IfSheOnlyKnew4

Part 4:

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and Liz forced herself to leave the library and go to her next class. Biology. She smiled. Her best subject.

Liz walked into the nearly empty classroom and wandered to a lab station in the back. She sat alone and opened the textbook that was lying on the desk.

“Hey Liz. I was wondering where you were. What happened at lunch?” Maria asked as she came over to Liz’s desk.

“Sorry, I just remembered something I was supposed to do in the registration office,” Liz said quickly. Maria nodded and looked around the room. Alex and Max had just entered and sat down at a desk a little ahead of them.

“Oh that’s just great. Max was supposed to be my lab partner. I suck at science,” Maria complained, throwing the boys a dirty look. Alex caught her eye and looked away feigning guilt.

“I’m pretty good at biology. You can sit with me if you like,” Liz offered, a little surprised at herself. ‘Time to put some effort forth’ she thought.

“Really? That’d be great,” Maria replied with a grin. Maria took the empty seat and put down her bag.

Class started and the teacher passed out the usual syllabus and assigned textbooks.

“Ok everyone, I know you’ve used them before so why doesn’t everyone take out your microscopes and we’ll look at some slides,” the teacher announced from the front of class.

“She’s got to be kidding. It’s the first day!” Maria mumbled to Liz.

Liz laughed and covered her mouth when a few students turned and looked at her. Alex grinned her way and Max just stared at her, his head tipped to the side.

“Everyone make some slides of different cells. You can get samples from the plants in the back and from the inside of your cheek,” the teacher continued.

“I’ll get the plant cells,” Maria said quickly, getting up and going into the back. Max joined her a moment later and they started goofing off rather than working.

Liz scraped the inside of her cheek and quickly made the slide. Science was like second nature to her and she found the steady routine comforting. She put the slide under the microscope and looked through the lens, carefully magnifying until she could see it clearly.

This couldn’t be right. Liz looked to her text and back at the cells. Human cells were pink, flesh-colored. And they were round. These cells were green and square. Liz’s cells were green and square.

Liz’s heart skipped a beat and she took a step back, refusing to look into the microscope again. This can’t be right. She must have messed up. Had she taken a wrong sample? No, she’d clearly taken a cheek sample. But it couldn’t be right. What did this mean?

“You already done?” Maria asked as she leaned forward to look through the lens.

“No!” Liz exclaimed, pulling the microscope cord out of the plug before Maria got a clear look in the lens.

“Liz? You okay?” Maria asked, her eyebrow cocked and a worried expression on her face.

Liz nodded quickly. She had to think fast.

“The bell is ringing soon and we should pack up. Don’t want to do work when we don’t have to, right?” Liz explained with a laugh and a shrug.

“Oh, ok…” Maria replied, reaching for the microscope and slide.

“I’ll take that. It’s my mess to clean up,” Liz said quickly as she grabbed the slide from Maria’s hand.

Maria eyed Liz carefully and wrapped the cord around the microscope, putting it back in its place. Liz pocketed the slide and began cleaning the workstation.

Two desks ahead, Max was turned around, watching Liz.

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“Hey Maria,” Max said as he jogged after her.

“Hey Max, what’s shakin’?” Maria asked with a grin and a flip of her hair.

Max smiled in return. “Not much. I was just wondering about that new girl, Liz.”

“Checking to see if she’s on the free market?” Maria asked with a forced laugh. Maria had liked Max for a while now, but he never seemed to notice. And even if he did, she knew he would use the ‘I’m an alien and it’s not safe’ card. Isabel had done the same thing to Alex.

“No, I was just wondering what she was like.”

“Well, I hardly know her myself. She’s a little skittish, but she seems cool. I think it’s just the new school jitters. She’s moved around a lot.”

Max nodded. “You planning on spending much time with her?”

Maria shrugged and stopped at her locker, dropping off her books. “Maybe. I don’t have many girl friends and she seems nice enough. A little strange, but who am I to critique?” she asked smiling up at him. He laughed and nodded.

“Just be careful,” Max said before he could stop himself.

“Don’t worry, I won’t spill any big secrets to her,” Maria replied.

Max forced a small smile and nodded. He felt something about Liz but couldn’t place what it was. In fact, Michael and Isabel had both felt it, too. And that worried him. He’d always been skeptical and defensive about people and he couldn’t change because a pretty face had come along. He didn’t want to voice his fears to Maria or Alex yet. If Liz were a threat, he would handle it.

“Sounds good to me,” Max said before turning and heading down the hall.

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Liz walked down the hall with her hand shoved in her pocket. She was clutching the slide, wondering if she should keep it or if it would be safe to throw away. She didn’t know what it meant. She didn’t know where to find any answers. She didn’t even know what to ask.

And she was still hearing the humming. It had died down, but there was still a subtle softness in the back of her mind. She was terrified.

Liz took a deep breath and continued determinedly down the hall. She knew she had to be strong. That’s the one thing her Uncle taught her. Strength could conquer all, he said. So when she felt her control slipping, she would just block out her problems until she had time to think them out. Only one class left.

She ducked into her art classroom and sat in front of an easel, just as the teacher instructed. She glanced around the room and saw a bowl of fruit on a stool. Ah … a classic. Liz rolled her eyes. When were teachers going to come up with something new?

The bell rang signaling the beginning of class and the teacher started his ‘in my class’ speech. The door opened and the guy she’d bumped into earlier today stepped through.

“Mr. Guerin. So kind of you to join us,” the teacher said with obvious sarcasm.

“Whatever,” the guy mumbled as he went to the only empty seat, directly behind and to the right of Liz. The humming in Liz’s mind got louder.

Liz’s heart was pounding. There was something about him. Something she couldn’t quite place. She bent her head slightly and peaked to the side, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. Her eyes trailed across the art supplies along the wall before her gaze flickered to the boy’s face.

The first thing she noticed was that he was cute. He had this brooding quality and she had the sudden desire to know everything he was thinking, everything about him. It took her a moment to realize his eyes were locked on her, his stare penetrating. Liz spun her face forward in one quick motion, cursing herself for letting him see her staring at him.

Class began and everyone set to drawing the fruit. Liz’s hands moved quickly across the page, rubbing the pastels together to make the perfect shades of colors. She bit her lip and tilted her head to the side, looking at the greens she was using. The shades didn’t fit the pears quite right. She pulled several greens and yellows from the box, trying to make the perfect color. She sighed in frustration. It wasn’t working. Art was her creative outlet, but it drove her crazy when it wasn’t perfect. If she could just make the green a little softer. In her frustration, she rubbed her fingers across the paper, trying to smudge the colors in a futile attempt to make the perfect shade. And as she pulled her fingers back, it was the perfect shade.

‘How’d I do that?’ she wondered. Her thoughts slammed to a halt a second later as the bell rang and students rose to clean up their workstations. Everyone headed to the far wall to put their prints into their assigned slots. As Liz left, she glanced at the boy’s slot and saw his name. Michael Guerin.