Maria DeLuca retrieved some books from her locker and sighed. This day couldn't get any longer. She just wanted to go home and climb into a nice warm bath until she was so relaxed that she could just pour herself into bed.
As she walked down the hall, she saw her best friend Liz Parker walking a little ways ahead of her. And then Max Evans came out of a classroom and they shared a look. There was something in that look that made Maria cock an eyebrow.
Ever since that day at the Crashdown Café, when Max had saved Liz's life, there was something between them. Maria knew it had something to do with Max's alien status. Not all of it, but some of it.
Thinking about the aliens led Maria to think about Michael Guerin. That guy was able to send shivers up and down her spine for no apparent reason. All he had to do was look at her the right way and it happened.
Michael Guerin stood behind the trash can and smiled to himself as he watched Andy the Jock scratch himself while trying to pick up on a cheerleader named Jane. He thought this was absolutely hilarious.
Well, he thought, he deserves it for punching Max. That still made Michael livid. The jocks at this school thinking they could do whatever they wanted simply because Kyle Valenti had lost Liz Parker's interest.
Well, at least Maxwell has that goin' for him, he thought. He could steal a girl away from Kyle. Thinking of Liz led him to think about her best friend Maria DeLuca. And the way she drove him insane.
Although, Maria would never admit that to anyone, especially Liz. She had given her hell for feeling what she was feeling for Max, so to admit that Michael made her hot would be a very bad thing for everyone.
Think of the devil and he shall appear, she thought, once she got outside and saw that none other than Michael was standing nearby, as if he were spying on someone. Maria raised her eyebrows and walked over to quietly stand behind him.
She was cute and feisty, something you rarely found around here. And she had accepted his alien status once she found out about it, something he was grateful for. He didn't think anyone would ever do that.
But he was never going to tell Max what he thought about Maria. It would just be another reason for Max to have the upper hand, considering Michael had given him hell about Liz. So he was keeping his thoughts to himself.
"Whatcha doin'?" He gasped a little and then sighed. Think of the pixie and she shall appear, he thought, shaking his head. "Nothing." But she watched and realized that Michael was making that stuff happen to Andy.
"What'd he do to piss you off?" Michael didn't say anything. "Does this have anything to do with Max's black eye?" Michael just nodded and Maria knew it. Max had been punched by Andy because of Kyle. Moron, she thought, shaking her head.
Maria began chuckling, causing Michael to raise his eyebrows. "I wish I had the ability to do stuff like that. I would love to do stuff like that to anyone who has ever pissed me off in my life. By doing something mean to my friends, I mean."
She cleared her throat a little. "I mean, Alex used to be picked on a lot..." Alex Whitman, hers and Liz's other best friend, was a little bit of a geek and people used to be mean. So that's what she had meant. She knew Michael knew that.
"But I usually use conventional methods, like verbal bashing or something. Ya' know, due to my non-Czechoslovakian status." Michael knew that was Maria's nickname for that and even though he wouldn't tell her this, he thought it was comical and cute.
They looked at each other at the same time and shared something in the look. They both knew that this was the first time they had realized that they had anything in common. And it made them both smile. Then they parted ways.