MIA

I don't know what was so different. I could actually talk to Michael. Why couldn't I with Josh Richter? Case and point:
I was at my locker on Monday morning and Josh was at his, next to mine. He asked me how my weekend was. And then he did it. He spoke to me! Words coming from his mind, to his mouth, to my ears! You don't just start talking to someone without thinking about who they are! He noticed me! He recognizes me as a person! WAHOOO! Unfortuanly I couldn't answer his simple question. Him just being nice I suppose. "I-I – I - algebra," was all I could muster before I ran off. I doubt he noticed though because Lana came over to him.

On my way to algebra I saw Michael at his locker. "Hey there Moscovitz" I said giving him a light shove.
"Hey Thermopolis. What's going on?"
"I made myself look like a blubbering fool in front of Josh and I have algebra now. What is the point, really?" I asked.
"Think about it, if you didn't have algebra you wouldn't have your mom having an-"
"MICHAEL!" I said smacking him upside the head.
"A very nice time tutoring you."
"Nice save Einstein." I guess that wasn't a joke though. Michael really is brilliant like Einstein. Maybe he should be the one ruling a small country instead of me.
"I'll see ya in G&T, Thermopolis."
"Later M."

At lunch Lilly attacked me. Well, not physically, but still. "Are you attracted in the sexual sense to my brother?"
"Huh?" was my intelligent response. "How was your date with Boris by the way?"
She smiled. The attack was over or at least delayed. "Great. We filmed a protest in Times Square!"
Our friend Tina smiled "Sounds like a hot date to me."
"Laugh all you want singletons."
Lilly was so different now. Before Boris she was all 'I don't need a man!' but I guess because she has Boris she can still stand by that motto. In G&T Michael actually came out and sat with us. Lilly walked off to flirt with Boris while Michael helped me with my trinomials.
"I don't get it," I whined.
"Well smarty pants, you probably would if you kept everything in one notebook," he teased, tapping my nose with the pencil.
"Then it wouldn't be fun!"
"And not getting it is fun?"
He had a point. "Just let me whine okay?"
"No more whining Mia. Not one more complaint, got it? Look, when everything is starting to stress you out, just sit down, breathe in, and breathe out. Concentrate on that. Find something that gives you calm and breathe slowly. It always works for me."
"Fine, but can we stop with the algebra for a little while? I'm growing sick of it."
"Fine."
I expected him to get up and go work on his webzine, Crackhead, but he didn't. He stayed there and started talking to me about college.
"I'm sure you'll get in," I assured him. "Honestly Moscovitz, you are the smartest guy in the entire school."
"I notice you didn't say person," he countered with a brow raised.
"Well have you cloned any fruit flies lately?" I responded.
"Touché. Oh well, I guess as long as I get into some college I'll be satisfied."
"You'll get into Columbia. Trust me, you will. I know these things," I said dramatically.

Tina came over that night to lend me some of her romance novels. Wahim wasn't with her. "He's downstairs," she explained.
"Okay. So did you want to hang out a little or did you have to get back to Wahim?"
"Wanna go over Lilly's for a little while? I didn't see her OR you all weekend."
"Sure. Let me just tell my mom."
"What did you do this weekend, anyways?" Tina asked me.
"I hung out with Michael. We saw a couple of movies."
Tina stopped walking to the stairs. "Say what? That explains Lilly's weirdness at lunch toward you."
"We saw a couple of movies," I replied carelessly.
"Uhm, I'd say that was a big deal!"
"Why?"
"Those were dates, my friend."
I rolled my eyes and hit the down button. "No, they weren't. I don't look at him romantically."
"Maybe you should. He's hot. If you don't then I will!"
"You have got to be kidding me. He's a computer geek."
"So why did you see a movie with him?"
"Because he's my friend-computer geek."
"Then if that's all you want, I'd be careful..."

We had called Lilly from Tina's limo to let her know we were on our way, but she still didn't answer the door. Michael did. A shirtless Michael did.

"Do you ever wear clothes?" I teased. I had never seen so much of his skin as I did that weekend.
"I feel manly when I go topless. You girls should try it too sometime," he said with a wink.
Tina blushed. I pushed it aside. Michael is such a flirt.

