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Part 8

�Hi, Miranda Harper,� she said and looked at Michael, and her brown eyes seemed to sparkle at him.

Michael just stared at her. She reminded him of someone, but whom? He was stunned and didn�t seem like he could bring himself to speak. Max noticed that and kicked him in the leg under the table.

�Michael Guerin,� he said.

�It�s nice to meet you,� she said. �There was something magnetic about this guy,� Miranda thought. �All of you,� she said, letting go of Michael's hand.

�Yea, likewise,� Michael stuttered, and then he saw the way Maria had been looking at him. Busted. He was so getting the riot act tonight.

�So your new in town?� Max asked Miranda.

�I just got here about a week ago,� she answered and put her platter down at the table. As she moved to sit down next to Kyle, her shoulder brushed against Michael's. The touch sent millions of electric volts through his body.

�Oh sorry, you didn�t spill anything, did you?� she asked Michael with a concerned look on her face. Michael stooped chewing his food, and what a face she had. Miranda�s eyes had some kind of strange sparkle in them, her nose led the way to a beautiful rich mouth with a sensual curve on the upper lip and her long dark brown hair was wavy and had the cutest curls in the ends.

Michael was totally choked by her appearance; she seemed so familiar for some reason. Then suddenly a jolt of pain struck him and made him bend a little.

�Ahhh, what the hell did you do that�!" he started to yell at Max but cut himself off. Suddenly his guilty consciousness made itself heard, and revealed to him that he must�ve been staring at Miranda as a little kid drooling over his favorite new toy.

�Are you ok?� he heard Miranda ask.

�Yeah I�m fine, I just�� he stopped himself right there. He�d already had made a complete fool of himself, he didn�t have to shout it out to the world.

�So what is this about you owning a club?� he asked, changing the subject. He kept looking forward just in case Maria had noticed anything.
Maria handed him a strawberry, and he bent forward and kissed her.

�Well I bought the old jazz club near the UFO center,� she answered.

�That�s pretty cool, do you own it all by yourself?� Max asked her, joining the conversation.

�Yeah I guess. I love the place. It�s quite big and I have the most perfect view of the town,� Miranda said.

�Aren�t you a little young to own a club, all by yourself, I mean how are you going to keep up with school and everything?" Maria asked her.

�No, I don�t think its gonna be that hard. I�m a master at juggling,� Miranda told her.

�I mean from my point of view, life�s here to be enjoyed and that�s exactly what I�m gonna do. I�m eighteen, and I�m living on my own. Yeah sure it�s a challenge but I�m going to take it," Miranda said and took a bite of her salad. �Can I take some of this?� she asked Max, pointing at the Tabasco souse.

When Max didn�t give her an answer she took the bottle and poured some of it on her salad. Everybody just stared at her, not knowing what the hell just happened which Miranda noticed.

�What? I like my food spicy that�s all,� she said as if it was no big deal, but Max and Michael just kept staring at her. �It's better this way I swear," Miranda held out her fork pointing it in front of Max. �Here you can taste it if you want?� Miranda said casually. When Max didn�t make a move, she took the bite herself. �Suit your self but its your loss,� she said and took another bite. Liz noticed the tension in the air between the guys.

�So when is the club going to open?� she asked Miranda hoping that it didn�t seem suspicious to her.

�As soon as the place gets fixed and I find the staff,� Miranda answered and then ran her long fingers through her hair, but then she noticed the strange way Max kept looking at her.

�Oh for fuck sake, haven�t you ever put Tabasco sauce on anything before?� Miranda asked Max in an irritated voice. �Or do you always stare at people while their eating?� she asked looking Max straight in the eye.

�I�m sorry,� Max said, looking away.

�So what kind of staff do you need?� Michael stepped in, trying to cover up for Max�s lack of words.

�Every kind: bartenders, waitresses, singers, doormen, you name it, I need it,� Miranda answered.

�Why? Know anyone who needs a job or something?� she asked Michael.

�Maria sings,� Kyle said.

�Really, you any good?� Miranda asked. Maria was caught off guard. What the hell kind of question was that?

�Yes I can hold my own,� she said trying to sound confident.

�Well why don�t you stop by the club tomorrow, I'd love to hear you sing,� Miranda said nailing the last piece of salad on the fork, looking at Max.

�You're sure you don�t wanna bite?� she asked him sarcastically.

�No thanks,� Max answered and blushed. �He�s blushing, oh this is too sweet,� Miranda thought to herself, enjoying the fact she could make him blush. She smiled a devilish smile at Max.

Then the bell rang which caused everybody to start gathering his or her stuff.

�Look if any of you need a job feel free to stop by the club. I need manpower, and thanks for the company, it was nice meeting you,� Miranda told them and then took out her schedule. �Maria I really do want to hear you sing,� she said and gave Maria her new phone number. �Call me,� she said with a serious tone of voice.

