Through The Silvered Glass- Chapter Ten
Disclaimer: Not mine
A/N: I LOVE MY REVIEWERS. Now that I've gotten that out. Seriously, though, you guys are my candy. So, didn't manage to cover a whole lot of time with this chapter, but some of the characters worked through some stuff that needed to happen. Didn't really think this conversation with Alex would come up this soon, but it evolved that way, so it must be right. Sorry if my Alex and Maria seem a little too whimsical, but I just love them like this. I'll explain it better later, but my Alex and Maria literally grew up in each other's pockets. For all intents and purposes, they can be likened to twins separated at birth. And Kyle came off as a jerk in this chapter I know, but have some sympathy; his mouth ran away with him. He really is a good guy, in fact he's one of my favorite characters, but right now he's in a position where he's kinda stuck as the bad guy. Trust me, though. He's sorry. Also, tried to do some Maria and Liz friendship, because I don't mean for her to be that self-centered all the time, but it's like I can't help it. You guys are right. She sucks, just a little. But since Alex and Maria let her get away with it, it's sorta their fault. Plenty of abandonment issues to go around, huh?
"Creeps & Secrets"
Michael's POV
Michael watched Maria as she dashed between tables, covering nearly the whole floor by herself. Both Liz and Max should have been here an hour ago. He watched Isabel attempt to call Max for the eleventh time since they had gotten to the Crashdown. Annoyance was clear on her features. He was getting antsy himself. He hated waiting around like a sitting duck.
Maria came up to their booth. "Any luck?" She asked. Her cheeks were pink from her recent exertions.
From across the diner a customer called out "I've been waiting for my hot fudge blast off for like, 20 minutes!"
Maria made a face. "Yeah, like he really needs another eighty grams of fat." She muttered. Surprisingly, Michael found himself wanting to laugh, which was totally unlike him. Must be the stress, he decided.
"No!" Isabel was scowling, and Michael quickly decided that laughing would be a bad thing.
Suddenly the door chimed, and Liz and Max came in. Max slid into the seat next the Michael.
Liz and I came up with an idea." Max said.
"What?" Michael said, leaning forward. Any idea had to be better than him just sitting around waiting for Ms. Tupolski to find him!
Suddenly he could here Maria's voice rise above the din.
"Oh, no you don't, Liz Parker. The place is a zoo! You are the Mighty Floor Manager, and it is your job to make sure that the masses get their greasy, fatty goodness in a timely matter!"
"We'll tell you what we find out!" Max said. Sliding back out of the booth, he headed for the door as Liz called out "Thanks, Maria, you're the best!"
"Liz! Elizabeth, darn it, wait, Liz!" But it was no good, they were gone, and remaining three were stuck staring at each other.
"Did either of you understand that?" Isabel asked icily.
"You two have been ditched, and I've been abandoned." Maria summarized.
"That's what I got." Michael agreed. He was planning horrible things to do to Max when he returned. Sitting here watching the clock was driving him crazy. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to explode.
Izzy just scowled.
Michael sat there thinking as Isabel worked on her English homework, and Maria tried her best to do her job and Liz's.
Unwillingly, his thoughts went back to earlier in the day, of him and Maria in the eraser room. When he had looked over as she had started pulling the boards over, he'd nearly had a heart attack. Didn't she know how short her skirt was? And it had felt like her perfume had filled the entire space in the small room.
Despite the fact that they had touched repeatedly while in the eraser room, he'd never gotten a flash from her, either. At one point, he had started to touch her arm on purpose, attempting to get a flash, but it hadn't worked. He still hadn't told Max about the flashes, and the way things were going, he doubted he would. His calm logical Max had gone all flaky, and he wanted the old one back. Idly he took one of the napkins and Izzy's extra pen and started doodling on the napkin.
Just then the bell over the door rang again. Automatically, Michael glanced over at the newcomer.
He scowled. Kyle Valenti wasn't the FBI, but that didn't mean Michael had to like him.
