Young Max and Chloe

"Last time I saw you and Chloe in your pirate outfits I knew she would never find a better friend." — Joyce in "Chaos Theory"

This article is meant to give a more detailed overview of the things that are known about Young Max Caulfield and Young Chloe Price from Don't Nod's original game, Life is Strange. These facts cover up to the time Max moves to Seattle, shortly after the death of Chloe's father.

For the image gallery, click here.

Summary

Young Max and Chloe grew up as best friends, living just half a mile away from each other in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. They were not known to be quiet kids when they played together, and Chloe's mother would always bust them for being too loud. Even though they could be a handful, Max was always the quieter and more passive of the two, and comments made by Chloe years later suggest that she thought of Max as a bit of a "wallflower" and a "chickenshit." As cruel as the latter label sounds, even Max is aware that she can be afraid to confront things. Chloe also thought of Max as a "smartass" for her ability to throw back a good retort as well as being a snoop. Young Max could also be a little self-absorbed or slow to say her thanks to Chloe.

They both dreamed of a life of adventure together, and they saw Seattle as a "fabled faraway island of treasure and adventure" that they were always seeking. Max wanted to explore the world and be a photographer, but she doubted her ability to achieve this dream. However, Chloe believed in Max from an early age and told Max that her pictures could be in a museum, believing that they would be someday. Oddly enough, even though some pictures were taken of Max and Chloe together, Max didn't seem to like pictures of herself.

Even from a young age, Chloe supported Max just as much as Max thought Chloe was amazing. Even as years passed, and they both lived separate lives, both girls hung on to mementos of their childhood friendship.

Family Differences

Max considers her family to be a lot more serious than Chloe's as her family never took any fun, goofy photos together like Chloe's did. Once, when they were both chastised by Chloe's father for getting out of hand, Chloe took this less seriously than Max, laughing at her father's attempts to give her and Max a "time-out." Max's believes that if she laughed like that at her own father, he would "banish" her. This seems to suggest that Max's father was perhaps stricter with her. Max took an instant picture of Chloe and her father back in 2008, commenting on the love and the close bond it showed between them. Max seemed almost envious of that father-daughter bond in her later years when she came across another photo that Chloe had held onto. Regardless of Max's parents being more reserved, they did care for her, such as the time when Max accidentally swallowed the eye of her teddy bear and her parents rushed her to hospital. Max also fondly reflects back on the time she had spent sewing a cushion with her mother, although it's not known exactly how old she was when this took place.

