Part 13
"Please, Maria, give me another chance. I can't lose you."
The titter from the crowd went unheard. Tess and Kyle watched Max, fascinated. Isabel was slack-jawed at seeing her brother act this way. Michael was as always expressionless, but he kept a hand on the small of Maria's back, neither holding her back nor pushing her, but letting her know he was there.
She shook her head. "I can't do that, Max."
"I love you, Maria. I need you. I'm sorry about what happened. It wasn't my choice. I was just—"
"Not the guy I wanted you to be," she finished for him. "Max, we're not compatible. I'm just sorry I realized it too late. I would have wanted to end this sooner." Vaguely, she noted that Max was doing this in front of everyone who would care to watch. Max was proving to her that he wasn't ashamed of her, that he wanted the world to know that he loved her.
"How can you say that? We're perfect together. We balance each other out. You make me so alive, and I temper you," he said softly.
Maria sighed. "With a bargain like that, I lose. I don't need someone to douse me like I'm some fire to be extinguished, Max. I love myself too much for that."
"Mi—" He glanced at Michael, and then back at Maria. "Someone told me I hurt you because you thought I was ashamed of you. But I'm not, Maria. You're the best girlfriend I can even have. It was just one mistake. Forgive me. Please. One mistake, Maria. I deserve at least a second chance."
Maria stepped closer to Max, not needing people to hear their conversation. She tried to lower her voice. "Max, this isn't that anymore. Maybe now I'm the one ashamed that you're my boyfriend. I let you control me, Max! You think I'm breaking up with you because you didn't invite me to your party? You were suffocating me. You made me pack three fourths of my closet because they were too slutty. You constantly nagged about my study ethics. You told me what's healthy to eat and when to eat it. Max, you made me ashamed of myself! That's what I'll regret most about our relationship. And I want out," she finished.
Sadly, she returned to the protection of Michael and her friends. Isabel felt sorry for her brother, but remembered the way he frantically devised a lie for Maria. She embraced her best friend. "I'm not mad at you," she whispered into her ear. At least that small message from her might ease Maria's pain about doing what she had to do.
The six of them started walking away from Max.
"One more chance! I promise I won't do any of those things again, Maria. The clothes, school, the food… I was only thinking of your own good," he called out. "But if you don't like that, I'll stop! I promise, Maria, I'll stop. I'll change," he offered, as thought it was the best gift in the world.
Tess hung back for a bit as the rest of the group continued walking. She was sorry for the guy now. She walked over to him and said, "No offense, Max. You're just a teeny weeny bit too dull compared to the Guerin man, you know. I mean, red roses," she scoffed, but somehow, because she was so sweet delivering it, Max didn't protest. "Red roses is soooo… traditional. You even have them complete with baby's breath. Max, those are totally our parents' time period." She bit her lip. "Okay I gotta go. Kyle might get pissed." Tess scampered off gracefully to catch up with Kyle.
In the meantime, Max was left standing all alone in the corridor clutching his bouquet of true love in the form of traditional flowers. Well, he was all alone aside from the dozens of students looking on with amusement and incredulity with the dazed faces of people sitting on the couch too long watching tv, and of course Mr. Matthews who was waiting for his exam paper.
"It's okay, Mr. Evans," he assured the young man, although he really had no idea what exactly happened. He just went out to see what the commotion outside his classroom was about. "Young love…" he stammered. He didn't know how to talk to these kids. "Young love… is always lovelier the second time around," he finished lamely. Taking the sheet of paper from Max's hand, he patted his back. "You know that's a lovely choice. I gave red roses to my wife too on our first date." Max squeezed his eyes shut in despair and Mr. Matthews left him.
"Poor Max," one of the girls sighed.
"I don't know about Maria and Tess, but I really think red roses are sweet!" another gushed.
"I'd talk a bouquet of lettuce if it's from Max," Linda announced.
"You would!" retorted a faceless guy from the back. "We know how much you love food."
"Asshole," Linda bit back.
