It's the middle of the afternoon, so there are only a few customers. Jeff and Nancy are behind the counter; they look up when the front door opens. Diane Evans comes in, sees them, smiles and heads for the counter. Nancy and Jeff also smile at her approach.

Diane laughs lightly.

Jeff and Nancy smile at Max's choice of words as well. Jeff thinks about it and nods.

As they all move over to the last booth in the back, the camera cuts to the pass-through window to the kitchen, where we see Michael is very interested in their conversation.

Cut to:

School has let out, so the corridors are almost empty. Max is walking down one, alone. Maria rounds a corner and sees him up ahead. She calls out.

Max stops and turns. He smiles when he sees Maria and waits for her to catch up.

They start walking.

Maria gives him a "give me a break" look.

Torn, not knowing what to do or say, Max sighs heavily, then stops. Maria stops and turns to look at him. He puts his hands on her upper arms and looks her in the eye.

They continue walking towards the lab room. Max puts his arm around her shoulder and gives it a little squeeze.

They both exchange a knowing smile, as they continue walking.

Cut to:

Jeff, Nancy, and Diane are still seated in the booth. Jeff looks up when the front door opens. Amy enters carrying a box. Jeff smiles and motions to her to come join them. She smiles and heads towards the back booth. In the background we see that Kyle and his friend Tommy have entered behind her and head for the counter. Jen goes over to take their order. Michael notices the new arrivals and ducks out of the way when he sees Amy. We will periodically see him in the background trying to eavesdrop on the parents' conversation, keep an eye on Kyle and stay out of Amy's sight, all at the same time.

Amy hands him the box.

Amy sits next to Diane.

Cut to:

Max and Maria step into the room. Alex and Liz are already there, as are Mr. Seligman, who is busy correcting papers (there is an apple sitting conspicuously on the corner of his desk), and a few other students working on their projects. Alex rushes up to Maria.

She goes to the lab table and places her backpack on it. She starts going through her pack but doesn't find the samples immediately.

She finds them and pulls them out of her pack.

Maria gives him a look like she doesn't want to hear it.

Maria looks at Max, who nods in agreement with Liz and Alex.

Cut to:

Jeff, Nancy, Diane, and Amy are sitting in the booth near the back of the Café. Jen is pouring them coffee.

Jen smiles, then goes to refill another customer's cup, taking the box of alien-head picks with her.

Amy pauses to sip her coffee.

Cut to:

Cut to:

Cut to:

Max flashes back to Isabel's comments about their mother (From "The Toy House": "She was asking all these questions about you. She said you had secrets.")

Cut to:

Cut to Michael, eavesdropping. He's disturbed by the turn of the conversation.

Cut to:

There's a chorus of "no"s, "that's nonsense", etc. from Liz, Maria and Alex.

Liz nods in fervent agreement. Alex turns back to Max, puts his hand on his shoulder and looks him in the eye.

There are nods of agreement from Liz and Maria. Max is truly touched by their display of friendship.

Cut to:

The others look surprised.

Nancy starts laughing. The others look at her, curious.

Knowing looks pass between Nancy and Jeff. Jeff chuckles and shakes his head.

Cut to:

Michael is still eavesdropping on the conversation and watching Kyle.

Cut to:

Jen is in the storeroom, which is on the other side of the kitchen wall, putting away the alien- head picks. She accidentally knocks over a ladder, which hits the wall--the same wall that the kitchen grill is on.

Cut to:

Michael turns at the sound, in time to see the items on the shelf over the grill bounce once from the vibration. Luckily they all remain on the shelf, except for one--an open box of baking soda-- which is about to fall onto the burgers on the grill. He's not close enough to catch the box, but he steps forward, hand outstretched, in a vain attempt to do so. He is stunned when the box is deflected by a slight burst of energy, and its contents end up on the floor instead of the grill. Michael's mouth drops open and he just stares at the mess on the floor for a beat, then at his hand, then back at the baking soda. Realization hits and he quickly spins around to see if anyone observed his actions through the pass-through window; in particular--Kyle. No one, including Kyle and Tommy who are engrossed in their conversation, seems to have been paying any attention. Michael breathes a sigh of relief, but he's still a little shaken by the episode as he goes to clean up the mess in the kitchen. The camera cuts back to Kyle, who is looking at the now vacant pass-through window, with an enigmatic look on his face.

Cut to commercial.

Return to Act II

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