"The guys at work are convinced it's going to be a cakewalk, but I'm not so sure," Max's father said over the phone. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on his words. "The Saints have a good D but so long as we give the ball to Marshawn early I think we should be able to squeak it out."

"Yeah..." The word drooped out of Max's mouth with little fight.

"You okay?" Her dad asked with a bit of a chuckle. "Am I boring you with sports talk?"

"No, no," she said, releasing a heavy sigh after, before perking her attention. "I'm okay! Sorry, yeah, I'm okay! It'll be so crazy if we make it to the Super Bo-" Her sentence was cut off by a sharp 'shit.' She brought her teeth down on her bottom lip.

"What in the world are you doing over there?" He laughed again, and she could hear him futzing with what sounded like dishes.

"Sorry," she said, her eyes clamped shut, "I just whacked my toe on the edge of the bed. Ouchers." She was silent for only a fraction of a second. "Actually, Dad, let me go so I can say goodbye to Chloe before she has to leave for work. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Yep, sounds good, Maxine," he replied. "Love you!"

"Love you too, Pop," she said, hanging up the phone. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, then jerked the bed covers into the air, looking down at the pair of blue eyes between her legs. "You and I need to have a talk about patience."

While I'm on the phone with my PARENTS, CHLOE?

"That was really funny," Chloe responded sleepily, her eyes still half-lidded from recent awakening. "We were like both tongue tied, do you get..." Her words slowed to a stop as she closed her eyes and rested her head on Max's thigh.

She's not even awake and she's this ridiculous.

"If you're going to go to sleep, could you do it...up here?" Max reached beside her and patted the pillow she was resting on. Chloe groaned and rolled to her right, falling off of the bed and taking the blankets with her. Max took in a sharp breath and stretched her shirt over her knees. "Dude, it's cold!"

"I meant to roll the other way," the blue haired girl muttered from the floor. Slowly, she got to her feet, blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon. "It's not that cold," she added.

"You're a bitch in the morning," Max quipped, pouting as she further stretched out her shirt.

"Just the morning?" Chloe asked, shuffling backward to the desk. She prodded the trackpad, waking the laptop up, and squinted at the time. "Oh cool, I still have a little before I have to go to work." She yawned and tugged the blankets up higher around her face. "The afternoon shift is so weird, like this bizarre in between period. Like, there's some customers that..." She tilted her head and listened for a moment, then walked over to the window. "Yo, there's these guys out in the yard with a truck looking at the totem pole thing." Max cocked an eyebrow and slid out of bed, giving a dramatic 'brrrr' for effect before joining Chloe at the window.

Outside, she could see two men looking the Tobanga up and down. They seemed to be wearing T-shirts with a logo on them. Max narrowed her eyes and touched her nose to the glass.

This seems...interesting.

"Hey, wanna go be newsy?" She asked. Chloe looked back at her and smiled.

"Isn't that kind of our thing?" She let the blanket slip from her shoulders, offering an impish look.

"Yeah," Max chuckled as she began to get dressed, "I guess it kind of is."

By the time they had gotten dressed and outside, Principal Wells and Samuel had also joined the picture. Max was suddenly conscious of just how obvious their snooping was. Why else would they be meandering around the courtyard when nothing else but a discussion...or what was increasingly looking like an argument, was taking place there? Thankfully, and also to her frustration, Chloe solved the problem immediately by heading straight for the others.

Subtle as a bomb.

"Hey, Ray!" Chloe greeted enthusiastically, startling Principal Wells as she clapped him on the shoulder. "What up?"

"Oh my goodness," he said, touching a hand to his chest. "Miss Price, it's a pleasure to see you but please don't scare me like that again." He focused on Max, who had settled in next to Chloe. "Hello, Max. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm good, Principal Wells!" She said, giving a smile. "Chloe and I had a slumber party but we noticed something was going on out here."

"A slumber party..." He said with an amused snort. "I should have known you two would show up right now. You seem to have radars for anything relating to the Prescotts." He pointed at the pickup truck. "It seems that Sean Prescott..."

"They're taking the Tobanga," Samuel interrupted, frowning as he nervously rubbed his forearms. Principal Wells shot him an irritated look, then sighed.

"It seems," he stressed, continuing from where he was cut off, "Sean Prescott doesn't think it's suitable décor for our campus and wants it removed."

