Page 135 of Faux Real
“Doesn’t matter,” I say, holding up Max’s prescription bottle. “Too late now.”
“Ken—”
“Just leave me alone,” I say, turning away from her.
Corrine might have fanned the flames but she didn’t start this fire. I did. If I didn’t convince Max to let me try her Adderall, none of this would have happened. Max tried to warn me. She told me, time and time again, that I needed to stop. But I didn’t listen. God, why didn’t I listen? How did I let this happen? How did I let this go so far?
“Kenny, over here!” Max calls out as I enter the common room. I ignore the stares from my classmates as I sheepishly walk toward her and Cliff. Max stands up, tossing her arms around me. “I missed you!”
“It’s been like two days,” I mutter, hugging her back as I catch Cliff smiling at us. Or her. Probably her. Max isn’t hard to love. She’s one of a kind. My little diamond. “But I’ve missed you too.”
“Sit,” Max orders, sitting down and patting a seat next to her. She glances at Cliff. “Tell her your idea.”
“Okay, so—” Clifford clears his throat, resting his forearms on the table as he leans forward. “You need evidence that the Adderall was yours, right?”
I nod, eyeing my friends suspiciously. “Yeah...”
“And you were gonna show him Max’s bottles and tell him you were taking her pills, right?” he asks.
“That was the plan, yeah.”
“Okay, so we have a better idea,” he says, looking at Max for approval.
“Which is?” I probe, starting to get annoyed. “Spit it out already.”
“Cliff’s mom works at my pharmacy,” Maxine says with a sly grin.
“Okay? So?”
“So...” Max draws out. “Cliff can sneak in after hours and alter one of my prescriptions to say your name!”
I blink. “You’re insane. That’s totally illegal. You guys can’t do that. If you get caught—”
“I won’t,” Cliff states with total confidence, tossing Max a smirk.
“Yeah, he’s super good with computers,” she grins, sliding over her phone. “Ask me how many gigs I have? Ask me!”
I close my eyes. “How many, Max?”
“Like a butt-fucking-ton!” she exclaims. “It’ll work, Ken, trust me. This way, Rothy won’t have a choice but to believe you, right?Andsince it’s a prescription, they can’t even kick you out! It’s a win-win!”
“I don’t know,” I hum. “What if they call the pharmacy to check? Or the doctor? They’ll probably follow up don’t you think?”
“Bitch,” Maxine sighs, rolling her eyes. “Doctor/Patient confidentiality? They can’t ask shit.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works, Max,” I say, skeptical about the idea. “I just... I don’t want to get anyone else in trouble.” I glance at Cliff. “You’re sweet for trying to help me but there’s no reason for you to jeopardize your scholarship for me.”
“I’ll be fine.” Cliff shrugs. “But the choice is yours, Kenny.”
“Just think about it,” Max suggests. “At least until tomorrow morning, okay?”
With a dull pain pulsing in my temples, I nod. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”
And I do. I think about it all for the rest of the day, going over all the possible outcomes, all the problems, all the people that are trying to help me. Oliver. Max. Cliff. God, I have amazing friends. I really do. They care about me, so much so they’re willing to break laws, willing to lie, willing to do anything to help me. What kind of friend would I be if I let them do it? I can’t. I won’t.
No more lies. I’m going to tell the truth. I just hope the truth is enough.
As soon as the administrative offices open in the morning, I grab Max’s prescription bottles and head to Rothland’s office. I’ll just tell him the whole story. I’llmakehim listen. I’llmakehim look past his prejudices. I’m not leaving that office without Ollie getting reinstated.
