Michael stared down at the tray before him stabbing his fork into the dried up meat
Michael stared down at the tray before him stabbing his fork into the dried up meat. How could anyone call this edible? He let go of his fork, arching a brow as it stayed in an upright position. This couldn't be good. He looked over to Alex sitting next to him watching him devour the turkey-burger with delight. And they claimed his eating habits were disgusting?
He glanced over to Maria, who was pushing around her rubberized green beans, staring down at them unseeingly. He felt guilty for treating her the way he did, but they couldn't get involved. He couldn't let his guard down and give free rein to his emotions. She dropped her fork down with a clatter and reached up to brush away a stray hair that fell across her face.
He couldn't force his eyes away from her dejected appearance as he fought the urge to take her in his arms. Why does she affect me this way? Because you love her, you moron. He immediately tried to deny the thought, but it seemed to engrave itself on his mind to repeat over and over again. So what if he loved Maria? It didn't mean he had to do anything about it. He was about to excuse himself from the table when Liz rushed over to sit on the other side of him. He arched a brow at her, watching her try to catch her breath.
Ever since her and Max had broken things off, she had been avoiding the quad during lunchtime. She usually hid in the Biology Lab doing scientific stuff. Michael wasn't exactly sure what exactly, because he was barely passing as it was.
"Well, if it isn't the elusive Parker. What brings you to our humble table?" He stared at her, challenging her to respond. He didn't know why he baited her or Maria for that matter. He couldn't understand why he felt this way around them. This feeling to protect them. He wouldn't admit it aloud but he thought of Liz as a younger sister, and he knew that if he needed help she would be there without question. That was what really bugged him… He didn't want that responsibility on his shoulders.
"Well, I was going to ask for your help, but seems like I'm wasting my time…"
He grabbed her arm as she made to leave, yanking her back down onto the bench once more. "What's wrong, Liz?" He watched her look at him in astonishment. "What?"
"That's the first time you've ever called me by my first name…"
He just shrugged as he munched on chips covered with tobasco sauce. Liz figured that was his way of apologizing. She'll never figure Michael out, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. It was better to leave things as they were.
"Um… Where is everyone else?"
"Isabel is over at the other table with her groupies, Kyle and Tess are probably in the Eraser Room, and I haven't seen Max all day." Alex answered as he stuffed his mouth with a Twinkie.
"Max is with Mr. Jamieson discussing the extra-credit project." Maria put in, the first thing she uttered since getting to the quad.
"Well, everyone should hear this… It's important. Let's all meet at the Crashdown after closing time." Liz got up with the others as the bell rang. The three agreed to meet at the appointed time and to let the missing people in on what was going down. They split up in the hall each heading to their classes.