Isabel glared at the large pile of bags. Of course, hers sat at the bottom of
the heap. She hoped that nothing was broken. She kicked the nearest duffle. It was too bad that she couldn't use her powers to light the whole pile on fire, so that she could get to hers. But that was something Michael would do, if he didn't blow up the bus first.

"Need help?" Alex appeared at her elbow, grinning in his usual dorky way. But
he was kinda cute, with his blue eyes. And he was one of the few guys who was actually as tall as she was-- one of the few guys who didn't look at her chest when they talked to her.

So she gave him a shy smile. "Yeah, kinda. My bag's the red one at the bottom." And together, they reached for the nearest bag, throwing it to the side.

They both saw Max and Liz at the same time, examining their telescopes, absorbed with a no doubt fascinating conversation.

"I can't believe she brought that telescope. It's like it's her teddy bear or something." Alex grinned. "Liz can be such a dork sometimes." He hoped that Isabel wouldn't notice the fact that a roll of sheet music wrapped around his guitar handle stuck out from his bag. Mr. Raddish had asked him to bring it along, in case they sang songs around the campfire or something.

But Isabel didn't flash her princess look. She gave him the same real smile
that he'd seen on her face at the science fair, and when he wrote that poem for her in class. "Max is perfect for her then. He's just as much a science dork as she is." She blushed, as if she realized that she'd just insulted his best friend.

"It's true. Liz is a science dork. But she's still really cool. Hey, I got it!" He tugged on a strap a few more times, finally unearthing her bag. He knew he was grinning ear to ear, but he didn't care.

"Thanks."

They both jumped slightly when their fingers brushed up against each other's
as he handed her the bag. She had the same look of wonder that he felt on his face at the jolt that had gone between their fingers.

Maria glared. Of course, her bag had to be right under Split-pea soup face Guerin's. Hopefully she wouldn't get cooties from it or anything.

"Move out of the way, Chickenbutt." Michael kicked dirt in her direction.

"Get your bag away from mine first, Bugspray Breath." She kicked dirt right back at him.

He grinned and showed her a mouth full of M&Ms.

"Eeew!" She shoved him. "You're so gross!" And she giggled at him.

He shoved her back. "Grimy Greasy Gopher Guts!"

Sylvia sat in the shade of the kitchen building at the campground, watching the
students scramble to find their belongings. Her poor brave Jimmy Raddish yelled at the top of his lungs, clutching his bottle of antacid. She wondered how many they'd go through this weekend. She couldn't decide if he was courageous, or blindly optimistic for taking the 24 hooligans of Roswell Elementary 5A into the desert for the meteor shower without chaperones.

She saw the spiky-haired Guerin boy chasing little miss Pixie DeLuca around, as
gawky Alex Whitman tried to entertain Isabel Evans. And beautiful-eyed Max was deeply engrossed in a conversation with the sweet-eyed Miss Parker, both clutching similarly battered telescopes.

And there was one boy watching the six, a look of hatred in his blue eyes. Kyle Valenti looked like a smaller, tougher version of his father, with his arms crossed over his chest. But there was a vulnerable look about him too-- one that reminded her of her husband, after his mother left. James had been a little older than Kyle, but she could still remember the dark glares 13 year old James Raddish had shot the world, until he discovered the isolating wall of science.

"Hi, Kyle."

He gave her a dark look and grunted something in her direction. She saw him
wipe at his eyes quickly. Poor boy. She wondered if he was as much a mama's boy as her Jimmy had been.

"It's pretty out here, isn't it? Nice to get away from the city."

"Yeah," he muttered, looking down at his scuffed-up cowboy boots.

"Sometimes it's good to get away from home. I can think a lot better when I'm
by myself in the desert. Then I don't snap at people as much." And she gave him her warmest smile. "Thinking for a while makes the world seem a lot better--like it's not out to get me or anything."

He looked up, and she noticed what beautiful blue eyes he had. She ruffled his
brown hair, smiling again.

"Things will get better. They always do. Sometimes it's hard to remember that
though."

And he gave her a shy smile back, some of the hurt leaving his eyes.

"Thanks, Mrs. Raddish."

As he ran off to join his friends, she wondered what her own children would've
looked like, if she had any. At least James had his students. And she would try to mother as many as needed it--for a little while.

Sylvia smiled as she watched her Jimmy struggle with his tent. Poor dear had major allergies, so he couldn't possibly sleep outside. It certainly made things interesting though. How would the children behave while they were asleep in their tent? She knew Jimmy was scared to death that he'd wake up in the morning and find Michael Guerin and Maria DeLuca had killed each other in their sleep or done something else equally life-changing.

Mr. Raddish finally got all of the tent poles set up after half an hour of yelling at the instruction manual and using several of his best cuss words, much to his students' bawdy amusement. Sylvia had finally sent them all out to look for firewood for the campfire tonight. It would probably take them a while, since it was the desert.

