"That was too cool," Max cried, just as the cow clock in Ray's kitchen started to moo. "I've got to leave," he added. "I don't want to be late for homeroom." He started for the door.
"Uh, Max, just a suggestion," Michael said. "Before you go, you might want to put on some clothes."
"What?" Max slapped his hands onto his bare chest. "Oh. Whoa. Maybe next time I can figure out how to take some molecules of clothes with me." He bolted over to the pile of clothes on the floor and yanked them on. "See you later. We're all heading over right after school to decide what to do about Adam."
Max started toward the door again, then turned around and headed back to Michael. "There's one more thing I want to say to you, something I should have said the day we all made it out of the compound alive," Max told him. He gave a loud sniffle and wiped an imaginary tear off his cheek but couldn't hide his grin. "I love you, man."
Michael laughed. "You're sick-you know that, don't you?"
Max clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah," he said. "But I like it that way."
Liz checked the bulletin board, then pushed her way back out of the crowd surrounding it. She almost slammed into Maria.
"I knew you'd be here," Maria said. "I don't know why you're so obsessive about the class standings. Every month you're number one. Every month you will continue to be-" She stopped herself. "Wait. Why are you so pale? You are number one, aren't you? Arlene Bluth didn't knock you out of first place, did she?"
"No, I still rule," Liz joked.
"Then what's wrong? I know something is," Maria insisted, stretching out one of her blond curls and letting it boing back into place.
"Did you see the bulletin board?" Alex interrupted as he raced up behind them.
"Yep, we're standing next to the class valedictorian," Maria answered. "There's no way it's not going to happen."
"I'm not talking about that," Alex burst out. "Although congratulations and everything," he added to Liz. "I'm talking about the flyer next to the class standings list. The flyer announcing the ROTC program starting at our happy little school. My weasel brothers did it. They managed to talk Principal Shaffer into sending in the application. I am so doomed."
"Do you absolutely have to join?" Maria asked.
"Oh no, I guess not." Alex slapped his forehead. "What was I thinking? I don't have to join. I can just change my name and go live in Siberia."
"Why Siberia?" Liz asked. She understood why he didn't think he'd be able to hold out against his the-military-is-life dad.
"You've got a point," Alex shot back. "Siberia's probably not remote enough." He gave a drawn-out groan of frustration. "Maybe it won't be too bad. Maybe I'll meet some GI Jane kind of girl. That could make it worthwhile, although I don't know if I could be with someone who has better abs than mine." He pushed open one of the cafeteria's double doors and held it open for them.
"Look at those biceps. Whoo, baby," Maria joked as she passed him.
"Are you okay?" he asked Liz as she headed through the door. "You seem kind of… something."
"I just had a bad dream," Liz answered.
"Liz, you should tell us what it was about," Maria said over her shoulder. "It will help get it out of your system. I know, we can help you make up a new ending. That's how you're supposed to get rid of bad dreams-you make up new endings for them and poof, they're gone."
Liz slid onto the bench at their usual table. Alex and Maria sat across from her. "It was about Adam," she told them. "He said we were all in danger. He said there was something inside him, but before he could say what, his tongue fell out. Then his whole face started coming apart. A piece of his cheek plopped onto my arm. That's when I woke up."
She could almost feel the piece of flesh against her skin right now. Moist and meaty. She decided to leave her lunch in her backpack.
"So how would you want the dream to end?" Maria asked. "Actually, you can change more than the ending. You can change the whole thing. Like you can make Adam someone other than Adam."
"Wait. Are you sure it was a dream?" Alex interrupted. "I mean, do you think Adam could have used his dream-walking power to try and communicate with you?"
"I thought of that," Liz answered. "I'm not sure, but it felt like Adam, the real Adam. He wanted to tell me something. He wanted to give us all some kind of warning."
Alex's green eyes darkened. "Maybe that something inside him found a way to stop him before he could."
Isabel handed her dad's credit card to the Victoria's Secret saleslady. She already had on her new purchase-a silky, pale pink camisole edged with a thin row of delicate lace. Only the tiniest peek of it was visible under the V neck of her sweater. Just how she wanted it.
When she showed up at the museum, she didn't want to look like she was on some kind of manhunt. That kind of desperation was so not Isabel. No, she didn't want to look like she'd put any special thought into what she was wearing at all. What she did want was for Michael to catch a flash of the camisole and be… intrigued.
The saleslady handed the card back, Isabel signed the slip, and she was out of there. She strolled to the mall exit, not breaking a sweat, and then made her way across the parking lot and over to the bus stop. Usually she would have at least tried to con Max out of the Jeep keys, but he would have totally freaked if he knew she was planning to go out of the house. He thought she was spending the day in bed, recovering.
"Isabel, I thought you'd still be home in bed," Michael exclaimed. He ran over to the staircase and watched her climb up the last couple of steps. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? Maybe you should have skipped the meeting."
"What meeting?" she asked.
"Everyone's coming over after school to figure out the Adam deal," he explained. "They should be here in about an hour."
"Oh, right," she mumbled.
"Sit down, at least." He snatched up three of the beanbags and stacked them.
"Michael, I'm fine. Relax, okay?" She dropped to the floor, and he positioned himself across from her. "Actually, I hardly remember any of what even happened yesterday. Max had to explain everything to me when I woke up."
"Whoa. Well, that's good, I guess." He wondered if her mind had blocked out what she'd seen when she connected to Adam because it had been too disturbing for her to handle. He would never forget the expression of raw terror on her face when he burst into the room.
"So, where's Cameron?" Isabel asked.
Michael was glad he couldn't see the expression on his own face when he heard that question. He wished he could record an answer and play it for everyone who asked.
"She took off," he muttered. "Didn't think Roswell was safe for her anymore."
"What? She just took off? I thought you guys had a little something goin' on," Isabel said.
Michael raised an eyebrow at Isabel, then smiled. "Well, we don't have anything now."
Isabel started playing with the neck of her sweater, and he caught a glimpse of some kind of silky thing underneath. He realized his eyes had lingered there a little too long, and he forced them up to Isabel's face. She was staring at him, an unreadable expression in her eyes.
"What?" he asked.
She raised an eyebrow. "What, what?"
"You were staring at me," he answered.
"I like being able to look at you," she answered. "I thought I was going crazy when you were in the compound. I kept thinking I might never see you again." She paused and pulled in a shaky breath.
"I knew you guys would find a way to get me out of there," he answered.
"I could feel you all the time-you know, feel your feelings," she continued. "Whatever I was doing, it's like you were with me."
Including when I had my tongue in Cameron's mouth? he thought. An echo of that sensation hit him so hard, he could almost taste her again. He slapped the memory away.