Activities and Interests

Shared

• Painting, Decorating, and Drawing – Young Max and Chloe spent all day painting a piece of furniture in the shade of blue that Chloe loved. They also decorated Chloe's flip phone with stickers and scratched both of their names into its cover. Another activity they enjoyed together was drawing cartoons where they invented movie posters starring themselves or drew superhero characters that represented each other (including Chloe's pet cat, Bongo), and they also worked on creating a large mural of themselves running away on an adventure.
• Sleepovers, Movie Nights, and Video Games – Max used to stay over at Chloe's house a lot when they were younger, and they would play video games and watch movies together, sharing cookies and popcorn. Chloe would often fall asleep on Max whenever they watched movies together. A favorite movie they liked to watch was Blade Runner, and Max knew that Chloe wanted to dye her hair like the character "Pris." As for video games, it is known that Max and Chloe enjoyed playing the Hawt Dawg Man video game together.
  • Sharing Toothbrushes: During their sleepovers, Max hated when Chloe would use her toothbrush, but Chloe never used to care about hers being used by Max.
• Watching Cartoons / Children's TV – Chloe used to watch preschool TV programs like Blue's Clues and Teletubbies when she was younger, and it is likely that Max watched these with her. It is established that they did watch Spongebob and Hawt Dawg Man cartoons together as well as Power Rangers.
• Birthday Parties – Chloe celebrated Max's 10th birthday with her, and since it is established that Max has known Chloe from a very early age (see above), it is likely that this is not the first birthday party they have celebrated together. Max attended a birthday party thrown for Chloe that she describes as a "blowout". Max was 12 years old at that time, meaning that this would have been Chloe's 14th birthday, taking place in March 2008.
• Playing Pirates:
  • Dressing up – Chloe and Max enjoyed playing pirates and even dressed up as pirates. They also enjoyed the town's annual Halloween kiddie costume parade, so it is possible that they may have attended one of these Halloween parades dressed as pirates. (The Halloween Bazaar is also mentioned separately below.)
  • Ship Couch – Max and Chloe pretended that the couch in Chloe's living room was a pirate ship.
  • Tree Fort – Chloe marked the location of the tree fort that she had built with Max by drawing a red skull and crossbones on an orientation map found next to the lighthouse on the cliff that overlooks the bay.
• Eggs and Bacon – It is established that both girls enjoyed waking up to a breakfast of eggs and bacon.
• Hiding and Plotting – Young Max and Chloe enjoyed to hide and talk about their future together. They had a "Super Secret Closet Lair" that they would hide in, which was actually Chloe's slatted wooden wardrobe.
• Playing on the Swing – There is a swing in Chloe's backyard that William made for the two girls to use. Max and Chloe would take turns using it, and it is known that Chloe was far braver than Max about being pushed higher and higher; Max would jump off before she got too high!
• Playing in Forests – Max and Chloe enjoyed playing in forests together, especially when pretending to be pirates.
• Playing by the Ocean – Max and Chloe played by the ocean as kids. The lighthouse is accessed from the beach via a 15-minute hiking trail through a forest, and it is known that Max and Chloe played in the forest that leads from the beach to the lighthouse.
• Making a Pet Grave – Max helped Chloe to make a gravestone for Chloe's deceased cat, Bongo, who died in 2008 after being hit by a car.
• Graffiti/Carving – Either Max or Chloe wrote/carved their names on a tree stump by the lighthouse in 2008. The writing looks more similar to Max's handwriting in the game.
• Halloween Bazaar – Max and Chloe enjoyed the kiddie costume parade that took place at the town's annual Halloween bazaar. The parade is led by the Arcadia Bay mayor along Main Street, and a flyer seen in the Two Whales Diner shows that there may also have been a pumpkin carving contest and local vendors and food trucks at the past bazaars when Chloe and Max were young.
• Recording Heights – Chloe was always taller than Max when they were growing up together. They made Chloe's dad keep track of their heights. There is a height chart on Chloe's bedroom wall that marks Chloe's height over the years from 13 months up until 2005, but there are no markers with Max's name by the side, which may mean that Chloe's dad could have recorded Max's height on a separate chart elsewhere. Perhaps Max took her results home to record them herself somehow. There are some little marks underneath the recordings for 1996 and a year that looks to be 2000, so perhaps these little marks belonged to Max.

Separate

Max

• Racing up and down the lighthouse steps – Young Max enjoyed racing up and down the steps of Arcadia Bay's lighthouse when it used to be open to the public. It is unknown if she enjoyed this activity with Chloe, but it seems likely.
• Making a CD – When Max was 12 years of age, she made a pirate mix CD for Chloe.
• Seafood – Max enjoys seafood, which makes sense as Arcadia Bay had a thriving fishing industry when she was younger. The place she enjoyed eating seafood at was called Pacific Steve's Famous Crab.
• Pancakes – It is unknown if Chloe enjoyed pancakes as much as Max did, but what is known is that Max could eat lots of pancakes.
• Making an Effort – It is suggested that Max was the kind of person to make an effort with stationary and letters.
• Being Tidy – Max doesn't class herself as a rebel and has an ingrained sense of pride in keeping her bed neat and tidy, which she has picked up from her mother. However, when given her freedom and independence from home, she does display an urge to rebel against this sense of order, although it is unlikely that she could keep this up for long due to it seemingly going against her nature.
• Peanut Butter Preference – It is suggested that Max prefers smooth peanut butter and possibly dislikes the crunchy variety altogether.
• Journal Entries – Max kept a journal even in her childhood. She would write entries about which anime character she wanted to be, about her dreams of being a famous photographer, and what she and Chloe would be doing when they are older.

