CHAPTER 8
The next morning, Max was feeling a little better. Neither he nor Owen mentioned their text conversation from the night before as they biked to the arena. By the time they arrived, Max was in a pretty good mood.
But it didn’t last. As Max locked up his bike, a big black SUV pulled up. Three big guys climbed out of the back seat — Alex and his friends.
As the truck drove away, Alex strode right over to the Max and Owen.
“Well, if it isn’t Maximum Dork and his sidekick,” he said. “You better hope it’s not yellow versus green today. Because if it is, you’re both getting pounded.”
Owen looked at his feet. Max gritted his teeth and stared at Alex.
“Ooh, look who’s tough,” Alex said. He and his friends laughed meanly.
“Let’s just go, Max,” said Owen.
“Just a minute,” Alex said. His friends grabbed Max by the arms. Alex gave Max a little slap on the face.
“Let him go, Alex,” Owen said.
“In a minute, I said,” Alex snarled. He wasn’t smiling anymore.
Max didn’t speak. He was scared, but he was also angrier than he’d ever been.
Alex looked Max square in the face, pulled back his arm, and punched him in the stomach. His friends released him, and Max fell to the cement. Alex and his friends smirked and walked inside.
Max clutched his stomach. For a few seconds, he thought he might puke.
“I’m going to get Jace,” Owen said.
“No,” Max gasped, struggling to catch his breath. “I’m fine. He just . . . he just knocked the wind out of me.”
“More like he knocked the snot out of you,” Owen said. He put out his hand to help him up. For once, Max took it.
“You need to tell Jace,” Owen said. “All three of them should be kicked out.”
“Then that would only leave one member on the green team,” Max said. “They’d have to eliminate the whole team. Everyone would hate me.”
“I doubt it,” Owen said. “No one likes those guys anyway.”
They stepped inside and saw the green team gathered around their team leader. They were huddled together, laughing and planning for their day’s match.
“They seem pretty popular to me,” Max said.
“If you won’t tell,” Owen said, “I will.”
Max grabbed him by the shirt collar. “If you do, I’ll never speak to you again,” he said. “Just mind your own business, okay?”