“We still on for after school?”

Michael shut his locker. “Now is good for me.”

Max shook his head. “Test. Next hour. Can’t ditch.”

Michael snorted. “Yeah like you would.” His eyes spied a certain blonde moving fast towards them, cutting a wake through a crowd of people. The determination on her face wasn’t hard to miss. “Isabel. Don’t do it. Be strong.”

Max looked over at his sister. Oh crap. She had that look. He looked helplessly at Michael.

“Don’t,” was all that Michael would say.

“Oh good! I was looking for the two of you.”

Michael slammed his locker. “Forget it. I’ve got plans.” Michael went to leave, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Michael, I need your help too.” Isabel smiled an engaging smile that lacked any warmth as her eyes narrowed.

“Nope.”

“Max,” said Isabel threatening.

Max sighed. “Michael…”

Michael shook his head. Whipped. Who ever heard of a brother being whipped. Before he could voice his disdain, Isabel was already off on her latest tirade, and project.

“I volunteered both of you for my committee. Now it shouldn’t take too long as long as you follow my instructions completely! I wrote them all out, in detail, provided visual aids, and full instructions in case you have any questions.” Isabel looked at her two brothers. “Good. I expect it done by six.” She rushed off to cause teenage impotence in as many members of the Roswell male community as she could find.

Max stared at the paper that mysteriously showed up in his hand. How did it get there? He looked at Michael, the horror slowly moving across his face.

Michael shook his head. He spied the list. Shopping? She wanted them to go shopping? For the drama production club? No frickin’ way!

“You’re on your own, Maxwell.”

“Michael,” said Max with a lot of whine in his voice. No way in hell was he going to do this all alone.

“No way. I’ve got plans!”

“With me!” Max read the list. “It’s not so bad. She provided detail instructions, and….”

“There is nothing as bad, as something not so bad. Forget it.”

Max was desperate. “We can do it quick, and be off. I swear!”

Michael sighed and rolled his eyes. This was frickin’ Maria’s fault! Now that he was such a nice guy. Before, he would’ve walked. Great.

“Swear!”

Max crossed his heart.

Michael grimaced. “I am so sick of being Isabel’s butt boy! No, wait…that would be you! I just get caught in the damn vortex! We need to seriously help her find a boyfriend that she can boss around. Where the heck is Alex?”

Max shrugged. “They are on an off, again. She feels asking him for help gives him the wrong impression.”

“Uh huh. Sure it does.” Michael said. He was going to take a damn nap in the eraser room. “What pisses me off the most? We do all the work, like her indentured slaves, and she takes all the bows. I pity the man that marries her.”

“I pray for him. Then we’re off the hook.”

“Fat chance. The more slaves the better.” Michael took himself off. There had to be some place better than damn school.

~~~

“Oh, Isabel alert.”

Liz looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“She got herself assigned the chairman of the drama committee. I saw her conscript half the football team this morning for set up and break down.”

“Oh?” Liz said, shrugging, then suddenly her eyes widened. “Oh! No?”

“Yes!” They both quickly turned to flee.

“Maria! Liz!” Isabel called after them, waving frantically.

The two girls holding on to each other slowly approached Isabel. This couldn’t be good. She had her planner out in front of her. They held onto each other for dear life, slightly pushing the one in front of the other.

“If we ran…” Suggested Liz.

“She’d hunt us down like prey.” Maria said dramatically as Liz gulped.

Maria feigned courage. And a little loopy. “Hi, Iz!”

Liz followed suit, doing her Smurf on smack imitation. “Iz!”

“Where have you two been? I searched everywhere.”

“We, um….” Liz shook her head. School. Class. Work. Oh heck, what to say.

“We had plans.”

Isabel’s eyebrow went up at that. “Plans? Oh,” she smiled coyly. “Plans. Like the plans that Michael has? The ones that made him try to refuse to help?”

Liz was still stuttering. “Well, it’s like this….we, um….that is….”

Maria shushed Liz. Her eyebrow arching. “Plans? Michael and plans? What plans?”

Isabel’s eyes sparkled with interest. “I gather, after school. He seemed hot to get out of here. Of course, he offered to volunteer to help Max, so I am sure those plans are dead.”

“Uh huh.” Maria turned on her heels. Plans. Michael. Never a good thing. “I’ll catch you later.” She rushed off to find her boyfriend before he blew up something, or worse went off somewhere without her.

“Um…Maria?” Liz looked around confused at the invisible Maria. She turned to ask Isabel what happened, but the look on Isabel’s face made her breath freeze in her chest in fear.

“So, Liz, I penciled you in to do all the refreshments. I’ll be needing a full proposal of menu, and possible budget by this afternoon.” Liz looked around helplessly. Maria left her! She couldn’t believe this. Impossible. This was Michael Guerin’s fault. Maria would’ve never left her alone before.

