There were few people milling about outside the school. Most were rushing hurriedly for the doors, while a few stayed still savoring the final drags off their cigarettes. Maria took a mental inventory of her backpack and flew past her locker towards class. This would be the third time this week she’d slip into history late, and that always equaled detention. The way that her day was already going, she didn’t need it to last a moment longer.

Just as the final bell rang, Maria slid into the room. Rolling her eyes at Liz, she grabbed an empty seat in the back. Liz turned around and cocked an eyebrow quizzically. Maria simply waved her hand and mouthed, ‘I’ll tell you later,’ then smiled sweetly up at Ms. Montgomery who had already begun shooting her daily glare towards her.

***

“That woman hates me!” Maria moaned to her best friend as they walked down the hall.

“Yes, yes. So… what happened? You seem even more frazzled than usual.” Liz said, ignoring the dramatic outburst.

“Thanks.” Maria scoffed. She reached into the side pocket of her bag and pulled out a small vial. “Actually, I do. I know. I was getting ready this morning, and guess who stopped by? Valenti. Can you believe it?” Opening the container, Maria inhaled deeply. “A little better. Anyway, he barely spoke to me, but he kept *staring.* You know, in that way he does? It creeped me out. Plus… Mom and him.” She shuddered. “They were talking for, like, an hour. I just don’t like it.”

“Ooooh… What’s this?” Alex appeared out of nowhere and ripped the bottle from Maria’s hands. “Cypress Oil. Someone must have had a rough morning. What’s up?”

Grabbing the bottle back, Maria glared at Alex. “Mom. The usual. But worse.”

It had only been over the last couple of years that Maria had really spoken to Liz and Alex about her mother and her relationships. While there was no secret that Maria was raised by a single mom, she tended to keep her opinions and feelings about everything close to her heart. Nothing was ever all that stable, and it seemed as if Amy DeLuca was always looking for something that would never come through. It wasn’t as if they were abusive relationships, but rather a row of dead-end streets. And her mother never seemed to be able to see that big warning sign at the beginning of each one. By the time she was twelve, Maria was used to fixing her own meals and falling asleep before her mother got home from her dates. It wasn’t until one night when she was absolutely terrified to be home alone that she invited Liz and Alex over and spilled everything. However, even with everything that had happened between all of them, Maria still wasn’t completely comfortable going into all the intimate details.

“Worse?” Alex asked, looking at Maria, then to Liz.

“Valenti.” Liz answered quietly.

The boy’s eyes popped open. “Wow. That’s harsh. I know you said that they went on some date… but. Wow.”

Maria nodded. “Yeah. It just sucks. Can you even imagine if they started dating - for real? Ugh. I just can’t even think about it.”

“If they got married, you’d be related to Kyle,” Liz said with a horrified look on her face.

“Thanks.” Maria grumbled, closing her eyes. “You two really know how to make me feel better.”

Alex placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. It’s just… Valenti.”

“Valenti? What happened?” Max walked up next to Alex.

“He was at Maria’s house this morning.” Liz blurted out.

Maria shot her a look of death. She knew that Max would then ask what he was doing there, and she’d have to tell him. That he wanted to date her mother.

“Oh. What did you say? Did he ask about us again?” Max stared deeply into Maria’s eyes. She could feel his concern - but it wasn’t for her. And while she knew her feelings were selfish, today Maria just didn’t feel like centering her attention on the Alien trio.

“NO!” Maria yelled, drawing the attention of some students passing by. “Not everything revolves around you,” she added, a little more quietly. Taking a long look at the three of them, she shook her head. “I have to get to study hall.” She angrily stomped off towards the library.

***

Opening to a random page in her Spanish book, Maria leaned her head against her fist. All the words seemed to jumble together, so she started flipping through to see if there were any pictures. Anything to get her mind off of the image of her mother and Sheriff Valenti in her kitchen. Smiling. Laughing. Well, her mother was actually giggling, and that was simply disturbing. She turned the next page with indignation.

“Whoa, be careful there. You might actually damage school property.”

Maria looked up to see Michael turn a chair and sit down across from her. “No, I didn’t say anything, okay?”

Michael furrowed his eyebrows and inched closer. “Uh, did I interrupt some mental conversation that you were having?”