MICHAEL

I'm such a loser. I said the most perverse thing to Mia and her friend Tina. I suggested they walk around without a top on. Wouldn't mind that view actually, real breasts? Non-porno breasts? I'd take that.
I did notice Tina blush though. Mia brushed it aside. Somehow I felt bad about that. "So ladies, what are you doing here?"
"To see Lilly."
"Oh, sorry, she just went out with Boris. Some violin thing or something. I'll tell her you stopped by?"
Tina looked at Mia. I could tell there was tension turning up.
"Let's watch some TV until she gets back then," Mia suggested. She had a bite in her voice. She was pissed.
I said it was fine with me but I was watching a movie already. Before I could finish what I was saying though, Mia had turned on the Lifetime Movie network. "No way Thermopolis. Uh-uh."
"Oh come on Moscovitz, you love this stuff!" she countered.
"Sappy love stories? Come on, please! They all end up the same way. The two people who have nothing in common somehow fall in love...until the guy kills the woman's husband!"
"Not funny M."
"T, come on. I'm not watching this crap."
"Then good day!" she said dramatically, brushing me away. I sat down though. Within five minutes I knew what was going to happen in the story. She elbowed me to shut up. On most cases I would have stolen the remote from her but I let her have her precious way.
"M&M's?" I asked the girls.
"With no pizza," Mia said, not taking her gaze off the television. She refrained from laughing.
"I'm gonna head out," Tina said, giving Mia a look. "Are you gonna stay?"
"Yeah. I really need to talk to Lilly." "Okay. I'll talk to you online later though. Bye, Michael!" Tina gave Mia a sideways glance. "Be good, Mia."
I threw a blue M&M at Mia while she stared at the TV. Without looking at me she threw a brown one at me. So of course this ended up as an all out war. M&M's were everywhere. The last one from the bag went down Mia's shirt.
I laughed, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for that to happen-"
"Don't worry; I have no breasts so it fell right down."
I rolled my eyes. "Come on Mia, you have breasts. I believe I told you that you had very nice ones. Stop complaining about them already. Do you hear me complaining about my penis size?"
She turned red but then started laughing. "Grandmere would not approve of you saying the word er, peenie in front of me." "Then again, I have no reason to complain about the size of my monstrous-" I started, ignoring her inability to say penis
She smiled, "Well, you are never going to see my breasts up close and I am never going to see your peenie up close so we'll have to take one another's word for it."
"At the rate I'm going, no one will ever see it," I said. I heard a faint sound of whining coming from me, very uncommon. Too much Mia I guess.
"Is that whining I am hearing? Michael Moscovitz whining?"
I picked up another M&M off the ground and threw it down her shirt. "I should really go out for the basketball team..." No one should tease a man when he has gone eighteen years without a partner in crime. No one.

Lilly didn't come home for another two hours. By the time she did, Mia had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I didn't want to wake her up, but my arm was starting to fall asleep. I didn't have to though.
"Mia? What are you doing here with my brother?" Lilly screamed.
"Tina and I were over to see you, remember?" Mia said groggily.
"Then where is Tina?"
"She went home but I wanted to stay to- to talk to you about what happened."
"What?" Lilly asked.
"Uhm, you kind of ditched us tonight for Boris. But you know what? I don't even care anymore. You have your reasons for liking him so I'm gonna just back off until you decide you want to talk to your friends again."
Lilly didn't seem offended. "Okay, thanks Mia."
Mia was shocked. Lilly walked down to her room and shut the door. "Bye Michael, thanks again."
"Let me walk you home," I offered.
"Naw, it's okay. I'm sure dad sent Lars over here by now."
"No, really, I don't mind."
"Okay then. But you might want to put a shirt on."
"What, your mom wouldn't like to see this?" I asked.
"No, she would and that's why you need to put your shirt on," she said with a laugh. She stared at my six pack. Yes, I, the nerd have one. Not a fact that I like to expose to everyone, but I do. What else do I have to do other than work out on weekends? I kind of liked how her cheeks turned red when I caught her staring at the bod.

Mia shivered as we started walking back to her apartment. I put my arm around her to keep her warm. "How are your princess lessons going?" I asked.
"They're okay; I am starting to get a tolerance toward Grandmere. She was giving me a lesson today about pronunciation and poise."
"Sounds like a blast."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm never going to be a good princess. I have terrible posture, I roll my eyes, I blabber on and on, I cannot dance, I –"
"Mia, come on. You will make a great princess. I assure you."
"Not according to what Grandmere says."
"Who cares about what Grandmere says? She hasn't known you that long. She doesn't know you. She isn't a good judge of what you are good at."
"Thanks Michael. I wasn't complaining though, I want to make that clear. Have you sent your Columbia application in yet?"
"I'm too nervous."
"Michael! It's due this week!"
"I know-"
"No, we are going back to get the application and you are sending it right this minute. No questions."
Didn't Lilly used to say that Mia had a problem with telling people what to do? I'd like to see that Mia every once and a while.
We mailed it in. Everything is out now.
The next day at lunch I saw Mia making the face that she makes when Lilly is talking about Boris. I walked by her and squeezed her shoulder lightly. She looked up and smiled. "Oh Michael! Wait up!" she grabbed her books and caught up with me
"What is it T?" I asked.
"I needed to get away from Lilly."
"So I am the escape once again?"
"Uhm, basically, yes," she said with a laugh. I liked her laugh.
"You look nice today T."
"Thanks M. Do you think Josh noticed me?"
I shook my head. "How can he when he has Lana's lips glued to him? Mia, you really like him that much? What do you know about him other than he's good looking and rich? You could do sooo much better."
That had her stunned for a minute. "I don't know. You do have a point, M..."
"See, I'm good for something at least."
"I see that Judith Greshner thinks you are good for staring at."
I looked behind me quickly. "She's driving me nuts."
"Why?" Mia asked innocently.
I liked how she furrowed her brows. I let myself smile a little.
"You like her?" Mia asked, her face turned a little red.
"No, God no. No, see, she's had a thing for me ever since elementary school."
"Oh," Mia said with a slight laugh.
"I'm not that unattractive."
"I never said you were unattractive."
"So you think I am attractive?" I teased.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes Michael Moscovitz is the hottest man on earth."
Judith walked up to us. "Michael, we have a computer club meeting now. Aren't you coming over?"
"Judith, come on. I'm in the middle of something here."
"Michael. It.Is.Your.Duty. You are the treasurer."
I turned and rolled my eyes at Mia.
"I'll be over in a minute Judith. Bye."
I looked at Mia. "I was thinking about something you said the other night."
"What? I said a lot of things you know..."
"Well, something in particular."
"Yeah?" she asked quizzically.
"Look, just be at my house tonight at eight, okay?"