~*~*A/N: Wow, the reviews for this story have been AMAZING! Haha. De here, of course.*~*~
--~*~--
::CHAPTER SEVEN - No More Apples ::
--~*~--
Days seemed to be whizzing by for the Roswell students. Tired mornings quickly became energetic afternoons, Mondays turned into Fridays, over and over again. The rutine was continuous, but it kept time moving at a startling fast pace. Slowly, Max, Michael, and Isabel began to relax regarding their fears of the FBI, as nothing new seemed to emerge. With Topolsky gone, their lives seemed to return to normal...well, as normal as one could be when dealing with aliens. The paranoia of the six friends lessened severely until all that was left was a tiny strand of doubt. They could only hope that it would not weave itself into a complex carpet of terror.
~*~
"William Shakespeare used iambic pentameter for his works, meaning the meter is marked by syllables which are stressed, unstressed, stressed, etc."
The students of Mr. McGee's sophomore English class tried to stay awake as he spoke in a near-monotone of Shakespeare.
"Can someone tell me the other types of metric feet?" Mr. McGee asked. Liz and Charlotte were the only two to raise their hands.
"Parker?"
"Trochee, anapest, iamb, spondee, and..."
"Dactyl," Charlotte finished for her, giving Liz a friendly grin.
"Very good, ladies," Mr. McGee replied. "Tonight for homework, you will have a group assignment. I want each of you to pick a partner and together analyze Shakespeare's language in Act II, Scene ii of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Please choose your partners now, so you know who you will be spending your afternoon with."
The classroom began to buzz as the students whispered amongst themselves, trying to find someone to work with. Kyle Valenti glanced about, silently configurating inside his head. Liz sat to his right, and th enew girl to his left. He turned, briefly meeting Liz's eyes, and, for a solitary moment, considered asking her to be his partner, but in the next second, decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was to spend a good deal of time with Liz Parker reading 'Romeo and Juliet'. Kyle looked over at the redhead to his left; Charlotte was her name. She certainly didn't seem like the type of girl he usually hung out with; her exotic beaded jewelry and long messy braids were quite unusual, but then, it was just an English assignment. And anything was better than working with Liz.
"Charlotte," he said, calling across the row. She turned, fixing her emerald eyes on him. "Do you want to work together on this project?"
"Sure," she said with a smile. "Kyle, right?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I've got to warn you, though, I'm no good with Shakespeare."
Charlotte let out a quiet laugh, and flicked her pencil back and forth against her hand.
"Well, I love Shakespeare," she said easily. "So I guess you're in luck."
"I guess so," Kyle concluded. "I'll meet you after eighth period in the lobby."
"Sounds like a plan."
~*~
The cafeteria was crowded, noisy, and hot. Jodi fanned herself with a folded algebra worksheet while standing on the motionless lunch line. She reached up to pile her brown hair atop her head, in efforts to remove the weight from her neck. Lacking a hair tie, she held her locks above her for a few moments as she felt the air on the back of her neck, but was forced to drop her hair once her arm grew tired. She repeated this a few times, until she heard someone muttering behind her. Jodi turned, seeing Michael's annoyed glare.
"What?" she asked blankly.
"Could you stop doing that thing with your hair?" he asked testily. "You've whacked me in the face with it about ten times."
"Sor-ry," Jodi replied, her hands up in mock apology. "Didn't see you there."
"Of course not. You weren't facing me. Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, I don't see how you would--"
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been standing so close," Jodi interrupted with a flick of an eyebrow. Michael blinked incredulously.
"You're kidding, right?" he replied. "There's about an inch of space between each person on this lunchline. How do you--"
"Jeez," Jodi edged in, again. "You're just like your girlfriend, you know that? Both of you talk *way* too much for your own good." With that, she leaned over him and grabbed an apple from the line. Placing it on her tray, she turned back around, cutting off anything Michael was about to add. He could only stare at the back of her head, mystified that she would even compare his antics to Maria's. The scariest thing was, though, Jodi's words, tone of voice, and mannerisms reminded him of only one person: himself.
~*~
"So what are you going to do?" Max asked. He was sitting with Isabel at a table outside, eating lunch. Well, he was eating. Isabel was picking at her food, recounting the latest story involving Alex Whitman.
"I don't know," she replied. "I don't want to hurt him...I don't know how well he would handle rejection."
