"You think it'll work?"
"Trust me, it will."
Michael Guerin and Sam Keller sat crouched behind the podium on the deserted auditorium stage of Roswell High School. Michael was fiddling with the wiring of the PA system, routing the cables into a makeshift adapter so that they would fit into his Walkman. Sam held the flashlight above Michael's hands, but his own shook, causing the spotlight to dance.
"Hold it still, I'm almost done."
"Sorry."
"There. Got it."
"I still don't get how your Walkman's gonna play if we don't hit the button."
"What, you don't have faith in my mechanic wizardry?"
"It's not that, I just don't see—"
"Come on, we should get outta here before Ms. Lovejoy sees us." Michael slapped Sam lightly on the shoulder as he sprang to his feet. "I can't wait to see the look on her face."
Sam got to his feet with a little less grace.
"Yeah. The old bat won't know what hit her. I'll bet she'll think it was ghosts. Or aliens!" Sam began to laugh and Michael couldn't help but join in, but for a much different reason.
An hour later, the auditorium began to fill with teachers and students. Kids filed slowly into the rows of seats as the teachers made their way to stand along the walls. Michael walked casually behind his classmates, then took a seat. He folded his arms and waited. Slowly, the chatter died down as the principal stood with hands raised at the podium.
"Welcome everyone, welcome back to Roswell High for another fantastic year. I'm sure you're all very excited to be here to start a new chapter of your educational career. And of course, to be among your friends again." Mr. Goode smiled widely out at the student body. As he did, Michael could see quite a large piece of spinach stuck between the principal's teeth. Michael snorted. Typical.
The principal continued. "I hope we can make this year the best one yet by starting our assembly with gratitude and gratefulness."
"Isn't that the same thing?" A voice whispered a few chairs down. Michael turned to find its source. Alex Maines sat snickering with Maria Deluca. When he caught Michael looking at him, Alex blinked rapidly and looked down. Michael's stomach fluttered.
"Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance."
A commotion of grumbling, chair scraping and chatter commenced as the students stood. Mr. Goode bent down for a moment behind the podium and then rose again, placing his hand gravely on his chest. Michael brought his own hand to cover his heart, but as he did so, he made a small, almost imperceptible motion toward the podium. All of the sudden, instead of the sorrowful flute tune Mr. Goode usually played to accompany the chorus of droning voices, Brittany Spears filled the room. Her high-pitched voice blasted full force from the speakers.
The room erupted in chatter as everyone sought to find the mastermind behind the prank. Ms. Lovejoy, the despised science teacher, tried to quiet the chaos, but her please for silence were lost among the laughter, voices and squealing song.
Through the commotion, one student did not seem to be sharing in the merriment. Michael could see him across the room-Max Evans, the closest person he had to family. Max's disappointment was like a strong stink Michael could smell from across the room. His frown dug deeply into his face and he was staring intently at Michael. When Michael met his gaze, Max shook his head slightly.
Michael sighed. There could be no pleasing everyone, especially when everyone included his friend. Best friend? Brother? Father figure? He could never tell where the line was with Max. But what good were super powers for when you couldn't have a bit of fun with them?
After a full five minutes of Ms. Lovejoy fussing with the sound system, she was finally able to shut off Brittany's "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Mr. Goode attempted to finish the prepared speech on gratefulness and gratitude but ultimately gave up and ended the assembly early. The student body resumed their chatter as they pressed eagerly toward the doors. Somehow through the thick of the crowd, Max still found a way to appear almost instantly behind Michael.
"We need to talk," he growled.
"Ominous!" Michael grabbed his chest in mock shock.
They followed the mesh of students through the double doors as though carried like on a current. Finally free of the throng on the other side, Max took Michael by the arm and dragged him down the hallway.
"Ow, geez! Ever heard of the word please?"
They stopped in a deserted alcove.
"What were you thinking?"
"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on, Michael, stop messing around. I know it was you." Max nodded back toward the auditorium.
"You recognize my "handy" work?" Michael waved his hands in the air. "You know me too well."
"I know you well enough to know a stupid stunt like that had to be your doing, yeah. What I don't know is why you think risking our cover is worth it for a cheap laugh." Max pushed Michael into the wall.
"Woah, dude, chill. First of all, they're never going to connect me to any of this. I made sure to cover my tracks. That is, until you dragged us into this corner making everything ten times more suspicious. Second, when weird stuff happens, no one's first thought is, 'I bet the guy who did it is an alien!' There's no way they'd jump that far. We're fine. Stop getting your panties twisted for nothing."
Michael made to move past Max, but Max grabbed his arm again.
"Remember where we are," he hissed. "Roswell's whole thing is aliens. Everyone may joke about them, but the idea that they may actually exist is always at the back of their minds."
"Or maybe it's just in paranoid Max's mind. Ever heard of projecting?" Michael jerked his arm away.
Max was about to retort when Isobel rounded the corner abruptly.
"Are you two weirdos skipping class?" she accused.
"We were just going." Max glared at Michael and Michael winked in return.
