"Family? Mr. Cooper is not my family."

"Keep your voice down, he can hear you in the other room."

"I don't care. I--" Maria stopped at the sound of the doorbell.

Both women walked into the living room. Mr. Cooper had opened the door and was talking to someone who looked like...Michael.

"Amy, this is Michael Guerin, a friend of Maria's from school." Michael turned to her mom and gave her a nod in greeting. "Hi."

Not exactly a friend. "What are you doing here?" Maria could'nt believe that Michael was at her house. It was weird to see him, especially since she faintly recalled dreaming about him the night before.

"I thought we could, um, study for our test on Hamlet together."

Hamlet? Since when did Michael ever study for anything? And why was he taking an interest in her all of a sudden?

"How nice. Well, we were just about to sit down to dinner. How would you like to join us?" "Mom, I am sure that Michael is'nt--"

"Sure, sounds good."

As they walked into the kitchen together, Maria murmured to Michael under her breath, "Here's a tip: normal people don't just barge into homes unannounced, paly."

**********************

Dinner had been fairly uneventful. Maria's mom and Mr. Cooper had done most of the talking while Maria silently picked at her food. Michael responded to their questions in his usual minimalist fashion. That is, until he was struck with a sudden inspiration.

"So, you and Maria are reading Hamlet in English? Oh, what a sad play. Why do they always assign the gruesome ones in high school? I always preferred Shakespeare's comedies, myself. Like A Midsummer NightÕs Dream"

"Actually, Ms. De Luca, I like Hamlet because it is so vivid. He says some very cool things. Take the pivotal scene where he says to his mother,

"What devil was'nt That thus hast cozened you at hood-man-blind? Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, Ears without hands or eyes, smelling salts all, Or but a sickly part of one true sense Could not so mope."

"Awesome stuff. Shakespeare just had a way with words."

Michael, what are you doing? Maria tried to catch his eyes but his remained intently focused on her mother.

Amy De Luca laughed nervously. "Very impressive Michael. Who would like dessert? I have a delicious apple pie."

"Dessert would be wonderful," Mr. Cooper said, licking his lips for emphasis. Michael noticed that Maria turned pale as soon as Mr. Cooper said the word dessert.

Both women got up and began to clear the table.

"So, Mr. Cooper, where were you before you came to this hell-town? I can't imagine why anyone would willingly come here to live."

"I actually taught at a private girl's school in Denver called, Emily Hall. I dont know, I got sick of teaching all those girls of privilege. And their parents were so difficult. Anyway, I decided to try something new. Roswell High fit the bill."

"Girls school, huh." Michael gave Mr. Cooper a knowing smirk.

Maria and her mom brought the pie and tea over to the table and sat down.

"Girls that age are something else. Could you pass the sugar, Michael?"

"Certainly." Michael handed the sugar-bowl to Mr. Cooper. He watched as Mr. Cooper dumped two generous spoonfuls into his tea, and took a large swallow.

"Gack! (cough, cough) That was salt!"

Maria's mom took the sugar bowl and checked it. "You're right, that is salt. Funny, I could have sworn that I filled it with sugar..."

Maria grabbed Michael by the hand and said, "I think we should go upstairs and start studying, right Michael? We'll see you two later."

****************************

"Are you trying to ruin my life? Because you are doing a good job." The two were in Maria's bedroom. Michael was casually seated on her bed, while Maria was standing with her hands on her hips.

"Actually, just the opposite. Look, Maria, I know what is going on here."

"Nothing is going on here."

"I know Mr. Cooper has been coming on to you. I know you have nightmares about him, I know he gave you that bruise, and I know you are scared to tell anyone about it."

"How do you know about my nightmares?"

Michael took her hand and gently pulled her down to sit beside him. "Maria, that was me last night. I was there with you. Everyone was talking about how weird you were becoming. You were'nt talking to Liz or Alex. I figured I had the best chance to find out what was bothering you so much."

She let out a defeated sigh." I feel so dirty. It's all my fault. Somehow I must have led Mr. Cooper to believe--"

"Maria, look at me. Don't do that to yourself. You are not to blame for anything. I have a feeling that something like this has happened before. He had too cushy a job in Denver to just suddenly leave it. Maria, you have to tell someone--"

"No, no! No one would ever believe me. Mr. Cooper said so." Maria began to hyperventilate. "Don't you see?I'm...I'm...trapped." Tears began to stream down her face. Michael could not stand to see her in such pain. He took her in his arms and held her tightly. "Shh, shh, it is going to be alright. I'll make sure that everyone believes you. It's OK." He continued to hold her for a long while until the crying stopped.

"Michael, why are you doing this?"