by Melinda Metz
Max nodded as if he had a clue what his new boss was talking about. It was his first day. He wanted to make a decent impression.
"I started a big display around a blowup of that photo of Mars," Ray continued.
"Mars," Max repeated. Was the guy insane? Had he just gotten a job working for a complete lunatic?
"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Ray asked.
"Uh, no," Max admitted. "I guess I'll have to do some reading or something."
"There are amazing pictures of the surface of Mars that show a gigantic rock formation sculpted to look like Elvis's face. At least that's what some people think," Ray explained. "Carl Sagan had a great quote about it. He said, 'Out of the billions and billions of rocks on Mars, this one just happens to resemble the King. I grudgingly admit this may be a sign of not highly intelligent life but aliens with low standards of entertainment.'"
Max felt a bray of laughter building up inside him. He tried to hold it down. He didn't want to offend Ray.
Ray slapped him on the shoulder. "It's okay to laugh," he said. "I laugh about this stuff all the time." He glanced around the museum. "Just try and contain yourself when you're talking to the people who come here. They take it all very seriously."
"Right," Max said. He thought he was going to like this job. Ray seemed pretty cool.
"Go try on your jumpsuit. I want to see if it fits okay," Ray told him. "There's a bathroom in the back."
Max headed off with the sparkly jumpsuit, reminding himself never to let any of his friends meet him at work. They would laugh their heads off if they saw him dressed up like Elvis.
Elvis. How could he make a connection between Liz and Elvis? She didn't have a hound dog. He thought she had some blue shoes, but not suede ones.
I am totally obsessed, he thought. I have to get a life.
***
"So what are we going to see?" Maria asked.
"How about that new movie that has Freddy and Jason in it," Michael suggested. He sat crammed between Maria and Liz in the backseat of Alex's Rabbit. Not that he was complaining.
"It looks scary," Maria said.
That was exactly why Michael suggested it. Watching that horror movie at Maria's had been fun. She got so into it, screaming and practically digging holes in his arm with her fingernails.
"You don't have to be nervous with me around," Michael teased.
"Liz hates horror movies," Maria said. "She's too scientific. She's always like, 'If someone got chopped with an ax that many times, they would absolutely be dead.'"
"So what do you want to see, Liz?" he asked.
She didn't answer. She just kept staring out the window with her forehead pressed against the glass.
Maria turned to him and mouthed the word Max. He nodded. He should have recognized that lovesick look. He saw it on Max's face all the time.
"What about you two?" Michael asked Isabel and Alex.
"Whatever," Isabel answered. She continued painting her nails a pale green. Michael wasn't sure why. Who wanted green fingernails?
"I don't care," Alex said.
Michael and Maria exchanged a look. Alex and Isabel both usually had strong opinions about what to see and didn't mind giving them to everyone very loudly. Alex even had a whole list of movies he refused ever to see. He called it the S list. He refused to go to any movie any critic described as sensitive, any movie with subtitles, and any movie with Meryl Streep. There were a bunch of other ones, but Michael couldn't remember them.
"O-kay, then," Michael said. "Freddy and Jason."
He had a pretty good idea why Alex and Isabel were both so quiet. He would bet anything they were both thinking about Nikolas-for totally different reasons.
Michael wondered if Nikolas would end up being part of their group, going to the movies with them and stuff. He couldn't really see it. Nikolas had been way out of line with Liz at lunch. He would have to do some major apologizing, and some major attitude adjusting about humans, before he would be able to hang out with them.
It could happen, Michael thought. It had sort of happened to him. Before the night that Max formed the connection between the six of them, Michael had had no interest in hanging out with humans.
He never thought of them as insects or anything, the way Nikolas seemed to. He'd had no problem joining a pickup basketball game with some of them or even flirting a little with a cute human girl.
But before the connection Michael never had a human he thought of as a friend. And now "friend" didn't seem quite strong enough to describe how he felt about Maria, Liz, and Alex. They were more like his family, totally there for him. He never thought he'd feel that way about anybody but Max and Isabel.
