In Too Deep

Jackie jumped in shock as she slid back into the atrium, as Dr. Barrie stood menacingly in front of her. “Miss Bodello…” she started, her arms crossed.

“Found it!” Jackie said quickly, holding up her hat, which she had been clutching behind her back. Before the headmistress had the chance to point out that the dorms were on the other side of the school, Jackie scurried away and once again joined her friends.

“Did you find him?” Jeffrey asked.

Jackie nodded. “He’s coming in a second because we didn’t want to be suspicious.”

At that moment, Max appeared in the atrium doorway, luckily out of sight of Dr. Barrie, and gave them all a quick nod. Scooter and Jeffrey left to stand with him.

“Not suspicious, huh?” Lexi commented, smirking. “As if Max’s tousled hair isn’t totally obvious…”

Jackie fixed her hat nonchalantly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Hey,” Max said lightly when Jeffrey and Scooter approached him.

“Are you okay now?” Jeffrey asked, being the concerned friend, as usual.

Max smiled a little. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m good.”

Scooter frowned. “Dude, you smell weird.”

“I took a shower…” Max said self-consciously, not so subtly smelling his armpit.

“No, I mean you smell… fruity,” Scooter said, crinkling his nose.

A look of realization came over Max. “Ohhhh,” he said quickly. “That’s Jackie’s pear-scented body wash. I kind of like it, actually. It’s very fresh and natural.”

Jeffrey and Scooter stared, and Max’s face darkened.

“Don’t ever tell anyone I said that.”

Jeffrey laughed and clapped Max on the shoulder. “Good to have you back, man.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The James Academy auditorium was filled with parents and younger students, all staring excitedly at the mass of purple standing before them. All the seniors were lined up on platforms on the stage… except for one. Scooter stood at the single microphone right at the front.

All was silent.

Scooter stared directly in front of him, his mouth opening and closing several times, but no words came out.

Lexi, whose last name had her alphabetically standing next to Max, was biting her fingernails nervously. “Come on, Scooty,” she muttered, and Max had to hold in a snort. Scooty? Really?

“Uh…” Scooter said right into the microphone, causing it to screech. A few people clapped their hands to their ears.

“I can’t watch!” Lexi whispered dramatically, covering her eyes. Max sighed and looked down a few rows to where Jackie was standing. She looked up at him, a frown on her face, and motioned her head toward Scooter. Max got the message.

“Come on, Scooter!” Max shouted into the silence, raising his hands in fists. “Kick that speech in the… butt!”

As people laughed (and Jackie sent Max a gracious smile), Scooter looked back at Max a moment, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“Uh, hi. I’m Scooter. Well, my name’s Maurice Hickam, but if you call me that, I’ll eat you,” he said, gripping his fingers nervously. “Um, yeah. So. I’m supposed to talk about James Academy, and how awesome it’s been. And stuff. Yeah. So. Here we go.”

Max leaned over to Lexi. “Your boyfriend is so eloquent,” he muttered, but she was too busy hanging on to Scooter’s every word to respond.

“Well, most of us have been here since sixth grade, so it’s been seven long years together. In that time, some new people have come, and some old people have left, like that kid Howard who transferred in 10th grade. I’m glad. He was a creep. Yeah, so anyway, we’ve had a lot of great times and made a bunch of friends in those years. I have two best friends, Jeffrey and Max. They told me I had to talk about them, so… they’re pretty cool. Except Jeffrey is kind of uptight sometimes and Max was all screwy this year because he got hung up on a girl, but that story would take like forever to tell, so I’m not going to share anything else.”

Max dropped his forehead into the palm of his hand. Scooter did not just say that out loud. He looked down to see a satisfied smirk playing on Jackie’s lips.

“I’ve had a really great time working on the school paper, The James Journal,” Scooter continued. “I was the photo editor. It was pretty cool. I like taking pictures. Although, I did have to deal with the editor from hell. She could get pretty annoying.”

This time, it was Max’s turn to smirk as Jackie’s jaw dropped in shock. Scooter’s speech continued, and after he spent ten minutes talking about how much he loved Lexi and wished he had asked her out sooner (to which the audience responded with “awww” and Max pretended to vomit in his hand), Scooter used the last minutes of his speech to send a message to his fellow seniors.

“Okay, we’ve had really cool pasts here at JA, and now we’re all ready for the future,” he said. “We need to keep our heads up and never give up on our dreams, whatever they may be. When you come up and get your diploma, seniors, I’m asking you to step up to the microphone and say one thing you want for your future. Hopefully, at our twenty-year reunion, we’ll be able to see that our peers have accomplished this. Thank you!”

