Max Baker: Guardian of the Ninth Sector by Matthew Cronan Page A

bit, sweetheart,” Noah said, raising his voice.
    “Call me a name other than my own again,” she said, picking her pencil back up. “I will stab you to death where you sit.”
    “Oh the cheerleader’s going to stab me,” Noah said.  “I’m so scared Max.  I’m beside myself really.”
    The librarian hushed the group from her seat behind her desk.  Max turned and acknowledged the ancient woman by giving her a thumbs up. He turned his attention back to Kennedy.
    “That’s it,” Kennedy said, packing up her belongings and standing up.  “I don’t care if I get an ‘F’ on this; it’s not worth putting up with either of you.”
    “Wait,” Max said. “Noah’s offered to help.  He’s an extra pair of hands on a big project.  I didn’t think it would hurt.  I’m sorry I didn’t run it by you first.”
    “Do not apologize to her,” Noah said, standing up, “I guarantee you that it’s absolutely pointless.”
    “Screw you, Allman,” Kennedy said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. 
    “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen,” a firm voice whispered from behind them.  “This is a library, not a reality show.”
    The group turned to see the librarian standing behind them. She was wearing a nasty scowl upon her face.
    “Sorry,” Max said.
    “Don’t be sorry,” the librarian said through her pursed lips.  “Just be quiet.”  The old woman offered an unpleasant smile and then turned back toward her desk.
    “Look,” Max pleaded, “we all used to be friends…”
    “ Used to be are the keywords there,” Kennedy sneered.
    “You’re right,” Max said, his blood starting to boil.  “We all used to be friends.  Not just regular friends, best friends.  And I’m sure that if we try hard enough, we can make it through a couple hours of one another’s presence so we can hammer this project out and go back to ignoring each other.”
    “Fine,” she huffed.  “Let’s just get this done.” 
    They all sat back down. Kennedy picked up a large book from the top of the stack and handed it to Max.  She then passed another one to Noah, and the three of them sat there silently reading to themselves.  The tension was palpable.
    “Now who doesn’t miss this?” Noah said to the two of them, breaking the long moment of awkward silence.  Neither Max nor Kennedy looked up from their books, and Noah buried his head in his hands and sighed deeply.
    An hour had passed without anyone uttering as much as a sound.  Max had half been focused on the report and half focused on Kennedy, who hadn’t looked up from her notebook.  Noah had been asleep for the past half-hour. His head, still resting in his hands, would bob back and forth every couple of minutes.
    Despite the attitude she had initially given, Max couldn’t help but think that he was blowing the opportunity that Mr. Shook had provided him.  He thought about what she had said.  Max didn’t know anything about a conversation between her and Noah.  As far as Max knew, the last time either of them had spoken to her was before her grandmother had died.
    He sat there for a moment longer looking at her.  She had pulled her dark hair out of the pony tail holder and rested it over her shoulders.  Max could smell the wintergreen gum that she was chewing.  He remembered that it had been her favorite flavor since they were little.  Deep in his belly, he could feel the butterflies begin to slowly flap their wings.
    “Why are you staring at me?” she asked without looking up.
    Max looked back down at the book in front of him.  If this was the right time to capitalize on an opportunity, he certainly didn’t feel like he could go through with it.  Searching for the right words to say, he looked past her and out into space. 
    “Kennedy,” Max started, but stopped himself.
    Standing in the adult fiction aisle, directly behind Kennedy, was a man dressed in a long black trench coat.  He wore a black fedora pulled down over his brow.