'But Max is!' Liz cried. She grabbed the mouse away from Isabel and clicked.
'Okay, I shouldn't really have Max on the list because I haven't ever kissed him,' Liz read, her voice losing a little of its edge. 'But a girl can dream, right? And I suspect that a kiss from Max would indeed be dreamy. Those quiet types can really surprise you. Here's hoping I have some hard facts for you soon.'
'Dream on,' Isabel said. She gave Liz a sympathetic smile. 'You've got to know that even though Max keeps pushing you away, he has zero interest in anyone else.'
Liz nodded. 'Yeah, I know,' she said softly. 'But thanks for reminding me.'
Maria felt a little stab of envy. Isabel and Liz both had these guys who were completely in love with them. Yeah, Max did insist that he and Liz couldn't be more than friends. But at least Liz knew that Max felt the same way about her that she did about him.
'Um, has Max seemed different to either of you lately?' Liz asked.
'He's been kind of out of it, if that's what you mean,' Isabel answered.
Maria frowned, trying to remember how Max had been acting lately. She'd been so focused on Michael. 'He's been a little quieter than usual,' she offered. 'Preoccupied.'
'But he doesn't seem sick or anything?' Liz pressed.
'Honestly, I think it's about you. I think he misses you,' Isabel told her. 'That's not really the right word since you guys see each other all the time, but-'
'But it's different,' Liz finished her sentence.
'If you really want to know how Craig kisses, I can tell you,' Isabel announced, doing a screeching subject change. She'd obviously decided Max was not who Liz needed to be talking about. 'A little wet. Some distractingly loud nose breathing. But not bad.'
'No way!' Maria squealed. 'I didn't know you ever went out with him.'
'I didn't. But I paid him a little visit in his dreams one night. When I was, uh, campaigning for homecoming queen,' she admitted. She signed off and shut down her computer.
'You went into guys' dreams and kissed them so they'd vote for you?' Liz demanded.
'Only the cute ones,' Isabel answered. 'And Michael and Alex totally got even with me. You'll remember that I lost to Liz.' She stuck out her tongue at Liz. Liz laughed and hit her with a pillow.
Maria didn't say anything, but she was glad that Isabel had lost. It wasn't cool to win that way. Besides, Liz had deserved to win. She was as pretty as Isabel, in a completely different way. And she was just as popular.
'So what's it like, going into people's dreams?' Maria asked. 'Is it really revealing? Do you know everybody's deep, dark secrets?'
'I could show you,' Isabel offered. 'At least I think I could. The three of us could form a connection, then we could go dream walking together.'
'It's kind of an invasion of privacy, though,' Liz said.
'Yeah. You're right,' Isabel answered. 'But on the other hand, it's cool.'
'We have to do it,' Maria jumped in.
She knew Liz was right about the invasion of privacy. But there was a chance that she could get Isabel to take her into Michael's dreams. Maybe they'd show her how he was really feeling about her.
'So, who should we do?' Isabel asked.
'Ms. Hardy?' Liz suggested.
'A teacher?' Maria asked. 'Doesn't that have kind of a high eww factor? Maybe we should do someone we know better.'
Maria didn't want to just blurt out Michael's name. She wanted to wait and do it more casually. She'd told Liz everything that happened when she went to his house. But still. She didn't want to seem desperate.
'I know. We'll go to the dream plane, and you two can each pick an orb. That way it will be a surprise,' Isabel said. She sat down on the floor and motioned Liz and Maria to sit next to her. 'Just relax. Breathe deeply. And I'll do the rest,' she instructed. She reached out and took them each by the hand.
A swirl of color became visible around them, the deep purple of Isabel's aura, playing tag with the rich amber of Liz's, and Maria's sparkling blue. An instant later a blend of perfumes filled the air. Maria thought of them as olfactory auras. She pulled in a deep breath, savoring the distinct scents of Liz's ylang-ylang, Isabel's cinnamon, and her rose, as well as the aroma they made when they mingled.
'Close your eyes,' Isabel told them softly.
Maria obeyed and found herself surrounded by spinning globes that glistened with iridescent colors. Maria smiled as one brushed against her face. It was as soft as a soap bubble, and it was giving off one perfect note of music, high and sweet.
'Welcome to the dream plane,' Isabel told them. 'Each orb is created when a person begins to dream. Just pick one, and I'll take you in.'
Maria strained to pick out each orb's note, searching for the one that would start up a vibration, almost an ache, inside her.
There were so many beautiful sounds, but none that she was looking for. It's because Michael isn't asleep yet, she realized. If he's not asleep, he wouldn't have a dream orb.
'You pick first,' she told Liz.
'That one.' Liz pointed to a whirling pale green orb.
Isabel shot Liz a look. 'Freaky. I think you picked your mother's,' she said. 'I've done this enough to have matched up a lot of people in town with their orbs, and I'm pretty sure that's hers. Do you want to choose a different one?'
Liz hesitated, then shook her head. 'That one's good.'
Isabel reached out her hands and began to hum. A moment later the green orb spun into her hands. Isabel continued to hum, and the orb grew, stretching until it was as tall as they were.
'If you don't want her to see you in her dream, we can watch from out here,' Isabel said. 'Or we can step through and actually be in the dream with her.'
'Let's stay out here,' Liz answered. She took a step closer to the orb and peered inside. Maria moved up beside her.
Mrs. Ortecho was walking along the edge of a lake. As she passed under a tree, an egg tumbled out of a nest and landed at her feet. It cracked open, and blood dripped out.
Maria heard a tiny sound of distress from Liz. 'We don't have to watch,' Maria told her.
'No, I want to,' Liz answered.
Maria returned her attention to the dream. Its scene shifted abruptly as sometimes happens in dreams, and Mrs. Ortecho was standing in a kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled an egg out of the carton. She wrapped her hands around it, as if she was trying to give it some of her warmth.
Then instantly she was back at the lake, climbing up toward the nest with the egg still cradled in her hand. A branch broke under one of her feet. Mrs. Ortecho faltered. The egg fell from her hand, fell straight down into the lake.
The water turned red and began to bubble. And a girl shot up from the depths, drenched in blood. She flew straight at Mrs. Ortecho, her hands curved into claws.
Mrs. Ortecho screamed, and Liz jerked away from the orb. 'That's enough,' she exclaimed.
Isabel reached out and lightly touched the orb. She hummed until it shrank down to its former size.
'Are you okay?' Maria asked Liz. 'Pretty horrible nightmare, huh?'
'That girl. I think it was Rosa,' Liz explained, her eyes glittering with emotion.
'Are you sure? I couldn't see her face with all the-' Maria stopped herself before she said the word blood.
Liz shook her head. 'It was her,' she insisted. 'It's been five years since she died, five years, and my mother's still having nightmares.'
'Probably only once in a while,' Isabel said. 'And once in a while isn't necessarily bad. Dreams help people process things.'
'I guess,' Liz mumbled.
Maria glanced over at Isabel. 'Let's go out for a while.'
Isabel closed her eyes and focused. The dream plane disappeared, and they were sitting on the floor of Isabel's bedroom once more.
