| It was a warm evening, typical of late summer in Roswell, and Maria and Michael spent the entire night talking under the stars. She relayed her entire L.A. story to him, every horrifying detail, and felt as if a weight was lifted off of her shoulders which each new anecdote she told. When her Mom had made it clear that she wasn't wanted in Roswell, she had left her Dad's, no particular destination in mind. There was a bus stop just down the hill from her father's house and she got on the first bus that stopped. When the streets looked busy enough to get lost in she got off. "I must have walked around for hours before I found the diner," she told him. The diner was called "Coffee Break" and was straight out of the 50s, chrome stools at the counter and everything. She was nursing a cup of coffee in a corner booth when the group of teenagers had entered. The diner was surprisingly busy for so late at night and there was nowhere to sit. Seeing Maria sitting alone, the obvious leader of the little group, a girl with coal black hair and a look much like Maria's current one, approached her. She slid into the booth saying "Mind if we join you?" Before Maria could respond, the other three teens with her had slid in as well. "Hey Slim, couple of coffee's, yeah?" an overweight, acne-ridden boy of about 15 yelled toward the counter. "Wait your turn, Cal," the man behind the counter yelled back. Maria looked at the small group in surprise. She hadn't been in L.A. for that long, and their forwardness was a bit off-putting. The black-haired girl stretched her hand across the table toward Maria. "I'm Kat," she said. Maria took it, responding with only, "Hey." "Okay, a shy one," Kat observed. She introduced the other three teens, "Shiff, Cal, and Kansas." Maria observed the group of invaders surrounding her. Kat was tall, slender, with straight black hair cascading down her back. She sported piercings in her eyebrow, nose and tongue, along with several up and down both ears. She was dressed in a long black shapeless sheath that she somehow wore like a second skin. She was pale, like a vampire on Buffy, Maria thought. Her make-up consisted of black; black eye shadow, liner, mascara, lipstick � everything except blush, which Maria through was probably white to accentuate her paleness. Shiff was as tall as Kat, or taller, and was dressed in fatigues. Army Surplus Store much, Maria thought. He had sandy brown hair and kind eyes. She surprised herself at that observation, what did she care what emotion his eyes portrayed? He was free of piercings and seemed to have a certain aloofness about him. Like only his body was there at the table with them while his mind was somewhere completely different. Cal, your typical acne-speckled, overweight, angst-ridden, the-world-is-out-to-get-me teenager, to sum it up nicely. He was wearing an oversize jean jacket, not an easy feat with his enormous bulk, and grey sweatpants. Piercings dotted his face so that, between them and the acne, Maria found it hard to image a real person underneath. Kansas, what kind of a name was that? Certainly, what kind of a name was Shiff either, but then they didn't look like your typical Americana teen. Kansas was petite, shorter than Maria, and very blonde. It looked real too, Maria thought to herself. She wore a less severe make-up job still consisting of mostly black. She was wearing a jean jacket covering a simple white T-Shirt and a short black short above knee-high black boots. She was sans piercings save for several along one ear. Her face looked innocent. Immediately Maria knew where her name had come from. She bet any money that this chick was not long off the Greyhound direct from Kansas itself. Slim had arrived with their coffees and Maria took this opportunity to excuse herself from the group. She was wedged in beside Kansas, with Cal perched backwards on a chair at the head of the table, so she was not free to leave. "Where're are going in such a hurry?" Kat asked her. "Oh, I just got to go," Maria replied, still half-standing, hoping Kansas would move over to let her out. "Sit, have more coffee, we're going to a party in a few if you're game?" Maria looked at them with confusion; they were inviting her to a party? She had just met them. Actually she wouldn't even describe their minimal interaction as meeting. "No, really�" she insisted. Kansas spoke up, her voice so soft that Maria barely heard her at first, "C'mon, it'll be fun." Maria looked down at the blonde girl. The look on her face was welcoming but she saw something lingering in her eyes, trepidation was the only word that sprang to Maria's mind. Slowly she sat back down in the booth. "We don't bite," Kat added. She took another sip of coffee and then mumbled, "Well not unless you want us�" She burst into laughter at the look on Maria's face before she could finish. Maria laughed along with her, deciding that for now at least they weren't the worst company she could pair up with. "So chica," Kat continued, "what's your story?" Maria paused at the sound of the memorable phrase. She had always referred to Liz as "chica" and never known anyone else who used the word. It was odd to hear something so familiar coming out of this stranger's mouth. She shrugged, "Well, I'm from R� uh, Richmond, Virginia." "You don't have an accent," Kansas spoke up. "Uh, no, we uh� I used to live in New York but my parents split and I went to Virginia with my Mom while my Dad moved out here." Once the lie started it was easy to keep it going. The fabrications poured out of Maria's mouth before she was even conscious of what they were. "That's why I'm here, visiting my Dad." "So, you got a name?" Kat asked. Maria smiled, "Alli � with an i". The name jumped to the front of her mind and was spoken before she could stop herself. It was a combination of Alex and Liz, not something Maria had ever thought of before, but somehow it just felt right tonight. "Well, Alli-with-an-i," Kat said, "we have some serious partying to do. Have to get you up-to-date on the L.A. scene, chica." Kat stood up, pushing Shiff to move him out of the booth. Cal and Kansas got up as well and Maria grabbed her bag to follow them. They walked out of the diner into the balmy Los Angeles night, Maria once again not knowing where she was going, but this time feeling confident that "Alli" would give her a welcome escape from the life where she wasn't wanted. On July 5, 2001 she left Maria Deluca in the "Coffee Break" diner in Los Angeles, California. It would be months before she resurfaced again. TBC |
| Part 11 |
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