That's the dumbest thing I've heard in the last half hour.

"He can do that?" Chloe asked. "I dunno, I think it's kind of cool."

"Not really," Principal Wells responded. "Hey!" He called to one of the men who was unraveling a thick rope. "Mr. Prescott is a valuable patron of this academy, but he doesn't own it. He can't take the Tobanga." The other man, who was leaning inside the truck, backed out and came over to them.

"Look, Ray," the man said. "You and I both know Sean is losing his mind right now trying to keep what little control on everything he has left. The guy is neck deep in investigation and you know as well as I do, they're going to find something. But he is by far the biggest contributor to the school. If getting rid of this piece of junk keeps your funds from sliding, even if only temporarily, just say yes and move on."

"Why does he want it removed?" Max asked. The man slowly turned his gaze toward her, then looked at Wells to gauge whether or not she was worth answering to. Principal Wells only nodded.

"Kid, I have no clue. Like I said, the guy's losing his marbles." He turned around and shouted for the other man to start situating the rope.

"He blames it," Samuel said, staring up at the totem pole. Chloe began to laugh, but as Max also gazed up at it, she felt strange in her stomach.

Always feels like it's looking at me.

"It's part of Blackwell's history," Principal Wells began to say, then sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "We can't afford to lose any funding right now. Just take the damned thing but...try not to destroy it. Once we wash the Prescott branding out of here, I'd like to see it returned."

"Sure thing, we're just going to toss it in a dump somewhere. It'll be waiting, I'm sure." The man said, then turned around to go help the other worker.

Max, Chloe, Wells and Samuel stood and watched as the two men tilted it, using ropes as a pulley system, and lowered it into the bed of the pickup truck. They then secured it with the rope, strapping it down the same way the man at the Christmas tree place had done in Chloe's truck.

"The Prescotts are fucking weird," Chloe said, earning a chuckle from Principal Wells. The truck pulled away, slowly maneuvering through areas not meant for vehicles.

"You can say that again." He took in a deep breath. "How are you, by the way? I haven't talked to you since you were in the hospital."

I never knew he visited her in the hospital.

"You know me," she said. "Getting into all kinds of trouble. I've been skipping class a lot lately." She grinned at him deviously.

"Would you believe me if I said I actually missed that attitude of yours sometimes?" He asked.

"Not even a little," she replied. She shrugged. "No hard feelings on the whole expulsion thing. I kinda deserved it."

"Maybe," he said. "But I still believe you have a bright future, Miss Price." He looked at the now empty spot where the Tobanga stood only moments before and frowned. "Well, I should go call Michelle. She's...not going to be happy. I'll see you girls around." He began walking away, taking a second to once again glance at the spot and shake his head, muttering 'fucking Prescotts' before moving on.

"You okay, Samuel?" Max asked. He had remained mostly quiet, though he was obviously upset about what had taken place.

"The squirrels liked the Tobanga," he whined. "Samuel did too."

"Well, you heard the principal," Max said. "Someday we'll get it back. Once we're done cleaning up all the blood on the Prescotts' hands." Samuel seemed to sincerely consider those words, then shook his head.

"Not even Samuel could clean up that much blood."

"But I don't wanna," Chloe huffed, kicking her feet as she sat on the bed. Max snickered and sat beside her, resting her head on her shoulder.

"I don't want you to go either, but you need to make money so you can keep buying me stuff," she said. Chloe shot her a 'how dare you' look, but then conceded with a nod. She leaned in to give Max a kiss on the cheek, but jolted at a sudden knock on the door.

"You guys in there?" It was David's voice.

The heck does David want?

"We are!" Max yelled back. The doorknob started to twist, but it stopped.

"Are you...decent?" He asked.

"Yes dude," Chloe answered with a laugh. "Come in!" David was wearing his Blackwell uniform, which Max had decided progressively looked stranger and stranger on him. He seemed to be nervous, keeping his eyes on the floor rather than aimed at them.

"Uh, look..." He said, finally bringing his eyes up to regard Chloe. He had his hat in his hands and was bundling the bill up. "I hate this, but I think we might be about to get into a fight..." Chloe leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow.

That's not a great way to start a conversation.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I was talking to some of my cop buddies today and...one of them said they saw you with Frank Bowers?" He showed his gritted teeth, clearly hoping for a no. When Chloe shifted uncomfortably, he sighed and threw his head back. "Chloe, why are you hanging out with that guy? He's bad news."

