Part Eleven
Kyle and Isabel, it was decided were the best candidates for the job. Their popularity and Kyle's jock status made it okay to sit with the cheerleader/jock crowd that Maria now hung around with. It was part of the plan to get to speak to her. They figured if at least one person could get through to explain, they had chance. It didn't quite work out that way. Maria was already sitting there when they arrived. She didn't look at them, even after Kyle and Isabel greeted everyone except to acknowledge their arrival with a cold, "Kyle, Isabel."
They didn't let the freeze throw them and ignored the curious looks the others in the group sent their way, instead they sat down and began to make arbitrary conversation, as was the norm, pretending all was fine.
Maria had fallen asleep crying the night before and, this morning covered up the effects with light make-up. She'd evaded them somewhat this morning but had a close call in History. All of them were in the same class except Alex and they had totally closed her in, when they all sat around her preventing any escape. It was sheer will power that made her not get up and run or scream at them. And it was her renowned stubbornness and anger that allowed her to ignore them effectively despite their many attempts to converse.
After the History fiasco, Maria was careful not to get caught unawares and avoided them the rest of the day until now. At lunch, she figured she was safe. They didn't normally sit with the jocks and cheerleaders so she didn't' expect them to try anything. Still she wasn't too surprised when Kyle and Isabel showed up. A part of her was even slightly amused with their subtle attempts, and when she almost laughed aloud, Maria realised she was weakening. And it was then she freaked.
None of this was visible on her face, of course. She had become quite adept at hiding her thoughts – a fact for which she knew she could attribute mainly to Michael, and Isabel to some extent. They didn't deserve her. She couldn't afford to weaken – it would only lead to more hurt and she wasn't about to let that happen again. It was because of these thoughts, her voice froze when she greeted them, or to be more accurate acknowledged their presence.
The same stubbornness, one which they had been counting on, and strength she used in History made her sit through lunch and pretend, like them in a way that nothing was wrong. She was good at it too. No one except Kyle and Isabel noticed how she didn't address any of the happy conversation, that had everyone around her spellbound, to them. She ignored them completely and totally, and they felt it.
It was with relief that Maria stood when the bell rang. Pride made her stroll slowly away from the group, and the cheerleaders joined her in almost designed choreographed walk that cheerleaders sometimes innately possess. Maria led the way and automatically people moved away, clearing the path.
None of this, Maria noticed – her thoughts preoccupied and focused on remaining strong. She didn't see the cheerleaders adjust their walk, on reflex to hers (dance practise training them to do it), but it didn't go without notice to her friends who watched.
They felt slightly defeated but had expected this. After what they did, they didn't really expect her to make it easy on them and as Michael said rather wistfully, "Maria never made anything easy."
They couldn't do much the rest of the day, to their disappointment and her relief. With Maria no longer working at the Crashdown, no one was quite sure what she was doing. Isabel had discovered that Maria was working on a plan with the cheerleaders for the big game Friday, and in light of that, Kyle who was playing got them all front row seats on the floor of the court.
The week passed in the same way. They kept up their approaches and even felt some hope that she was softening towards them. Her voice wasn't as cold and her cut-off's not as sharp. But she still refused to let them get too close.
Everyday, Isabel and Kyle sat with her for lunch. Alex made sure he was there when Maria joined the band of the Whits. Every History lesson, they surrounded her. And while she ignored them, they all learnt to read her.
It was strange that in all the years that the seven knew Maria, none of them had spent much time looking at her. Her personality and enthusiasm for life often overshadowed her beauty, grace and even her true feelings. Michael was the only one that had any practise staring at her, although he was better at hiding it then Max.
Now they saw what she didn't say, what she hid, what her eyes shadowed and her body language revealed. They saw what the world saw, what they used to see and what she was, what she concealed. It was because of this observing, constant watching, some might even call stalking that they knew she was weakening. It gave them strength to keep up their efforts.
