| The next day was the day of judgment. Those whose names appeared typewritten on the bond papers stapled on the bulletin board aced the exam and would therefore be out of Roswell High as graduates. It was an exciting moment in their lives, and for some, it was the dreaded day of doom and gloom. �I passed!� came the sharp cry from the young man in front of the bulletin board. �Woohoo, I passed!� He started jumping up and down. �I�m a high school graduate, baby!� The onlookers grinned at the enthusiasm that Kyle Valenti was showing. He was doing dance steps they�ve only before seen on late night TV, from 70s disco shows. �Kyle, you�re embarrassing me,� Tess muttered. She couldn�t wait to see her results as well. Kyle should move. And really, he should stop acting like a child. Kyle pointed to her and wagged his fingers. �Well, baby, you passed too. 87!� Tess grabbed at her heart. �87!?� she cried. �80 friggin 7?!� Kyle nodded happily. �Oooooooh!!!! I�m so smart!� She leapt at Kyle and wrapped her arms around his waist. �Always knew you were, Tessie!� Kyle gasped. �Oh please,� Isabel sighed as she and Alex stepped into the space they vacated in front of the board. Alex peered down the sheet to Whitman and straightened with a goofy grin. �91,� he told Isabel proudly. Isabel nodded, impressed. She then looked at the top half of the sheet to read her grade. She frowned and made sure. There it was. Evans, Isabel. She followed at the margin and glanced back again. It wasn�t Evans, Maxwell. It was her. It was her. Oh. My. God. Alex saw her frantic look. He peered at her grade and his eyes grew wide. �92,� he whispered. Instead of answering, Isabel placed both hands at the back of his head and drew him to her lips, kissing him with all the celebration in her long limbs. �Maria, Tess and I will drop by your house later,� she gasped out before diving in for another kiss. Michael carefully pushed Alex sideways so the smacking couple would move and make way for him and Maria. Her hands tightened on his, and he knew she was nervous. He pulled her with him and silently asked her a question. She nodded. Even before he looked at his grade, he looked at hers. His lips curved and he whispered into her ear. �You can open your eyes now, Miss Graduate.� Maria followed where Michael�s finger pointed, and her mouth fell open. Despite reassuring Kyle yesterday, she was totally nervous. Who in their right minds took finals drunk? �Michael, are you seeing what I�m seeing?� �Yup. You were right, Maria. You aced it.� �I was just blabbing.� �Well your test scores say the blab was real.� �I really made just four mistakes?� She still couldn�t believe it. �Uhuh. You were five points higher than me.� Startled, she looked down at Guerin, Michael. Their class had taken a different exam, same subject, the day before. �We�re going to New York,� she whispered. And then louder. �We�re going to New York. We�re really going to New York, Michael!� She threw her arms around him, and he slipped his around her. In front of the rows and names and numbers that represented the last test they had before blowing out of Roswell, they embraced. ~~ �Oh my gosh! Did you hear it, Tara? This is too unreal! Lizzie Parker is going to the graduation ball with Jared Tyler.� �What? Jared Tyler? Are you sure?� �Jared Tyler, Tara! And of course I�m sure. I heard it from my cousin who picked it up from her boyfriend who heard it from these girls at the mall who apparently was told by their sisters. It�s first hand info! It�s all over school. Liz Parker is hot material.� �Wow. Unbelievable. Jared is like the hottest guy from the batch ahead of us. I didn�t even know he liked Liz. She always seemed� studious.� �Well didn�t you know� The latest studies say that guys go after smart girls for long-term relationships. Liz must be marriage material.� �Liz is so going to be Senior Queen. I don�t care if Isabel Evans is tall and graceful, or that Tess Harding is cute and bubbly, or even if Maria De Luca�s turning out to be Miss Sought-After Love Queen. Getting Jared Tyler is soooo earning my vote!� �Oh my dress just arrived. Talk to you later!� �Oh okay, sweetie. Have fun. I still need to call Pamela and tell her. She is so gonna die.� ~~ �Mom,� Liz whined, �what is this?� She raised the glittery red dress up to the light. �I don�t like this.� �I�ll have you know, darling, that that is a very stylish dress. I picked it up from the dressmaker. You designed it yourself, sweetie. You insisted on a tailor-made cut so nobody would arrive in the same dress as yours.� Liz shook her head. �No no! I might�ve liked the design then but I hate it now, mom. I want to go to the mall and get another one.� Mrs. Parker sighed. �Don�t you at least want to try that on? That cost a lot, Liz.� �Would you not get on my case, mom? Look, I am graduating with honors.� Liz�s arms flapped widely. �I worked my butt off in high school. I at least deserve a good dress!� ~~ �Are you sure this is okay, Maria?� Amy asked unsurely, holding an old box in front of her. �Of course, mom.� Maria smiled up at her mother. She wasn�t so bad after the entire drunkfest. She was a pretty great woman sober. Maria just really really hoped she won�t buy alcohol on the next payday, supposing she still had a job at the alien store, that is. �Thank you so much for letting me use your old prom gown.� Maria took the box out of Amy�s hands and put it on the couch. Michael grinned at her as she opened it. She drew the yellow gown out and held it in front of her. �It�s horribly out of date, Maria. I wish I had more money to get you a new one. You did so well at school and all.� �But it�s beautiful, isn�t it, Michael?� She held the old dress to her body and looked up at her �very close friend.� �A sack would look good on you,� he said lightly. And then realizing what he said, he glanced up at Amy in alarm. �Not that your old prom gown is a sock, Mrs. De Luca. I mean a sack would be so much less material than that.� And in front of their very eyes, Michael reddened. �And I�m not saying that Maria would look much better with less stuff on. Well not that she won�t,� he stammered. �NO! I mean�� Maria laughed and held up her hand to silence him. �Dig yourself deeper, will you?� Michael groaned and Maria walked over to him. Filled with shame, he buried his face in Maria�s stomach. �So you two are back together again, I take it,� Maria�s mom asked lightly. Maria ruffled the hair on Michael�s head, which he still had not taken out from its attachment to her belly. �What makes you think that, mom?� And then she turned back to Michael, combing her fingers through the hair. �We�re going to gel this baby to slick back. That would be so hot. Especially if you�re wearing a tux. Now where did I get that image before?� she wondered out loud. There was a series of rapid knocks on the door. They were swift, but not brusque. Sophisticated knocks, even. Definitely Isabel Evans out there. Amy shook her head at the two, and turned to answer the door. TBC |
| Part 15 |
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