"Liz…Liz!" Maria waved her hand in front of Liz's face, making her jump.

"What?" she asked, coming out of her daze.

"I just thought you should know that Kyle just parked his car, and is headed this way," Maria informed her.

Liz's eyes popped wide open and she darted behind the counter. Just then the main door opened and Liz heard the tingle of the bell. She scooted down farther, sitting Indian style on the floor.

"Hey, Liz around?" Kyle asked.

"She just ducked out-for the day," Liz heard Maria say.

Liz shook her head and strained to hear what was going on. The jukebox behind her was starting a new song.

"Great," Kyle mumbled. "Can you tell her I stopped by?"

Liz didn't have to see Maria to know she was giving Kyle a big fake smile. "Of course! Well, you better head off, I need to get back to work," Maria replied in a joyful tone.

After a beat, Kyle said, "But the place is empty."

"But Ms. Parker likes to keep us busy," Maria said, the playful tone completely gone from her voice.

Just then, Liz heard the bell jingle on the door again. Who's that? She thought.

"Hey…Maria right?"

Liz strained even more against the counter. She knew that voice, but couldn't place it.

"Yeah…um, I didn't catch your name," Maria said.

"Isabel. Isabel Evans," she replied.

Liz raked her mind for that name, but came up with nothing.

"Evans?" Kyle asked. "Are you new here?"

Liz nearly choked when it dawned on her who it was. Isabel was in the booth with Michael and him that night.

"Yeah," Isabel replied. "We moved here last week."

We? Liz wanted to look over the counter so bad, but Kyle was still there. Leave Kyle, now!

"Can I get you anything?" Maria asked.

Liz nodded. Order a soda Isabel, please, Liz thought. If she did, Maria would have to come back behind the counter. And then she find out exactly who was out front.

"Um…I'm suddenly craving a soda," Isabel said softly. "Cherry coke?"

Liz was thanking whoever made that happen when she heard a voice whisper 'you're welcome'. Liz nearly jumped out of her skin at that.

"Sure, coming right up," Maria said heading toward Liz.

Liz scooted toward the soda machine and stared up at Maria. She couldn't take the chance and talk, so she just widened her eyes, as if asking 'so?' Maria ignored her and started to pour the soda.

"So, Isabel, how do you like Roswell?" Kyle asked.

"It's ok. A little different from where we used to live," she said.

"Where did you used to live?" Maria asked as she finished pouring the soda. She grabbed a lid and walked the little distance to where Isabel was.

"New York."

Kyle sounded impressed. "Really? That's gotta be different then here."

Just then, again, the bell on the door jingled. Liz looked up at Maria's face and noticed she was smiling. Liz scooted over and waited for them to begin speaking.

"You ready Isabel?" Michael Guerin asked.

Liz sighed. It wasn't him. But why was Maria smiling?

"Just about. Maria, you already know Michael, and this is Max," Isabel explained.

Liz nearly gasped and pulled on Maria's dress. Is it him?! Maria made a jerking move and cleared her voice. "I really need to get these shoes fixed," she said as she shot Liz a look.

"So, Max, how do you like Roswell?" Maria asked.

"It's nice," Max answered.

Liz couldn't help the smile that formed at her lips at his voice. Now she really wanted to look.

"Well, great to have you here. I'm Kyle Valenti."

Liz sighed and looked back up at Maria. She was shooting nasty looks to her left, which meant that Michael was that way.

"I'll be back," she heard Michael say. Liz then saw him walking toward the rest rooms.

"So, you ready for school on Monday?" Maria asked.

Isabel made a little groan, but didn't say anything.

"I am," Max answered.

"Of course. Mr. Max is a genius," Isabel said in a playful tone.

Liz smiled at that. So he's cute, sweet, a total gentleman, and smart? This guy is too good to be true, Liz thought.

"You into sports?" Kyle asked.

"I play basketball every now and then," Max replied.

"Cool. You should come down to the park on Saturdays. There's always a game going on."

Liz sighed. Kyle needed to get out more. Yeah, he was fun and nice, but all he thought about was sports. Liz looked up at Maria and saw some movement out the corner of her eye. She saw Michael coming out of the hallway, and he spotted her.

Michael looked at her weird, and Liz held up her hands. She shook her head, trying to get the message across to not say anything. Michael waited a beat, then nodded. He walked back toward the others and Liz sighed. "So," he said, "where's Liz?"

Liz could hear the joking tone in his voice, but she made a scoffing noise then quickly covered her mouth. Thankfully, no one heard her.

"She's got today off," Maria replied.

"Tell her I stopped by. I really need to get going. Nice to meet you guys," and with that, Kyle left the restaurant.

Liz went to get up, but Maria pressed her hand on top of her head and pushed Liz back down to the floor.

"So, Max, what are you guys up to today?"

"Um…not much," Max said finally.

"I'm trying to find out what the mall's like here," Isabel replied.

"The mall? It's ok. But gets old after living here for sixteen years," Maria explained.

"The mall? I gotta go to the mall?" Michael complained.

Maria sighed and shifted her gaze. "Isabel, if you want, I'll go to the mall with you. I get off in about twenty minutes," she said. "Plus, I wouldn't go the mall with Michael. Or anywhere else in public," Maria added.

Liz sighed and flicked Maria's leg. This was getting nowhere. She wanted to stand up, but Maria pushed her back down every time she tried.

"Sure," Isabel replied to Maria.

"That would be great," Michael said. "Can we have the keys to the jeep?" he asked Isabel.

"Excuse you," Isabel said. "But maybe me and Maria would like to take the jeep."

"I've got my mom's car," Maria said.

"That works," Michael replied. Liz heard some jingle and guessed Isabel was handing over the keys.

"Max gets to drive," Isabel said.

"I can't drive?"

"I trust Max more," Isabel countered.

"I'll drive," Max said. A second later the door jingled, again.

"Coast is clear."

Liz slowly stood up and noticed Isabel's surprised look at her appearance.

"I was hiding from Kyle," Liz explained. She shot a glance at Maria and added, "I would've come up earlier, but there was a force over me."