“You came here to make sure I didn’t say anything, right? Max sent you?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. Haven’t seen Maxmillian yet. I just got in a little while ago. Wasn’t quite in the mood to face up to the wonderful world of phys ed - so I thought I’d hide here.”

“Oh.” Maria said, a little embarrassed.

Michael smirked. “So, you didn’t say anything? And who were you non-verbal with?”

Maria closed the book and placed her elbows on the table. “Valenti. He came over to see my mom.”

“Ah. That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

Maria traced along the deep ridge in the table with her fingernail. Her whole body was deflated, and it seemed to be from more than Valenti being in her house. Michael watched her for a little while, then pressed his hand down on hers to keep it from moving.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said.

Maria eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“The donut place. Let’s go get donuts. Fried things are good. I think Max has an extra bottle of Tabasco sauce in his jeep.” He let his hand up a little, then ran his index finger over the smooth skin of Maria’s wrist.

Maria shivered a bit from his touch, then relaxed. “Okay, but I have to be back by fourth period. I have a quiz, and I can’t miss it. I’m not doing so well, and I…”

“Yeah, yeah… c’mon,” Michael groaned. He stood up and pushed the chair back in. “First Max’s car. Then you drive.”

Taking a quick look around the room with a mischievous grin, Maria jumped up and followed him out.

***

“Good?”

Maria scooped up another fingerful of raspberry jelly and nodded.

“See,” Michael said, swallowing the last bite of his donut. “I told you. Fried food is a good thing.” He opened another packet and spread the contents on a new donut. There weren’t able to find anything in Max’s Jeep, so he had to make do with some leftover Taco Bell hot sauce packets in Maria’s car.

“Oh God,” she said, watching him take another bite. It was his third donut - each more doused than the one before. “That is just… wrong. No one should eat like that. No one should have to watch you eat like that, either.”

“ME?” Michael mumbled through a mouth full of glazed goodness. “Look at you. You eat that like you’ve just returned from some ferocious kill. Ripping apart and squeezing all the innards out. That jelly donut must have put up quite a fight to deserve such treatment,” he winked at her.

Maria wrinkled her nose and meticulously licked the remnants of jelly off her fingers. Noticing the sudden attention that her innocent act had evoked in the boy sitting across from her, Maria decided to see how far she could push him. Starting with her index finger, she parted her lips and gently glided it into her mouth. Then staring pointedly at Michael, she slowly slid it back down. His eyes would follow the same cycle - lips, fingers, eyes, lips, fingers, eyes. She felt a childish glee in knowing that he was at her mercy, if only for a moment. That for one, albeit brief, moment, she held the control in the situation. Watching his rhythmic breathing get heavier and heavier, Maria licked the tip of the last finger.

“I like things that put up a fight.”

Michael gulped. He took a long sip of milk and tried unsuccessfully to hide the coughing fit that followed. “Yeah, well, we should probably get back to school.”

***

“Maria, I am *so* sorry,” Liz said, grabbing her arm. “ I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s okay,” Maria laughed. “Really. I’m feeling much better now. Now that I’m thrilled about the Valenti sitch, but I can deal. For now.”

“That’s great! What brought on this sudden change?” Liz asked cheerfully.

“Well, I went to the library for study hall, and I ran into Michael there - ”

“Oh no! Maria, you didn’t!”

Maria felt insulted. She couldn’t believe Liz. Did she really think that Michael would be able to entice her into the eraser room so easily? “It’s not what you think.”

“More? Oh God.”

Anger quickly joined with insolence. ‘She thinks I slept with him! My *best* friend!’ Maria pushed Liz across the hall, into a crevice between a classroom door and the neighboring lockers. “Well, I guess I can tell you this. But you have to swear not to tell anyone.” Liz nodded. “Michael and I ~” She stopped and looked around to see if anyone was listening in. “We had ~” She put her hands on Liz’s shoulders and pressed down. “We had ~” She watched as Liz’s anticipation grew and dropped her voice even lower. “We had… donuts!” She whispered breathlessly, hurriedly. Maria stepped back and smoothed her dress down.

Liz slid down the wall a bit and furrowed her eyebrows. “Donuts? Is that some kind of code?”

Maria laughed and tugged at the brunette’s chin. “Oh, Liz. If you weren’t my best friend…” She laughed again and walked down the hallway.

Alex walked over to a stunned Liz watching Maria walk away. “What’s up with her?”

“Donuts.”

“Donuts?”