He watched as Kyle made his way to the counter, and took a seat.
Maria was still flitting about like a panicked butterfly, but Michael could tell the precise moment she realized Kyle was there. She stiffened, and then to Michael it looked like she cursed softly under her breath.
She walked up to him, and wrote something on her pad. Kyle said something else to her and she frowned and shook her head, and walked away. Michael scowled harder; he couldn't hear their conversation over the noise of the other patrons.
He and Isabel continued to wait as the diner slowly emptied itself. It was now nearing nine o'clock, and Michael, Isabel, Maria, and two old guys in a far booth were the only remaining customers. Plus, Kyle Valenti, of course, who had continued to sit at the counter, staring down Maria, as he periodically attempted to make a call on his mobile phone.
Kyle's attitude was seriously starting to rub Michael the wrong way. On one hand, he could understand the guy's frustration, Liz had obviously stood him up, but he really didn't get what that had to do with Maria. He could tell Maria was bothered by Kyle staring at her, she had gotten more and more tense as the night wore on. It probably didn't help that Kyle looked a great deal like his father, of whom Maria was terrified. Even Isabel was getting upset by it.
"Valenti needs to get over himself." She said, glancing up from her chemistry notes. Michael narrowed his eyes in agreement. He looked down at what he had been doodling on the napkin. A half circle, with one straight side, over and over again. His gut clenched, something about the image, like he almost remembered it….
"Kyle let go of me! I'm sorry, but, no, Liz isn't here, and no, I don't know where she is, and NO, I STILL DON'T KNOW WHEN SHE'LL BE back!" Michael's head shot up, narrowing in on the two figures at the front counter.
Maria had sounded more angry than frightened. She was leaning against the side of the counter, her hand still holding the dishrag from where she had been wiping down the counter when Kyle grabbed her forearm.
Michael grinned and Isabel started looking distinctly uneasy. Without looking away from him she reached in her purse for her cell phone. "Michael, don't do anything stupid…" She started.
Michael didn't even look at her. Stupid was his specialty, after all, and he'd just narrowed in on a great way to get rid of some of the day's tension.
Smoothly, he slid out of the booth, stalking up behind Kyle silently. Behind him he could hear Isabel dialing her phone, he knew she was calling Max, but he didn't really care. Max should have kept him and Izzy in the loop, Liz shouldn't have abandoned Maria to deal with Kyle, and Kyle really shouldn't pick on girls.
He stood silently behind Kyle, who was a few inches shorter than him, only about two inches taller than Maria. She was still glaring at Kyle and protesting her lack of knowledge about Liz's whereabouts.
"Maria, I'm not stupid, Liz has been acting funny for days, now, and you're her best friend. You can't convince me you don't know anything!" Kyle's voice had a frustrated edge to it that Michael could sympathize with. But he wasn't going to.
"Maybe I can convince you she doesn't know anything." Michael let his voice come from that dark place inside of him, the one he managed to keep locked up most of the time. Most, anyway.
Unfortunately, Kyle didn't take the warning. "Stay out of this Guerin; this has nothing to do with you!" He said, without even fully turning around. Luckily for him, he had let go of Maria's arm when Michael had spoken.
Michael could see Maria's eyes widen as she began to fully appreciate what was about to happen.
"Leave her alone, Valenti." Last warning, Michael thought. Really, he was proud of himself for managing two.
At that point Maria tried to intervene. She came quickly around the corner of the counter and placed herself in the rapidly shrinking space between the two guys. Kyle was facing Michael, now, and they were both going full on glares and Michael had started to flex his fists.
"Michael, thanks but no thanks, I'm a big girl, big enough for him anyway!" Maria said, jerking her head in Kyle's direction.
"And Kyle, for the last time, I don't know, and if you give me anymore trouble, I'm gonna go get Liz's dad from upstairs, got it?" She said to Kyle with a glare of her own.
"Don't give me that crap!" Kyle yelled, right in Maria's face.