�Thanks,� Maria said.

�Hey what class do you have now?� Kyle asked her.

�Astronomy,� she said.

�You have astronomy?� Michael asked.

�Yes if I can find the classroom, why?� Miranda asked him.

�Well I have it too, I can show you the way, if you want that is?� Michael asked her.

�Yeah, that�ll be great,� Miranda said. Michael kissed Maria as Miranda said goodbye to everyone. Then they rushed off to their class. Maria just stared after them. 'Did that just happen? Did Michael just run off with Miranda like that? A strange girl he didn�t even know?� Maria thought to herself.

�What if?�

'Oh get real Maria their just having a class together,' she told herself.

�Well that�s a first,� Kyle said.

�What is?� Max wondered.

�OH just Michael,� Kyle said casually.

�What about him?� Maria asked with a sharp voice.

�Just the way he and Miranda hit it off like that, he�s never done that before,� Kyle said

�Kyle,� Max warned him.

�What?� Kyle asked, totally clueless. Then it hit him.

�Oh I didn�t mean, Hit it off like that or anything, I just meant that Michael is always closed off to other people that�s all,� he explained himself. Maria�s heart sank to her feet.

�But then again Miranda is pretty easy to talk to,� Kyle added.

�Yeah she seems like a nice person, don�t you think Max?� Liz asked him.

�Yeah sure,� he answered nervously. Maria saw what they were up to. It was ridiculous.

�Yeah your probably right, and besides its not like she�s an alien,� Maria joked.

**********

Michael and Miranda entered the classroom and took a seat in the back row. Mr. Seligman, the astronomy teacher, gave everyone their assignments and told them to pair up two and two and get started. As the class was getting ready to work, he approached Michael�s desk.

�Mr. Guerin, I�m so glad that you decided to grace us with your presence today�

�Glad that I could be of service Mr. Seligman,� Michael said.

�You�re aware of the fact that you still owe me a science report right?� Mr. Seligman asked him.

�Oh yeah, but you know the weirdest thing happened,� Michael started but was caught off by Mr. Seligman's sharp voice.

�No buts Michael, I want that report on my desk by next week or I will give you an �F� is that understood?� he barked at him.

�Uh, excuse me Mr. Seligman,� Miranda cutting him off. He looked at her and was faced with a smile.

�Yes?�

�Hi my name is Miranda Harper,� she started.

�Oh yes you�re the new student from Washington right?� The teacher asked.

�Yes, as I was saying I left my old school in Denver just as we were starting to do these reports,� she tried to explain, but was cut off yet again. This teacher was really starting to piss her of.

�Yeah so?�

�Well,� she said a little irritated, �I haven�t done this report, so do you think its possible for Michael and I to do one together, bigger of course?� Miranda asked.

�I don�t�� Mr. Seligman started, but at that instant Miranda made the connection. She loved the way she could bend people�s will to her advantage.

�I guess it could be done,� Mr. Seligman said looking at Miranda who had a big smile spread across her face.

�Thank you Mr. Seligman. Michael and I will make sure it�s on your desk by the next week,� Miranda said, and the teacher left them to their work.
Michael just stared. What the hell had just happened?

�Did Mr. Seligman just say yes?� Michael asked Miranda feeling totally confused.

�I guess he did,� Miranda said and grabbed a pencil.

�But he never agrees with anybody, I�m surprised that he didn�t give us detention,� Michael told Miranda.

�Oh Michael, its just a matter of people skills,� she told him and smiled. Michael just stared at her for a while.

�So you wanna get started?� She asked him smiling.

�Yeah sure,� Michael said.

�Ok since you're a girl AND you just cut us this great deal I�m letting you pick the topic,� Michael told her.

�But I gotta tell you I�m real hot for stars right now,� He said but then regretted his last words. Did I just say hot? He cursed himself. Miranda laughed at him.

�Yeah I know what you mean. I think a stars lifecycle could be interesting, don�t you think?� she asked him.

�Yeah that was exactly what I was thinking,� Michael said, �How�d you know?� he asked her.

�I didn�t I just have a thing for space, that�s all,� Miranda started, but then she saw the look on his face. �Its an obsession,� she confessed. �I'm not a geek or anything its just that sometimes I feel like there�s a whole other world out there,� she babbled.

�No its ok, know how you feel,� Michael said.

�Really?� she asked.

�Yeah you could say I belong up there,� he said hoping he didn�t sound like a complete dork. He didn�t know why, but he felt like he could talk to this girl about anything.

�Yeah I know how you feel,� Miranda told him and smiled. 'I know better than you think,� she thought to herself.

TBC