Chloe

• No Animal Products – Chloe wouldn't use animal products when it came to makeup.
• Manga – Chloe enjoyed manga. In her later years, while Max was in Seattle, Chloe got her hair cut short and dyed it blue just like the character on the cover of a manga magazine she had back in 2008.
• Skateboarding – Chloe seemed to be very good at skateboarding. Even in her later years, while Max was in Seattle, Chloe still liked to skateboard and hung out with a skater posse.

Times of Mischief

• Attempted TPing – One activity of mischief that the two girls got up to was their plan to TP a neighbor's house, but they both chickened out and ran back home, laughing about it.
• Being Messy – The girls created a mess when drawing, littering a table with drawing supplies.
• Wine Tasting – Chloe and Max enjoyed secret wine-tasting sessions at Chloe's house when her parents, William and Joyce, were not around. Unfortunately for them, this secret was discovered after they had accidentally knocked over one of Joyce's wine bottles and stained the carpet (a stain that was still present 5 years later).
• Covering Each Other in Flour – Max and Chloe enjoyed helping out with baking and would mess around by getting pancake flour all over each other, including on Chloe's parents!
• Climbing Dares – Max and Chloe would dare each other to climb down from Chloe's bedroom window but they were both too scared to do it.

Memories

In Episode 1, Max thinks back to the following childhood memory when she sits on the old swing that William made for her and Chloe in Chloe's backyard:

Max: "What do you truly want to do when you grow up?"

Chloe: "Max, I'm already grown up. What about you?"

Max: "Travel. That would be awesome. Explore the world. Go far from here..."

Chloe: "Far from me? Thanks a lot, dude."

Max: "Dude, you would totally come with me! I need a bodyguard for our adventures!"

Chloe: "I would be like Lara Croft, except real. That would be majorly cool."

Max: "Totally! We'd have cars and boats and planes all over for instant escape! And no adults could tell us what to do!"

Chloe: "Count me in. What would you do while I was bodyguarding you?"

Max: "Maybe take pictures of our adventures. I would love to be a photographer. As if I ever could be..."

Chloe: "What are you talking about? Max, you are a photographer. Your pictures could be in a museum. Someday they will. I believe in you..."

Max recalls another memory on the swing in Episode 3:

Max: "I remember when Chloe and me would take turns in the swing... We would push each other hard so we would fly way up in the air... Chloe always wanted to swing all the way around... I always got scared and would jump off before I flew off... And Chloe is still trying to get high..."

In Episode 1, Max thinks back to the following childhood memory when she sits on the old couch in Chloe's house:

Chloe: "Come on, open it chicken!"

Max: "Hold on. And I'm not chicken!"

Chloe: "Prove it! You drink first, Max!"

Max: "No way! It was your idea, Chloe!"

Chloe: "Whateva. Give me that bottle."

Max: "Well?"

Chloe: "Tasty. Very tasty."

Max: "Here, I want a sip!"

Chloe: "Sorry, this is not for kids."

Max: "Don't be greedy! Gimme some!"

Chloe: "Oh shit, the carpet!"

Max: "There's wine all over! What do we do now?"

Chloe: "My parents are coming! Cover it up..."

When Max jumps back in time to 2008 in Episode 3, echoes of a conversation she had with William and Chloe are heard. According to the game files, the dialogue order for the full conversation goes as follows:

William: "Yes girls, time for a picture!"

Chloe: "Max needs more flour on her face!"  

Max (laughing): "I can't even see!"

William: "You look like a ghost!"  

Chloe (laughing): "Get a close-up of Max!"  

Max: "Knock it off, Chloe!"  

Chloe: "Make me! You look hilarious!"

William: "Come on now, say 'Pancake!'"  

Chloe: "Cheesecake!"  

Max: "I hate pictures of myself!"