From there, things got a little confused; Michael lunged forward, but was restrained by Maria who had now been joined by Isabel. Neither girl could have physically stopped him, but he wasn't willing to go over them to hurt Valenti.
At least not until Valenti said "Whatcha do to earn trailer trash's loyalty, huh? Maria?"
Maria and Isabel both gasped, then Isabel slapped Kyle, hard. Before he had a chance to recover from that Michael punched him in the face just as Isabel cried out "Don't you ever call Michael that!"
Kyle's nose was bleeding, and neither Isabel nor Michael seemed like they were finished with him, but at that point Maria bodily pushed past Michael and Isabel, yelling
"Stop it, stop! Everyone, Stop, NOW!" Maria had a pretty powerful voice, Michael thought as he stood there, fists still clenched. He was still ready to remove Valenti's head from his shoulders. No one called him trash to his face and walked away. That first hit was just a warm-up. And as for that comment about Maria…..It was better if he didn't think of that part. Maria had just cleaned up, after all. Isabel still looked slightly feral herself.
Maria turned to them and hissed "His dad is the sheriff! The sheriff!This ends now!"
Then to their astonishment, she grabbed a wad of napkins from the dispenser, shoved them in Kyle's face, and dragged him out the door.
"Is she defending him…?" Isabel started, but stopped when they saw Maria slap Kyle's other cheek through the window, and then say something angrily to him. They had another heated moment of discussion, and then Kyle stormed away. Maria turned her back to the window, and leaned against it.
Both the aliens watched her for a moment. "Let's get out of here, Michael." Isabel said. "My parents are home by now."
But Michael was heading to the door already, because through the window he had seen Maria jerk around quickly and take a step back, looking at something Michael couldn't see from his current viewpoint.
Maria's POV
Maria had had one hell of a night. Liz skipping out of her shift in the middle of the dinner rush had only been the beginning. Despite what she had told Kyle, Liz's parents weren't actually there, they had gone out and would be back long after closing. But Kyle's persistence had finally pushed her to the point of bluffing. Granted, the bluff was unnecessary once Michael punched Kyle.
Maria had stood for about three seconds in frozen fascination. She was a red-blooded female, after all, and that kind of response to a hit to her honor….well. And Michael had a heck of a right hook. She could admit that it had been a thing of beauty. There would be definite bruising. Hell, there might even be broken bones inside Kyle's thick head somewhere. She would like to say that from the very second it occurred she had been nothing but horrified by the violence involved. But that would have been a total lie. So for those first three seconds Maria did an internal, gleeful little victory dance ending in a mental image of herself scoring a touchdown, and then pointing her finger at Kyle and screaming "Showed You!".
Unfortunately, in that fourth second she had crashed back into reality. Kyle was the sheriff's son. The sheriff, who would love nothing more than a reason to cart one of the Czechoslovakians in for questioning. And Michael had just given him a hell of a reason, unless Maria did some definite damage control.
Ignoring the surprised looks on the Czech's faces, she grabbed a handful of napkins for Kyle's nose, shoved them in his face, and drug him outside by the collar of his letter jacket.
Once the door closed behind them she spun towards Kyle.
"Kyle Daniel Valenti, you and I are going to have a serious discussion, right now!" She wasn't yelling. Yet. But for the hell of it she got her own slap in, which must have hurt considering the one Isabel had laid on him a moment ago.
His eyes widened. She was on a roll now. "What, you thought that after going to school with you your whole life I wouldn't know you your full name? Or your favorite color? What about where you live? Did you think I forgot what I gave you for your tenth birthday, when you had that trail riding party at the stables?" Shame was her best bet now, she decided.
"You know what else I remember, Kyle?" She paused, her chest heaving. Tears wouldn't be hard to pull off, after all, she realized. What he had said had hurt her. He continued to stand there silently.