This family of friends-that's why he could move from foster home to foster home without it ripping him up. He didn't need his foster families for support or love or whatever. He already had that. He'd always had that from Max. And of course from Isabel. But now he had it from three humans. The fact that Maria, Liz, and Alex had become part of his family so fast just blew him away.
He would have thought he'd form that kind of a bond with another alien almost immediately. Just because they had the same species memories, the same genetic code. Just because neither of them belonged here. But Nikolas seemed to have no interest in even talking to him or Max. It was as if everything they shared meant nothing to him. He only seemed interested in Isabel.
Michael gazed at Izzy in the front seat. She didn't belong with a guy like Nikolas. She was way too good for him, no matter what planet he came from.
Alex pulled into the mall's parking lot. Maria and Michael climbed out, but nobody else made a move to get out of the car. Michael glanced at Maria and shook his head. They should have gone to the movie with three zombies. It probably would have been more fun.
"Please collect all your belongings from the overhead compartments, and thank you for flying with us," Maria said as she opened Alex's door.
Michael leaned back into the car and opened Liz's door. "Buh-bye," he said. She gave him a little smile and got out of the car.
He and Maria led the way across the parking lot. Michael kept wanting to check behind him to make sure Alex, Isabel, and Liz were keeping up. He felt like he was leading a kindergarten field trip or something.
A motorcycle engine roared behind them. "Uh-oh," Maria muttered.
Michael turned around-and saw Nikolas speeding across the parking lot. Heading right toward them.
He shot a glance at Isabel. She was trying to look semi-uninterested. But he could tell she was totally psyched Nikolas had showed up.
I really have to talk to her about this jerk, Michael thought.
Nikolas squealed to a halt alongside them. He didn't say a word. He just held out his hand to Isabel. Before Michael could do anything, before he could even decide what he wanted to do, Isabel hopped on the bike and Nikolas roared off.
"Whoa," Maria said.
"I don't like this," Alex mumbled.
Big surprise there, Michael thought. But he didn't like it, either. He didn't like the idea of Isabel being alone with Nikolas. Yeah, Nikolas was an alien. He was one of them. But that didn't mean Isabel should automatically trust him.
Michael definitely didn't.
*** 7 ***
"Do you care if I cut this up?" Maria picked up a magazine from Liz's dresser.
As soon as they got back from the movies they had dissected the whole Isabel-Nikolas-Alex situation. Then they had dissected the movie. Now Liz was working on her college applications and Maria was working on her nails. Maria loved the way she and Liz could just sit in the same room together, each doing their own thing, sometimes talking, sometimes not. You had to be really good friends with someone before it felt this comfortable to basically ignore them for long stretches of time.
"Sure. Should I ask why?" Liz asked. She stuck some stamps on the application package she was sending to UCLA.
"I saw this girl at the mall who had little words glued on each
of her nails. I wanted to try it," Maria answered.
Liz powered up her computer and opened her chart of college applications. She typed dates in the application-mailed column for UCLA and Brown.
"So what words should I use?" Maria asked.
"You could spell out a ransom note," Liz suggested. "Don't kidnappers always use letters torn out of newspapers and stuff so the police can't identify them by their handwriting?"
Maria threw a pillow at her. "Very funny. I was thinking more like some kind of subliminal message."
"Oh, like, 'I'm easy' and your phone number?" Liz teased.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Let me know what weekend you'll be playing Vegas," Maria said.
Liz grabbed another magazine and flopped down on the bed next to Maria. "Maybe I'll do a subliminal message, too. Something that will get Max to give up this just friends deal."
"I'm surprised he hasn't cracked by now," Maria said. "If you could see the way he looks at you when he knows you're not watching… whoa."
Liz shook her head. "We're doing it again. We're talking about Max. I promised you I was going to give you a break."
"Talk about him as much as you want," Maria said. "I'll be sending you a bill." She snagged a pair of cuticle scissors off Liz's dresser and cut out the word love.