Environmental Details

• Two Whales Diner hasn't changed – The Two Whales Diner looked exactly the same when Max last ate there (age 13) as it looks years later.
• More fishermen – Arcadia Bay's fishing industry was thriving back when Max and Chloe were kids. Evidence of the fishing community was more apparent.
• Chloe's pirate towel – Chloe had a pirate towel that she used when she was younger, and she was still using this same towel five years later when Max returned to Arcadia Bay.
• William's BBQs – The small BBQ grill was still present in Chloe's backyard when Max and Chloe were kids, and they enjoyed burgers cooked on it by Chloe's dad.
• Joyce's Magazines – Joyce enjoyed mail-order catalogs, and a young Max obviously saw these around Chloe's home whenever she visited.
• Joyce and Vanessa (Shared Tastes) – In 2013, it is mentioned that both Max and Chloe's mothers watch true crime shows, so it is possible that they also watched these when Max and Chloe were younger.
• Max's Grandpa – Max mentions that her grandfather - either her father's or her mother's father - has a garage that contains nuts and bolts.
• Chloe's dresser – When Max reconnects with Chloe five years after she had left for Seattle, she notices that some of Chloe's bedroom furniture she remembered from when they were kids is still present in the room. One such piece of furniture is the dresser that Chloe's dad had built for her.

Unused Material

Some unused audio that refers to a younger Max and Chloe is present in earlier game files. It was either used in earlier editions of the game and since been removed, or it has always remained unused.

• Backyard Mischief – Joyce would yell at Max and Chloe from a living room window when they were playing in the backyard, possibly when they were up to mischief or doing something dangerous, or perhaps to call them in to eat food.
• Chloe Wanting a Dog – Chloe had wanted a dog, and her mother had always wanted her to get a dog too. It even seems that Chloe would have made a good dog owner, from a comment intended to be spoken by Frank Bowers five years later when Chloe is 19: "She'd be good with dogs. I know these things." It is unknown whether Chloe had wanted a dog after her cat, Bongo, had died or whether she had wanted a dog instead of or as well as having a cat.

Before the Storm

Bonus Episode - "Farewell"

In the bonus episode by Deck Nine Games, we learn more about Young Max and Chloe's personalities, education, and childhood interests.

Max

When it comes to helping Chloe throw away old items, Max's sensibility and detachment suggests she has less of an emotional response to things than Chloe, but this is not entirely the case as she is very reflective and sad to be leaving Chloe behind in Arcadia Bay. She even worries she won't be okay without Chloe.

Max is prone to second-guess and worry about the consequences of things before she can loosen up and enjoy herself (such as asking Chloe what her mom would think about Chloe's mischief) and has a reserved personality and quiet-spoken nature. See the family differences section above, as the differences between their parents may have an influence on each girl. She can also tell Chloe that she worries she's not going to be okay without her, regarding her move to Seattle.

Max is drawn to the retro aesthetic. She especially loves the Polaroid camera that belongs to Chloe's father, because she thinks they make every photo look a little nostalgic. Chloe tells Max that her dad is tired of watching Max drool all over herself every time he uses it. ("His words.") Max also admires the vintage cooler in Chloe's attic, saying that she never realized how much she liked vintage things until she saw it. She thinks that recording messages on audio cassette tapes was so much fun in 3rd grade (ages 8/9).

Some further facts we learn about Max are as follows:

• At age 13, she is still terrified of Chloe's attic as she is afraid of the mice and spiders that could be up there.
• Chloe's mom bought her a toothbrush, because she spent the night at Chloe's so often.
• She doesn't get the idea of makeup other than using it for acting or Halloween costumes.
• She gets squeamish at the sight of fake blood which may suggest she gets squeamish when she sees the real thing.

Chloe

Chloe is extremely sentimental and reluctant to throw things away. When Max gives logical reasons for getting rid of old things from Chloe's room, Chloe will attach a fond memory to justify keeping them, even if they are from phases she has grown out of or have missing pieces. Most of the items she refuses to throw away remind her of the times she used them with Max. The fact that she hangs onto memories may be one reason why Max thinks Chloe has a "killer memory." Chloe still keeps her old school supplies and her textbooks for Science, Chemistry, English, and Math, which Max thinks she is "such a nerd" for doing but thinks that Chloe must get her sentimentality from her parents, who still haven't parted with Chloe's crib. Another example of Chloe's sentimentality is when she used to own a goldfish called Calico Jack. She refused to get another goldfish after having to flush him, so the fish tank has been stored in the attic ever since. This suggests that Chloe is reluctant to replace the things she has lost. Max knows she took Bongo's death hard.