"I remember our first stupid school dance, when we were both thirteen. And that jerk Dale from the grade ahead of us started hassling me, talking about my being white trash and how I didn't even have a dad. And its funny Kyle, because what I remember next is you, punching his lights out. And you stood there and said it didn't matter where you lived, or how many parents you had. And then you said only creeps picked on girls." Yep, there went a tear or two. It didn't hurt that adrenaline from seeing the fight was still coursing through her body, giving her the shakes.
"So, I guess, Kyle, the only thing I don't remember is when you became a creep. Because the Kyle Valenti I grew up with wouldn't have needed Michael Guerin to remind him of his manners. God, Kyle, I know that I'm not part of your little group, but…" She trailed off. Crying outright would be bad because she probably wouldn't stop.
"I'm Sorry." His voice was muffled from the tissue covering his face. She just looked at him.
"I know." Maria said. "I know what people think of me, and my mom. I guess I just never expected to hear it from you." She studied him carefully. He still looked angry, but he also looked slightly mortified. Good. The shame card was all she had to play.
"Why did Guerin come to your defense anyway? It's not exactly in character, is it?" He asked, studying her in a way that reminded her of his father.
"You weren't exactly yourself, either, Kyle, unless of course, you really do think that the only reason somebody would defend me is if I'm putting out for them." Now he barely even looked mad, just ashamed. A part of her wished Liz could like him, he wasn't her type, but he wouldn't have been bad, either.
"I'm outta here." Kyle mumbled.
"Hey Kyle?" He looked at her. "Let's stick to the golden rule from now on. OK?" He nodded once jerkily, and turned and left.
She had just allowed herself to relax for one second against the window when a noise from the direction opposite of the one Kyle had just taken caused her to spin around in surprise and a small degree of fear.
She relaxed when she recognized Alex and Claudia, in the shadows. However from the looks on their faces, they must have witnessed just about everything, first through the window, and then in person when she had dragged Kyle out here.
From behind her she heard the door open, and she knew without looking that it was Michael, followed most likely by Isabel. How she knew she couldn't really explain. It was almost like a sense of heat at her back. But she didn't really feel it with her skin, necessarily, the way a person did with true heat. It was more a simple awareness that it was there. Michael gave off these vibes…
"Hey Alex." She said weakly, as Michael stopped suddenly behind her. She could here Isabel say "crap" really softly under her breath.
"Have a good time tonight?" She tried again. Alex's face looked like a storm cloud, while Claudia's was alight with curiosity.
"What's going on?" Alex said, but was overrun when Claudia said-
"Maria, I don't believe I've met your…knight in shining armor?" Claudia smiled cheekily; completely unaware of the trouble she was stirring up. Immediately all four teens tensed, and Claudia looked from one face to another, confusion evident on her own.
"I'm outta here!" Michael muttered, turning on his heel as Isabel followed without a word. Maria watched as Alex's eyes followed Isabel's exit.
Suddenly his eyes turned back to her. "Since when does Michael Guerin run interference for you, Maria? Or anyone, for that matter?" He asked, his voice deceptively mild.
Suddenly, Maria had had it. Throwing up her arms she cried "Michael is a…I don't know, a friend, I guess, Alex. Is that ok? Yes, I KNOW him! Max and Liz have been hanging out a little, and I and Michael have been thrown together a few times. We're not together, or an item, he didn't steal my car, and he's not running interference for me!" She was now too mad to cry.
"That's not what it looked like from here!" Alex cried. "Maria, Michael went after Kyle for talking to you!" He finished.
"Then I guess you didn't see the part where Kyle grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go?" She snapped back. "And I'm also guessing you missed the part where Kyle implied that I must be sleeping with Michael in order for him to stand up for me? What do you think, Alex? Is there any other reason for somebody to be decent to me?" Whirling around without waiting for a reply, she stalked through the doors to the back, hitting the switches that shut off the outside neon lights. She heard Alex and Claudia come in. Claudia came and gave her a hug.
"I'm sorry sweetie; I certainly didn't mean to stir things up. I should have remembered how touchy teenage boys are. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"
With a nod and a small smile she watched Claudia go out the front doors, Alex locking them behind her. He turned back to her.
