi asked.

Max didn’t answer. If Jackie hadn’t told Lexi and Stella about Michaela, he wasn’t going to do it for her. It was her tale to tell.

“I have to go,” he said shortly, and he left the dorm room without another word.

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“Bodello residence,” came an adult female voice.

“Hello?” Max said hurriedly. “Is Jackie there?”

The voice paused. “Yes… is this one of her friends from New York?”

Max, predicting that Jackie told her mother to deny any calls from JA people, answered, “Er… no.”

“Oh, may I ask who’s calling then?” her mother asked brightly.

“Um… Walter Windham,” Max invented. “You know, the famous journalist? Yeah, that’s me. Can I talk to Jackie?”

“Oh, goodness, of course you may!” her mother said quickly. “Jackie, dear, you have an important call!”

A few moments later, Jackie’s voice rang through the phone. “Hello? Mr. Windham?”

“Where are you?” Max demanded.

“Max?”

“Where the hell are you?” he repeated angrily.

“I’m at home.”

“Why?”

”I’m not coming back.”

Max tried to remain calm, but he was failing miserably. “Shit, I know that! I had to find out from Stella and Lexi! Why aren’t you coming back?”

”I have to go,” she said quietly.

“Don’t hang up on me!” Max yelled. He could still hear Jackie’s breathing, so he knew she was there. His voice got softer when he said, “Just… just explain.”

”Haven’t I explained enough to you?”

“This is about Michaela,” Max stated.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t understand, Jackie.”

”What’s not to understand?” Her voice became louder and more harsh. ”James Academy has become a constant reminder that she’s dead, that it’s all my fault, and that I’m a terrible sister! I don’t want to be anywhere near there!”

“Jackie…”

”And you too! I can’t look at you without thinking about her, because you’re the one person I’ve told. So just… just… bye, Max. I can’t do it. Bye.”

“You’re giving up?” Max questioned, his voice rising. “You hate yourself for forgetting, but you’re just going to do it again now?”

“I…” she began, but she couldn’t finish. It was true.

“I was going to help you, but if you’re going to give up, I guess I’ll put my efforts into something worthwhile,” he said harshly.

”I’m not… I’m not giving up.”

“You can keep telling yourself that, but you’ll be lying,” Max said. “I guess you don’t have a problem with lying, though, since you failed to mention your dead sister to anyone, including your best friends, for six years.”

There was a click, and a few seconds later, Max heard the dial tone.

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It was midnight. The breeze blew calmly in the James Academy courtyard, ruffling Max’s hair as he sat on a bench, head in hands.

Nothing stirred him, even the sound of approaching footsteps. He knew he was in trouble, being out two hours past curfew, but he didn’t care. The sound of the wind and the trickling fountain was much more soothing than Scooter’s snoring.

“Ah. Your mind is troubled.”

That, however, caused him to look up. “Ms. Magaña?” he asked, squinting at the woman in front of him.

She smiled and took a seat beside him. “Lovely evening isn’t it, Mr. Leopold?”

“Uh… yeah,” he replied slowly. If you call midnight evening.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Max silently tried to scoot farther away on the bench, but he found himself already at the end. I am stuck next to a nutcase he thought bitterly.

“I received an email,” she said lightly, staring at the fountain, “that Ms. Bodello should be removed from the student list of my yoga class.”

“Hm,” Max mumbled, crossing his arms and slouching.

“This is obviously the cause of your distress,” she stated.

“I… no. I am not distressed.” Max’s voice grew louder with each word he spoke.

Ms. Magaña shook her head sadly. “You connected with her, as I knew you would.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Max said through gritted teeth.

“Do not lie, Mr. Leopold. You’re only lying to yourself.”

Max sighed. “She lied more than I did,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Is that really why you’re upset?” Ms. Magaña pushed. Max looked at her oddly. She smiled and said, “I had Michaela Bodello in Spanish class years ago. I know what young Jackie has been hiding. Tell me, are you upset because of her lies?”

“No,” Max answered reluctantly.

Ms. Magaña nodded knowingly. “You’re only upset because she left.”

“Yeah, I… how do you know all this stuff?” Max asked suddenly.

“I’m simply observant. And I have observed for six and a half years that Ms. Bodello is a part of your life. I understand she is your girlfriend right now?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know about right now. She was a few days ago, I guess.”

“It doesn’t change things,” Ms. Magaña explained. “Perhaps you’re not upset because your girlfriend left, you’re upset because Jackie left. She was both your enemy and your friend before romance happened.”

“I’d hardly call what we had ‘romance,’” Max admitted. “We weren’t exactly couple-y.”

“May I ask you an important question?” Ms. Magaña requested.

“You probably know the answer, since you know everything,” Max said with a shrug.

“Think hard. Are you in love with her?”

Max stared at the grass for several moments before answering. “I don’t know. I might have been. I might have been able to fall in love with her.”

“Good, you’re not supposed to know for sure,” Ms. Magaña said. “Not yet, anyway.”

Several minutes passed in silence. Max suddenly snorted and laughed out loud. “I am so pathetic,” he said, still chuckling. “I… I used to get girls all the time. It was never a big deal. And now… one girl is turning me into a cheeseball. One stupid, annoying, bitchy, screwed up freak of a girl.”

Ms. Magaña looked at Max wisely. “I’m sure she thinks the same of you. And a word of advice, no girl likes to be called a freak.”

Max chuckled, thinking of Jackie. “But she totally is.”
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In the next chapter of Dirty Journalism…

“You are going to be the death of me, Maxwell.”
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“Kissing it is supposed to make it feel better.”
“Well, your kissing sucks.”
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“I still hate you.”