Cramps

Liz's change is noticeable. Everyone can see it, especially Maria. It's not as strange as it seems, I guess. After being nearly killed by an errant bullet, people do change. A near-death experience gives those who come out of it a renewed sense of urgency. Liz wanted to live her life freely, to get involved with Max, even… to be near him, at least. Nobody really seems to understand that sense of urgency.



Meanwhile, Alex is angry. Very angry for being lied to by the people he considers his best friends. He has learned of the shooting and Maria's fake running-over, and asks Liz for the truth. We all know that Liz would love to tell him the truth, but she knows she can't let anyone else into this secret.

Maria to the rescue! Yes, our favourite little sidekick knows just what to say to deflect the danger from Liz and provide Alex with some explanation for the insanity he's living in.

Granted, the lie isn't all that convincing, but Maria is better than Liz at improvising, and Alex is grossed out enough to get out of there satisfied with Maria's explanation. For now, anyway.

Disclaimer: Written for love, not for profit. The characters do not legally belong to me. They belong to: Melinda Metz and Laura Burns who created them, Jason Katims who developed them, 20th Century Fox Television and Regency Television who produced them and the WB and UPN who broadcasted them.

Images taken from Google search.

     As she walked into the Crashdown, Liz saw Maria and, right away, she could tell that something was seriously wrong. It wasn’t like Liz to skip her duties. “Where have you been,” Maria asked her. “I need you to cover for me.” Liz said, walking as fast as she could out of earshot. “When?” “Tonight.” Liz said, turning around. “Oh, no. It's a zoo!” Maria replied. The restaurant was in full capacity. How could Liz think of skipping her shift, Maria thought. One customer turned around and said in an angry tone: “Excuse me, I’ve been waiting for my hot fudge blast off for like 20 minutes.” Maria mumbled to her friend: “Yeah, like you need 80 grams of fat.” Then, going back to the crisis at hand, she continued: “OK, so one trip to the eraser room and you’re like above working? Go get your uniform on, Madonna. The masses are demanding alien-themed, greasy food and by God, it’s our job to serve it to them.” She took Liz’s arm, hoping to guide her to the back room, so she could get her uniform on and get to work, but her friend would have none of it. “No look, Maria, this is really important. I promise I will tell you everything later. You’re the best, but right now I’ve gotta go.” Maria threw her hands up in the air, not wanting to believe what she had just heard from her best friend.

     As Liz walked away from Maria, she was stopped by her buddy Alex. She stopped in her tracks, having been so distracted, she hadn’t even seen him standing there. And, in a second, her urgency to leave abandoned her. Even before he started talking, Liz could see that he was angry at her. Angry for being lied to. “OK, I want some answers, all right? Because first of all, there are rumors going around that last week you were shot here in the café. And then at the crash festival you were seemingly run over by a car, but then you weren’t.” He added, pointing at Maria, who had joined her friends. “And every time I walk up to you two, you go silent or make up some ridiculous story about Czechoslovakia, which is a country that has not existed for 10 years! So I want the truth, and I want it now!” Maria glanced at Liz, wondering what she would do. She sensed her inner turmoil – it wasn’t easy for Liz to lie to Alex like that, she wanted nothing more than telling him what was going on... But she couldn’t. “Alex, the reason that we keep on changing the subject is...” Liz started. “Cramps. We have cramps, Alex.” Maria said, hoping to avoid an unwilling confession from her best friend. Liz thanked her, silently. She wasn’t sure why Maria had said that word, but she just ran with the story. “Yeah, and we didn’t even want to talk about it in front of you because we thought it would make you feel really uncomfortable.” “But if you really want to know, we can tell you,” Maria said. “In really excruciating detail.” Liz added. It was all too much for Alex. No way did he want this to go any further. “No!” He cried, making his friends jump up in surprise. Then, he added, lowering his voice again. “I’m eating.” Alex walked away from his friends. They had convinced him. For now, anyway.

WE WANTTO BELIEVE!