Max didn't register any of this. His shoulders were slumped and he kept his gaze on his feet. Maria didn't want him back. This wasn't fair. He knew he was in the wrong and he regretted it. Where's the second chance people were supposed to have? With the bouquet dangling from his hand, he dragged his feet towards the boy's restroom. Halfway there, he just dropped the bouquet on the floor. And then he hurried to the privacy of the restroom.
He didn't even see the group of girls who jumped to the floor where the roses lay and madly bit and tore at each other to get at least one blossom of the Max Evans' roses as keepsake.
~~
"I'll pick you up at seven later, Tess."
A blonde eyebrow arched over one powder blue eye. "I don't think so, Kyle. I made plans with Isabel."
"But I thought we were gonna catch a movie tonight."
"Did you inform me about it?" Tess snidely asked. "No. You just supposed that I'd jump at the chance of going out with you. Well sorry, buster, my time is my own." Without giving him time to respond, Tess turned to Maria. "Would you like to go shopping with us, Maria?"
Maria shook her head, still heavy of heart. "I think I'm going to spend time with Michael Guerin. I mean, I do need to convince him not to back out on our prom date," she said lightly, "seeing as I just made sure I won't get another one."
Michael appreciated Maria's attempt at humor at a time when she was most probably down with guilt. Max did mean well sometimes. He just lacked balls. "More like she's going to put me through tests, turn me into a slave, and see if she would consider spending the most important party of high school with me."
Michael mentally calculated how much money he had saved up. He wasn't filthy rich like the Evans, and he had been scrimping and saving enough money to get him started after high school. He had applied for a government scholarship in the art school in Albuquerque and he had to have some start-up money for transportation and lodging until he could find another job in the new city. Minus the tux rental and a nice corsage for Maria, he prayed that he'd still have enough. Maria deserved a real nice date.
"Just make sure you don't get me a corsage, Michael. Don't blow big bucks on something that prissy. I won't wear it anyway." Maria hoped that Michael wouldn't argue. The two of them weren't the words richest people, and there was no sense spending food money for flowers that would wilt after a few hours anyway.
"Like I'd even think about it," he answered easily, a little relieved.
"Look, people, don't talk about that yet. You might jinx the Bio finals. Don't just suppose we're graduating. I'm still nervous about the results."
"Oh stuff it, Kyle," Isabel told him, surprisingly standing close to the grinning new boy Whitman. "You're going to pass. Don't be so paranoid."
"You're jinxing me!" Kyle breathed out in awe and fear. "That's what you're doing Isabel. You're jinxing me. You're one evil bitch!"
Alex's dreamy eyes hardened and snapped at Kyle, but he was shocked to see Isabel blush. "Oh Kyle, stop…"
"You are! I can't believe it. Bitch."
"Kyle!" Isabel protested, a smile creeping across her face, all traces of iciness gone. That confirmed it. Kyle Valenti was officially a friend. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
"It's not gonna work, Kyle. You're not going to charm her into breaking off her plans with me," Tess told her boyfriend. "We're going to the mall and that's that. Ready, Iz?"
"Uhuh. Hey Alex, why don't you drive us?"
"Ummm…" Alex scrambled for a response that might get him into the beauty's good graces fast, "anything for you, bitch."
Isabel glowered at him. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she demanded. "I just met you. Goodbye!"
The two blondes stalked off towards the parking lot, muttering about the asshole who called her a bitch. Alex was confused. Unsure about what to do, he called out, "I'm still the one taking you to the ball, right?"
"Just make dam-ned sure you get the palest shade of purple for my corsage!" Isabel snapped, not breaking the pace of her walk.
The new guy turned to the three left. His question was directed to Maria. "Is this hormones?"
But it was Kyle who answered, since Michael and Maria were suddenly occupied staring into each other's eyes… as friends only, mind you. "It's Isabel," he answered. "Get used to it."
"This is okay?"
"As long as she hasn't threatened to maim you using beauty products, you're okay," Michael replied, taking pity on the guy. "Now me and Maria are blowing out of this joint," he told them in his best 1930s movie voice. "Shall we?" Maria placed her hand on the proffered elbow and they happily left the building.
"No shit," Kyle muttered. "That boy's on something."
"No, actually, he seemed fine—friendly."
