The slight clinking of silverware against plates was the only sound that filled the air, an uncomfortable silence consuming the three people sitting around the dinner table.
It had been the same way for weeks, ever since her memory had gone. Her parents would call her to dinner, and she would silently join them at the table. For a few minutes there would be nothing, until her parents started up the awkward questions and attempts at conversation.
They didn't know how to talk to her anymore…and she didn't know how to talk to them either.
"How are you feeling today, sweetie?" Nancy finally asked, turning her attention to her daughter.
"I feel fine, mom." Liz replied shortly. It was another thing that they didn’t seem to understand. She felt fine, physically. She wasn't sick. She just couldn't remember the past. It was as if they just expected her to magically feel better one day, and they couldn't seem to understand that it just wasn't that easy.
"Anything today?" Jeff asked curiously. It was the same questions every night, to the point where they didn't even bother asking the full question. They knew that Liz knew exactly what they wanted to know.
"No…nothing." She replied evenly.
Liz couldn't help wondering if they knew how much their questions just made her feel worse…like she was letting them down by not getting better. It was pressure without putting actual pressure on her, when all she really wanted was to be left alone.
The way Liz figured it, she had been looking for ways to jar her memory for weeks, and nothing was working. The hunt was beginning to exhaust her, and she was ready to give up, to move on with her life. Maybe this was the way it was meant to be. Maybe she wasn't meant to remember anything…and maybe she was and the time just hadn't come yet.
"So…do you think you're ready for tomorrow?" Jeff asked. "It's okay to be nervous about it, Lizzie."
"I'm…looking forward to it actually." Liz admitted.
The next day was the first day of her senior year of high school…her first day really out experiencing the world since that night in the woods. Since then, she spent almost all of her time cooped up in the house, trying to remember anything, or helping out in her parent's restaurant. They had told her that she didn't need to work, but she wanted to live as normally as possible. In much the same way, they had suggested that she do home schooling this year, but Liz had argued bitterly against it. She wanted to get out there and experience the life of her former self…and she had finally convinced her parents by reminding them that the key to her memory could be at school too.
"Just so you know, Lizzie, we talked to the principal and all of your teachers. They're all aware of your condition, so don't hesitate to go to them if you ever need anything…and don't hesitate to call us either."
Liz nodded. "I will…thanks. I'm really excited to get back to classes and stuff like that…a little nervous about all of the people I'm probably supposed to know…but I'll work through it. I need this."
"We know you do, sweetie." Nancy consoled. "And we'll be behind you every step of the way."
"And so will Maria." Jeff added in.
"Yeah I know." Liz replied. "She's going to pick me up tomorrow and show me where all of my classes are and all of that…I'd be lost without her right now."
"She's a good friend to you." Nancy smiled. "She always has been."
Liz nodded silently, knowing what would be coming next…some cute story about some time years before that they had observed her and Maria being such great friends…and Liz didn't want to hear it. Quickly she stacked her silverware on top of her plate. "Can I be excused?"
"Of course…get plenty of rest tonight. You have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah…I know. I will."
~~~~~~~~~~~
The night air was still as two figured sneaked through the darkness towards the front entrance of West Roswell High. Crouching low, they paused by the front door, staring at the lock.
"Well, come on, open it." Michael pushed in frustration.
"I can't believe we're breaking in to the school." Max groaned in frustration, as he placed his hand over the lock. It glowed for a moment until the lock clicked open. Slowly opening the door the two friends slipped inside, shutting and locking the door behind them.
It had been weeks since he had woken up to Isabel's face in the woods, and still nothing had changed in Max's situation. He was still only a shell of who he used to be…and regardless of how many times he tried to break through the lock on his memories, nothing ever came of it. So the past few weeks had been spent redeveloping his alien powers, so that he could control them by the time he had to go back to the real world, and trying desperately to convince his parents that there was nothing wrong with him.
But now school was starting again…the true test of how long Max could hold on to the lie that he knew who he was. Everything would change the next morning.
"Why are we doing this again?" Max asked, tapping his foot in irritation, as Michael pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.
"I told you, Maxwell…we can't let anyone find out about your…problem. So I'm going to make sure you know every inch of this school before tomorrow. If you can't find your way around as a Senior, it will be all over."
Max nodded stiffly. "Okay…let’s do this."
They wandered the hallways, Michael pointing out all of the small, obscurities that Max needed to remember, explaining every wing of the school to him, pointing out the gym and the locker rooms, the bathrooms, the cafeteria, the quad, the back field…before he finally turned to Max's schedule and showed him each of his classrooms.
It was midway through the tour when Max found himself peeking through a classroom door, staring at the interior longingly, when he really began to feel it inside…that something was going to happen the next day at school to change him irrevocably.
"Yeah…that's the biology lab, for your third period AP Biology class." Michael explained, but Max was completely lost in the image of the classroom. "Maxwell? Max…it's not that exciting…let's go."
Hesitantly, Max pulled back, and turned to meet Michael's curious gaze.
"What's going on, Max?"
"I don't know…I just looked in there, and I don't know…I was drawn to it. Is there any reason that biology class might be important to me?"
Michael froze. He knew exactly why Max would be drawn to biology class…Liz was his lab partner. Michael wanted nothing more than to tell Max everything about his relationship with Liz at that moment…but Isabel had made him promise not to say anything. She insisted that Max didn't need the confusion of Liz Parker added in to everything else that he was going through.
But the problem was there were things that Isabel didn't know… Michael had tried to tell Isabel about Liz's situation…Maria had constantly kept him updated, but the moment Liz's name was mentioned, Isabel would shut down.
It made no sense to Michael…and Maria was exactly the same. He was caught between them, and his own knowledge that their situations were probably connected, and they could probably help each other.
Sighing, Michael finally answered a hesitant. "I don' t know. Come on, your next class is British Literature…on the English wing."
Max glanced back at the biology room one more time, before following Michael down the hallway.
Suddenly there was a slight bounce in his step…he had a feeling that the first day of school would be an amazing day.