"We need to get you a guy so you'll have someone to complain about, too," Liz said. "I think Kyle Valenti is available."
"Kyle 'the octopus' Valenti?" Maria wrinkled up her nose. "You know, it's not the worst idea. I could go out with him and use my feminine allure to get all kinds of secret info on Sheriff Valenti."
Liz's expression turned all serious. "Promise me you would never do anything like that. Its way, way too dangerous."
"I promise. I promise the best friend promise," Maria said. The best friend promise was something Liz and Maria had made up in the fifth grade. Maria still had the list of horrible things that would happen to anyone who broke the "Superserious Absolutely Unbreakable Best Friend Promise."
"Good." Liz flipped a page in her magazine.
"Anyway, watching you and Max and Alex hasn't exactly made me wish I could fall for someone. It's not like I need more pain in my life. I mean, my mom is already going out on dates in my clothes."
"Alex did look pretty devastated when Isabel took off with Nikolas," Liz said.
"I'm surprised you noticed. You looked pretty deep in one of your where-oh-where-can-my-little-Max-be funks," Maria said.
"I noticed. Poor guy." Liz shot a glance at Maria. "I used to think maybe you and Alex…" She let her sentence trail off.
"Yeah, when he first moved to Roswell last year, I had a couple of moments where I thought maybe. But no. I mean, he's totally cute, and he's really funny. But he just doesn't do it for me, you know? He doesn't…" Maria shrugged.
"He doesn't make your heart go pitty-pat?" Liz suggested.
"Exactly."
The melancholy sounds of a Doors song started thrumming through the house. Liz could feel the floor vibrating with the beat. "I guess my parents are back," she said.
Maria frowned. "Is your dad okay?"
Maria had known Liz since the second grade. She had broken the code a long time ago. When Liz's papa was in a good mood, he listened to the Grateful Dead. The Dead was at the absolute top of his musical mood scale. The Doors were at the absolute bottom. And right now he was listening to The Doors.
"Rosa's birthday is tomorrow," Liz explained.
"Oh," Maria mumbled. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I should have remembered. Are you okay?"
Liz nodded. Her late sister's birthday didn't hit her the way it did her parents. Not because she didn't love Rosa. When she was a little girl, she adored Rosa and was always trying to get her attention. Classic big sister/little sister stuff.
It was just that she didn't think about Rosa more around her birthday. She thought about her the same amount as usual, which was a lot. Like every day.
There was this little voice in Liz's head that always whispered, "Don't turn out like Rosa." Sometimes the voice sounded like her mama, sometimes like her aunt Elena, sometimes like her abuelita, sometimes like one of her uncles or cousins. But most of the time it sounded like her papa.
And Liz worked very hard to make sure no one, not her papa or anyone else, had to be afraid she was going to overdose the way Rosa had when she was in high school. Liz was a straight-A student, and she'd probably end up class valedictorian. She put in a lot of hours at the cafe and saved most of the money she earned. She always remembered all her relatives' birthdays. She always called her parents when she was going to be late. She always remembered to floss even when she was really tired.
Liz glanced over at her computer. At the list of all the schools she'd applied to. Sometimes she couldn't wait to graduate and get out of town. To live in a place where no one knew anything about Rosa and no one ever worried that Liz was going to turn out just like her.
"Hey, you got so quiet. I'm sorry," Maria said. "I didn't mean to make you start thinking about sad stuff."
"You didn't. It's okay." Liz twisted her hair into a knot on the top of her head. "So what about Michael?" she asked. She wanted a big subject change immediatamente.
Maria's head jerked up. "Michael?"
"Yeah. We were done talking about your love life," Liz said.
"You mean lack of," Maria interrupted.
"And we already covered mine and Max's and Isabel's and Alex's," Liz continued. "That leaves Michael's. Do you think there's anybody he likes at school?"
Maria cut the word pain out of her magazine and carefully trimmed it. "Not that I know of," she answered. "Do you think Michael could even, I mean, would he want to, you know, go out with a human?"