For Maria, the week grew increasingly difficult. Whatever they did, she loved these people and to just stop loving someone wasn't easy. With everyday she could feel herself being less unforgiving and she steeled herself against it. She buried herself in work, rehearsals and training.
In some ways this was a lot worst than that first week away from them. She felt numb to the pain then but now with all seven of them being there every second, it reminded her of their betrayal and she felt the hurt much more.
It wasn't just the guilt in their eyes that affected her, or the sorrow - what made it all so difficult was the anguish she saw reflected in them, mirroring her own, and the wistfulness in their expressions when they stared at her. As much as she was mad at them, it wasn't in her to see them suffer. But throughout this internal battle, it was the anger that was the strongest – not all the time, not even most of the time, but it was the one emotion she felt safest in expressing. Without it she would fall apart. Her teflon would break and her pretend would be over. So Maria held on to it for dear life. It was the only thing that kept her from bursting into tears or even worse, throwing herself into their arms.
They stared at her all the time. There were times when she was so used to, she barely noticed and there were other times when she wanted to go over to them and scream for them to stop. Sometimes, strangely enough it was even comforting and slightly healing – their watching her in some ways filling a hole inside her. Maria wasn't ready to forgive them, but she might have been ready to listen to their explanations, something they had never given her chance to do.
But now was not a good time. The game was tonight. And everything was ready. They were going to perform 2 numbers – one at half time and the other one when they won, a victory being almost guaranteed with Kyle playing. Maria forced her friends out her mind and focused on the routine. The part of her that had always suffered stage fright, the part that would be nervous of her performance wasn't there anymore. It was interesting, she had thought once before when she realised her stage fright was no longer an issue, that once you fight evil aliens and the FBI singing in front of hundreds of people isn't so scary anymore.
Her mother left this morning, rather reluctantly, unwilling to leave her daughter alone in her fragile state. An important business trip and weekend away with the Sheriff planned a month ago required her to leave. Because the sheriff was only joining her next day, Amy took the Jetta with her forcing Maria to get a lift.
The cheerleaders picked Maria up, bubbling with excitement. Maria smiled at them, and slipped easily into the role that almost second skin to her by now. It was one she used often, even before with those she trusted once – her happy face.
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At the same time, in a house nearby seven teens were talking about their progress with Maria.
"Okay, Phase one has totally run its course. I say we move to phase two," Michael said decisively.
"I agree. We've done all we can with Phase one. It's time to move on," Isabel voiced her affirmation.
"Phase Two it is," Tess put in.
"Phase one is so over. I'm with you," Kyle added.
"Me, too," Liz and Max added.
"Guys – uh… what is Phase Two?" Alex asked a little dubiously.
There was silence as everyone thought about his question. No one could think of anything that would convince her. Minutes passed as they all considered options, throwing out ideas that were rare and few far between.
"OK, we need to come up with something now. I'm leaving for the game in a little while and whatever we are doing we are going to have to do tonight," Kyle announced.
"He's right. If we don't do something tonight, Maria will avoid us the whole weekend and rebuild all her walls. It will make whatever progress we made totally ineffective," Michael said thoughtfully.
"I have an idea," Tess said, "But its… a little out there."
"Well - don't keep us in suspense, Tess. Spill," Isabel ordered.
And Tess told them. They stared at her in disbelief.
"You want us to do what?" Max yelled. Max never yelled.
"No way," Kyle said.
"It's a little corny," Liz added.
"It might just work," came from Isabel.
"It has possibilities," Alex put in.
They all turned to Michael to decide the tie-break. He looked torn and highly uncomfortable. Making up his mind he said, "She loved that movie. Made me watch it with her three times. It could work."
The decision made, they began to plan. The time chosen was straight after the game was over while everyone was still in the gym. They figured the more public and humiliating the more chance it had to work.
Kyle left for the game. Alex left to sort out the last minute details and the girls and Max went to get ready for the game, and Phase two.