Chloe also has a sensitive and self-conscious side. This is evident when she throws away her favorite hoodie due to a fear of judgement from the students at her new school, Blackwell Academy. The well-worn burgundy colored hoodie with a Griffin design on the front has accumulated many holes over the years she has worn it, and Max notes that these holes never stopped Chloe from wearing it before, but Chloe doesn't seem to be bonding well with her new peers, describing them as "fake people" and Max as "real."

With regards to her friendship with Max, Chloe is loyal and protective. When Max slipped and accidentally broke one of the stair posts in Chloe's house a few years prior to 2008, Chloe took the blame for her and never changed her story even when she got grounded. Max truly appreciates what Chloe did for her back then. She is reluctant to tell Max about her issues with the students at her new school and only discloses her issues when Max presses the subject. This suggests that Chloe may be prone to bottling up her feelings or is perhaps reluctant to burden her best friend.

Chloe is mischievous and likes to bend rules. An example of this is when her mom had told her to get rid of old and unwanted items from her room, so she turned this into a game where she blew a couple of dolls up. When Max questions this, she tells Max that her mom never specified how she should dispose of her things. She also drew sharpie boobs on the boy band trading cards they collected together, and Max was so mad at her for doing this.

Chloe is creative and has a great imagination, as seen by the drawings of cool inventions that she placed inside a time capsule, and Max thinks that Chloe has always been good at making up cool things to do. She loved Scratch Art when she was younger - at least around the time she had placed a Scratch Art pad in the time capsule. This is a drawing technique where a dark layer is scratched away - usually by a wooden stylus - to reveal a different color or multiple colors underneath. She also made Christmas decorations when she was 5 years old which embarrass her, but Max thinks they are cute.

Max describes Chloe as a nature nerd when she discovers that Chloe's parents have secretly bought plane tickets to take Chloe to see the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This suggests she enjoys nature. However, when it comes to animals, Max comments that Chloe always preferred imaginary animals to real ones.

There appears to be an oceanic theme with Chloe's plush toys. At age 14, she still owns a plush toy called Mr. Sharkie, which she describes as her beloved childhood friend and is unwilling to part with it. She also has a plush toy called Billy The Squid, which she forgot about due to placing him inside a time capsule that she buried in her back yard with Max back in 2003. The oceanic theme could be linked to her interest in pirates. Even at age 14, she never really grew out of wanting to be a pirate.

In terms of reading interests, Chloe owns the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, so she seems to have an interest in classic plays. She is also a Manga nerd. Max comments that this might be the one thing where Chloe out-nerds her.

Even though Chloe has a geeky side, and even though she owns a games console which both girls play on, she has been reluctant to try an MMO game. Max wonders if her move to Seattle would finally convince Chloe to try one.

Mutual Influence

There are a couple of things that suggest Max and Chloe easily distract each other, such as the time when Ms. Shelley, their Social Studies teacher, praises Chloe on her work but urges her to pay attention in class instead of drawing pictures with "Maxine." (It appears they were working on their treasure map in this class.) Another example is the Choose Your Own Adventure book they created called "Max and Chloe's Sewer Adventure." Although their efforts on this were praised by Mrs. Anders, she urged them to please do the book report they were assigned next time. This suggests they enjoyed being creative together and doing what they wanted to do rather than sticking to tasks they were assigned.

Education

They both attended Arcadia Bay Junior High, and the first class they had together was United States Social Studies. Even though Max didn't get grades as good as Chloe in 8th grade (ages 13/14), she did better than Chloe at PE. In 8th grade, Chloe studied: Earth Science, English, World History, Pre-Algebra, Spanish 1, Phys Ed.

Chloe was accepted for admission at Blackwell Academy in September 2008. She was one of approximately 100 students who were selected out of 1200 applicants. She was selected due to excelling in all criteria for admission. However, not long after she started at Blackwell Academy, the principal has called for a meeting with her parents in an effort to try and assist Chloe in improving her behavior. Chloe was not getting on well with a girl called Marisa Rogers.

