Victor the Crab's Epic Continues: Barclay Davis - Max and Frida Meet
Another school year, another new beginning.
At his apartment, Max Edwards is getting himself ready for another year of teaching American history to a new set of students at Danforth High. He's going through his knapsack/briefcase to make sure he has everything needed to take to work. Victor, his pet/roomate of a crab, is atop the kitchen table watching Max get ready to leave.
Max goes through his stuff wondering if he's forgotten anything, and Victor interrupts him by holding up a pair of glasses. Max sighs and grabs them. During the summer, Max had his eyes checked out and was diagnosed as having to get reading glasses.
Max puts them on, and Victor muses, "Nice! Those glasses almost make ya look smart!"
"Ugh! Getting old sucks!" Max says as he removes his glasses and puts them in his shirt pocket. He's soon out the door.
Max takes the eastbound bus on Barclay Avenue, and soon, he gets off at the nearest stop to Danforth. After entering, he's at the main offices checking any info, then heads over to the faculty lounge to catch up with the other teachers. After grabbing some coffee, and chatting it up with Martha who playfully teases him, Max meets Jeffrey. He asks him how his summer went.
"My wife Nancy left me." Jeffrey said, not sounding at all saddened by it. Which surprises Max, because he's known Jeffrey to be devoted to his wife.
"Oh my God Jeffrey, why?" asked Max.
"She said my drinking had gotten out of control. But hey, whatever! Looks like I can start living the single life again." said Jeffrey.
Max wasn't buying Jeffrey's outlook, as he was smelling alcohol on Jeffrey's breath. "Maybe you should try dealing with this drinking problem of yours, Jeff." Max said. Jeffrey just laughed at him and walked away from Max. Max just sighed and left the lounge.
Upon walking out, Max finished drinking his coffee and tossed his cup into the trash bin. As he turned to walk, he froze in sudden shock as he saw, through the windows of the main office area, the most beautiful woman he ever saw in his life, looking at a folder she had opened up. Her long, blonde hair was held in the back with the sides of her hair, which showed off her beautiful thin neck, and was wearing a pink V-neck light sweater, a dark charcoal colored dress that went to her knees, and low heeled women's shoes. Her mouth was open a bit, which made her full lips stand out.
As she turned to walk away, Max was still standing there, gazing at her. Looking like an idiot.
"Like what you see?" a familiar voice said, which startled Max. He turned to see Gail, who had just spoken, and her bestie Abigail, who were standing behind Max looking at the young blonde woman.
Busted, Max could only tell them, "Heh-heh...she purty!"
"She's the new math teacher here, named Frida Olsen." said Abigail.
"She's the one replacing Helen?" said Max, referring to the teacher who had retired over the summer. He turned to look in her direction, saying "She's quite young looking for the job."
"She's fresh out of teachers college." said Gail.
Abigail finished, "She was top of her class, and the school likes her potential."
Max then spent the rest of the week dodging Frida, because he was afraid that his attraction to her would expose himself. Whenever he saw her walking down the hallways towards her, he would duck into a nearby room until she passed by.
The last time he did that, he sighed to himself, saying "I can't be doing this all school year."
***
This time out, they're talking about all the changes going around the Barclay Davis district, and they're not liking it. Mitch talks about how his boss Gloria is going through some turbulance at work, as people are booking their vacations on the internet. Sam is thinking about accepting his big bro Mo, and Mo's wife Jasmine's, offer about joining them in their shawarma start up restaurant, because he was hitting a rut with his art, and his graphic design freelancing wasn't covering for him. Bob just talks about how businesses and neighbourhoods change so they don't fall into disarray fast and that it's just a fact of life, and Pete grouses about how nothing can be done because all this is a symptom of a society that shakes down the needy for the greedy.
But as they were all talking, Max noticed something. He saw Frida walking towards their direction, wearing a red, buttoned up shirt and blue jeans. She was looking down and wasn't noticing anything, until she looked up and saw Max sitting at the table with his friends, and looked quite surprised.
Frida stopped right in front of Max, and then Max got up.
"Oh, hi!" said Max to Frida. "Sorry, I almost didn't recognize you before. You're the new teacher at Danforth, right?"
"Yes...yes I am" said Frida rather pensively. "I've seen you too. You teach history, right?"
Max laughed a bit and said "Yes, American history to be precise. My name is Max. Max Edwards. You must be Frida, right?"
"Yes...Frida Olsen" she said.
"Well nice meeting you Frida." Max said. "I'd like you to meet my friends." Max then introduces them each and they respond thusly:
"This is Bob" ("Hello"), that's Mitch ("Hi there"), that is Sam ("'Sup?"), and that's Pete ("Yo!")."
Max then told Frida, "We all live on the same floor of an apartment, and we come here on weekends to..." but then, he was interrupted by Victor going "AHEM!" to which Max saw Victor with his arms crossed over, the tips of his claws on the ground as if he was leaning on something, and Victor doing a "crab toe-tap" where one set of his feet are rapping like someone's fingers rapping on a table.
