**Enough is enough, time to do the old bathroom routine. One of those nice long visits to the bathroom. And of course it HAS to be the one on the other side of campus, the one with the good mirrors.**

With great discretion, Maria tugged the front of her shirt down, tossed her hair over her shoulders, crossed her legs and sat up a little straighter in her seat. Raising her hand at just the right angle, she succeeded in getting the teacher's attention as he was turning towards the blackboard.

"Yes? It's Maria, right? Maria DeLuca..."

Maria fluttered her eye lashes and gave him a shy smile, "I was hoping I could run to the bathroom real quick. I hate to miss part of your lecture, but it's kind of an emergency..."

His eyes swept over her figure and settled on her lips. Lips that were, at the moment, the fullest and poutiest lips Maria could muster.

"Ugh, yeah. I mean, of course, just try to hurry back."

Rising out of her seat, she flashed the teacher blinding smile and pointedly ignored Michael's scowl from the back of the room. Grabbing her purse Maria gently sashayed out the door. Once in the hallway, she dropped the act and slowly trudged towards the bathroom.

**What a girl has to do just to use the bathroom...Could our school GET any more pathetic? Ughhhh.**

Turning the corner, Maria did some major mental head banging. The last class before lunch, forth period was always a drag. Maria looked at the rusted clock hanging sideways above the lockers; there were only twenty minutes 'til class was over. Only twenty more minutes...

**********

Liz was very careful as she walked back towards Ms. Ryan's classroom; her arms were laden full with glass test tubes, beakers, and graduated cylinders. Ms. Ryan, Liz's chemistry teacher, had asked her retrieve the fragile equipment from the science store room. Trying to watch where she placed her feet and at the same time keep an eye on her cargo, was proving more difficult than she had expected. It probably had something to do with the fact that Liz was busy reviewing the lab Ms. Ryan'd been explaining, as opposed to noticing where she was going.

Ever since she began avoiding her friends, Liz'd tried to focus all of her energy on her school work. It was something that came naturally to her, she loved to learn new things. Her mind was always hungry for more information. Liz simply had a great thirst for knowledge. However, during the past few weeks, her attempts to immerse herself in her studies had proven unsuccessful. First of all, her concentration was shot to hell, for flashes and memories of Max plagued her constantly. Often times her mind would refuse to grasp new ideas, and her hands shook relentlessly whenever she was typing a essay, or completing a lab. Liz's teachers began to notice the changes in their bright, straight-A student. This was one of the reasons Liz was currently trying to prepare for the lab, before they actually began work tomorrow in class.

As she walked down the bleak hallway, and past the girls bathroom, Liz failed to notice the old, broken, metal locker at the end of the row. On the very bottom, near the tiled floor, a piece of its rusty door was sticking out at an odd angle, creating an unpleasant hazard. When the unavoidable happened, and Liz's shin came into contact with the protruding piece of metal, it caused her to trip. Trying to protect the items in her hands and at the same time break her fall, Liz stumbled and landed hard on the unmerciful ground. A small cry echoed down the hallway, followed by the unique sound of shattering glass. Once the last test tube hit the floor, exploding into a thousand slivers of sparkling glass, the hall again became silent. At first, Liz didn't notice the sharp pain which began pulsing throughout her body; she was too dazed, her big doe eyes completely out of focus. Pulling one knee underneath her, she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Rainbows of light glanced off the shattered glass, flickering on the walls. The tiny bursts of color finally succeeded in attracting her attention. Her eyes falling to the floor, Liz let out a low moan as she surveyed the havoc surrounding her. Glass was scattered haphazardly across the empty corridor. Blood was dripping from her arms down to the floor, proceeding to stream down the hall. The once crystal clear glass was now stained red. The yellow floor looked nauseatingly gruesome, its surface smeared with thick, dark, oozing blood. Feeling dizzy and lightheaded, Liz forced her heavy eyelids all the way open. Still unaware to seriousness of her injuries, she tried to lift her right hand and brush the loose hair off her face. When her arm wouldn't move, she suddenly noticed the pain shooting through her upper body like bolts of lightening. Scared of what she might find, Liz gingerly lowered her gaze until it rested on her lap.