"I guess he did used to keep away from humans," Liz said. "But that was before he really got to know the wonderful us."
"I wonder if 'the wonderful us' will convince Nikolas that humans are people, too," Maria commented.
"I'm not sure. I don't think Michael ever thought of us as insects," Liz answered. She shook her head, and her long, dark hair fell back down around her shoulders. "I've got a really bad feeling about Nikolas. I know Max is worried about him, too."
"What do you think Nikolas and Isabel are doing right now?" Maria asked. She painted her thumbnail with clear polish and carefully placed a scrap of paper on top.
"Whatever they're doing, I hope they're not using their power," Liz said. "I'm not ready to do a face-off with Valenti again."
"Do you think we should tell Max that Isabel took off with Nikolas?" Maria asked.
Liz thought about it. It would give her an excuse to call Max, hear his voice, torture herself a little. But there was nothing he could really do. There was nothing any of them could do if Nikolas and Isabel decided to go wild with their power.
"No," she said. "I mean, it's not like they're going to do anything illegal."
***
"Uh, do the words breaking and entering mean anything to you?" Isabel asked Nikolas.
"Human rules are for humans," he answered. "What? You've never used your power to pick a lock?" Nikolas glanced over his shoulder at her.
"I guess I've just lived a sheltered life," she answered.
"I can fix that," he said. A slow, lopsided grin spread across his face.
Isabel felt her stomach flip over. Oh yes. Nikolas definitely had it going on.
"Focus on the molecules of the bolt and squeeze them together. It's a no-brainer," Nikolas explained. He swung the door open and pulled Isabel inside.
The place smelled like… a bowling alley. Isabel thought bowling was basically disgusting. She'd only gone once, at some kid's birthday party when she was little. But she remembered the whole process was gross. You had to wear shoes that a bunch of stinky feet had been in before you. Even the holes in the bowling balls felt grimy. There were always little crumbs or dirt balls or something inside them.
The only reason she was here was because Nikolas wanted to go bowling, and Isabel wanted to be wher
e Nikolas was. Which was a first. Guys always came to Isabel. But Nikolas is no ordinary guy, she reminded herself.
"I think those big bowling balls make it too easy. I use these." Nikolas wandered over to one of the pool tables and picked up a couple of the striped balls. He tossed her one, and she was surprised how heavy it was.
He pulled up the edge of his T-shirt to make sort of a bag and piled a bunch of the balls inside. Isabel tried not to stare at his stomach. It was hard and flat, with each group of muscles clearly defined. He was perfect. He wasn't too bulked up or too lean. Absolutely yummy.
"Come on," Nikolas said. He flipped on a row of light switches with his elbow and led the way over to the closest lane.
At least the pool balls don't have any grubby little holes, Isabel thought.
Nikolas dumped his pool balls on the polished wooden floor and stretched out on his stomach next to them. He grabbed one of the balls and slammed it down the lane. The pins went down with a loud clatter.
I forgot about the noise, Isabel thought. Another wonderful part of the whole bowling ambiance.
"Woo-hoo!" Nikolas yelled. "A strike for me."
Isabel smiled. Maybe there were a few ways Nikolas was an ordinary guy. It was kind of sweet. "You cheated, though," she told him. "I could feel you using your power to push the ball."
Nikolas sat up and shook his head at her. "Someone did a number on you," he said. "Why is using power cheating? We're born with it. Is it cheating for you to look as good as you do? You were born with that hair, and those eyes, and… everything else."
So, he did think she was pretty. Well, he better watch himself, or he was going to find himself one of those guys who followed Isabel around with drool running out of their mouths. She liked that idea-a lot.
"Max just thinks that using power is dangerous," Isabel said. He had drilled into her that her power was something that should only be used in an emergency. Of course, she used it a lot more often than that, but she always felt sort of guilty.
Nikolas snorted. "Max. Max needs to figure out that he's not human. He's never going to be human. And that is a very good thing."