Max picks up on that and goes "Oh right...And last but not least - although your milage may very greatly on that - Victor."
"DEEEE-lighted to meet your acquaintance, m'lady!" Victor says to Frida.
"OH DEAR GOD!!!" shouted Frida, "Is that a live crab that's actually talking to me?!!"
"Uh, yes that's exactly what it is." Max told Frida. "And no, you're not hallucinating, although it would make a lot of sense in that regard. But anyway, why don't you pull up a chair so that we can talk some more."
"I'm sorry" answered Frida. "I'm just coming off a ten minute break, and I have to go back to work."
Max was surprised by that statement. "Whu...you're working here? Part time?" Frida nods her head, up and down.
Max was taken aback by that, saying "But, but...you're a teacher!..."
"Who's salary isn't enough to cover for a single mother with a little girl who's just turned three years old." Frida answered Max, and continuing "I'm sorry...Max? But I can't stay around with you guys. Perhaps another time when I'm not too busy and...I know exactly what I'm doing."
"Yeah. Sure." said a taken back Max, as Frida leaves them and he sits back down. The others take note of Frida. Mitch saying she looks pretty, Sam called her a natural beauty, Bob claims her hips, legs, and buttocks were made for blue jeans, and Pete says "She's probably into a lot of kinky stuff." But Max was silent. He was still stunned that a fellow teacher has to take on another job. So he suggests to the guys that they tip Frida extra, and the Gang goes along with it.
Of course, Victor has his own side plans.
Throughout the evening, Victor starts pinching Frida's customers if they didn't tip her well, or if they didn't tip her at all. Which got the attention of the Crow's Bar's proprietor, Hirsh. Soon a bunch of people Victor had pinched wanted to tear him apart. Victor eludes them by getting on top of a movable serving cart, which in the cartoon universe, starts moving like a NASCAR racing vehicle, as it heads directly to the Gang, with Max screaming, Vic-TORRRRR!!! And soon, it crashes into them, leaving the Gang in a pile, and Hirsch standing over them in a pissed off mood.
Hirsh yells at them, "OUUUUUT!!!"and they quickly run out across to the other street. Max turns to Victor and tells him "Well this is another fine weekend you ruined for us, Victor!" as the Gang head back to the apartment in a foul mood.
And as the Gang left, Frida peered out the front window looking at them.
***
Max knocks on her open door and enters. After exchanging Hi's, Frida asked Max how they were after they got thrown out.
"We're fine. It's not the first time Hirsh threw us out on our asses, and it probably won't be the last. At least when he does, it's not permanent." said Max. "How'd you make out on your first weekend at the Crow's Bar?"
"A little rough." Frida answered. "It's been awhile since I waitressed, but it wasn't long until I got back into the swing of it."
"Well. Hirsh is a good man" said Max. "Any problems you have with customers, and he'll be there to take care of them in a hurry."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Max speaks. "So...you're the mother of a small child."
Frida smiles a little, and is looking down, as she says "Yes. My daughter just turned three years old. She's the sweetest, most darling thing you could ever meet."
Max answers. "I'm sure her father would agree with that."
"The bastard can burn in Hell, for all I care!" Frida growled back.
"OOO-kaaaay!" Max said "Well I guess that means you're not seeing anyone right now...I MEAN...well...you're perfectly fine raising a child without any help, unless you do need my help. SOME help! I MEAN..."
After a moment, Max then turns his head to make a big gulp, then turns back to look at Frida, with his right hand at the back of his head, and giving her a big smile, saying "Heh, heh, heh...lemme just... start over from the beginning," Max says nervously as he clears his throat and continues.
"Look," Max says. "Between both this school and the Crow's Bar, I don't see why the two of us can't be friends......That is, unless of course, you...think I'm being a little bit pushy."
Frida responded to Max by giving him a huge smile and giggling a bit, saying "Of course not! I would love it if the two of us were both friends."
Frida's smile left Max staring at her, hypnotized by the most beautiful smile he's ever seen in his life. After a few seconds of silence, Max spoke out. Awkwardly. "Uhhhh...I just remembered, I have to prepare a test I'm giving my students, so I hafta be going now!"
Max then quickly turns to leave, only to bang his leg into a desk quite painfully. Max's face was grimacing from that, but when he turned to look at Frida, he smiled rather stupidly, saying "Hah. That didn't hurt at all!"
He tried leaving again, only to bang his leg, on the same spot, into another desk. "OK, that one DID hurt," Max gritted through his teeth. Frida, concerned for Max, asked him if he was all right.
"AH-AH-AH, no need to worry about me none," Max was assuring Frida. "I can easily find my way over to the...nurse's office!" And Max leaves Frida's classroom, hobbling in pain and uttering some incoherent mumblings.
Frida followed him out and stood just outside the doorway, looking at him limping in pain. As she was standing there, looking at Max, she was in thought. Soon, after a brief moment, Frida started to smile.
And her smile grew bigger and bigger from watching Max.