"Well dumbass,
then he's on something!" When his initial shock was gone, he grinned at
Alex. "Oh sorry, you're new."
Part 14
Maria laughed at Michael's devastated face. She had to pick up some groceries at the mall for dinner, and Michael went with her. When they passed through the arcade, his longing look caught her eye, and she agreed to go on an air hockey match with him. Before they started, he warned her that he didn't want her to feel too insecure. "I've been practicing since I was a kid. The loss you're gonna experience is in no way your fault," he grinned.
At that, she had merely shrugged and told him, "Just play, dorkbutt." Over the next seven games, Maria wiped the arcade floor with Michael's butt. He was not going to recover from this for a long time. "Did I mention that one of my mom's exes was a game station repairman? I had my own private air hockey table by the time I was ten."
His face took on a look of utter shock and envy. "Do you still have it?" he asked reverently.
"Asked for it for my eleventh birthday. It's in the attic."
"Can I play with it?"
Maria laughed out loud. "Well it's not connected to the sockets and it's already broken. It's been a long time since I used it."
"Can I play with it if I fix it?" he asked again.
"Sure thing, Michael. Now why don't we grab the groceries and head back home? My mom's waiting, I think, if she's sober."
"Oh she's sober," he assured her. "You finished off anything in that house remotely alcoholic. She won't be able to restock until the end of the month. What was up with that anyway?"
To her credit, Maria managed to look contrite. "I wasn't planning on getting drunk."
Michael winced. "How could you get that drunk unplanned? And why did you even drink in the first place?" He knew well how much Maria abhorred the stuff. Living with an alcoholic tended to make you run from spirits.
"I just saw the bottle and thought I'd celebrate having cut off the useless limb—"
"What useless… Oh."
"Yeah anyway, I thought I'd drink to my freedom. But the high of it was so good I just couldn't stop. I learned my lesson though," she related shame-faced.
Michael grinned. "Idiot," he muttered tenderly. And then he put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. When she looked up at him, he warned, "I'll personally put you over my knee if you get drunk again."
Her eyes gleamed at the prospect. "Really?"
And Michael groaned.
~~
"What was that all about with Kyle, Tess? I mean it's great you're standing up to him and all, but I thought you enjoyed him taking command. I was having the creeps watching how you followed everything he said."
"Oh please," the smaller girl replied. She pulled a red gown from the rack and held it up to the light. "I'd follow him anywhere, but not in the expense of shopping night!" She ran the cloth between two fingers. "Is this a little thin to you?"
"It's kind of transparent," Isabel noted.
Tess grinned. "Perfect." She waved her hand at the salesgirl. "Do you have this in powder blue?"
Isabel nodded her approval. "So what are we gonna get Maria?"
Tess frowned at Isabel. "What do you mean? Doesn't she have a dress already?"
"With Amy De Luca as her mother? I doubt it."
"Then why didn't she come with us?"
The tall blonde sighed. "Maria didn't have any money. She probably thought she'd use one of the old gowns at her house. Amy doesn't really give her much of an allowance. They're very poor." Isabel squealed and took a purple skirt from the hanger. "Okay this would fit her. Oh wait, I'm wearing purple." She returned the skirt and looked around the boutique.
"So you're going to buy her a gown?"
"Uhuh."
"You do realize Maria won't be able to pay you if she's that poor."
"Are you kidding me?" Isabel smiled at Tess. "This is my graduation gift for my best friend." Her eyes lit up when she saw the gown they put on the mannequin at the display window. "Tess! That's it!" She pointed to it.
Tess followed the direction she pointed and gasped. It was a very light green satin dress, almost white in its paleness, with a low cut bodice at the front, a back so low it was past the curve of the spine, and a layered pencil cut bottom. "A mermaid gown. And that shimmer is wow."
Mesmerized, the two of them approached the mannequin. While Isabel inspected the cut and how it would look on Maria, Tess lifted the tag. She wasn't rich, and it was a habit that she had automatically picked up over the years. Isabel's face appeared over the mannequin's shoulder, smiling brightly. "What do you think, Tess? Is this it or what!"
