And we're back to Alex again, Michael thought. 'They were completely freaked.'
'There were definitely people on our planet who were concerned when he arrived.' Trevor shoved his fingers through his hair, and Michael was struck by the fact that his hands and Trevors were almost exactly the same shape and size. He wondered if that meant he and Trevor would look sort of alike in all their bodies' adaptive forms.
'Max kept trying to send the beings of the consciousness info about Alex to try to keep the freaking to a minimum,' Michael said.
'What kind of stuff?' Trevor asked.
'Like how Alex helped save our butts when Sheriff Valenti, the Clean Slate agent I told you about, was zeroing in on me and Max and Isabel,' Michael answered. 'And how he sat with Isabel practically every second for days after the sheriff killed her boyfriend.'
'Alex sounds like a good guy,' Trevor commented.
'The best,' Michael answered. He noticed that his mouth felt really watery, and he laughed. 'I start salivating as soon as I get on this block,' he told Trevor. 'Come on. It's way past time for you to have your first cruller.'
Michael led the way into the doughnut shop and ordered four crullers. He shoved two of them at Trevor after they sat down at one of the little tables in the back. Trevor picked one up and started to take a bite.
'Wait! Not like that!' Michael exclaimed. He jerked Trevor's hand away from his mouth. 'You've got to have hot sauce,' he explained. He pulled out a handful of packets from his pocket, then he ripped a couple open and squirted them on Trevor's cruller. 'Okay, now you can eat it.'
Michael watched Trevor as he chewed. He smiled when he saw the awe appear on Trevor's face. 'Good?'
'Amazing. Fantastic. Phenomenal,' Trevor answered.
'I guess we must have the same taste buds,' Michael said. He felt the little pop of pleasure he got every time he discovered a similarity between him and Trevor.
'Definitely,' Trevor mumbled, his mouth full with a massive bite of cruller. 'I guess Alex wouldn't go for this combo, huh?'
What's with all the questions about Alex? Michael wondered. He gave a mental shrug. He really didn't care what they talked about. He was hanging out with his brother.
SIX
'I got the most brilliant idea last night!' Stacey Scheinin cried. 'At halftime we should spell out our team's name with our bodies! Can I hear a yeah?'
All the Stacey wanna-bes immediately screamed, 'Yeah.'
'Sounds fabulous,' Isabel added.
Everyone on the cheerleading squad stared at her. It took Isabel a moment to figure out why. Oh, she realized. It's the first time I ever agreed with Stacey about anything.
That just showed what an incredible mood she was in. She had fuzzy-wuzzy feelings toward everyone in the whole world, even look-at-how-cute-I-am aren't-I-the-best-little-head-cheerleader-ever Stacey.
'Are you feeling okay? Because I'm suddenly in need of a barf bag,' Isabel's friend Tish Okabe whispered in Isabel's ear.
'I'm feeling spectacular,' Isabel answered.
Alex was back! Michael had a brother! And Sheriff Valenti was still dead!
Yeah, Elsevan DuPris was out there somewhere, but she wasn't going to ruin one of her best days ever thinking about that.
'You're awfully happy today,' Stacey said, sounding suspicious, or at least as suspicious as someone with a Minnie Mouse voice could sound. She shot a sly look over at the bleachers. 'The new boy must be good for you.'
Isabel followed Stacey's gaze and saw Kyle Valenti staring at her. As she watched, he pulled out a lighter and flicked it on and off, on and off.
What a loser, Isabel thought. Does he think he's at a concert or something? She felt a tiny bit of her joy drain away. Little Kyle clearly had something on his mind. Something vicious.
Deliberately she turned her back on him. Kyle was an insect. When he became annoying enough, she would deal with him. 'Some of my fans do get a little overadoring,' Isabel told Stacey.
'I bet you're sorry you jettisoned Alex,' Lucinda Baker called out. 'I saw him bending over the drinking fountain. He's been doing his butt-building exercises, that's all I can say.'
'Uh-
Alex had definitely come back home with something different about him. He'd been weak and scared, yeah. But when Isabel finally got used to the fact that he was really and truly home, she couldn't help notice that he'd undergone some kind of transformation. It was like he had a glow about him. But she wasn't going to stand around and discuss that with the squad.
'So do you want to practice the letter thing now?' Isabel asked Stacey.
'It's getting late. We'll do it next time. That's it for today,' Stacey answered. She sounded sort of confused.
I have to remember this, Isabel thought. If I want to mess with Stacey's head, all I have to do is be nice to her.
'You don't actually have something going with Kyle, do you?' Tish asked as she and Isabel headed for the locker room.
'Did I just hear you ask me if I had something going with Kyle?' Isabel asked with mock horror.
Tish grinned. 'Okay, but you do have something going with somebody. I can see it on your face. So come on. Confess. Did you get back with Alex? Because he is looking extra crispy.' She held the locker-room door open for Isabel, then led the way over to their lockers.
'Tish, come back from the fifties, okay?' Isabel sat down on one of the peeling wooden benches and kicked off her shoes. 'A guy is not the only reason for a girl to be happy.'
Although she had to admit that Trevor had… possibilities.
'Don't even try giving me that superior attitude,' Tish answered. 'I know exactly how many times you saw the last Julia Roberts movie, okay?'
'I'm not saying I don't like guys,' Isabel answered. 'Guys can be very entertaining. I'm just saying there are other things in life.'
She opened her locker and reached for her towel. She always brought her own. The ones at school were way too thin. Plus other people used them.
When she pulled the towel free, a doll fell to the floor with a soft plop.
'What a cute little cheerleader outfit it has on,' Tish cooed. She picked it up, and Isabel saw the doll's face for the first time.
Make that the glob of charred plastic where the doll's face used to be.
Kyle and his lighter have been busy, Isabel thought. She took the doll from Tish and used the very tips of her fingers to deposit it in the trash. Now she really couldn't wait to get into the shower.
I suppose I should deal with that boy sooner rather than later, she thought.
'You're in trouble,' Kevin said with a smirk.
Maria shut the door behind her. 'Don't sound so happy about it,' she answered. 'Remember how many things I know about you-things that Mom would be very interested in, things that could put you in your room for life.'
'I'm so scared.' Kevin gave an exaggerated shiver that made his arms flop around like overcooked spaghetti.
