The diner, on the other hand, looked nice on the out- side. Max, Isabel, and Michael had finished painting the exterior, and it seemed to shine now.
"Where are we…?" Isabel asked.
Kyle raised his hand. "Just come with me," he insisted, leading the way back to the garage. He led Isabel around back and showed her the van.
"This is the one that belonged to his brother?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. He told her what he wanted her to do. When he was finished, she smiled.
"It's not very low profile," she said.
"No," he said. "And Max would hate the idea.”
"That's the problem with democracy," Isabel said. "Not everybody gets what they want.”
"You're in?" Kyle asked.
"What do you want me to do first?" she asked.
They started on the structural work. There was real damage to the chassis and body in the back. Isabel straightened it all with a few touches, and the ancient injuries to the van seemed to mend themselves. A ruined van that had been rusting for thirty years came to life in front of him. It was amazing. No, she was amazing. Kyle found himself watching Isabel's face most of all. The sim- ple joy it held was incredible.
He got down on the ground and checked her work. The frame and bumper were straight now. Body panels were smooth. The rear doors opened easily. Even the tail- lights looked new.
Kyle showed her the rusted-out frame on the side and seconds later it was whole. They circled the van smooth- ing dents and removing rust.
Checking his watch, Kyle saw that they had been there about ten minutes. They needed to hurry or Max and the others would come looking for them.
Opening the hood, Kyle showed Isabel the engine com- partment and explained to her what the engine block was, what it did, and how it looked.
"It has a crack there," Kyle said, pointing it out. "I don't know how far it runs.”
"I think I can get it," Isabel said, touching it. "That's it.”
There would still be plenty of work to do on the engine, Kyle thought. For one, it would need a new timing chain. But Dan was a mechanic, and something told Kyle he would enjoy this job.
Opening the door, he took her inside, and she removed rust and fixed holes and tears in the upholstery. She made it all look new.
"And now the fun part," Kyle said when they got back outside.
Isabel touched the side panel of the van and concen- trated. It was like a wave of color washed over it. And then the psychedelic paint job looked like it must have when a teenager named Johnny had first applied it.
Isabel took her hand off the van.
When she was done, she smiled broadly and gave Kyle a quick, impulsive hug.
Kyle took a moment to look at the van. The tires were missing, and it still sat on cinder blocks. Otherwise it looked like it must have thirty-some years before, when Dan and his big brother had set out on the road with a group of friends to see a rock-and-roll show.
"Let's go before Dan comes looking," Isabel said. And they left, heading toward Main Street and their own friends.
Liz watched Max as he pulled away from the diner. Bell was waving frantically. Liz waved back.
In seconds, they passed the garage, then the hill where the alien ship had sat. From there, it was just open road.
"The van sounds good, Kyle. Actually it sounds great," Michael said.
Kyle smiled, "Thanks. I had some extra time.”
"We really did something back there," Liz said.
The others nodded. They all felt it. They had helped Jimmy and others they didn't even know.
"I know what you mean. You should have seen the way the paint was peeling on the diner. We got there just in time," Michael said.
Liz heard a smack and Michael say, "Ow!”
She smiled, and then found herself getting thoughtful. "What do you think they wanted?" she asked.
No one answered for a long moment. Finally, Maria said, "That's just one mystery we may never solve, Velma.”
"What did you call me?" Liz said, whipping her head around.
"Like you're not completely Velma?" Maria teased.
"If anybody's Daphne, it's me," Liz said defiantly.
"You've got… ”
"Hold on," Max said. He smiled. "Are you telling me that all girls see themselves as either Daphne or Velma?”
"Well, yeah," Liz and Maria said in unison.
"See, you're either the hot one with the cute boyfriend, or the smart one in the bad orange sweater," Maria said.
"I don't know, I like Velma," Max said seriously.
"You're kidding me," Liz replied.
"Yeah, smart girls are hot," he said. "Besides, do you realize what a killer body she has under that sweater?" Max said.
Liz laughed out loud, saying, "I didn't realize you watched so closely.”
"I'm only human. At least only half-human," Max cor- rected himself.
Everyone laughed at that, Liz noticed. Even Isabel, which Liz was glad to see.
There was more laughter and lots of talk about nothing. Though she wouldn't remember a single thing that she and her friends discussed, Liz knew she would remember that morning for a long time.