"Problems with Max?"

Just then Max and Tess come by and their holding hands. Liz tenses up.

"No, Max and I are just friends, he can see whoever he wants." Liz says unconvincingly.

"Yeah sure you're okay with it, that's why whenever you see Max and Tess in the halls your teeth grind, and you clench your fists." Maria tells her.

Liz looks at her, and then down at her hands that are clenched into fists. "Umm do I do that a lot?"

Maria nods her head and puts her arm around Liz, "But personally I think that he's crazy, I don't see what he would want with her when he could have you."

Liz smiles, "Thanks, you know you're a great friend?"

"I know."

They walk off to their classes.

3rd period rolls around and there is a substitute who is about 60 years old in Liz's Geometry class. The teacher goes to write her name on the board and messes up, but there are no erasers, Matt one of Kyle's buddies has decided that it would be funny to take them all. Maria and Liz look at each other and roll their eyes.

"Does anyone know where all the erasers are?" The teacher asks.

Everyone shakes their heads.

Liz raises her hand, "They keep some in the eraser room."

Everyone snickers at this.

The teacher looks at her seating chart, "Miss Parker, would you please go and get one for me?" "Umm...sure."

The teacher writes out a hall pass and gives it to Liz. "And Miss Parker, no dilly dallying."

Liz nods her head and leaves.

Liz goes to the eraser room and the lights are off she turns them on and hears noises, then she remembers what else the eraser room is used for. She tries to be quite and walks to where the erasers are kept, and the sight that greets her is not one she wants to see, Tess is sitting on a table and Max is in between her legs his shirt is unbuttoned and his hair is all messed up.

Liz gasps and Max looks up at her and she sees the final insults, Max has red lipstick smeared across his lips, and he has a hickey the size of a golf ball on his neck.

"Umm I just came in here for a..."

"Look I've had enough of having to see you everywhere I go, did you follow Max, I mean when are you going to get it through your head that Max is over you." Tess wraps her arms around Max, and in a loud whisper for Liz to overhear she says to Max "God, she's kind of stupid, don't you think?"

Liz looks at Max and he looks at her, their eyes make contact and Max feels a jolt down to his stomach, *I've hurt her again.* He tells himself.

With one last look at Max she gets an eraser and walks out of the room. Once outside the tears start to fall rapidly and dropping the eraser she runs to the girls bathroom.

Once Liz has left Max looks at Tess, "You didn't have to say that to her, she's not stupid."

"Look Max, I know that you guys used to like each other, but I'm not sharing, let her find her own boyfriend...if she can, I mean the girl looks half dead most mornings, she has no sense of style, she could learn to use some make-up, and her hair, well her hair looks like an SOS pad."

Max has pulled back from Tess as she's said this, and then listens as she goes on about Liz's clothes and make-up, then she mentions Liz's hair and all he can think of is how soft it is, and then he remembers the first time he kissed her, and before he even knows it he says. "Her hair is so soft."

In the middle of Tess's spiel she hears Max say this and she stops, "What did you say?"

"I said her hair is so soft." He walks away from her.

"What are you saying Max?"

Max looks uncomfortable, "I don't know, but if you and I are going to be together then you can't talk about Liz that way, she's my friend."

"Well, she's not mine, and I can say whatever I want about that bitch."

Max shakes his head, "Maybe you can Tess, but I don't have to listen to it."

"Look Max, if YOU want to be with ME then you have to learn that I speak my mind, and I won't change."

Max nods his head, "Yeah I figured that about you Tess, and that's why we can't be together anymore."

Tess looks at him, "I know your not breaking up with me, no one breaks up with me."

Max laughs "I just did." He turns around and walks out the door and he can hear Tess angrily calling his name.

Max almost trips and he looks down and sees the eraser that Liz grabbed. He picks it up and thinks *3rd period, she has Geometry.* Max walks off in the direction of her class.

Meanwhile in the eraser room Tess is fuming, *no guy has ever broken up with me, I look to good to dump* she pulls the pages out of a book, *Oh is Max Evans going to be sorry about the day he broke up with me*.

Max looks in the little window of Liz's Geometry room. The class is bent over their books writing stuff down and the teacher is sitting at her desk reading a tabloid thoroughly engrossed in it. Max looks around for Liz and can't find her, then he spots Maria. The boy sitting next to Maria is looking around bored like and Max recognizes him from P.E. Phillip.

Phillip is sitting there bored and he feels someone watching him, he looks up and sees Max staring in the window, he nods his head like what's up and Max mouths "Get Maria."

Phillip taps Maria and points to the window.

Maria looks at Max.

"Where is Liz?" He mouths.

Maria looks puzzled "What?" She mouths back.

"Where's Liz." He mouths.

Everyone except for the teacher is watching this go on.

"What I can't hear you." Maria mouths back.

"Where is Liz." Max says getting frustrated.

"Oh, she went to get an eraser." Maria mouths.

Max holds up the eraser, "This eraser?"

Maria looks startled "Where's Liz?" she mouths to Max.

Max rolls his eyes and throws his hands up. "Can you get out of class?" Max mouths.

"What?"

"Can you get out of class?" he motions with his hand.

Maria looks confused again. Someone in the class says loudly "He said can you get out." Max ducks his head.

The teacher looks up "What, did someone say something?"

Maria jumps up, "Umm it was me, I have to go to the bathroom."

"Well, when Miss Parker ever gets back with the eraser then you can go."

"No you don't understand I really have to go."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, you'll just have to wait."

Maria glares at the teacher, "Look I can't hold it, I have to go right now!"

The teacher shakes her head and returns to her tabloid.

"Okay fine if you won't let me go, Maria starts to unzip her jeans and the males in the class start to whistle.

The teacher looks up, "What do you think your doing?"

"Well I'm not going to ruin these jeans, they cost me $40.00, so since you won't let me go to the restroom, I'm just going to use this garbage can here." Maria starts unzipping her jeans more.

And the teacher hastily writes a note excusing her. Maria grabs it and runs out into the hall zipping up her pants.

"Okay what happened?" Maria asks. Max tells her and she glares at him, "You know usually I reserve this for Michael but." She starts slapping and punching him in the arm. "God how can you do this to Liz? After everything she's done for you." Max flinches as Maria hits him.