She could recall the feeling she had when Michael told her they could never be together. It felt like her heart had been siphoned out of her chest through a small tube. And she could still feel it, the ache in her heart. In her opinion, she was too young to feel such heartache. < But, hey, Buffy did, > Maria thought, thinking about one of her favorite shows. Maria, who was tired with looking through the kaleidoscope and tired of thinking about Michael, threw the small tube onto the floor and went to find her jacket. She was going to go out on a walk before appearing for her shift at the Crashdown. She walked over to the hall closet and began looking for her jacket when her foot hit something. Pausing mid-search, she tilted her head to look down at what she hit. She found a fairly large box, one that she hadn’t seen in the closet before. Her curiosity piqued, she sat down on the floor and opened the box, slowly starting to look through the contents of the box.

A lot of it was scenic pictures of very pretty meadows and hills, but there was something that caught her eye. A small white jewelry box was tucked into the side of the box and Maria couldn’t resist. She freed the box from between the wall of the box and the stuff inside and examined it closely, thinking maybe that it was something her mother didn’t want her seeing if it was hidden in here. < But, who cares. I want to know what’s in the box. > She plucked the top off and tossed it to the ground. Inside, she found the most beautiful amulet she had ever seen.

It was an emerald about the size of a circle made with her thumb and forefinger and overlaying it was a tarnished silver dragon that made the outline of a yin-yang, with the head of the dragon lying across the emerald, creating the “s” of the yin-yang. Maria’s eyes were sparking with awe and excitement as she picked it up out of the box and put it on. With her shirt on, it hung above the valley between her breasts. When she put it on, she got a rush of happiness and power, like the amulet was taking away her depression over Michael. She felt better than she had in weeks. Glancing up at the clock, she saw that her shift began in 45 minutes. “I’ll be there early,” Maria said with definite happiness.

Quickly changing into her uniform, she literally bounced out of the house, absently grabbing her keys before shutting the door. She got down to her car when she decided that she’d rather walk; she was only a half an hour walk from the Crashdown. She only opened her car to get her Discman with her No Doubt CD in it. Putting the headphones on, she turned it on and began to walk down the street, singing along with the first song, “Spiderwebs”, not caring about the people that were giving her strange looks as she sang and danced her way down the street.

***

As Maria neared the Crashdown, her absolute favorite song came on, “Different People”, and of course, she had to sing. Things can be broken down In this world of ours You don’t have be a famous person Just to make your mark A mother can be an inspiration To her little son Change his thoughts, his mind, his life Just with her gentle hum

So different, yet so the same Tow sisters only have their parents to blame It’s rare that two can get along But when they do, they’re inseparable Such a blessing comes to few.

As Maria saw the Crashdown, she saw that except for two tables, one of them included Max, Michael, and Isabel, and Liz, who was behind the counter, the restaurant was basically empty, so she began to sing louder. The sky is full of clouds and My world’s full of people All different kinds with different ways It would take a lifetime to explain Not one’s exactly the same

At this time, Maria burst the door open and continuing to sing, slowly made her way to the counter, drawing attention to herself from the few people that sitting in the restaurant. He and she, two different people With two separate lives Then you put the two together and get a spectacular surprise ‘Cause one can teach the other one What she doesn’t know While still the other fills a place inside He never knew had room to grow

She approached Liz, who was staring at her like she had the plague, and grabbed her hands. “Come on Liz, sing it with me. You know the words.” Liz pulled the headphones off of Maria and whispered, “What’s up with you? You’re acting funny. Is this an attempt to make Michael jealous?” Maria looked at her, not comprehending what Liz was getting at. “Who? Oh, yeah, but no, that’s not what this is about.” “Then what’s it…” Liz trailed off as she saw the necklace around Maria’s neck. “What’s that, Maria? I’ve never seen it before.” Maria looked down at the amulet and said, “Oh, this? I found it in the closet when I was looking for my jacket. Pretty cool, huh?” “Yeah, can I see it?”

“Sure.” Maria pulled the necklace off her neck and handed it to Liz, immediately feeling its loss. Liz held it in her hand and looked at it closely. “Wow, Maria, this is really pretty.”

“Yeah, and the cool thing is that when I wear it, it make me totally happy, like I’m in control of my life. I love this feeling.”

“Well, good for you Maria.” They hear the door open and saw a flood of people come into the restaurant, looking for dinner. Maria and Liz looked at each other and sighed. “I’m going to put this away,” Maria said, indicating her Discman, “And I’ll be right out.”