"He's not a bad guy," she said. "Frank and I have been friends for a while. Me, him and Rachel hung out a lot."

"I understand but..." He dragged a hand forcefully over his face, his nose springing back into place. "I don't know. He's a drug dealer, Chloe. You don't need to be around that."

"Not anymore," she responded. She was remaining very cool and even toned, which Max assumed was because she understood exactly why David would be uneasy. She was being reasonable. "He used to be, but he's not anymore. He's made a lot of changes since Rachel..." She hesitated for a moment. "Died."

Tag me in!

"He's rough around the edges," Max said, deciding to give her input, "but I can promise he is a sweet guy. And he's trying really hard to get his life together. We're trying to help him do that." David took in a breath and closed his eyes, hating that it might not be as simple as he had hoped it'd be.

"Dammit..." He said it quietly. "I just don't feel comfortable knowing you're hanging around him."

"Listen," Chloe said, standing up from the bed. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I need to get to work, but I'm willing to have this discussion, okay? I totally understand why you feel the way you do."

"Okay," he nodded with a defeated expression. "I'll walk you out." Chloe whipped around to give Max a goodbye kiss, and then the two were gone. Max released the breath she had been holding and slowly stood up from her bed.

I should see what Kate's up to...

Her eyes were drawn to the journal on her desk. She made a small sound of recognition.

Once again, I've been neglecting you. Okay, I'll write a little bit first. Let's put on some tunes...

With Kate on her mind, she decided on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, setting the record so it began to play. She sat down at her desk and cracked the book open, tilting her head to the side to relish the first notes of King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1. She began to write.

January 5th,

Two days without an update! I am the worst journaler ever. I guess there hasn't been a whole lot to say, but not in a bad way. Since NYE, Chloe and I have spent pretty much every day just savoring being together and doing whatever strikes our fancy. It feels so good to consistently wake up next to her. It's going to be hard to adjust when school starts back up. :(

I love that crazy girl. And she IS cray! Last night when I was taking my shower, I felt this big woosh of cold air and realized someone pulled the curtain open. There she was, looking all mischievous and predatory. I can't believe we...

I probably shouldn't write this down in case this ever ends up in the wrong hands! Bad Max! X_X

The only other thing of note has been Kate. We've been spending as much time with her as possible since the big blow up. The poor girl is stuck in some sort of limbo with her family now. I KNOW I shouldn't, but I guess part of me feels guilty since it was technically me and Chlo's fault. I just hope she finds the peace she's looking for and soon.

Ya hear that, God!? I expect a guardian angel on her doorstep tomorrow to help her figure this out, because I'm honestly clueless. Send them express, plz.

Other then that, nothing else has really happened. Some people showed up today and took The Tobanga. You know, even after everything, I think part of me is kind of glad it's gone. It always made me a little uncomfortable. Who knows, maybe I'll end up missing it?

That's enough for now, I think. It was so nice catching up! Say hi to the family for me!

Max, you are a weirdo.

Love, Max

She flipped the cover of the journal closed and dropped the pen as if to say 'boom!' From the corner of her eye, she noticed a photograph further near the back of the desk. She could tell it was the one of her and Chloe as kids that Joyce had given her for Christmas. Carefully, she picked it up. Now as she looked at it...she sighed, lovingly connecting the dots in the timeline that led her from that moment to this one. Recently she had realized that she had gone an entire day without even thinking about all that had happened during that week. It didn't last, as the next day brought with it new opportunities for remembrance, but it was a calming feeling to know she was progressing.

Alright, time to check up on my Kate.

"Why, thank you!" Max said, beaming at Kate as she handed her a cup of tea. She slowly inhaled it, giving a thoughtful 'mmm!' at the scent. The little blonde chuckled as she took a seat on the floor.

"I keep thinking I should find another chair," she laughed.

"Nah," Max said, patting the carpet beside her, "I kind of like the vibe." She took a sip of her tea. "So, how's everything going with...you know, home?"

"My dad has been trying to patch everything up. I had lunch with him today. I just don't know..." A sound of disgust rumbled in Kate's throat. "My mom's not going to just change her mind. That's clear to me. As much as I believe in forgiveness, this one is...hard." She sighed. "The way she was disrespectful toward you two. To me!"

