Souls in Peril (16 page)

“
Good morning, sweetie.
”
She gave Max a kiss on the cheek.
“
I knew the smell of bacon would get you up.
”

Max took a piece from a nearby plate and bit into it. It was the best bacon he
’
d ever eaten. He picked up the package of the uncooked meat and
discovered
why. It was real pork bacon. His mom bought only turkey bacon. He took another bite and about moaned out loud.
Sorry, mom. This
so
beats your turkey bacon
.

“
Your one and only day off this week and you
’
re making breakfast, mom?
”
Max tried for another piece, but Mel playfully smacked his hand away.

“
A girl deserves a big breakfast on her birthday.
”
Mel added four more strips to the pan.

“
Today
’
s your birthday? Mom, I di—ah, forgot. I
’
m sorry.
”
Thanks for the heads up, Gabe.

“
Don
’
t worry about it, sweetie. You
’
ve had a rough few weeks with the accident and being in the hospital.
”
She took out a plate and set it down on the table for Max.

“
Where
’
s
Tim
? Sleeping?
”
Max asked.

“
No, bless his heart. He promised to help a friend move today so he
’
ll be gone most of the day. He did clean the house for me yesterday from top to bottom.
”
She slid three pieces of bacon on Max
’
s plate.

“
I
cleaned the house for you from top to bottom. He sat on his butt and talked on the phone to
someone
named Merissa.
”
Max hop
ed
to make her angry, so angry she
’
d toss
Tim
out.

Instead, she laughed.
“
That little stinker, taking credit for your work. Thank you, sweetie.
”
She kissed the top of his head.
“
It looks wonderful.
”
Mel set a few envelopes next to her plate and he watched as she opened the small pile of birthday cards. She smiled at a few, setting them aside as she continued. Max ate his bacon slowly, having no idea when he
’
d get it again. He took his plate over to the stove for another piece and when he came back to the table, Mel was crying.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
He set his plate down and slid his chair closer to Mel.

“
Oh
,
nothing.
”
She waved her hand as i
f
to shoo a fly.

“
Mom, you
’
re crying. Obviously something
’
s wrong.
”

She looked at Max for several long moments.
“
I guess you
’
re old enough to know this, so I may as well tell you.
”
Max did not like the sound of th
at
at all
.

“
You already know that I got pregnant when I was seventeen and that your father and I had to get married. What you didn
’
t know was that grandma was, and still is for that matter, a bit of a religious zealot. She got mad at me and tossed me out of the house, telling me I was
a
sinner and God was going to punish me. She
claimed I
purposely made a mockery of her. Your grandma is well respected in her church and my pregnancy tarnished her reputation.

“
When you
r
father was killed in the hunting accident fifteen years ago, she told me it was God
’
s way of punishing me for my evil sins. I never saw it that way. How could anyone think of you as evil?
”
She put her arms around Max and hugged him tight.
“
She
’
s not spoken to me since the funeral, but once in a while I get a birthday card, telling me she
’
s praying for my wicked soul.
”
She waved the card at Max. He took it and tore it into tiny pieces and tossed it in the trashcan.

Hearing Mel
’
s story
took him by
surprise. He and JD had more in common than he would have guessed. His mom also got pregnant with him at seventeen, and her father was the local minister. She told
him
how she sat in their living room, with his father at her side, crying her heart out as she told her parents she was pregnant.
H
er dad put his arms around her and told her everything would be okay. If they wanted to get married, they could live with them until
Max
’
s
father finished college, and they
’
d help out with the baby. If they decided to give the baby up, they
’
d
help find a good, loving home. Max had a hard time understanding JD
’
s grandmother and her crazy ideas. He also had a new respect for Mel and the burden she carried
alone.

“
I love you, mom.
”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Happy Birthday.”
T
he love JD had for his mother swell
ed
in his heart. More than ever
,
Max was determined in his mission to help JD.

Chapter
10

Monday started out like every other weekday in JD
’
s body; Max woke up feeling sick. He spent the entire morning trying to calm JD down, but his efforts fell flat.
He did get
JD past the
im
pending feelings of
doom that
haunted him, for now, but the fear thing was another story.