The auditorium erupted into cheers as Scooter took a dramatic bow and returned to his spot with the other seniors. Ms. Magaña stepped forward to the microphone to read the names, and Dr. Barrie, who would be handing out diplomas, followed behind.

“We will now commence the receiving of diplomas,” Ms. Magaña said happily, and one by one, students were called forward, each one accepting a diploma and stating one thing he or she wanted for the future.

“Jacqueline Sofia Bodello,” Ms. Magaña called. Jackie moved off the platform she stood on and walked shakily to the center of the stage. She caught sight of her parents in the audience, grinning broadly at her, and she smiled back. After receiving her diploma (and an awkward tap on the shoulder from Dr. Barrie), she approached the microphone.

What do I want? What do I want for the future? Jackie asked herself. Thinking back on all her memories, from the days when Max was her least favorite person in the world to the nights when they held each other closely, from the years she forgot Michaela to the time Max made her remember, Jackie could think of only one thing she truly, madly, deeply wanted. Taking a deep breath, she spoke into the microphone in the language she would soon be speaking on a regular basis.

“Je veux Max.”

There was a flurry of whispers, as those who understood French relayed to the others what had been said, and Jackie walked back to her spot, catching Max’s eye. He simply stared at her, unable to form words or compose a facial expression other than the gob smacked look he currently wore.

Jackie ignored the hurried remarks she received (“Are you guys dating?” “Aren’t you banned from seeing each other?” “That was so cute!”) and kept her attention on the proceeding graduation, as the names continued to move forward.

Max, however, couldn’t keep his focus. He only caught the names of his friends who came prior to him alphabetically and their comments on the future.

Stella Lorraine Harper. “I want to remain friends forever with those close to me.”

Maurice Leslie Hickam. “I want to legally change my name.”

And suddenly he heard his own name. “Maxwell Richard Leopold,” Ms. Magaña announced, and Max made his way down two platforms to reach the center.

As he accepted his diploma, Dr. Barrie nodded to him with a smile. “I’m proud of you, Mr. Leopold,” she said quietly.

Max smiled at her and Ms. Magaña as he stepped to the microphone, eyeing the crowd quickly. It was hard to tell with so many people, but he definitely saw no sign of his parents, and strangely, he just didn’t care.

“I have everything I want. I’m good.”

With that, he spun on his heel, and instead of making his way back to the “L” section, he walked briskly toward Jackie. Ignoring the looks he was receiving, Max pushed between the people in front of her and stepped onto Jackie’s platform.

“What are you doing?” she managed to get out, before he pulled her to him and silenced her with a very long kiss.

When Max pulled away, Jackie was still in far too much shock to respond. Amongst wolf whistles and cat calls, with a smirk on his lips, Max said, “You want Max? You got him.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Mom!” Jackie yelled, pushing through a throng of people in the atrium, where graduates were meeting up with their guests.

Mrs. Bodello grinned. “Jackie! There you are!”

Jackie ran forward and threw her arms around her mom. She hadn’t seen her or her dad since January. Mrs. Bodello had tears in her eyes as she muttered, “We’re so proud of you, Jacqueline.”

Jackie smiled. “You are?”

Mrs. Bodello cupped her daughter’s cheek and said softly, “So proud. And Michaela would be so proud of her little sister right now. She is so proud of you.”

It was the first time her mother had said anything about Michaela since the year she died. Jackie instantly pulled her mom into another hug, allowing her own tears to fall, and she felt her dad hug them from the side.

And Jackie knew that even though the Bodello’s would always be missing one, they could still be a family.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Max! Max, over here!”

Max turned slowly, confused as to whose voice was calling him, only to come face to face with his big brother Jason’s wife, Melody. She was grinning broadly as she hugged him tightly. When she pulled away, Jason appeared at her side, throwing an arm around his wife’s shoulder and smiling at Max.

“Congrats, little bro,” Jason said, ruffling Max’s hair.

Max was too shocked to push his hand away. “What—what are you guys doing here?”

“We’re taking care of Mom and Dad’s house while they’re in Hawaii for their thirtieth anniversary,” Jason explained, “and Melody found the graduation invitation on the kitchen counter.”

“So you actually… came?” Max asked, still shocked.

“Of course. You’re my little bro,” Jason answered. “I called Steven and David—they’re sorry they couldn’t make it.”

“No, no, that’s okay,” Max breathed out. “That’s… I can’t believe you guys are here.”

Melody grinned. “I taped everything! So when I have my little one I’ll be able to show them the tape and say, ‘There’s your Uncle Max!’”

“Wait… little one?” Max asked.

Jason wrapped his arm around Melody’s stomach, which Max now noticed was a little larger. “In a few months,” he responded, smiling broadly.

