Max Read Online Free PDF Page B

of Onslow.”
    I wanted to clap my hands in excitement;
Amy was so adamant in her intent I don’t think Max dare deny her the right. I
didn’t look at him, but I could sense his displeasure in the stillness of his
frame next to mine. The one thing I could see was the way Chris stared past my
shoulder, his eyes deep set and serious, probably mirroring what Max looked
like right now, although it was hard to tell; I think Chris might have just
looked like this all the time.
    Even if tomorrow turned out to be my one
and only opportunity to break away and hang with Amy, it would be worth it. I
already had a list compiling in my head in finding out the dynamics of this
little town of Onslow. Get an idea of what might have brought Max here, or more
importantly what made him stay, aside from the obvious aesthetics. The
glimmering mass of long stretching water nestled against an expansive lush,
green setting of hills. It was a far cry from the dusty, flat nothing of
Ballan. Maybe it was the draw of the town, or the friendships he had made, or
the job he kept, or maybe a girl he liked? Regardless of whatever the reason,
one thing that was for certain come tomorrow … I was going to find out.
     
    ***
     
    Now I knew where I actually was, I dragged
myself up the stairs and toward what I now assumed was my room. Amy was the
very girl that had been on the landing, pressed up against a tall drink of
water I assumed was her boyfriend. They had disappeared in the room at the top
of the stairs and yet she had said her room was the last room on the left down the
hall. Who else lived up here, I wondered? I walked past the several doors that
were all closed; it was anyone’s guess what lay beyond. Who flanked me on
either side of my room? I wondered. The half-hearted tour Max had given us this
morning didn’t exactly go into the specifics which really ticked off my curious
nature. I felt like doing some detective work. I could always innocently, if
not quickly, open each door. If anyone was inside I could just do the old, “Oops,
sorry, wrong room”. The upstairs was deathly silent, it was my hope that
everyone would be out and about anyway.
    I ever so gently wrapped my fingers around
the first door handle, pressing my ear to the wooden panelling. If there was
any sign of life inside I couldn’t hear it, at least I couldn’t hear over the
pounding of my heart; the tension was so intense I felt like I was about to
defuse a bomb or something.
    Twist-twist-twist – push …
    A room, granted, but this was a boy’s room,
definitely a boy’s room, not because it was messy or anything: the bed was made
with a military-style precision. There was a poster of Bruce Springsteen on the
wall and an overpowering smell of cologne in the air, but it wasn’t Max’s
cologne; nothing about this room felt as though it was his, not that I knew
exactly what to look for when it came to Max. I hardly thought his name would
be spelled out in wooden block letters on a door or anything, but still.
    I shut the door quickly and quietly and I
moved past my room to the one down the very end of the hall on the right, the
one opposite Amy’s. The door was slightly ajar so all I had to do was merely
push it open, causing it to open up with a pained, unoiled hinge. This room
wasn’t so tidy. Clothes pooled around the edge of the bed, there was a
cluttered desk with keys, hair gel, sunglasses, opened envelopes and a packet
of gum. It was the exact opposite to the first room; surely this wasn’t Max’s
room, I grimaced, not that I exactly knew what kind of living arrangements he
would keep, but anytime I stayed at Miranda’s house I would always manage to
sneak past Max’s room toward the bathroom, ensuring a casual peek, and it was
never messy, not like this. I backed away from the room, thinking I had seen
enough. I didn’t need to inspect Amy’s room, and I didn’t dare inspect the room
at the end of the hall, where I guessed Amy’s boyfriend stayed.