Yeah, that was definitely up there on the list of 'times I've been the most angry.'

"Has she said anything at all to you?" Max asked.

"Not a peep. I don't know if my dad has told her to give me space or if she just doesn't care," Kate replied. Max had wanted to interject with the usual, say something akin to 'of course she cares, she's just bad at showing it' but for the first time in her life, she thought that might be a lie. Instead she stayed silent and let Kate keep talking. "It is hella dumb."

"Look at you," Max teased, "sound so dangerous!"

"Dangerously lame," she responded, snickering into her tea as she drank. "We will figure it out, I just hate the waiting. Don't hate me, but I kinda wish school was back just so it felt like I was supposed to be here and everything was...you know, normal."

"As much as...no, I don't want it back, I can definitely see why you would." She stared into her cup for a second, then giggled. "You know, you and I haven't really talked about it, I don't think." Kate regarded her curiously.

"About what?" she asked.

"Well," Max shrugged, "you know. The whole 'two girls kissing' thing." Kate let out a 'ha!'

"I think any time frame for that conversation has been long gone," she laughed. "It never bothered me that you two were together, it was just the clash of that with everything I had been taught that threw me off. I mean," she held out one hand, her brows crinkling in annoyance, "I don't think Jesus would care. He loves everyone, right?"

"That's what I've heard through the grapevine, yes," Max replied with a chuckle. "Didn't Jesus like, turn a bunch of water into wine? Something tells me that guy was pretty chill."

"Exactly!" Kate flailed her hand. Suddenly, both of the girls' phones chimed with a text tone. Max dug hers out of her pocket while Kate retrieved hers from the across the room.

Victoria: Did you guys see the email about the new photography professor?

Max: What! No! Who is it?!

Victoria: Some lady I've never heard of. Margaret Waters? who tf?

"Doesn't ring a bell to me either," Max said, glancing up from her phone to Kate. The blonde shook her head.

Max: I got nothing. I'll have to check out the email.

Kate: Me neither

"That's exciting though," Kate said. "You guys will finally be able to have a photography class again. I'm sure it must have felt kind of...pointless to be here without it?"

"A little, yeah." Max began tapping on her phone, navigating to the mailbox. "It just felt like I was falling behind when everyone else was on the right course." She began to skim the email. "It looks like she has pretty impressive credentials, just nothing of notoriety to the public eye."

"That sounds good," Kate said with a tint of bitterness. "We don't need another celebrity teacher."

"Agreed," Max said. Then their phones beeped again.

Victoria: BTW u guys better get the red carpet ready to roll out

Victoria: I was so bored here I swear to god. I said fuck it and I'm flying back laaaaate tonight. I'll be there bright and early in the morning!

Victoria: I will be waking you to get me breakfast

Max looked up from her phone and felt a rush in her stomach at the smile on Kate's face. Almost a little spooked, she slowly turned and stared at the picture of Jesus on Kate's wall.

Uh...thanks?

Hey there! Sorry about the wait, guys. I really, really appreciate your patience these days. It means a lot to me.

I hope everyone had a good holiday! I for one am thrilled to be done with 2016 and onto a new slate for improvement. I have some things to share for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter.

Ouroboros turned 1 year old on December 18th! How CRAZY is that!? I still can't believe it, committing to a project for that long is such a huge deal for me. I actually wrote up a little blog post about my year and experience with writing this story, which you can check out here: lifeisstrangefans (dot com) destruction-creation-a-year-of-ouroboros/

Aaaaand if you haven't heard, I'm lucky enough to be collaborating on a new story with MaiQueti! If for some reason you don't know, she's the one who did the cover for Ouroboros among many other incredible pieces for Life is Strange, and she also is a writer herself. I highly recommend her stories, especially Life is Hella Weird. I am SO excited to bring our story to you guys - I really have an incredible amount of faith with what we're doing. Thanks to Life Is Strange Fans, we even have a super rad teaser for you to check out here: youtube (dot com) watch?v=7z0KyjJkBQ8

(You have to fix the spacing in the links because yay this website!)

I know it's probably not even worth mentioning since I've had the pace of a snail recently anyway, but I will be diverting most of my attention to that story so we can have it out sometime this month. Hope ya don't mind! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll catch you guys soon!