"Why don't you just be honest?" Max asked simply, taking a sip of his drink. "There's nothing wrong with a little bit of honesty."
"But..." Isabel sighed. "I wouldn't even know what to say. How do you say something like that and not come off as bitchy or insensitive?"
Max stared at his sister for a few moments, searching her expression, before cracking a slight smile. He laughed under his breath and shook his head slightly.
"What is it?"
"You're not fooling me, Is," he said, glancing up at her again. "It's not the rejection that you're worried about. You've rejected tons of guys before - there's no reason why Alex would be any different." Max paused, noticing the way Isabel glanced down, fixing her brown eyes on her unfinished lunch. "No, the problem here is that you don't *want* to reject Alex. You're not afraid of hurting him...you're afraid of hurting yourself. I'm right, aren't I?"
Before Isabel could answer, Michael dropped his tray on the table with a clatter and sunk into a seat.
"Sorry I'm so late," he said, popping open the top to a snapple. "The lunch line went from here all the way to Canada, it was as hot as a sauna in the cafeteria, they ran out of apples, and those Harvey twins really make me suspicious." He paused, taking a swig of his iced tea. "What'd I miss?"
~*~
"Jodi!" Charlotte yelled out, chasing her sister down the hall. Jodi paused by the corner, turning, and leaning against a locker as she waited for Charlotte to catch up.
"I was wondering where you were," she said. "You weren't at your locker."
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to Kyle Valenti's house now, so you don't need to drive me home," Charlotte said, slowing down and catching her breath.
"That works out," Jodi replied, falling into step beside her twin, "because I'm heading over to the UFO Center to look for a job."
"Oh! Well, good luck with that. Hey, isn't that where Liz's boyfriend works?"
"So I've heard," Jodi said with a laugh. They neared the lobby, and she nudged Charlotte, pointing in the direction of Kyle, who was lounging against one of the pillars, wearing his blue and yellow varsity jacket. "That's Kyle?"
"Yeah," Charlotte said, following Jodi's index finger.
"Never thought I'd see the day when you were hanging out with the jocks," she laughed. "I'll see you at home. Have a good time."
"You too!"
The sisters parted their ways; Jodi heading for her beat-up car, and Charlotte walking towards Kyle.
~*~*A/N: Hit that, Jess.*~*~
--~*~--
::CHAPTER SEVEN - No More Apples ::
--~*~--
Days seemed to be whizzing by for the Roswell students. Tired mornings quickly became energetic afternoons, Mondays turned into Fridays, over and over again. The rutine was continuous, but it kept time moving at a startling fast pace. Slowly, Max, Michael, and Isabel began to relax regarding their fears of the FBI, as nothing new seemed to emerge. With Topolsky gone, their lives seemed to return to normal...well, as normal as one could be when dealing with aliens. The paranoia of the six friends lessened severely until all that was left was a tiny strand of doubt. They could only hope that it would not weave itself into a complex carpet of terror.
~*~
"William Shakespeare used iambic pentameter for his works, meaning the meter is marked by syllables which are stressed, unstressed, stressed, etc."
The students of Mr. McGee's sophomore English class tried to stay awake as he spoke in a near-monotone of Shakespeare.
"Can someone tell me the other types of metric feet?" Mr. McGee asked. Liz and Charlotte were the only two to raise their hands.
"Parker?"
"Trochee, anapest, iamb, spondee, and..."
"Dactyl," Charlotte finished for her, giving Liz a friendly grin.
"Very good, ladies," Mr. McGee replied. "Tonight for homework, you will have a group assignment. I want each of you to pick a partner and together analyze Shakespeare's language in Act II, Scene ii of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Please choose your partners now, so you know who you will be spending your afternoon with."
The classroom began to buzz as the students whispered amongst themselves, trying to find someone to work with. Kyle Valenti glanced about, silently configurating inside his head. Liz sat to his right, and th enew girl to his left. He turned, briefly meeting Liz's eyes, and, for a solitary moment, considered asking her to be his partner, but in the next second, decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was to spend a good deal of time with Liz Parker reading 'Romeo and Juliet'. Kyle looked over at the redhead to his left; Charlotte was her name. She certainly didn't seem like the type of girl he usually hung out with; her exotic beaded jewelry and long messy braids were quite unusual, but then, it was just an English assignment. And anything was better than working with Liz.
"Charlotte," he said, calling across the row. She turned, fixing her emerald eyes on him. "Do you want to work together on this project?"
