â but she hoped maybe if she ignored Kyle, heâd just go away.
âAm I missing something? Are you, like, the hottest girl in school? What makes you think youâre so special?â Kyle demanded.
Maria nudged Liz. Sheâs probably madder than I am, Liz thought.
âKyle, get a clue, get some therapy, get a life,â Liz said. âJust get over it.â
Maria nudged Liz again. âYour shirt,â she whispered.
Liz glanced down and saw that her baby tee had ridden up â revealing one of the silver handprints on her stomach. When I reached for the pork rind, she thought.
Did Kyle notice? Probably not, she decided. The prints had begun to fade, and Kyle was pretty distracted by the sound of his own voice. Liz slid the shirt back down, trying to make the movement look casual.
âYou should get rid of your attitude,â Kyle was saying. âYou â â
âThatâs it, Valenti,â Alex interrupted. âGet lost.â Kyle pushed himself to his feet and stared down at Alex. âWhat â are you going to make me?â Kyle demanded.
Alex stood up and faced off with him. Alex was shorter than Kyle, and he probably weighed twenty-five pounds less. But he didnât back down. He took a step closer.
Wonderful, Liz thought, rolling her eyes. Now I have to be nice to Kyle so that he doesnât kill Alex.
âLook, Kyle,â she said in her sweetest voice. âI didnât mean to â â
âForget it, okay? Donât even bother.â Kyle moved away from Alex and glanced around the quad. He jerked his chin toward Isabel Evans. âWho cares about you? If
she
didnât want to go out with me, then Iâd have to be upset.â He stalked off.
Alex sat back down. âWhat a total and complete jerk.â
âYeah, Liz is much, much prettier than Isabel,â Maria added.
Liz cracked up. âI donât think thatâs what he meant,â she told Maria.
Maria turned to Alex. âOh, come on. Liz is way more gorgeous than Isabel, right?â
âDifferent types,â Alex muttered.
âYeah. Liz treats guys like human beings. Isabel treats guys like dirt,â Maria answered. âI donât know why any guy would want to go out with her.â
Alex looked over at Isabel. âYeah. Blond hair, blue eyes, curvy body. Who would want to get close to that?â
Maria whacked him on the shoulder. âI will never understand guys. Just because you like how she looks, you donât care that she has the personality of a taxidermist.â
âI had a dream about her the other night, and it had nothing to do with dead animals,â Alex protested.
âItâs hard to believe she and Max are brother and sister,â Liz said. âI mean, yeah, they have the same hair and eyes.â
âBut not the same curvy body,â Alex joked.
Liz ignored him. âBut Maxâs personality is totally different. Max is nice to
everyone.â
Maria grabbed Liz by the arm. âI just realized. Isabel is Maxâs sister. Does that mean sheâs also a â rdquo;
Liz slapped her hand over Mariaâs mouth. She couldnât believe Maria had almost blurted out Maxâs secret. She was going to have to sit her down and remind her how serious it would be for Max if the truth about him got out.
âA what?â Alex asked.
âOh no,â Liz said. âDonât try to weasel out of it. You have to tell us your dream. You brought it up â that means you have to tell.â
Maria pulled Lizâs hand off her mouth. She gave Liz a little nod to show she understood. âYeah. Iâll analyze it for you. Iâve read every dream book there is.â
âThereâs not much to analyze,â Alex said.
Another save by Liz Ortecho, Liz thought. She glanced over at Isabel Evans. She looked so, well, normal. But Maria had a good point.
Could
Isabel be an alien, too? She must
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