“I’m sorry Max” Tasha shook her head “what was that?”

“I said, I think I need to become an entrepreneur if I want to drive expensive cars like that.”  Max chuckled at her Tasha’s spaced out moment.  “That or get into the movie business.”

“No car is worth the head ache you can get from either one” Tasha sipped from her coffee.

“Still doing the cop thing” Max asked as he sat down.

“Yeah” Tasha replied.  “What about you, anything going on in your life?”  The question took Max by surprise.

“Um” Max rubbed the back of his neck “you’re the first person to ask me that since I moved here.”  Max looked at Tasha “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome” Tasha was taken aback by Max’s response.  “I’m sure that if your friends weren’t going through own shit they’d be playing twenty questions with you.”

“I seriously doubt that” Max shook his head.  “Sometimes I think they look at me like I’m some kind of freak.”

“No they don’t” Tasha tried to defend.

“Yes” Max looked Tasha in the eyes to let her see his sadness “they do.  I know they don’t understand where I’m coming from.”

“Then help them understand” Tasha pushed.

“That’s just it, I just feels like I’m being persecuted by the persecuted, you know what I mean” Max asked.

“Yeah, I do.  I only hope that they come around and realize their own ignorance” Tasha nodded in understanding.

“They’re not all bad” Max looked on the bright side “I mean, at least Alice is taking my podcasts seriously now.  What I just said” he tried to wave off “it was something that I was going through in the beginning.  I feel like I fit in now.”

“I’m glad things are working out for you” Tasha gave Max a pat on the back.

“At first it was hard almost like I was still living at home, but I’m glad they came around.  Even Jenny stopped treating me like a freak.”

“That’s because she has a real freak hanging around her twenty-four-seven” Tasha joked.

“Yeah, no kidding” Max shook his head “now that is one shady character.”