"Maria, I..." He started, but she shook her head.
"I don't want to hear it, Alex, I'm just so sick of being in the middle of all this and trying to keep everyone happy. Just leave me alone, OK?" She grabbed the broom and started sweeping furiously.
He came up to her, taking the broom out of her hands and leaning it against the counter. Wrapping his arms around her stiff frame, he said "You should know better than that, by now, babe." After a moment, she gave in and relaxed against him.
He sat her down in a booth and sat across from her. "Now, tell me what happened."
For a moment, she considered brushing the whole incident off, but then she decided it would only make things worse. Alex would know she was lying, and get mad, as well as feel hurt. She would feel bad, not just for lying but because she hadn't gained the relief of telling her best friend. And sharing as much as she could with Alex might go a small way towards easing his frustration over what she couldn't tell him.
"Liz likes Max." She said, finally, ignoring the twinge of guilt at telling Liz's secrets. "She won't even admit it to herself, much less Kyle, but she does. She keeps coming up with these really random reasons to be with him, and every once and a while, I've gotten dragged along.
Alex nodded. "Like the game on Saturday." He supplied. Relieved he understood her meaning, she nodded.
"Exactly, and Max is just as bad. They are both totally into each other, and to be honest, I kinda like them as a couple, but…" she trailed off.
"Why all the secrets and drama?" Alex asked.
"I think Liz is afraid to let go of Kyle, and Max is afraid to make a move, and neither are really sure enough of the other, and she's been swearing me to secrecy…I'm sorry Alex, I wanted to tell you everything, but you know Liz, if she didn't believe I'd keep her secrets one hundred percent, she'd just clam up and try to do everything herself, and she's never felt like this about anyone, from what I can tell, and she's not always using the best judgment…" Again, she ran out of words. Thankfully, this was Alex, who knew her better than anyone.
"And it's Liz, who's one of your best friends, which pretty much means you'd walk off a cliff before you'd let her go through anything alone." He finished for her. She smiled weakly.
"I'm working on her, I really am. She should know that we can tell you anything, but she's scared, and Max is just as private as her, believe it or not, he might be more private, and his sister and Michael aren't too supportive of the idea of them together, from what I can tell, so that's not helping. Just give me some time, ok, Alex?"
He studied her. "What does all this have to do with the shooting at the crashdown, or the car theft at the Crashfest?" he asked.
She stared at him. There was no helping it. "Best Friendship Rule Number Two." She said quietly.
His eyes widened. She couldn't blame him. She'd pretty much just invoked a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, which was almost unheard of in their friendship. Rule number two, in essence, pretty much stated that they loved each other too much to lie to each other, so if they couldn't say the truth, they weren't saying anything. Up until this point, the only things that had really fallen into that category were things like periods and wet dreams. They were pretty much open books with each other. If they never said something to each other, it was because the other already knew, telling wasn't necessary. Like Alex's unspoken crush on Isabel Evans. Maria didn't ask, but she knew. And she knew if she asked, he would admit to it, so she didn't. There wasn't any need to.
"I just wanna know that you're ok, Maria." He said quietly. "So, are you ok?"
She thought about it for a moment. She'd been scared plenty recently, but at the same time… She didn't feel as alone in all of it, as she had thought she would without Alex. She had been dying to tell him, but she hadn't been non-stop terrified, the way she had expected to be, at first.
And Michael was just…she didn't know how to describe it. He was rude, and arrogant, and frustrating, and annoying…and he was willing to beat the hell out of Kyle Valenti. She wasn't foolish enough to think it was all for her, from what she could tell, Michael had been spoiling for a fight for days, and Kyle had simply been too good an opportunity to miss, still...
He hadn't actually hit Kyle until Kyle had made that nasty remark about them.
And even though she didn't think his motives were exactly pure, she realized she wasn't the least surprised by his actions tonight.
Michael might not like her knowing their secret, in fact, she wasn't even sure he liked her at all, really. But from what she could tell, Michael was similar to Alex in some ways.
