"God Liz, we are so late - your dad's gonna kill us!" Maria threw her bookbag down and seized her uniform. Liz didn't comment on the criticism she was sure would await her and her friend and immediatly began changing. "Why does Kyle have to do that?" Maria asked exasperatedly, referring to the way Kyle had stopped Liz and Maria on their way out of school and interrogated Liz. Liz just rolled her eyes, obviously no more happy about the matter than Maria.

"I guess he feels like he has to check up on me..."

"That's just sad - I mean he knows you work at the Crashdown every day after school." Maria fixed the antennae headband onto her head and smoothed out her apron.

"I don't know, I think he saw me talking to Max after Bio Monday..." Liz dismissed tying her hair back in the regular ponytail .

"Mmmm - what about?" Maria inquired.

"About....bio," Liz sputtered and she quickly headed into the kitchen, leaving Maria standing there with a wide grin on her face. Liz could lie all she wanted Maria knew that when Max and Liz got together they talked abount anything but bio.

"So Liz you want to take the counter? I'll take the room?" Maria attempted to hide her smile as she entered the main room and joined her friend. They looked out into the room, the group of orthodontists that had been making the Crashdown a living nightmare for the past week was seated at the first four tables, there was a group of Kyle's friends wedged into a booth and Sherriff Valenti was seated at a table by himself. Suddenly the door swung oopen and bookbag slung over his shoulder, Max entered the Crashdown. He didn't seat himself immedietly, he just stood in the doorway and stared up at Liz behind the counter. "Forget it.." Maria whispered as she began to take orders of those sitting at the counter.

Max walked over to his typical booth, and though he was smiling he couldn't help but note that for the fifth straight time he was coming into the Crashdown alone. He was sitting in the booth without Michael and Isabel. Well that is if you didn't count Saturday morning with his family. It was the only time Isabel had even been pleasant to him since last week. And he missed his sister, he missed Michael. As much of a dream it was to be with Liz, to be friends with her to be able to talk to someone other than Michael and Isabel he began to wonder if it was worth it.

"Hey Max," Liz approached the booth, "get you something?" she questioned casually.

"Cherry Coke," he responded automatically and Liz mouthed along to the familiar order - Max got Cherry Coke everytime he came in.

"Nothing else?" she grinned and Max scanned up and down the menu. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and shook his head.

"I'm gonna be eating dinner in a couple hours - just uh - some Saturn Rings,"

"Okay," the smile remained on Liz's face as she nodded her head, "there's an uh - " she motioned behind her to the tables of orthodontists, "a orthodontists convention, so it might be a little...slow coming out." Max shook his head and smiled.