Liz looked out her bedroom window and waved. Then she grabbed her bag, swung it over her shoulder and ran down the stairs. "Bye Dad!" she called as she passed her father's office.

"Bye sweetie, when will you be home?"

Liz stopped and returned to her father's office, cursing under her breath. She had been hoping to avoid this. "Uh, midnight?" she said, her dark eyebrows raised in hope.

Her dad narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Oh really? How about 11:00?"

Liz heard Maria honk her horn again. "Dad, I've been on my own all summer, making my own curfew. Please?"

He sighed. "Fine, midnight. But that doesn't mean 12:01. Make sure that you check in with us."

Liz jumped, "Thanks, I love you! Bye!" Then she ran outside to Maria's car. She was surprised to see Isabel leaning against it, talking with Maria. Maria had said they had gotten much closer over the summer but she hadn't expected her to be going with them this afternoon.

"Liz!" Isabel called and gave her a warm embrace. "I'm so glad you're back!

Liz was surprised to say the least. They had never been close and Isabel certainly didn't seem like the type to jump and hug anybody. "It's nice to see you Isabel," she responded.

"I got Isabel a suit like ours also," Maria said. "Oh, and that reminds me!" she smiled and did a little excited hop before she walked over and unlocked the trunk. "Come here and look! I got pumps to match our suits. Red for me, white for Isabel, and yellow for Liz. Isn't this great?"

Isabel smiled. "The boys are definitely going to be eating their hearts out today," she said, a naughty light shining in her eyes.

*****

The three girls made what could be called the most impressive entrance the students of West Roswell High had ever seen. All of the boys were goggling and whistling while the girls we're giving them the evil eye.

They had taken off their shorts and t-shirts off at the car and put on their matching shoes. Then Isabel gave them a crash-course on how to drive the boys wild. "You need to hold your head high, look straight ahead, and put a little sway in your hips. It's that easy. Lets leave our stuff here, just so we don't look weighed down. We can come get it later."

"But I don't want to drive the boys wild," Liz had protested. Both Isabel and Maria had given her puppy dog eyes, and Maria said "Please, for me?"

"Fine, but I want it on the record that I'm not happy about this," Liz said as they made their way to the poolside.

"Noted, now be quiet," Isabel had said.

*****

"Isabel said that Liz was coming today," Max told Alex excitedly. He did have to admit that he was extremely nervous but he had a positive outlook. She had finally written him after fifteen unanswered letters.

They had been at the party for forty-five minutes already, and were currently standing by the refreshment table.

"So you've said. Four times! And if you keep looking towards then entrance every five seconds, you're going to end up with a sore neck." Alex smiled and rolled his eyes. Then he tossed back a hand full of popcorn.

"I'm sorry," Max said, shaking his own head. "I'm just really want to see her, it's been too long." He grabbed his own hand-full of popcorn and tossed it in his mouth.

That's when he heard a commotion behind him. He looked at Alex and grinned. "I bet you think I'm going to look, but I'm not."

Alex's own mouth dropped and he coughed. "I think, maybe you should," he said.