It was like what she had told Michael about Alex yesterday. Michael seemed to have everyone in his world divided into two groups. The very select few he cared about in any way, shape, or form, and everyone else. And somewhere along the line, she had been moved from the latter category to the former. She wondered if Michael even realized it, yet.
She didn't delude herself, if it came down to Isabel and Max, or her, he'd leave her hanging in a second, she was sure. But, if it was her versus just about anyone else, he would probably do just what he did tonight. He didn't even have to like her; it was just how he was built. She had officially become one of the group, therefore, some degree of protection was extended to her. And he had a hell of a right hook. Gorgeous, really, though she'd die before she'd admit it.
She looked at Alex. "I think…I am as okay as I can be, with everything that is going on. And, I don't know if it's over, or what else is gonna happen, I just know that you are my best friend. And Liz is my other best friend. And right now she really needs me. So, I guess I need you to trust me." She watched him
After a moment or two he nodded. "I trust you, Maria, you know that. I don't like being lied to, though, so, will you tell me everything you can, at least." His voice was small, and she could hear the unwilling hurt in it.
"Yes." She said. She didn't care how much the others got mad, they could jump off a cliff, she wasn't just going to cut Alex out anymore.
"What happened tonight, then?" He asked.
She took a deep breath. "Liz skipped out on her shift, to go and do something with Max, but I don't know what, she didn't stay and explain. Unfortunately, after the dinner rush, she was gonna go catch a movie with Kyle, who she didn't call."
"Who then came here?" Alex prompted.
She nodded. "And waited all night long. He didn't believe me when I said I didn't know where Liz was. Finally, he got so mad he grabbed my arm, and short of making a huge scene…"
"Are you ok, did he hurt you?" Alex asked quickly.
"I'm fine, he wasn't even that rough, it didn't hurt, but Michael and Isabel were here, they were waiting on Max, and Michael decided to go all cave man and solve my problems for me." Maria said.
Alex studied her. "And that doesn't seem a little out of character to you, Maria?" Alex asked.
She sighed. "Alex, I couldn't begin to guess what goes through Michael Guerin's head. But…I really don't think he's as bad as everyone makes him out to be, granted, he totally has it in him, don't get me wrong, I just don't think that's all he has in him, you know? He's always been really protective of Isabel and Max, it's like, legendary how he used to chase boys away from Isabel when they where little. Maybe he's just overprotective of people he's actually gotten to like…know…or speak to?... I don't know. Like I said, it's Michael Guerin. Your guess is as good as mine. But, I'm not scared of him; I don't feel like he would hurt me."
Alex ran his hand through his hair. "Maria, I just don't know about him. There are all kinds of rumors about him, really wild stuff, you know?"
"Alex, I'm not marrying him. But, I'm not gonna let people imply bad things about him for no good reason, either. I mean, honestly, what Kyle said had me ready to hit him!"
Alex leaned forward "What did he say?" She could see anger in his features.
"Michael came up and told him to lay off me, and it went on from there. At one point Kyle might have, sorta, asked how I had earned Michael's loyalty." She winced when she saw Alex's face darken.
"I'm gonna hack into his school records, and erase them. And then I'm gonna re-enter him as Kyla, instead of Kyle…" Alex plotted out loud, lost in angry thoughts.
Maria waved her hands in front of Alex's face. "Alex, Alex! Not necessary, remember, first blood has already been spilled, hell, Alex, Michael hit him, I hit him, jeez, even Isabel hit him."
Alex's eyebrows shot up. "Isabel hit Kyle?" He said in disbelief. Maria nodded.
"Laid a good one on him. Wasn't too happy about him calling Michael trailer trash." Maria said.
Alex frowned. "I can't believe he said that about either of you. Kyle's not my favorite person, but…"
Maria was nodding. "He always seemed like the only one of that group with a soul, right? Well, I don't think he meant it, and if he did, he sure as hell didn't by the time I got down with him. I pulled out all the stops, seriously, he was ready to cry. Of course, so was I!"