"Oh, shit..." was all Liz could whisper before she was subject to a tidal wave of emotions, one after an other. First came panic. Raw, terrifying panic. Followed by alarm, horror, and desperation. Her favorite pair of old jeans were splattered with blood, her arms hung limply across them. Having cradled the equipment against her while falling to the ground, Liz was rewarded by receiving numerous gashes up and down her arms. Some were deep, others shallow. Pieces of glass were lodged inside her tender flesh. Near her wrists, Liz noticed that many of her veins had been sliced open. She looked like a suicide victim. Bright red blood was still spurting out of her body with enthusiasm and showed no signs of relenting. Aware that this was a bad sign, Liz tried to recall what little she knew about first aid. But the loss of blood had begun to take its toll and her brain was having trouble functioning.

**Not good, not good Liz...need...help**

In a last ditch effort, Liz tried to shove herself up into a kneeling position; she was hoping to find something she could tie around the most severe cuts. Unfortunately, she was interrupted by an ugly bout of nausea. The narrow hallway began to spin and her blood covered fingers blurred together; Liz closed her eyes while she fought to hold her meager breakfast down. Black dots danced ominously in front of her eyes. Passing out was not the most brilliant solution to her particular dilemma, but Liz'd lost the will power to remain conscious and in control. The world disappeared, closing in on itself as Liz slid into the darkness. She thought she heard a loud shriek and the sound of running footsteps; someone who sounded like Maria was calling her name. But it was too late to respond or confirm the person's identity, for Liz was already welcoming the darkness. Reveling in its silence. In its serene, pain free ambiance. She drifted into a state of non-existence.

"LIZ!!!!! Ohmygod, LIZ!!! Please answer me, please...Liz?!"

Upon turning the corner and seeing her best friend strewn out across the floor, Maria had sprinted down the remainder of the hallway. Coming to her knees beside Liz's unconscious form, Maria tried to control her sobbing so she could help her friend. Tears running down her cheeks, the slim blond ran her trembling hands over the cold body laying in front of her; releasing her breath, Maria thanked god that there was a faint pulse flickering beneath her fingers. In the ten seconds she'd been assessing the damage done to her friend's body, Maria quickly realized that she needed to summon reinforcements. Czechoslovakian reinforcements. Liz's condition was too serious to waste time by going through the proper channels. At what time they got her to the hospital it could already be too late. Liz needed to be healed by hands of an alien if she was going to have any chance of survival. Pressing her hands to her mouth, not realizing the blood which smeared across her face, Maria stood to go find the pod people.

"MARIA!!!! Maria!!?"

Michael ran down the hallway, a look of terror flashing across his face. His eyes were focused on Maria and he didn't notice Liz at first.

"Maria?! What happened? Are you ok? Jesus..." Michael swore as he finished his bodily search of Maria and found she was uninjured.

"Mi-ichael, its Liz...we-e need to get Max right away. I don't think she has time to make it to the h-hospital. Oh god, Michael," her voice cracked. She didn't think she could handle it if her best friend in the whole world were to suddenly die. Liz couldn't die.

"Fucking hell, we need to get her outta here now. Shit," he groaned. "Maria, baby, give me the keys to the Jetta. I'll take Liz to the car while you go get Max and others. Make sure Isabel or Tess cleans up this mess on the way out, I'll have the car running out front. Dammit, we gotta hurry."

Maria handed him the keys which she'd fished out of her purse. Eyes sparkling with tears, she looked up at Michael.

"How did you know to come?"

Already crouching down beside Liz, he responded in a muffled voice, "You didn't come back from the bathroom, I got worried and came lookin' for you. Now go!"