Connections 3
Max pulled himself sleepily out of bed the next morning. He'd gotten home late from the pod chamber and hadn't slept well the whole night.
He dragged himself through his morning routine of getting ready, glad that it was Sunday, and he didn't have to go to school yet.
Isabel called him down to breakfast and he took to the stairs dreading the day ahead.
He was silent throughout the meal and his earth mother looked concerned for him, but kept quiet, knowing that if something was bothering him, he'd tell her when he was ready. She saw the dark circles beneath his eyes and wondered at her son's strange behavior. Although she was worried about Max, she was happy to see Isabel looking cheerful.
Isabel was feeling quite good that morning. They had finally gotten some answers to the questions they'd been asking since they first came out of the pods. When she saw Max, however, she felt guilty about feeling so happy as she thought about what had happened with Liz.
The family had just finished eating when the doorbell rang.
"You kids can go ahead and get that, I'll get the dishes. Besides, it's probably for you anyway," Diane, Max and Isabel's mother, replied before walking to the kitchen, dishes in hand.
Max and Isabel walked to the living room.
"It's probably Michael," Max commented as he dropped into a chair, "I'm surprised he didn't come over last night."
Isabel opened the door and, also expecting it to be Michael, was surprised to see Maria's face.
"Gosh, don't look so happy to see me, " Maria said as she sarcastically pouted, a smile creeping up on her lips.
"Sorry, " Isabel apologized, letting Maria inside and shutting the door behind after her, "We were just expecting Michael to come over, but I'm sure he'll be here soon."
Maria plopped down on the couch opposite Max, and Isabel took a seat beside her.
"So, how'd everything go last night?" Maria excitedly asked.
"Don't you know already?" Isabel asked in wonderment.
"No, how could I, I wasn't there!" exclaimed Maria, getting more curious still.
Max finally looked up, with a surprised look on his face, and asked, "Haven't you talked to Liz, yet?" with a note of pain as he spoke her name.
"No. When I called this morning, her mom said she'd gotten home pretty late and was sleeping in, " explained Maria, "I wasn't about to wait for Miss Sleepy Head to wake up to find out what happened. Okay, now tell me, what did happen?" Maria looked like she was going to burst with curiosity and Isabel laughed.
Isabel went on to explain the events of the afternoon before and found her friend's curiosity satisfied.
Maria's smile of excitement from earlier had completely faded though. She had been thrilled to hear about Isabel and Max's mother, but she felt upset as Isabel explained her mother's message and Liz's reaction to it. She understood why Max was down. Although down was an understatement. Her thoughts turned to Liz.
"I wonder how she got home," Maria thought out loud, "Maybe she called Alex."
"Nope, just got a call from him earlier this morning and he asked if we'd all gotten home okay," Isabel replied, " I told him that we had, but that Liz had taken off before we did. He seemed surprised. He said he was gonna come over in about an hour. You can stick around and wait if you want."
"Naw, I think I'll go check up on Liz," Maria stated as she rose and walked to the door, "Tell Alex where I am, would ya? Thanks," and she left.