They laughed together. Maria was glad she had told him what she did. It wouldn't fix the problem but hopefully, it would help. Alex was just too important to her to do anything else.
"Come on chica." He said. "I'll help you close up shop, ok?"
Together they made quick work of the closing chores. Alex knew the routine as well as Maria.
The next morning, Maria was woken up by Liz jumping onto her bed. Maria peeked out from under her comforter, glancing drowsily at her clock. Six a.m. deciding that nothing Liz could say or do was worth losing her last fifteen minutes of sleep, she pulled the comforter back over her head and snuggled in. She was, after all, the last person in the world to be disturbed by someone jumping on the bed in excitement. Half the time, she was the one doing it.
"I brought cappuccino!" Liz sang out.
Not good enough, Maria decided. Maybe enough to make up for ditching her last night, but not for that and getting up early.
"And triple chocolate chunk cream cheese muffins!" Liz added in her creepy morning person voice.
Maria really wanted that muffin. She looked at the clock. 6:07. She sighed, and without removing the blanket, she stuck her hand out for the cup.
"Be careful it's hot!" Liz sang out. Under the blanket, Maria rolled her eyes. Well, duh'...
She took a sip, immediately burning her tongue and sitting up, the blankets falling wayside.
"I warned you." Liz said complacently as she now sat demurely in Maria's desk chair.
Maria eyed her. "Speak." She said.
"Isabel told Max about Kyle, and he called me, and I am so-so-so sorry, but I cannot believe Michael hit him even if Kyle did…"
"Call me a slut?" Maria asked, her tone brooking no amusement.
"Uhh…yeah. About that, I am totally going to talk to him today, okay? Would you like your apology verbal or written?" Liz asked, trying to get back into Maria's good graces.
Maria thought about it for a minute. "How about sung over the P.A. at school?" She suggested.
Liz made a horrified face. "Maria, have you heard him sing!" And with that, both girls were laughing.
Maria drug herself out of bed and to her closet. What to wear, what to wear? Skirts were proving dangerous, recently. Better go with pants, she decided.
"Hot, hot or really hot?" She asked Liz.
Liz was flipping through a magazine on Maria's desk, idly munching on a muffin. "The weather or your outfit?" She said, without looking out.
"Both, in the order." Maria decided.
"Hot-hot, all around." Liz said decisively.
"Gotcha!" Maria glanced through her options, settling on some dark denim jeans, and a blousy peasant style top, adding a ton of bangles, a sparkly clip for her bangs, and silver hoops for her ears.
She ate her muffin as she played with her hair. Soon it would be long enough to flip out at the ends, which Maria decided would be totally cute. While she liked having one of the shortest hair cuts in school, she had come to the conclusion that long hair was sexier, so she was growing it out. She just wished it didn't take sooo long for hair to grow long. Knowing her, by the time it was finally grown out, she'd be sick of it and chop it off again, restarting the sick twisted cycle over again.
She finished the last of her muffin and cappuccino as she went to her vanity to start on her make-up. Finally caffeinated enough to think straight, she said "Ok, I'm thinking in complete sentences. Dish. Spill. Entertain."
Liz looked up from the magazine.
"Ooohhh, cuteness definitely achieved!" She said, grinning. "Ok, so, last night, Max and I decided to stake out Michael's trailer, to see what happened."
"And…" Maria urged as she applied her eyeliner.
"Nothing, really, she pulled up, asked his foster father where he was, left a card, and took off." Liz said.
Maria frowned in the mirror. Looking around for something appropriate, she grabbed a sweater of the floor next to her feet and threw it at Liz.
"What!" Liz cried as the sweater landed on her head.
"And that took all night, Liz? Hello, fistfight? Abandonment? Doghouse!" She cried, turning to glare at Liz.
Liz looked at her, Maria could tell she wanted to smile but was forcing herself not to.
"Well, we had to make sure she wasn't coming back." Liz said meekly.
