In School’s Out – Forever, the Flock uses a secret language in case of emergency. They developed it sometime during their stay in the School. It consists mainly of words and phrases from different languages including Spanish, French and Russian.
There are only a few instances during the books in which they use this code. However, they also sometimes communicate secretly in the same way by hand signals.
Known phrases[]
"Goveryou. Allay. Todo ustedes. Egway." (Used to tell the Flock to flee.)
- Goveryou: from Russian говорю (govoryu), meaning "I speak" or "I am speaking"
- Allay: phonetic spelling of French "Allez," meaning "go"
- Todo ustedes: Spanish, "all of you"
- Egway: meaning unknown
"Neckerchu." (Gazzy refusing to leave Max behind.)
- Meaning unknown
"Bandada! Bezheet! See-chass!” (Used to sound the alarm.)
- Bandada: Spanish for "Flock"
- Bezheet: from Russian бежать (bezhat'), "run away"
- See-chass: phonetic spelling of Russian сейчас (seychas), "now"
"Bandada-nayshapay." (When Max spots Ari.)
- Nayshapay: meaning unknown
Hand Signals and Sign Language[]
In The Angel Experiment, Max mentions a sign that Jeb taught them meaning “wait”: holding her right hand behind her back with two fingers together.
While in the hospital in School's Out - Forever, Max taps Iggy twice on the back of the hand, meaning “You're in charge till I get back.” She later gives him the same signal when he and Fang leave together for their classroom at the North Adams School. Max and Fang also use sign language in this book.
Trivia[]
- In The Lake House, from the series that inspired Maximum Ride, the Flock occasionally communicates using birdcalls or whistling. They have created a code or “flight language” similar to birdcalls, used to guide the blind member, Icarus.