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Kyle and Isabel, it was decided were the best candidates for the job. Their popularity and Kyle's jock status made it okay to sit with the cheerleader/jock crowd that Maria now hung around with. It was part of the plan to get to speak to her. They figured if at least one person could get through to explain, they had chance. It didn't quite work out that way. Maria was already sitting there when they arrived. She didn't look at them, even after Kyle and Isabel greeted everyone except to acknowledge their arrival with a cold, "Kyle, Isabel."
They didn't let the freeze throw them and ignored the curious looks the others in the group sent their way, instead they sat down and began to make arbitrary conversation, as was the norm, pretending all was fine.
Maria had fallen asleep crying the night before and, this morning covered up the effects with light make-up. She'd evaded them somewhat this morning but had a close call in History. All of them were in the same class except Alex and they had totally closed her in, when they all sat around her preventing any escape. It was sheer will power that made her not get up and run or scream at them. And it was her renowned stubbornness and anger that allowed her to ignore them effectively despite their many attempts to converse.
After the History fiasco, Maria was careful not to get caught unawares and avoided them the rest of the day until now. At lunch, she figured she was safe. They didn't normally sit with the jocks and cheerleaders so she didn't' expect them to try anything. Still she wasn't too surprised when Kyle and Isabel showed up. A part of her was even slightly amused with their subtle attempts, and when she almost laughed aloud, Maria realised she was weakening. And it was then she freaked.
None of this was visible on her face, of course. She had become quite adept at hiding her thoughts – a fact for which she knew she could attribute mainly to Michael, and Isabel to some extent. They didn't deserve her. She couldn't afford to weaken – it would only lead to more hurt and she wasn't about to let that happen again. It was because of these thoughts, her voice froze when she greeted them, or to be more accurate acknowledged their presence.
The same stubbornness, one which they had been counting on, and strength she used in History made her sit through lunch and pretend, like them in a way that nothing was wrong. She was good at it too. No one except Kyle and Isabel noticed how she didn't address any of the happy conversation, that had everyone around her spellbound, to them. She ignored them completely and totally, and they felt it.
It was with relief that Maria stood when the bell rang. Pride made her stroll slowly away from the group, and the cheerleaders joined her in almost designed choreographed walk that cheerleaders sometimes innately possess. Maria led the way and automatically people moved away, clearing the path.
None of this, Maria noticed – her thoughts preoccupied and focused on remaining strong. She didn't see the cheerleaders adjust their walk, on reflex to hers (dance practise training them to do it), but it didn't go without notice to her friends who watched.
They felt slightly defeated but had expected this. After what they did, they didn't really expect her to make it easy on them and as Michael said rather wistfully, "Maria never made anything easy."
They couldn't do much the rest of the day, to their disappointment and her relief. With Maria no longer working at the Crashdown, no one was quite sure what she was doing. Isabel had discovered that Maria was working on a plan with the cheerleaders for the big game Friday, and in light of that, Kyle who was playing got them all front row seats on the floor of the court.
The week passed in the same way. They kept up their approaches and even felt some hope that she was softening towards them. Her voice wasn't as cold and her cut-off's not as sharp. But she still refused to let them get too close.
Everyday, Isabel and Kyle sat with her for lunch. Alex made sure he was there when Maria joined the band of the Whits. Every History lesson, they surrounded her. And while she ignored them, they all learnt to read her.
It was strange that in all the years that the seven knew Maria, none of them had spent much time looking at her. Her personality and enthusiasm for life often overshadowed her beauty, grace and even her true feelings. Michael was the only one that had any practise staring at her, although he was better at hiding it then Max.
Now they saw what she didn't say, what she hid, what her eyes shadowed and her body language revealed. They saw what the world saw, what they used to see and what she was, what she concealed. It was because of this observing, constant watching, some might even call stalking that they knew she was weakening. It gave them strength to keep up their efforts.