"It's very pretty, Izzy. But it's kind of… expensive."
Isabel peeked at the tag. It was more expensive that the purple dress she'd picked out for herself a week ago, but it was reasonable. "It's a fair price for something like this," she shrugged.
"Are you sure you want to give Maria a gift that costs this much?" Then again, Tess supposed, maybe she just doesn't comprehend how the rich people thought. "Maria will love it even if you just gave her a card."
While she waited for the saleslady to pack the dress, she turned to Tess. "Maria has been my best friend for a long time, Tess. And it's the last day of high school. She deserves it." She handed her card at the counter. "Besides," she continued, teasing, eyes sparkling, "I'd have to make up a little for the agony my brother put her through."
~~
Amy had insisted that he have dinner with them. She was actually a pretty nice lady when she wasn't drunk, Michael thought. He smiled as Maria sat down with them on the table.
"So what are your plans after graduation, Michael?"
Maria looked up, obviously interested too.
"I'm waiting for the response of an art scholarship I applied for," he replied. "I'm hoping to get into the government program that's going to pay half my tuition fee. The other half I can work for. If that doesn't come through, I guess I'll find some odd jobs. I can't afford to go on my own."
"Where did you plan to attend, Michael?"
"New York."
Maria's face took on a look of extreme happiness. "I'm going there!"
"You are?" He'd always thought that Amy won't be able to send Maria to college since they had such a hard time of it.
It was Amy who answered his question. "Maria's going to college," she told him, with a hint of pride in her voice. "She's not gonna end up without a fine education like me. Finally she can use the only good thing her father ever did. He got her a college plan before he up and left. Took a lot but I didn't touch it so she can go when she has to."
"So I guess we don't have to say goodbye at graduation," Maria said lightly. "So you won't have to cry."
Michael laughed. He was happy.
~~
Part 15
The next day was the day of judgment. Those whose names appeared typewritten on the bond papers stapled on the bulletin board aced the exam and would therefore be out of Roswell High as graduates. It was an exciting moment in their lives, and for some, it was the dreaded day of doom and gloom.
"I passed!" came the sharp cry from the young man in front of the bulletin board. "Woohoo, I passed!" He started jumping up and down. "I'm a high school graduate, baby!"
The onlookers grinned at the enthusiasm that Kyle Valenti was showing. He was doing dance steps they've only before seen on late night TV, from 70s disco shows.
"Kyle, you're embarrassing me," Tess muttered. She couldn't wait to see her results as well. Kyle should move. And really, he should stop acting like a child.
Kyle pointed to her and wagged his fingers. "Well, baby, you passed too. 87!"
Tess grabbed at her heart. "87!?" she cried. "80 friggin 7?!" Kyle nodded happily. "Oooooooh!!!! I'm so smart!" She leapt at Kyle and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Always knew you were, Tessie!" Kyle gasped.
"Oh please," Isabel sighed as she and Alex stepped into the space they vacated in front of the board.
Alex peered down the sheet to Whitman and straightened with a goofy grin. "91," he told Isabel proudly.
Isabel nodded, impressed. She then looked at the top half of the sheet to read her grade. She frowned and made sure. There it was. Evans, Isabel. She followed at the margin and glanced back again. It wasn't Evans, Maxwell. It was her. It was her. Oh. My. God.
Alex saw her frantic look. He peered at her grade and his eyes grew wide. "92," he whispered. Instead of answering, Isabel placed both hands at the back of his head and drew him to her lips, kissing him with all the celebration in her long limbs.
"Maria, Tess and I will drop by your house later," she gasped out before diving in for another kiss.
Michael carefully pushed Alex sideways so the smacking couple would move and make way for him and Maria. Her hands tightened on his, and he knew she was nervous. He pulled her with him and silently asked her a question. She nodded.
Even before he looked at his grade, he looked at hers. His lips curved and he whispered into her ear. "You can open your eyes now, Miss Graduate."
Maria followed where Michael's finger pointed, and her mouth fell open. Despite reassuring Kyle yesterday, she was totally nervous. Who in their right minds took finals drunk? "Michael, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Yup. You were right, Maria. You aced it."