“Oh my God… congratulations!” Max said hurriedly.

“No, no, we should be congratulating you!” Melody insisted. “What college are you going to?”

Max bit his lip. “Actually… I’m going on Walter Windham’s Tour Across America….”

Melody gasped. “I read about that! Oh my God! That’s so great! Give me another hug!” When she pulled away, she glanced up at her husband. “You should be very proud to have Max as your little brother.”

“I am,” Jason said, gripping Max’s shoulder. “Have you told Mom and Dad the news about the tour?”

“Uh, no… I don’t really want to talk to them,” Max answered slowly.

“Don’t blame you,” Jason muttered.

Melody smiled fondly at her brother-in-law. “Well you can always talk to us, Max.”

“And the first thing you have to talk to us about,” Jason said quickly, “is that girl you planted one on back there!”

“Oh… uh…” Max said, scratching the back of his neck. “That was… um…”

Melody held up her video camera. “We got it aaaallllllll on tape.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jackie was wandering through the crowds in the atrium in search of her friends, when she felt a grip on her wrist and she was turned around sharply, coming face to face with Max.

“Hello, Ms. Bodello,” he said, smirking.

“Maxi-pad.”

“Bitch.”

“Not changing!” Jackie said, smiling.

Max rolled his eyes at her and changed the subject. “So… I want to thank you.”

“For…?” Jackie trailed off, frowning.

“Helping me through all the crap with my parents,” Max explained. “You just… you just always knew what to say.”

“You did the same for me with Michaela,” Jackie responded, stepping closer to him.

“And now we’ve graduated, we’re eighteen, and there’s no one telling us what we can and can’t do…” Max said, grinning down at her.

Jackie brought her lips to Max’s neck and softly dropped kisses up to his ear. “And what do you want to do, Leopold?” she asked, her voice low.

Max stood stiffly, surprised at Jackie’s sudden PDA. “Well… there are several things I’d like to do, none of which would be considered classy to do with this many people around… or sanitary on this floor….”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else?” Jackie suggested, kissing the spot just beneath his ear.

Max shivered. “You are seriously the biggest tease ever,” he stated, doing his best to keep his hands on her hips and not anywhere else.

Jackie smirked against his skin. “This is the easiest way to tick you off… and still get what I want…” she whispered.

Max quickly pushed Jackie away, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “Did you take horny pills this morning? You’re going to make me deflower you on the dirty atrium floor in front of everybody!”

“Okaaaay… I think we came at the wrong time,” a voice said from beside the couple. Max and Jackie turned their heads to see Jeffrey, Scooter, Stella, and Lexi staring at Max after hearing his last comment. Max opened and closed his mouth several times. “I—but… she started it!” he said immaturely, pushing Jackie away and crossing his arms.

“Baby,” Jackie muttered, crossing her arms as well.

Stella laughed. “I don’t think Max could handle Jackie’s inner temptress!”

“If this topic doesn’t get dropped, I’m leaving,” Max said firmly.

“Shame, you’re so wanted here!” Jackie said sarcastically.

As Max and Jackie continued to bicker between themselves, Scooter said to the others, “Okay, I give up. Are they seriously fighting, or are they having one of those flirtatious arguments?”

“You can never tell with them,” Lexi agreed.

“Guys,” Jeffrey said, trying to get their attention. “GUYS!”

Max and Jackie looked at him and snapped simultaneously, “What?”

“It’s just like old times!” Lexi gushed. “You two fighting and Jeffrey being the peacemaker! Ah, brings back memories.”

“I’m leaving,” Jackie said, narrowing her eyes at Max and beginning to walk away. Jeffrey grabbed her arm.

“Whoa, whoa, wait! We’ve gotta go to the graduation party now!”

“If he’s going to be there, I don’t want to go,” Jackie said angrily, trying to tug away.

Max stepped toward her. “Oh please, five seconds ago you wanted to go at it in another room and I was the one with enough self-control to stop!”

“I was just messing with you!” Jackie retorted. “Are you so pathetic that you can’t take it?”

“I can take anything you throw at me, Bodello!” Max said loudly, taking another step.

“Oh, really, Leopold?” Jackie said back, following his lead and stepping toward him.

“Anything at all.”

That was all the incentive Jackie needed to throw herself at Max, attacking his face with her lips. He responded with similar enthusiasm.

“I take it back,” Lexi said slowly. “Their old fights didn’t usually end this way.”

Jackie pulled away. “I hate you,” she said, grinning, and even though Max had heard these words from her many times, he felt as if there was so much more meaning now. There was something hiding behind those words—something that wasn’t ready to be spoken aloud yet, but something that they both knew would someday be vocalized.

Something called love.