Activities and Interests

• Board Games – Max and Chloe enjoyed playing board games together, but at ages 13 and 14, they no longer played a game called "Oopsies!" which they used to play a lot and is in a scruffy condition by this time. Chloe apparently beats Max every time they play it, but Max calls this "BS" and states she wiped the floor with Chloe the last time they played, so it's unclear if Chloe exaggerates her victories.
• Painting, Decorating, and Drawing – Max and Chloe drew themselves in a comic strip as Super Max and Dr. Chloenstein and called one of their strips The Adventurous Adventures of Super Max and Dr. Chloenstein. They also liked to decorate things together with excessive use of stickers, such as the tall blue dresser in the attic.
• Watching Films – They both liked watching The Land Before Time.
• Concerts – They went to their first unsupervised concert together on Saturday July 7th, 2007. It was to see "Mimi and the Screamers" at Culm Nation Park Pavillion in Arcadia Bay, Oregon, and they were on the lower level. Tickets cost $30.00 each. Max would have been 11 years old at the time. Chloe would have recently turned 13.
• Halloween Costumes – There are photos of them dressed up for Halloween in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, they appear to be dressed as a cream-filled chocolate chip cookie where the cream effect is created once they stand together. In 2001, they went as characters from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Max was the lion, Chloe was the Witch, and William was the wardrobe. These costumes may have been for the "kiddie costume parade" held at the Halloween Bazaar (as advertized on a flyer inside the Two Whales Diner in the original game).
• Challenges – They bought a jawbreaker as a gag to take it in turns to lick it to nonexistence over time. Chloe describes it as the "never-ending candy." Max sees it as a serious biohazard as this is yet another thing that Chloe has held on to. She's even kept it, unwrapped, on top of some clothes in a drawer!
• Playing Pirates – Their much-loved pirate phase was in full swing when Max was 7 years old and Chloe was 9. Some of the things they did during this phase are as follows:
  • They kept all of their old pirate drawings inside a big sketchbook.
  • They called their pirate ship "The bane of Arcadia."
  • Chloe's former cat, Bongo, was given a pirate name of "Pogo."
  • Their enemy was called "evil commander Shelley, enemy to all pirates," who threatened to take their treasure map from them if it was seen. Shelley is actually Ms. Shelley, their Social Studies teacher from 2003.
  • They invented new names for locations around Chloe's house, such as "Secret Lair" (Chloe's bedroom), "Scary Cave" (Chloe's attic), Treasure island, and Price Castle.
  • Their pirate ship was the swing set outside, but during bad weather, they used the couch in the living room as their "rainy day pirate ship."
  • They gave each other Pirate names: "Captain Bluebeard" and "Long Max Silver." (They stuck blue painter's tape to Chloe's face to make a blue beard.)
  • They buried treasure (a time capsule) in Chloe's back yard, then drew a map and created an amulet to find it.
  • Unknown to them, Chloe's dad invented the name "Bloody Bill" for himself and recorded a secret tape for them to eventually find in their time capsule.

Old Hobbies

Chloe

• Magic - Chloe went through a magic phase and still owns her box of magic tricks ("Miss Madalyn's Managerie of Magic") which she had to save weeks of allowance money to buy. This is actually her entire magic collection. Chloe did think magic was lame but changed her mind when she found out how much children's birthday parties pay. However, she hasn't used this box of tricks since her fifth grade talent show (age 10/11) where Max, who was her assistant, turned out to be squeamish at the sight of fake blood. The fact that Max thinks she was lucky to survive Chloe's magic phase with all her fingers intact suggests that Chloe was perhaps a little daring with her tricks.

Gallery

Photos

Young Chloe and Max dressed as pirates.

Young Chloe on a swing.

Young Chloe running across a parking lot.

Young Chloe skateboarding on Blackwell Academy's parking lot.

Young Chloe with her father, William Price, and pet cat, Bongo.

Young Chloe with her father, William.

Young Chloe and Max in 2008.

Max changing the 2008 timeline, taking a photo of Young Chloe with her father, William.

Young Chloe outdoors.

Young Chloe and Max on Max's 10th birthday.

Mementos

A drawing that Young Chloe and Max did together.

Another drawing that Young Chloe and Max did together.

A phone that Young Chloe and Max decorated together.

Young Chloe's sketch of a day trip, which Max's comments seem to suggest she had been present at.

A mix CD Young Max had made for Chloe.