He
shuffled
to the bus stop, forcing JD
’
s feet to keep moving. Izzy was there already, with her back to the others on
their
corner. She smiled slightly, waving as Max approached. When he reached her, she slipped her left
index
finger
around his and said low,
“
Keep to the code,
”
firmly sh
a
k
ing
their intertwined pinkies once.

Greg crossed the street, approaching him as Izzy let go of his finger.
“
Hey, Lumpy. Kill anyone lately
,
or did you take the weekend off?
”

“
Back off, Greg.
”
Izzy stepped between him and Greg. Greg threw his head back and laughed.
“
Seriously, dude, you
’
re going to let this anorexic stick defend you? You really are a wimp.
”

Greg strutted back over to his corner, loudly telling everyone what had just happened. Amidst the laughter, the bus came, only instead of stopping in front of Greg and his friends, the bus stopped in front of Max and Izzy. The driver opened the door and Max followed Izzy up the steps. They took the first seat behind the driver. The rest of the kids loaded next. The driver stood and watched each and every student get on. No one touched Max or Izzy, though some did pull faces. Greg covertly flipped Max off.

When everyone was seated, the driver
, a pudgy older woman with curly gray hair,
turned and faced the students.
“
My sister
’
s oldest child is in a coma. It seems a few kids at his school decided to hang him upside down from a flag pole, all in fun, mind you.
”
There was no missing her sarcastic edge.
“
The ropes broke and he fell fifteen feet, landing on his head.  If he lives, he
’
ll be a vegetable. Bullying is not going to happen on this bus, do I make myself clear?
”

Several students nodded, some rolled their eyes.
“
By law, I can
’
t toss you off my bus, even though I
’
d love to do that to some of you.
”
She glared directly at Greg.
“
But I can call your parents and have them come get you. I
’
m sure
they
won
’
t mind missing work because you insisted on tormenting another student, right, Greg?
”
She didn
’
t wait for an answer.
“
I can, and will, forbid you
from
get
ting
on my bus if
I
see any of you bullying. Do I make myself clear?
”
Dead silence.

“
I said do I make myself clear?
”
Heads nodded and a few yese
s were heard. She sat back down, offering Max and Izzy a wink as she did.

The ride to school was
very quiet
. Max heard a few whispers, but nothing compared to the usual. The bus arrived at the school and the driver allowed everyone off except Max and Izzy.

“
I know you two asked me not to say anything to those kids about the way they mistreat you both. I hope I didn
’
t cause you any problems, but seeing my nephew with all those tubes running out of him about killed me,
”
she said
, sadness tightening her kind face
.
“
I didn
’
t
point you ou
t
specifically, so I hope that will help.
”
Max thanked her quietly and left.

While Max
knew
what happened on the bus was a good thing
,
JD stress
ed
about it
, which didn
’
t surprise Max at all.
He got to gym class and quickly changed, keeping his back to the lockers so no one could see the marks on his back.

“
Move it, Lumpy,
”
Jeff said, shoving Max aside as they walked toward the basketball court three minutes later.

“
Coach is out today, and he
’
s asked me to sub for him.
”
Coach Mather stood before the class detailing the lesson plan. Max knew the coach and didn
’
t have much respect for him. He worked mostly with special teams in football, but sometimes he
’
d assist
C
oach during baseball season.

“
You
’
ll be divided up into four different teams,
”
Mather explained.
“
You
’
ll play each team for seven minutes. I
’
ll blow my whistle and your team will rotate to the next team until all the teams have played each other.
”
Coach Mather handed a ball to the team next to Max and one to him. Not expecting it, the ball bounced of
f
Max
’
s stomach and dribbled across the court.

Coach Mather laughed.
“
Good catch, Lumpy.
”
Max looked at him in surprise. He couldn
’
t believe what Mather had said.
“
Come o
n
. Hustle it up and get the ball.
”
Mather shook his head in disgust and
strutted
away.

Max jogged over to the ball and began bouncing it. It was worse than baseball. For the life of him he couldn
’
t figure out the rhythm. Max had all the grace and
elegance of an athlete.
JD had none, not one ounce. Several of his teammates
trudged
behind him, mocking his attempts. Fortunately, the whistle blew and they ripped the ball from his hands.