Liz looked up from her science work sheet at Max across the table. He senced her eyes on him and looked up too. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Do you know the answer to eighteen?"
He bit his lip and looked down at his paper. "Nope, I'm only on twelve. I don't understand this whole cell mitosis thing."
"Oh, here, let me explain."
* * *
Isabel Evans sighed. Her fingers rested idily on the keyboard. The email screan was blank. Suddenly, she smiled, and began to type. * * * "Do you get it now?"
"What? Oh, yeah. Sure. Thanks a lot."
"You know, we should study together everyday. It really helps me." Liz nodded and returned to her work.
Max gazed at her silky-smooth hair and lightly brushed it. "I don't know... We might not get that much work done."
* * *
Why am I even typing this? I'll never send it, Isabel mused to herself, even as she typed more. I don't even know his email address...
* * *
"What is Isabel doing? Do you think she would join us?"
Max jerked back. "Um. Sure." He had to gather himself a bit. "Do you want to go see? I'll catch up."
Liz smiled sweetly, and left the room.
* * * The door opened, and someone walked in. Isabel frantically tried to minimize the message on the screan. "Geez, Max. Don't you know how to knock?"
"It's Liz."
"Oh, sorry."
"That's fine. I should have knocked. Anyway, Max and I were wondering if you wanted to study with us."
Isabel looked at her watch. "Oh, I can't I have to meet some people at the mall in 15 minutes. I'd better leave."
"Bye then." Liz walked back into the kitchen and Isabel quickly signed her email and minimized it because she had to leave.
* * *
Isabel breezed past the pair and left with only a casual "G' bye."
Liz turned almost frantically to Max. "Max, come on! We have to do it! She delivered our letters for us, it's the least we could do to send her email."
"I don't know... Isabel might react differently that we did."
"What do you mean? She wouldn't have even written the letter if she didn't -at least in one bit of her heart- want Alex to read it."
"Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt."
"Thanks."
* * *
Sending...
* * *
Alex signed on to the Internet. The familiar voice announced, "You've Got Mail!"
Alex double clicked on the mail icon and recognised, or rather didn't recognise an unfamiliar address. "Hi, Alex." the subjuct read.
"Doesn't look like a virus..." he muttered to himself, and opened it.
"Dear Alex,
I don't even know why I'm writing this. It seems so fickle, I don't even have your email address. But, I might as well say what I've wanted to say so many times. I like you, Alex. A lot. I might even go so far as to say that I love you, but to be honest, I don't know you well enough to say that... yet. I would love to be normal, to not worry about you getting hurt because of me. I couldn't deal with that. That's whay I can never send this email, or at least I keep telling myself that. Somehow, that excuse doesn't seem too valid right now.
I really like you Alex, and would love to get to know you better.
Isabel"
Alex's hand was shaking. How long had he waited for this moment? He'd thought this day would never come. He continued to scroll down, and he noticed there was a post script.
"Sent by the Meddling Mitosis Studiers :)"
So that's how it got to me... Alex mused. He wondered, but suddenly didn't care who the Mitosis Studiers were; Isabel cared for him!
He got up and danced around the room. The smile on his face would never fade.
* * *
Isabel panicked when she got home and discovered a "Your mail has been sent" message still on the screen.
No, she couldn't have sent it. Alex coul dnever know haw she felt about him. He might not return the feelings, or worse, he might really care for her. Then where would she be? Miss Vulnerable again. That would never do.
But it would be nice.
* * *
Alex nervously gripped the mouse. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. It was a trick, it had to be, that letter couldn't have been real.
He snapped his head around when he heard the garage door open. It was his dad, and Alex hadn't asked to use his computer.
In his shaking, his finger slipped on the clicker. His mail had been sent.
* * *
After she finished her homework, Isabel signed on the Internet- for lack of anything better to do.
"You've got mail!" The guy called.
She clicked on the mailbox, never knowing that she was opening the rest of her life.
* * *
"Dearest Isabel,
This is completely, overwhelmingly amazing. Here's the thing, I love you too, Isabel. I've lover you ever since I first saw you.
I agree with you, I want to get to know you before you hold me to that. But, I want to get to know the real Isabel, which may be hard for you at first. I can promise you the real Alex in turn.
Don't worry about me, Izzy. I'll try to stop having nightmares about something befalling you because of a mistake I make.
We should take things slow, one step at a time. Meet me at the Crashdown on Wednesday night.
Yours, Alex."
* * *
Isabel was crying. Tears of happiness albiet, but she was crying for the first time in a long time. It had a clensing to it. Tomorrow was Wednesday, and if she could wait that long to really see Alex, she was blessed above all.
* * *
Wednesday came, and found Alex Charles Whitman in a booth at the Crashdown.
He eyed the door carefully at each chime of the bell. He couldn't eat.
* * *
Isabel was freaking out. She COULD do this! God, what was she going to wear? She grabbed pants and a shirt out of the closet and got dressed.
At the door she took a deep breath, and took the keys to the Jeep.
* * *
She was an angel. An angel with her hand tucked so neatly within his own.
They smiled, finally where they really wanted to be.
The Meddling Mitosis Studiers watched from a distance, quite pleased with their work.
* * *
The End
* * *