So now it was just her and Jimmy, together. "Want any help?" she asked. Though she knew he wouldn't. He liked to exert his manhood as often as possible.

"No thank you, dear. I know what I'm doing," he answered, just like she had guessed.

"All right," she replied as she went back to looking through her magazine.

The next time she looked up, he was flailing around with the nylon tent and she had to stifle a laugh. He finally stretched it flat and started attaching it to the frame. When the tent collapsed on his head right in the middle of it all, he yelled loudly and swore again.

Then he started laughing as he came out from under the tent. "Sylvia, help me," he said.

"Sure thing." She got up and immediately took over.

Within minutes, the tent was ready. And she hadn't even had to use the instruction manual either.

She noticed Jimmy staring at her, an awed look on his face. Then he pulled her inside the tent hungrily and she laughed. Hopefully the students wouldn't come back soon.


They got back from finding firewood after about forty minutes of searching. The tent was up, but Mr. Raddish and his wife were nowhere to be seen.

Alex nudged his friend after he dropped his load of wood near the firepit. "Hey, Maria, hasn't Mr. and Mrs. Raddish been gone an awful long time?" The tent was starting to shake in the weirdest way.

"You don't think that..." Maria's eyes widened. "Eeeew! No way! They wouldn't do that here, would they?" She began to watch the tent with something that looked like awe.

"Hey, Lizzie, come here!"

Liz's jaw dropped when she saw how the tent was rocking. "Maybe... maybe she fainted and he had to give her CPR..."

"Max, Izzy, look!" Michael's voice was soft for once. He pointed at the now vibrating tent. "I think there's an animal trapped inside or something."

The three crept up to the tent behind the other kids, peering quietly, trying to make sense of the grunts and groans coming from it.

"Maybe it's a coyote," Isabel whispered.

"Don't be dumb, Evans. A coyote would rip his way out of the tent," Kyle sneered.

Maria socked him in the gut. "Shut up, Valenti." She tiptoed closer, being quieter than Michael had ever seen her. She skipped back quickly. "Ummm, Kyle, why don't you unzip it?"

Kyle backed away, looking pale. "Uh uh. Evans, you do it."

Max shook his head. "If it's a wild animal, I don't want to be the one to get run over."

So this would be a job for a real man. A real stupid man. "Hey, Rodney," Michael hissed at the biggest bully in their class. "C'mere."

It was Rodney's second trip through the fifth grade. Some things just hadn't managed to make it through his head. "Yeah, whaddaya want?" The older boy glared at Michael.

Michael nudged him towards the tent, grinning his usual half-smirking grin. "Why don't you unzip the tent? Just in case someone needs help."

The other kids began to snicker.

So Rodney snuck up to the tent, put one hand on the zipper, and slowly opened the door. Unconsciously, the entire class huddled together, and took a step back.

And when the tent flap fell open, they collectively gasped.

Mr. Raddish took his lips off his wife's neck and blushed radish red.

Sylvia Raddish began to chuckle as she buttoned her shirt up, but not before the entire class saw the giant red hickey on her neck.

Snickers began at the front, and spread to full-bellied laughter at the back. Maria and Michael fell to the ground in a heap, howling.

"Go, Mr. Raddish, you stud!" Kyle shouted. Tommy and Paulie wolf-whistled in appreciation.

Even calm, prissy Isabel laughed until tears leaked out of her dark eyes.

So no one noticed the small dark-haired girl running away, blinded by tears.

No one, but the dark-haired boy whose eyes never left Liz.

He found her huddled against the wall of the bathroom, her dark hair veiling her face from sight. He knelt beside her, put a cautious hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She looked up, her face smudged with dirt and tears. He hated to see her cry. Nothing hurt him worse.

"He... he..." She hiccuped. "He... he's married." Her small face crumpled again. "And I worked so hard at science so that he'd li-ike me!"

She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. He knelt with her, stunned. He'd never been this close to her before-- not even when he had to kiss her cheek when they played Snow White and Prince Charming.

His arms seemed to find their own way around her, as if they belonged there. He reached up, and let his hand stroke her soft hair. He'd never imagined that it felt so much like silk.

They stayed like that for a long time, until Max finally felt her shaking stop. She pushed back from his shoulder, wiping her eyes furiously with her hands. With her reddened eyes, and her wounded glare, she looked a lot like Michael for a minute.

And then she smiled at him-- that heart-stopping smile that always managed to warm him to the pit of his stomach. The smile that made him feel like he belonged, no matter what planet he was actually from.

He took the edge of his flannel shirt and gently wiped her face, as he would've done to Izzy. Then, he held out his hand, gently lifting her to her feet.

"Better now?" Tomorrow, he would wonder how he could've been so brave and daring around Liz Parker.

But for now, he was just comforting a friend.

Sylvia smiled as she saw Max Evans and Liz Parker walking back to camp hand in hand. She hoped that both children would realize someday what they'd found in each other, certain that the casual friendship she saw was destined to develop into the sweetest kind of love.

Part III

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