Note: Max and her mother are not living in Arizona (Or wherever Dr. M lives, someplace warm is all I remember.) Let's just say they're living in... Illinois. There. Also, if you can't tell by the summary this is an Alternate Universe fanfiction.

XXX

A series of insistent beeping permeated my mind, dragging me from my luxurious sleep. I rolled over groggily and slammed my hand down where I thought my alarm was. I missed. "Son of a-!" After a few more tries, my fingers finally found the snooze button. I pushed it happily and pulled the covers over my head, attempting to get a few more minutes of sleep.

I turned, trying to get comfortable again. But just as I was about to return to the glorious land of slumber, a thought crossed my mind. I shot up. "Dammit, I'm going to be late again!" I kicked the covers off me and all but fell off my bed.

I stumbled the the drawer and pulled out a simple outfit. I slipped on the shirt, and as I was putting on the jeans I hopped over to the small table, balancing precariously on one leg. I ran a brush trough my hair and didn't even bother to braid it.

"Max!" My mother called. "Are you even up?"

"I'm up, I'm up!" I yelled, throwing open the door and speeding down the hallway. I took as big of a leap I could muster down the stairs, making it about halfway before my foot caught. I somersaulted the rest of the way down, landing on my back at the bottom.

My mother was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table with her legs crossed, a cup of coffee in one hand, the newspaper in the other. She looked up as I crashed to the ground, an amused expression on her face.

Grumbling under my breath I got up and snatched my backpack from where it lay beside the staircase. My stomach growled and I frowned, knowing there was no time to eat. Casually my mother tossed me a pack of poptarts, which was quickly becoming my breakfast these days due to the fact I was constantly late.

"Thanks!" I said, slipping into flip flops, those being the quickest to put on, and was out the door in a flash. Instantly I was met with a freezing cold as my nearly bare feet sunk into several inches of snow and a gust of wind ran over my bare arms.

How could I forget it was winter? I shook my head. There was no time. And I didn't feel like being any later than I already was. Determination flooded my veins and I took off running down the sidewalk, flurries of snow kicking up every time I raised my foot.

I hated missing the bus. I hated missing the bus even more during winter. I hated being late. I hated school. I hated wearing flip flops and a short sleeved shirt in the snow. A very long list of things I hated ran through my head as I sprinted.

I passed by many people brushing snow off their cars, seeming to mock me with their large fluffy coats and big, warm looking gloves. Many stares followed in my wake. Not, "What the hell?" stares. No, everyone here knew me by now. This had become a weekly, sometimes even daily thing.

School came into view, looming, daunting even. Three stories, dark brown brick walls that were littered with cracks and lined with graffiti. Dark window panes, some also cracked, some even broken and awaiting the day they'll get fixed.

I plowed on down the sidewalk and onto school grounds, speeding up the steps and slamming open the doors. As the cloud of snow I brought with me settled lightly on the ground and the doors creaked shut, and leaned over, hands on my knees and sucked in lungfuls of air. Once I had regained most of my breath, I stood upright.

The inside of the school was about as creepy as the outside. Half the lights, long and rectangular didn't work, or had burned out, so the hallway was dim, like something out of a horror film. Having the lockers painted black didn't help at all.

I'm glad I preset the first two numbers in my lock, so all I had to do was turn to the last number and I was in. I shoved the needed book for my first three periods into my backpack and shut my locker. As if to add insult to injury I had to trudge up to the third floor.

My feet felt numb and I hoped I didn't get frostbite. I stopped in front of the classroom door, took a deep breath and pushed it open. The class didn't even look up, but simply continued scribbling on their sheets of paper.

The teachers eyes didn't even leave his desk, or the papers he was looking through. He jerked a thumb behind him at the board, which had various mathematical equations on it. "Page 367, all of it. Ask a friend for explanation if you can't get it. Hand me yesterday's assignment."

I fumbled through my bag and took out my math book, flipping through the paper filled pages before producing what he need. I handed it to him and returned my math book to my bag. I slung it back over my shoulder and turned around.

The teacher didn't need to tell me what to do next, I already knew. Back to the Principal's office once more. I took my time going down the stairs, in no real rush to be yelled at about being tardy. But even time couldn't stop the inevitable. Or maybe it didn't want to.

I walked in to main office, where I was greeted by silence. By now I had gotten the drill down. I slumped into a nearby chair and dropped my backpack next to me. A few minutes later, a young woman walked into the room and took a seat at the desk near the door.

"Goodmorning, Max." She said politely, her fingers moving swiftly over the computer's keyboard. I gave a halfhearted wave and let my hand fall with a light smack against my thigh. My fingers drummed lightly as I waited.

Still, I was not called in. Scowling, I pawed through my bag, looking for something, anything, to pass the time. My eyes fell on a small white envelope that I hadn't seen before. Curious, I picked it. A sticky note was on the outside, and in my mother's handwriting it said, "I found this in the mailbox addressed to you. I don't know what it says or who its from."

I raised an eyebrow and ran my thumb underneath and white triangle sealing the letter shut. Once open, I pulled out a sheet of yellowed paper, slightly burned around the edge. Small specks of red littered the page. Blood?

Inside was a hastily written message. Or maybe it took a while, I'm still not sure. It was hard to read, nearly illegible. Whoever wrote it had some of the worst handwriting I've ever seen. My eyes scanned the page, soaking up the message. It read:

Dear Max,

Glad to see you finally are reading this. The damn postal service would take too long, and I don't trust them, so I hand delivered this to your house. Which is very nice. A place I'd like to live in. But that's not the point of this. I've seen you around a lot and have taken and interest in you. You're very beautiful, and I would like to get to know you better. I want to know everything about you, and I intend to get what I want. One way or another. I can't tell you who I am, or my life will be threatened. Do you want to meet me, though? Circle yes or no at the bottom of this letter. Once you've answered, put this back in your mail box. But I'll warn you, it would be wise to circle yes.

So... Yes or no?

Signed,

Yet Unknown

I blinked a few times, processing the message. What the hell? I shook my head. It was probably someones sick idea of a joke. But... what if it wasn't? It's not like everyone knew where I lived. Only my small group of friends. No. Someone must have found out, probably from the school directory or something along those lines.

"Max. You may go see Mr. Saunters now."

I nodded and stood up, pulling my backpack along with me and walked into the Principal's office. He sat at his desk, hands folded neatly, waiting for me. He raised an eyebrow as I entered, then his eyes traveled to the letter.

He adjusted his glassed and frowned, looking puzzled. "Just what is that, Miss Ride?"

I glanced at the letter in my hand once more, the words jumping at me like lions. I looked at the Yes and No, staring up at me expectantly. Then I crumpled it in my hand and shoved it in my bag. "Nothing, sir."

XXX

Author's Notes: Yes, another fanfiction. I will still be working on Baby Steps, for those of you wondering. This will be something I'll work on alongside Baby Steps, something that will occupy my time when no ideas remain. So, yes, the characters may be out of character in here, but hey, it's an alternate universe. This is most likely going to be a short fanfic. Not quite sure how short yet. Guess we'll just have to wait for my brain to map that out.