"Sure," she said with a smile. "Kyle, right?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I've got to warn you, though, I'm no good with Shakespeare."
Charlotte let out a quiet laugh, and flicked her pencil back and forth against her hand.
"Well, I love Shakespeare," she said easily. "So I guess you're in luck."
"I guess so," Kyle concluded. "I'll meet you after eighth period in the lobby."
"Sounds like a plan."
~*~
The cafeteria was crowded, noisy, and hot. Jodi fanned herself with a folded algebra worksheet while standing on the motionless lunch line. She reached up to pile her brown hair atop her head, in efforts to remove the weight from her neck. Lacking a hair tie, she held her locks above her for a few moments as she felt the air on the back of her neck, but was forced to drop her hair once her arm grew tired. She repeated this a few times, until she heard someone muttering behind her. Jodi turned, seeing Michael's annoyed glare.
"What?" she asked blankly.
"Could you stop doing that thing with your hair?" he asked testily. "You've whacked me in the face with it about ten times."
"Sor-ry," Jodi replied, her hands up in mock apology. "Didn't see you there."
"Of course not. You weren't facing me. Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, I don't see how you would--"
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been standing so close," Jodi interrupted with a flick of an eyebrow. Michael blinked incredulously.
"You're kidding, right?" he replied. "There's about an inch of space between each person on this lunchline. How do you--"
"Jeez," Jodi edged in, again. "You're just like your girlfriend, you know that? Both of you talk *way* too much for your own good." With that, she leaned over him and grabbed an apple from the line. Placing it on her tray, she turned back around, cutting off anything Michael was about to add. He could only stare at the back of her head, mystified that she would even compare his antics to Maria's. The scariest thing was, though, Jodi's words, tone of voice, and mannerisms reminded him of only one person: himself.
~*~
"So what are you going to do?" Max asked. He was sitting with Isabel at a table outside, eating lunch. Well, he was eating. Isabel was picking at her food, recounting the latest story involving Alex Whitman.
"I don't know," she replied. "I don't want to hurt him...I don't know how well he would handle rejection."
"Why don't you just be honest?" Max asked simply, taking a sip of his drink. "There's nothing wrong with a little bit of honesty."
"But..." Isabel sighed. "I wouldn't even know what to say. How do you say something like that and not come off as bitchy or insensitive?"
Max stared at his sister for a few moments, searching her expression, before cracking a slight smile. He laughed under his breath and shook his head slightly.
"What is it?"
"You're not fooling me, Is," he said, glancing up at her again. "It's not the rejection that you're worried about. You've rejected tons of guys before - there's no reason why Alex would be any different." Max paused, noticing the way Isabel glanced down, fixing her brown eyes on her unfinished lunch. "No, the problem here is that you don't *want* to reject Alex. You're not afraid of hurting him...you're afraid of hurting yourself. I'm right, aren't I?"
Before Isabel could answer, Michael dropped his tray on the table with a clatter and sunk into a seat.
"Sorry I'm so late," he said, popping open the top to a snapple. "The lunch line went from here all the way to Canada, it was as hot as a sauna in the cafeteria, they ran out of apples, and those Harvey twins really make me suspicious." He paused, taking a swig of his iced tea. "What'd I miss?"
~*~
"Jodi!" Charlotte yelled out, chasing her sister down the hall. Jodi paused by the corner, turning, and leaning against a locker as she waited for Charlotte to catch up.
"I was wondering where you were," she said. "You weren't at your locker."
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to Kyle Valenti's house now, so you don't need to drive me home," Charlotte said, slowing down and catching her breath.
"That works out," Jodi replied, falling into step beside her twin, "because I'm heading over to the UFO Center to look for a job."
"Oh! Well, good luck with that. Hey, isn't that where Liz's boyfriend works?"
"So I've heard," Jodi said with a laugh. They neared the lobby, and she nudged Charlotte, pointing in the direction of Kyle, who was lounging against one of the pillars, wearing his blue and yellow varsity jacket. "That's Kyle?"
"Yeah," Charlotte said, following Jodi's index finger.
"Never thought I'd see the day when you were hanging out with the jocks," she laughed. "I'll see you at home. Have a good time."
"You too!"
The sisters parted their ways; Jodi heading for her beat-up car, and Charlotte walking towards Kyle.
~*~*A/N: Hit that, Jess.*~*~