Maria just rolled her eyes. Then she grinned evilly. "I told Alex about Max last night." She said, turning back to the mirror to put on her lip gloss.
"What!" Liz shrieked, jumping upright in a heartbeat.
Maria choked; she couldn't hold back the laughter.
"Chill, chica, easy. I told Alex that you and Max liked each other, you were both just to wimpy to do anything about it." Maria was still laughing.
"Maria, how could you, you promised!" Liz said.
Maria turned around. "I didn't break my promise, Liz. All I told him was the reason Max, Michael and Isabel were popping up like daisies everywhere we go, all of a sudden, ok? All I promised was to keep mum about was the Czechoslovakian heritage, and I did. But I never promised to treat Alex like he was stupid, and I won't either, Liz. Pick and choose your battles." She wasn't going to be sorry for it, neither.
Liz sighed, and nodded. "Your right, I know. I'm sorry, I can't help it, I just feel like this whole thing is so out of control."
"Liz, I understand, you need to control stuff, and I get it. But Alex and I… this is the best you are getting, and just this is breaking my heart. I had to invoke rule number two last night, Liz." Maria took a deep breath. She hated to think of the look in Alex's eyes when she point blank refused to tell him.
"I'm sorry, Maria." Liz really did look sorry. Maria knew she was unhappy about it, too. She just had to find a way to make Liz see reason.
Maria nodded. "Let's go to school." She said.
The girls got to school freakishly early, in Maria's opinion. Quickly, she zeroed in on Alex sitting on one of the concrete benches in the quad, an open book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She quickly came up with a game plan.
"I love you Alex." She said, sitting next to her absolute best friend in the world.
"Liz called and said she fed you cappuccino this morning. No, you cannot have the rest of my coffee." He said, without taking his eyes off of his book.
"Coffee drunk before 6:30 doesn't count; you have to start over again at 7:00." Maria said, pouting just a little.
"Maria, cappuccino has three times the caffeine of regular coffee, if I give this to you, you will explode, or die or something, ok?"
She racked her brains. Crap. No real argument there. She probably didn't need any more coffee; she just really, really wanted it.
She slumped down to the ground beside him, grateful she had gone with pants and not a skirt. Laying her head gently on his leg, she let his body take the brunt of her weight.
"Hold me!" She said dramatically. Absently he petted her head between turning pages. She glanced up, reading the title upside down. Dune, she made out after a moment. Good, she knew he had already read that one. No guilt for ruining it then.
"Whatcha reading?" She said.
"Dune." He replied after a moment.
"Do you like it?" She asked.
"That's why I own a copy." He replied.
"Tell me whatsit about?" She let just a touch of whine enter her voice.
He handed her his cup, and she jumped up to stand next to Liz, who was shaking her head at Alex.
"Bad Alex, you know you only encourage her!" Liz scolded.
"For a good cause, Liz, for a good cause." Alex replied.
Maria and Liz had just started in on a technical discussion of which teacher had the ugliest haircut, when a voice behind them suddenly said "Ms. Deluca!"
Maria froze and slowly pivoted. Alex had also stood up to flank her on the side opposite of Liz.
Ms. Tupolski stood before them, looking classy, expensive and nothing like a secret alien hunter.
"I wanted to talk to you about your friend, Michael Guerin." She said.
Beside her, Liz froze, and Maria wasn't much better. "I'm not really that close to Michael, she finally said.
Ms. Tupolski raised an eyebrow. "That's not what it looked like yesterday." She replied. She could see Alex giving her a look out of the corner of her eye.
"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." The three looked at each other and back at the blond women before them.
"Your friend Michael Guerin is serious jeopardy of being expelled. I'm not really a substitute teacher; I'm the new guidance counselor. I have several questions for Michael. If you care at all about his future, you'll tell him to come see me. We're starting a round of aptitude tests, this afternoon, I'm sure he'll be there, right?"
Maria wasn't even touching that one. Michael and aptitude tests?
"Don't be late for class, kids." Ms. Tupolski said as she walked away.