For Maria, the week grew increasingly difficult. Whatever they did, she loved these people and to just stop loving someone wasn't easy. With everyday she could feel herself being less unforgiving and she steeled herself against it. She buried herself in work, rehearsals and training.
In some ways this was a lot worst than that first week away from them. She felt numb to the pain then but now with all seven of them being there every second, it reminded her of their betrayal and she felt the hurt much more.
It wasn't just the guilt in their eyes that affected her, or the sorrow - what made it all so difficult was the anguish she saw reflected in them, mirroring her own, and the wistfulness in their expressions when they stared at her. As much as she was mad at them, it wasn't in her to see them suffer. But throughout this internal battle, it was the anger that was the strongest – not all the time, not even most of the time, but it was the one emotion she felt safest in expressing. Without it she would fall apart. Her teflon would break and her pretend would be over. So Maria held on to it for dear life. It was the only thing that kept her from bursting into tears or even worse, throwing herself into their arms.
They stared at her all the time. There were times when she was so used to, she barely noticed and there were other times when she wanted to go over to them and scream for them to stop. Sometimes, strangely enough it was even comforting and slightly healing – their watching her in some ways filling a hole inside her. Maria wasn't ready to forgive them, but she might have been ready to listen to their explanations, something they had never given her chance to do.
But now was not a good time. The game was tonight. And everything was ready. They were going to perform 2 numbers – one at half time and the other one when they won, a victory being almost guaranteed with Kyle playing. Maria forced her friends out her mind and focused on the routine. The part of her that had always suffered stage fright, the part that would be nervous of her performance wasn't there anymore. It was interesting, she had thought once before when she realised her stage fright was no longer an issue, that once you fight evil aliens and the FBI singing in front of hundreds of people isn't so scary anymore.
Her mother left this morning, rather reluctantly, unwilling to leave her daughter alone in her fragile state. An important business trip and weekend away with the Sheriff planned a month ago required her to leave. Because the sheriff was only joining her next day, Amy took the Jetta with her forcing Maria to get a lift.
The cheerleaders picked Maria up, bubbling with excitement. Maria smiled at them, and slipped easily into the role that almost second skin to her by now. It was one she used often, even before with those she trusted once – her happy face.
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At the same time, in a house nearby seven teens were talking about their progress with Maria.
"Okay, Phase one has totally run its course. I say we move to phase two," Michael said decisively.
"I agree. We've done all we can with Phase one. It's time to move on," Isabel voiced her affirmation.
"Phase Two it is," Tess put in.
"Phase one is so over. I'm with you," Kyle added.
"Me, too," Liz and Max added.
"Guys – uh… what is Phase Two?" Alex asked a little dubiously.
There was silence as everyone thought about his question. No one could think of anything that would convince her. Minutes passed as they all considered options, throwing out ideas that were rare and few far between.
"OK, we need to come up with something now. I'm leaving for the game in a little while and whatever we are doing we are going to have to do tonight," Kyle announced.
"He's right. If we don't do something tonight, Maria will avoid us the whole weekend and rebuild all her walls. It will make whatever progress we made totally ineffective," Michael said thoughtfully.
"I have an idea," Tess said, "But its… a little out there."
"Well - don't keep us in suspense, Tess. Spill," Isabel ordered.
And Tess told them. They stared at her in disbelief.
"You want us to do what?" Max yelled. Max never yelled.
"No way," Kyle said.
"It's a little corny," Liz added.
"It might just work," came from Isabel.
"It has possibilities," Alex put in.
They all turned to Michael to decide the tie-break. He looked torn and highly uncomfortable. Making up his mind he said, "She loved that movie. Made me watch it with her three times. It could work."
The decision made, they began to plan. The time chosen was straight after the game was over while everyone was still in the gym. They figured the more public and humiliating the more chance it had to work.
Kyle left for the game. Alex left to sort out the last minute details and the girls and Max went to get ready for the game, and Phase two.
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