The next couple of weeks flew by for Maria. For the first time in a long time, she was truly, genuinely happy. School didn't bug her as much and work wasn't as stressful. She started to smile and laugh again, like a normal teenage girl, talking about things like hair and makeup. *WOW* what a surprise after she found out about aliens the only thing she thought she would talk about was saving her ass from the FBI. Liz also seemed to pick on the happy vibes coming off Maria, she seemed a lot less down trodden. And Ms. Deluca was sighing to herself in relief; she thought her daughter was going to need to be on medication, but not anymore. Everything was looking up, until Maria got some bad news.
Maria happily worked her way through the clothes strewn across the floor. She hummed loudly at finding her favorite sweater; she threw it on the chair and began to scavenge for her jeans. Once she was dressed she yelled to her mom at the door, "Mom! I'm going out with Jason, K?"
"Oh sure thing, honey!" her mother replied from the other side of the house.
With that, Maria bounded out of the house across her yard. She heard the unmistakable grumbling of Jason's old Honda. He pushed the door open for her, "How's it going?"
"Oh fine," she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. She couldn't help but frown, something was nagging at her but she couldn't quite place it. She shrugged and clicked her seatbelt into place. Jason gunned the engine and they were off. Maria began fumbling with the radio until she came to an old rock song. She began gyrating to the music. Jason laughed at her. She stuck half her body out the window. She tossed back her blonde hair and yelled out in exhilaration "I'm free!"

When Maria and Jason had arrived at the Crashdown, they took up a booth near the corner. They began to point and laugh and passerbies, the tourists were a crack up, with their little alien memorabilia and scientific theories on the Roswell crash. If they only knew! Soon Liz arrived at their table. "Hey guys! How's it going?"
"Great. How's the traffic? Have the tourists try to interrogate you about aliens?"
Liz smirked at her, "No, not yet but I guarantee it's gonna happen.so what can I get ya?"
"Just two vanilla shakes."
"Two milkshakes it is then." Liz flipped her order book closed and retreated to the back. Maria watched her go and couldn't help but think she was forgetting about something for the second time today.
She looked over at Jason's shaggy brown head, "Jason. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Is there anything my mother told me to do?" She whined.
He frowned, "You seem kinda upset about it, is it important?"
"I think it is." She replied. She sighed loudly and began digging around in her purse for her oils. In the mean time Liz arrived with their drinks.
"Drink up," she said and went to another table. Maria looked up at Jason to see him staring at her.
"What are you looking at? Do I have something in my teeth?"
"No, I'm just looking at a beautiful girl," he said completely seriously.
Maria blushed and stared down at her milkshake. She took a sip of it. 'That's strange' she thought, 'I usually love this kind.' She furrowed her brows and said to Jason, "It doesn't taste right." With that, she unconsciously dove for a bottle on the en of the table and began to apply it to her milkshake. She then sipped her shake and smiled "Just right."
"Eww, gag me! Do you realize what you just put in that? Tabasco sauce!"
"What!" she exclaimed loudly.
Jason rolled his eyes "Jesus, girls are sure weird!" Maria looked at the bottle in her hand. "I cannot believe this!" "Hey, Maria are you alright?" he asked n a worried tone at seeing her paled face. "Is something the matter?" "I think I'm going to be sick." She said. With that Maria ran to the back of the café where the bathroom was. What the hell was happening to her? Was Michael coming back to haunt her? She shivered inwardly. Bile began to rise in her throat. She leapt to the bathroom stall and threw up. At that moment she finally discovered what she had forgotten and it made her want to be sick again.