be â she was Maxâs sister. Liz knew they were both adopted, and they looked practically like twins. Liz stared around the quad. Were Max and Isabel the only two aliens at school? Or were there aliens everywhere, and she just hadnât known about it?
âCome on,â Maria said. âDetails, Alex.â
âOkay, but try not to laugh.â Alex looked embarrassed. âI was at the homecoming dance with Isabel â and we were the homecoming king and queen. We had on the crowns and everything.â
âOh, stop. Iâm going to hurl.â Maria made loud barfing sounds.
âWhat do you think? Is it a sign? Should I try and get up the guts to, like, talk to her or something?â Alex asked.
âNo!â Liz blurted.
Alex looked hurt.
But Liz couldnât worry about his feelings. Sheâd suddenly remembered something about Isabel. The other day, at Maxâs house, Isabel had stared at Liz with pure hatred.
Sheâs afraid Iâm going to betray Max, Liz realized. And if people discovered Max was an alien, theyâd know Isabel was one, too. Lizâs stomach began to tingle. Isabel must be terrified. No wonder she hated Liz. Would she come after me? Liz wondered. Try to hurt my friends?
Liz didnât know. But she did know one thing â she didnât want Alex anywhere near Isabel.
âItâs just that, like Maria said, she treats guys like dirt,â Liz told Alex. âYou deserve better.â
âI guess youâre right,â Alex said. But Liz noticed he was staring at Isabel when he said it.
âI have this craving for a doughnut. Want to go to the doughnut place?â Max asked. He ate the last bite of his burger and shoved the tray across the cafeteria table.
âBut that would mean . . . cutting school.â Michael opened his gray eyes wide and stared at Max with mock horror.
Max sniffed the air. âCan you smell them? Can you smell the crullers sliding out of the oven?â He pulled a couple of packets of hot sauce out of his jacket pocket and waved them in front of his friendâs face. He knew crullers with hot sauce were Michaelâs favorite.
âI have a history test, and I would not think of jeopardizing my education for a cruller,â Michael said primly.
âHave you ever had one when theyâre still hot, because I think today is cruller baking day,â Max said.
âDo you think Iâm that easy?â Michael demanded. âBesides, itâs not like you can hide from the girl for the rest of your life.â
âYeah, youâre right.â Max didnât bother to pretend that he didnât know who Michael was talking about.
The bell rang. âI kind of like giving you advice for a change,â Michael said as they headed out.
âDonât get too used to it,â Max answered. He started up the stairs to his advanced placement bio class. Would Liz even be there? Heâd thought about bailing â why wouldnât she?
Max couldnât decide if he hoped sheâd be there or not. He wanted to see her and make sure she was okay. But he couldnât take it if she looked at him the way she did on Saturday, all scared and weirded out and . . . and
repulsed.
Man, he would never forget the expression on her face.
He hesitated outside the door. Donât be a wuss, he told himself, and stepped inside. Liz was there. He should have known she wouldnât cut. She wasnât really the kind of person who backed away from things.
He knew she noticed him come in â her shoulders tensed a little, and the sickly yellow steaks that still marred her amber aura grew a little darker. But she didnât look up. She kept her eyes focused on the lab table as she set up their microscope.
Max took a detour to check on the lab mice. Admit it, he thought as he fed them a few pieces of celery. Youâre stalling. âWish me luck,â he whispered to Fred, his
Norrey Ford
Azure Boone
Peggy Darty
Jerry Pournelle
Anne Rice
Erin Butler
Sharon Shinn
Beth Cato
Shyla Colt
Bryan Burrough