"I was just blabbing."
"Well your test scores say the blab was real."
"I really made just four mistakes?" She still couldn't believe it.
"Uhuh. You were five points higher than me."
Startled, she looked down at Guerin, Michael. Their class had taken a different exam, same subject, the day before. "We're going to New York," she whispered. And then louder. "We're going to New York. We're really going to New York, Michael!" She threw her arms around him, and he slipped his around her. In front of the rows and names and numbers that represented the last test they had before blowing out of Roswell, they embraced.
~~
"Oh my gosh! Did you hear it, Tara? This is too unreal! Lizzie Parker is going to the graduation ball with Jared Tyler."
"What? Jared Tyler? Are you sure?"
"Jared Tyler, Tara! And of course I'm sure. I heard it from my cousin who picked it up from her boyfriend who heard it from these girls at the mall who apparently was told by their sisters. It's first hand info! It's all over school. Liz Parker is hot material."
"Wow. Unbelievable. Jared is like the hottest guy from the batch ahead of us. I didn't even know he liked Liz. She always seemed… studious."
"Well didn't you know… The latest studies say that guys go after smart girls for long-term relationships. Liz must be marriage material."
"Liz is so going to be Senior Queen. I don't care if Isabel Evans is tall and graceful, or that Tess Harding is cute and bubbly, or even if Maria De Luca's turning out to be Miss Sought-After Love Queen. Getting Jared Tyler is soooo earning my vote!"
"Oh my dress just arrived. Talk to you later!"
"Oh okay, sweetie. Have fun. I still need to call Pamela and tell her. She is so gonna die."
~~
"Mom," Liz whined, "what is this?" She raised the glittery red dress up to the light. "I don't like this."
"I'll have you know, darling, that that is a very stylish dress. I picked it up from the dressmaker. You designed it yourself, sweetie. You insisted on a tailor-made cut so nobody would arrive in the same dress as yours."
Liz shook her head. "No no! I might've liked the design then but I hate it now, mom. I want to go to the mall and get another one."
Mrs. Parker sighed. "Don't you at least want to try that on? That cost a lot, Liz."
"Would you not get on my case, mom? Look, I am graduating with honors." Liz's arms flapped widely. "I worked my butt off in high school. I at least deserve a good dress!"
~~
"Are you sure this is okay, Maria?" Amy asked unsurely, holding an old box in front of her.
"Of course, mom." Maria smiled up at her mother. She wasn't so bad after the entire drunkfest. She was a pretty great woman sober. Maria just really really hoped she won't buy alcohol on the next payday, supposing she still had a job at the alien store, that is. "Thank you so much for letting me use your old prom gown."
Maria took the box out of Amy's hands and put it on the couch. Michael grinned at her as she opened it. She drew the yellow gown out and held it in front of her.
"It's horribly out of date, Maria. I wish I had more money to get you a new one. You did so well at school and all."
"But it's beautiful, isn't it, Michael?" She held the old dress to her body and looked up at her "very close friend."
"A sack would look good on you," he said lightly. And then realizing what he said, he glanced up at Amy in alarm. "Not that your old prom gown is a sock, Mrs. De Luca. I mean a sack would be so much less material than that." And in front of their very eyes, Michael reddened. "And I'm not saying that Maria would look much better with less stuff on. Well not that she won't," he stammered. "NO! I mean—"
Maria laughed and held up her hand to silence him. "Dig yourself deeper, will you?"
Michael groaned and Maria walked over to him. Filled with shame, he buried his face in Maria's stomach.
"So you two are back together again, I take it," Maria's mom asked lightly.
Maria ruffled the hair on Michael's head, which he still had not taken out from its attachment to her belly. "What makes you think that, mom?" And then she turned back to Michael, combing her fingers through the hair. "We're going to gel this baby to slick back. That would be so hot. Especially if you're wearing a tux. Now where did I get that image before?" she wondered out loud.
There was a
series of rapid knocks on the door. They were swift, but not brusque. Sophisticated
knocks, even. Definitely Isabel Evans out there. Amy shook her head at
the two, and turned to answer the door.
