Part Six
After Supper
Isabel's mom offered to do the dishes, so Max, Tess and Isabel went upstairs to visit in Isabel's room.
"So Tess. You think you could show us some of that mind-warping stuff?" Isabel asked.
"Oh, uh sure. What do you want to see?" Tess said, surprised by the request.
"I don't know. Um, anything. Like…make us think that this room is actually the bathroom." Isabel came up with a lame idea. They all gave a chuckle.
"Okay." Tess agreed and closed her eyes to concentrate. Suddenly the bed that Isabel was sitting on turned into a large bathtub and the dresser turned into the counter. The walls turned from beige to blue to match the blue and white tiles on the floor. Max and Isabel looked around, amazed by what they saw.
"Whoa, Tess. This is amazing!" Max exclaimed. He got up and walked to the sink and turned on the water. Water actually came out! Suddenly everything turned back into Isabel's normal room and Tess opened her eyes. She slumped back, tired from concentrating so hard.
"The down side is that mind-warping takes a lot of my energy. I need to practice more before I can do major things." Tess explained.
"I think that was pretty good already." Max complimented.
"Yeah! Man I wish I had that power." Isabel said to Tess. Tess' face beamed with pride as she received these compliments. Nasedo had always told her that her powers were normal, they were nothing special. When she would accomplish one task after much hard work, he'd only move her on to the next level. The phone rang and caused all three to jump. Isabel picked up the phone.
"Hello." Isabel said, listening for a response. "Oh hi Michael! What's up? Oh really. Ha ha! She did? Michael, you are so dead. Okay, okay I'll come with you. Oh…wait a minute. Tess is here. Just wait a second." Isabel pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at Tess and Max with puppy dog eyes. "I'm so sorry guys. Michael is in a rut and needs me to come with him to get something. Would mind if I left you two alone?"
"Sure. No problem." Max nodded, assuring her they'd be fine alone.
"Thank you!" Isabel put the phone back to her ear. "Yup! I'll be there in a couple of minutes. See ya. Bye." She hung up the phone and got up from the bed. "I'm so sorry I have to leave." She apologized.
"It's okay. What's so important with Michael?" Max asked.
"Oh it's Maria. It's her birthday tomorrow and she's expecting a good present from Michael. He doesn't want to hurt her feelings, so he needs me to get her something. Look, I've got to go. So I'll see you tomorrow at school. By Tess." Isabel bid farewell to Max and Tess and left the room immediately. Max and Tess looked around the room, not knowing what to say.
"So uh you want to go on a walk or something?" Tess suggested.
"Oh sure. Yeah, that'd be good." Max agreed and they both got up.
They decided to walk through the park. After a while, they sat down on a bench.
"So…how's Liz doing?" Tess asked, desperately trying to make conversation. Not that she even cared about Liz, but at least that was something Max liked talking about.
"She's fine. I haven't really seen her that much. She seems kind of distant." Max told her.
"Probably because of me." Tess whispered to herself. Max heard her and turned his head towards her.
"What?" He asked her.
"She probably doesn't want to see you because of me." Tess said louder. "Because of our destiny."
"You think she really believes that?" Max asked as if he was denying his destiny.
"Well it's true. As much as you don't want it to be, it IS true. I can't help it, you can't help it. It's just there and there's nothing we can do to change it." Tess gently laid out what she'd always wanted to tell him.
"I don't believe it. How can my future already be laid out for me? Only I can say what I'm going to do." Max defended himself.
"I know it's scary Max. But you just have to learn to accept it. I have." Tess kept her voice low.
"No Tess! I'm not going to accept it! You and I are NOT going to happen." Max told her sternly. Tess' eyes shimmered in the starlight. They were glossy from all the tears she was keeping from falling. She didn't want Max to see her cry. To see her weak. No. She would stay strong and not show him how much his words hurt her. Max saw her hurt though. Immediately after he finished talking, he regretted the way he'd told her. "I'm sorry Tess. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. It's just that I get so worked up when I'm told how my life is going to turn out. I just want to go through life not knowing what's at the end."
"Don't you think I feel that? Do you think that I enjoy being told that you're my soul mate, that I can never go out with another guy because I'm supposed to be loyal to you? Max, I feel everything you do. I HATE it that my life is mapped out already. But growing up with Nasedo has taught me to accept anything that comes my way. That anything is possible and that we can get through anything in life. We just have to stick together. I may not have Nasedo anymore, but I do have you, Isabel, and Michael. Nasedo always told me that if anything ever happened to him, we would be fine because as long as we are all together, we have the strength to defeat anything. Can you at least let me be your friend?" Tess poured out her feelings to Max. He looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. This wasn't the Tess he thought he knew. This Tess was different, more vulnerable. He felt a need to protect her from the evils of the world, to not let anything hurt her. He gave her a warm smile.
"You'll always be my friend." Max said sincerely.