The pattern remained true today, and she struggled to convince herself that there was a point to getting up. The phone ringing beside her startled her into action, and she reached for the receiver.

"Liz?"

It was Max. Instantly, her body reacted-a purely physical response to the sound of his voice. She fought to sound natural as she answered him.

"Max? Uh . . . yeah. What's goin' on?"

"Liz, listen, there's been a . . . development, and I thought . . . We thought it was important enough for us all to meet . . . to talk. Does 8:00 tonight at Michael's sound okay?"

A meeting. Not what she was hoping for, but all she should expect, she knew. After all, she was the one who insisted on separating. She had been the mature, rational one who told him he must follow his destiny and she couldn't be a part of it. Nothing had changed.

"Liz, are you there?"

"Oh . . . yeah. Sorry. Sure, I'll be there."

Another pause.

"Liz?"

"Yeah."

"I really wish . . . things were . . . different."

"Yeah," choked Liz. "I know."

Liz hung up the receiver and stared at the phone. Well, at least now she had a reason to get up. She would see Max tonight. Liz wondered idly about the "development."

Liz's plans included a shift at the Crashdown and then she, Maria, Alex, and Kyle were going to rent a movie and order pizza. She guessed that plan would remain unchanged except they would all go to Michael's after dinner. The four of them had been sticking close together this summer. It was comfortable and safe. They could share their collective heartbreak without saying a word, and when they did speak, there was no need for caution or euphemisms. They had no secrets from one another. Besides, they had little in common with their other classmates anymore. They lived in different worlds.

Liz realized she was running seriously late now and couldn't even shower. She threw on her uniform, brushed her teeth and hair, and ran downstairs to start her shift. Maria was already there.

"Hey, Maria. Did you get a call about the meeting tonight?"

"Yeah. Michael even called me himself. Do you know what's up?"

"No," replied Liz." Just something about a 'development'-whatever that means."

"That's pretty much what Michael said, too. I think he wanted to say more, but he was being such a dork on the phone. He wasn't talking, but he didn't hang up, either." Maria put her hands on her hips and tried hard to look annoyed. "What does he think? Like I don't have more important things to do than listen to him breathe?"

Liz suppressed a smile. Maria's best defense against her broken heart was anger, especially toward Michael. She wasn't fooling anyone.

Time flew during the busy lunchtime shift and by mid-afternoon, the girls were happy to see Alex and Kyle come through the door of the Crashdown.

"Be right with you," Maria yelled.

"We rented There's Something about Mary, okay?" asked Kyle.

"Whatever," laughed Maria, rolling her eyes at Liz. "I just wanna veg for a while."

On the way to Alex's house, they confirmed that the guys had also been summoned to a meeting at Michael's later that evening.

"Anybody know why?" asked Kyle. He was still more uncomfortable than the others about even acknowledging the existence of aliens, let alone knowing them personally, but Max had saved his life, and his father seemed committed to protecting them, so he found himself a cautious, but willing, member of this very unique circle of friends.

"Not a clue," confessed Alex, "but I won't complain about a chance to see Isabel."

The group exchanged glances. They were each both excited and nervous about seeing their alien friends tonight. Liz, Maria, and Alex had all pushed love aside in acknowledgment of what seemed like the aliens' inevitable destiny. Even Kyle, who had felt a certain attraction toward Tess, felt pleased to be seeing her, but awkward about what to do or say. Collectively, they were wondering what it was that could have made such a meeting necessary.

After the movie and pizza, the teens were cleaning up.

"I'm going to go feed the cat and change," said Liz as she opened the door to leave. "I'll just run home and then take my own car to Michael's. Maria, are you coming with me?"

"No, I brought a change of clothes. I'll wait til the tape's rewound and we'll return it on the way. About a half hour?"

"Yeah," waved Liz as she jogged toward the street.