Part 7

"Isabel! Michael! Wait up!"

Isabel turned to see Liz frantically rushing down the hallway towards them. She pulled Michael to a stop, and waited for Liz to catch up with them.

"Liz, what’s going on?" Isabel asked, concern edging into her voice. Liz looked really flustered, almost scared. It was really unlike her.

"I need to talk to you two alone. Come on."

Liz quickly made her way to the eraser room, and practically dragged them in there before closing and locking the door. She turned to face her boyfriend’s family, her panicked eyes meeting theirs.

"What’s going on?" Michael repeated.

"Is everything okay, Liz? Where’s Max? This is about him, isn’t it?" Isabel questioned her.

"I just really need to know, have you guys noticed whether Max has been acting strangely lately, or anything like that?"

"No, he’s just been normal, Max." Isabel responded immediately.

"You’re sure. You haven’t seen him do anything that’s made you stop and think."

"What exactly is this about, Liz?" Michael asked, pushing her to continue.

Liz sighed. "It might be nothing. Max has been acting weird around me. At first it was just little things: an inconsistency in his gaze, things he’s mumbled that didn’t make sense to me. But then…" Liz began to trail off.

"What?" Isabel pushed.

"Isabel, where was Max last night?"

"It was our dad’s birthday last night. We went out for a family dinner, and then spent the evening at home with him."

The blood rushed from Liz’s face as Isabel confirmed her worst fears. She should have known that Max wouldn’t skip out on his father’s birthday. Why hadn’t it occurred to her the previous evening?

"Liz?" Isabel asked gently, "Are you okay?"

"I was with Max last night." Liz whispered.

"What?" Michael asked incredulously.

"But that’s not possible." Isabel exclaimed.

"I know! But it was Max. Or someone who claimed to be Max, and looked and acted just like Max. He showed up at my house around seven, and we went out for dinner, and then…" Liz paused and blushed. "He spent the night with me."

"I was with Max at seven last evening, Liz." Suddenly it occurred to Isabel what Liz had said. "He stayed over with you? You didn’t…DO anything did you?"

"NO! Don’t worry! We just slept."

"Well that’s good," Michael smirked.

"But it wasn’t Max…" Liz trailed off. She shivered, as another chill rushed through her body. Who was it?

Isabel voiced her question. "Who could it have been?"

"Nasedo?" Michael asked.

"Maybe, but if it was, he’s perfected Max’s personality. Last night I couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t him. For someone who Max has never talked to, he pulled it off pretty well."

"My question is why." Isabel wondered aloud. "Why you, Liz? Why would Nasedo want to take you on a date? Spend the night with you? That doesn’t seem right to me. And apparently he hasn’t approached us at all."

"No offense, Liz, but she’s right."

"Well…" Liz started. "Regardless of the questions, we do have a problem here. There’s two Max’s running around. Two people who look and act identical. We have to figure out how to tell them apart."

Isabel nodded. "But how?"

"I should be able to figure it out. The real Max was with you last night, the fake Max was with me, so if I drop a few hints about last night, and Max is clueless, then we’ll know it’s him. Once I have the real Max figured out, I’ll explain what’s going on to him. He may have some ideas about how to handle the situation."

"But what happens if you see the fake Max first?" Michael asked her.

"I’ll keep him busy. I don’t think he wants to hurt me. He was really sweet to me last night. I think eventually we’re going to need to confront him and figure out his agenda."

"Agreed."

"Why don’t you guys come to the Crashdown this evening? We’ll have a group meeting, with the real Max, and try and decide what to do."

"Okay, we’ll see you later, Liz." Isabel said.

"And be careful." Michael added. "We don’t want anything happening to you."

"I will." Liz promised.