Max saw Tony sitting by the lake and sighed. If it all must end, he might as well do it quickly. Max’s blue face paint streaked across his face, and a bandana pulled his hair back. Max trudged down the hill from a thicket of trees and sat next to Tony as he threw rocks into the pond.
“I need to tell you something,” Max said to Tony.
“Sure thing, Max,” Tony said. He threw one last rock that landed with a satisfying splash and then faced his friend.
“You know that I love summer camp,” Max began. “It’s a great escape from my real life. I have such fun friends, and we go on adventures, but it’s not my real life.”
“You said it,” Tony said. “No bedtimes. No cafeteria food. No homework. Spending all of your time with your friends. It’s magical.”
“Well, when you told me that you’re moving to my school next year,” Max said. “I called home and asked my mom if I could transfer to a different school.”
“What?” Tony said, surprised. “You don’t think it will be cool to go to the same school?”
“The problem, Tony, is I’m not the same person at home,” Max said. “I go by Maximillian. I wear Ralph Lauren polos. I torture my classmates with my strong wit.”
“Oh,” Tony said, sadly. “So you were worried I would embarrass you?”
“No,” Max said. “I am worried you’ll tell everyone at camp how lame I am. I couldn’t imagine Sidney or Bobby or anyone else finding out. I love my camp friends.”
“Well, we could have been real friends,” Tony said.
“I don’t even really have friends at school,” Max said. “There’s this one kid Johnny who likes me, but I don’t know that he understands anything I say.”
“Well, I was just worried about not having any friends at my new school,” Tony said. “I was so happy to know you would be there. I’m sad you won’t be. Even if it’s a different version of you.”
“Well, my mom said I can’t transfer schools,” Max said. “So I will be there. I wanted to tell you now so you could plan to make other friends as soon as you get to school. Then maybe I just won’t come back to camp next summer. Then I won’t have to face the embarrassment of these kids finding out who I really am.”
Tony put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Max was almost in tears. Tony asked, “What if camp you is the real you?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if me coming to the school means they finally get to meet Max instead of Maximillian?”
“The problem is, I have to be better than everyone else at school,” Max said. “It’s who I am.”
“Then, I’m excited to meet Maximillian,” Tony said with a smile. “The Adventures of Maximillian and Tony!”
Max stared at his friend before assuming his Maximillian. “I’ll have to call you Anthony.”