Quarantine

too.

'Great. Fine,' Amy cried, throwing up her hands. 'Stay in Roswell. Marry Michael, get yourself pregnant. Throw your life away just like I did!'

'Oooh, not good,' Michael whispered.

Maria grabbed her backpack up off the couch. 'I'm so happy to know that you consider marrying Dad and having me to be 'throwing your life away,'' she said coldly. Then she turned her back on Amy, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Michael shook his head. Usually he was jealous of his friends, who, unlike him, all had parents. But on days like today, he felt like the lucky one.

'How about dinner at Senor Chow's tonight to celebrate your scholarship?' Max asked. He and Liz sat at one of the booths in the Crashdown just as the lunch rush started. Jeff Parker had given Liz the day off in honor of her big win.

Liz was quiet for a moment, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

'Just the two of us having a nice romantic dinner?' he prodded.

'I don't think so,' Liz finally answered. 'I start at Meta-chem tomorrow, so I want to get plenty of sleep tonight.' She glanced up at him and smiled. 'Don't want to be yawning my first day on the job!'

Max nodded, disappointed. Liz might be smiling, but her heart wasn't in it. He couldn't read her mind, but he was pretty good at reading her emotions. And for the past few days, she hadn't been happy. The worst part was that it was his fault. He knew his romance with Tess had hurt Liz's feelings, but after all, Liz was the one who had told him that he belonged with Tess. For months Liz had even let him believe she'd had sex with Kyle Valenti. Then, after Tess left the planet, Max had decided that it was time to start over… start over with life here on Earth, and start over with Liz.

Last week he'd planned a 'first date' for them, and it was supposed to be the perfect evening. He knew the love he shared with Liz was strong enough to overcome the trust issues between them. But on their date, it had all gone wrong. While he was swimming in the lake, he'd gotten a mental flash… a vision of his son with Tess. It had seemed as if his son were calling out to him. At that moment, he knew he couldn't really start over. He could never rest until he found his son and rescued him from Tess.

'Hey, brainiac!' Kyle's voice broke into Max's thoughts. He turned to see Kyle entering the Crashdown along with

Isabel. Kyle headed straight for their booth to give Liz a hug. 'Congratulations on the scholarship,' he said, kissing the top of her head.

Max couldn't help feeling jealous of Kyle, even now. Liz had told him she didn't sleep with Kyle, but she'd never explained why Kyle had been in her bed all those months ago. Max had seen them there together, and he still couldn't get the image of it out of his mind.

'Thanks!' Liz beamed up at Kyle. 'I can't believe I really won it. It's been so long since I even cracked a book.'

Kyle sat down next to Liz, while Isabel slid into the booth next to Max. She grabbed one of his French fries, dipped it into the puddle of Tabasco sauce on his plate, and popped it into her mouth.

'I can't believe you're so excited about getting a full-time job,' Isabel commented. 'I mean, the money for college is great, but face it: For this summer, you're slave labor in the Meta-chem labs.'

'But it's amazing experience,' Liz pointed out.

'Isabel's right, though,' Max said. 'It's a full-time job. Plus you'll still have shifts here at the Crashdown. When are you ever going to have time for anything but work?'

When are you going to have time for me? he added silently.

Before Liz could answer, Kyle jumped in. 'Well, I'll be right there with you,' he told Liz. 'Literally. I got a job at Meta-chem too.'

'No way!' Liz cried. 'That's great.'

'Not so great,' Kyle said. 'You'll be working in the lab. I'll be cleaning the lab. I'm a janitor.'

'So what?' Isabel said. 'A job's a job.'

'Yeah, well, I still have to put in time at Toby's Garage, too. At least until my dad finds some work.'

Silence fell over the table. Max felt responsible for the fact that Kyle's father had lost his job as the sheriff of Roswell. He knew Isabel did too. If Valenti hadn't spent so much time trying to help the aliens, he wouldn't have been suspended. And Kyle wouldn't have to work two jobs trying to support them.

'Kyle…,' Isabel began, reaching across the table to take Kyle's hand.

'It's fine,' Kyle said shortly. He glanced up at Isabel's sympathetic face and forced a smile. 'Really. At least I'll have Parker for company.'

'Right,' Liz said.

Too had I won't, Max thought miserably.

'I am calm, I am collected, I am in control.' Maria stared at her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink. Through the door she heard the usual symphony of noises from the Crashdown. She was so not in the mood to work today. She took a deep breath and smiled at herself in the mirror. 'I am calm, I am collected, I am in control,' she insisted to her reflection.

A loud knock sounded on the door. 'Yo, Maria, get out here!' Michael bellowed.

With a sigh, she pulled open the door and faced her boyfriend. 'What?' she said.

'I need help,' Michael told her. 'You know I can't deal with customers bitching.'

'And you think I'm in any shape to handle a confrontation?' Maria demanded. 'Didn't you hear what my mother

said to me before? All I want to do is avoid any more arguing today.'

'I know, baby,' he said, kissing her quickly. 'I just thought you might want to take out some of your aggression on this customer. And besides, I, uh, don't know what to do with her. She's at the counter.'

Michael fled back into the kitchen. Maria rolled her eyes. She grabbed her antenna headband and forced it on over her hair, wincing at how tight it was. Then with one final calming breath, she headed out into the dining room. Michael really wasn't any good at dealing with complaints. This was probably that same little old lady he'd gotten into a yelling match with last week.

Maria stopped short when she saw the counter. There was only one person sitting there, and it was a little girl.

'You have got to be kidding me,' she muttered. Then she pasted a smile on her face and walked over to the girl. As she got closer she noticed that the girl wasn't as young as she'd thought. She was probably around eleven, though she was tiny enough to pass for a nine-year-old.

'Hi. Is there a problem with your food?' Maria asked.

The girl spun around on her stool and stared at Maria. Her light brown eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open, as if she was surprised. She didn't say anything.

Maria watched her for a moment, then tried again. 'Urn, hi. Did you have a complaint?'

'Ohmygod,' the girl said in a rush. 'Are you Maria?'

'Yeah,' Maria answered. 'Why?'

The girl kept staring at her, almost as if she was studying Maria's face. 'Your hair is long,' she said.

Now Maria was starting to get freaked out. Who was this kid?

'Yeah, well…' Maria wasn't sure what else to say. She pushed her hair behind her ear.

The girl pushed a lock of her own shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear.

'Do I know you?' Maria asked.

The girl smiled widely. 'Nope!' she chirped. 'But I think you are the coolest girl ever!' Suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed Marias wrist. She stared at Maria's nails, then proudly held up her own hand. 'We have the same nail polish!' she shrieked happily.

Maria winced. 'Mm-hmm,' she agreed, pulling her hand away. 'We sure do. So, listen, uh…'

'Sadie.'

'Sadie,' Maria repeated. 'Well, listen, Sadie. I have other customers to wait on, so was there something you needed?'

Sadie shook her head, still grinning at Maria.

'Didn't you tell Michael… the cook… that you have a complaint?' Maria asked.