~~~

“Spaceboy.”

Michael stopped in his tracks. Oh, this day just kept getting better and better. Oh, yeah, it could’ve been ‘spaceboy’ in that sultry tone, and that was good. Very good. Or ‘spaceboy’ in that inquisitive tone, which could be good or bad, depending on what the inquisition was. But, ‘spaceboy’ in this flat unemotional tone. Bad. Very bad.

Michael grunted.

She stopped next to him, her hands on her hips. “Plans?” Michael frowned. “You have plans?”

“What are yah yammering about now?”

“Isabel said you refused to help because you had plans. So…..plans?”

Michael smirked. “When Isabel is on the prowl, plans, any plans are better than whatever she has cooking.”

“So a ruse?”

“No. I had plans.” Michael almost bit out his tongue. Well he really needed to learn to lie to her. Better. Ever. Heck, he’d settle for at least once.

“Again…plans?” Maria looked at him. “I take it these plans don’t include me?”

“They do not.”

“Alone?”

“Nope. I’ve got plans with someone else.”

“Someone else?” Maria breathed deeply. “Someone else, male or female.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Gimme a break. Max, okay?”

“Max?”

“Max.” Michael shrugged. “Or at least I did until he got nabbed by Isabel and dragged me along for the boredom.”

“I see.” Maria rocked on her toes. “So what is your assignment?”

“Shopping.”

Maria laughed, finding the two boys off shopping for Isabel highly amusing. Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Find that hilarious, huh?”

“Immeasurably.”

“What’s your assignment?”

Maria shrugged. “I don’t have one. Unlike some people, I got free.”

Michael pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Imagine that. Free. Isabel-free.” That was his girl. Now that was how to avoid obligation. Michael rubbed his nose. Taking Maria’s arm, he led her towards the eraser room. “So since my plans with Max have fallen through, perhaps you would like to….make plans with me?”

“Plans?” Maria said suspiciously.

“Plans.”

“What kind of plans?”

“Plans. Normal plans. Good plans. Whatever we want.”

Maria opened her mouth and closed it. “Whatever we want?”

“That’s the plan.”

~~~

“Traitor!”

“Oh, Liz!” Maria actually looked ashamed. “I’m so sorry! I got carried away trying to imagine who Michael would have plans with or even what his plans are. You know Michael!”

“You should see what I got stuck with! It’s not pretty. Not pretty at all.” Liz sighed. “Luckily I have most of it done, but still…..”

“I’m sorry, babe. Want me to help?”

Liz seemed to think about it, but of the two of them, Maria was the least organized. It would be more fun with Maria, but more time consuming.

“No. I’ve got it done. Almost.” Liz sniffed. “So what were Michael’s plans?”

“Max. He and Max had plans.”

Liz looked up at that frowning. “Really? Max didn’t mention any plans to me.”

“Michael didn’t either. You’d think they were hiding something.” Maria clicked her front teeth with a nail. “No matter! Those plans are toast. Michael and I made new plans.”

“New plans?” Liz frowned. “What kind of plans?”

“Plan plans. You know….plans.” Maria said suggestively.

“Plans?” Liz repeated confused until she looked in Maria’s eyes. “Plans! Those kind of plans!”

“Hmmm. Those kind.” Maria looked at her watch. “Problem is he has to help Max first, so our plans are on hold until he finishes.”

“Then wouldn’t him and Max go do their plans after they finish whatever he has to help Max with?”

“You would think, but the boy made plans with me, and I am holding him to them.” Maria seemed thoughtful. “You know, since you’re almost done, if we were say to help the boys with their Isabel forced volunteer duty, we could free them up to say…..have plans with us sooner.”

“That’s a thought. What do they have to do?”

“Shopping!”

“No!” Liz said horrified and laughing at the same time. “This we must see!”

“Agreed! So you go talk to Max, and I’ll talk to Michael, and we’ll all meet after school to do the shopping, after which, we can go off on our own, to do our own plans.”

Liz pushed all her books into a stack. “Capital! I’ll go find Max.”

Maria smiled as Liz hurried off. She saw Michael over at the corner of the building. Giving him a discrete nod, he acknowledged it and went off to beat Liz to Max.

~~~

“Maxwell!”

Max stopped in the process of putting books in his locker. Two more classes, and they were out of there. Michael was in the school hall. That was unusual. He usually found a way to disappear by this time of day.

“Mr. Guerin!” Michael moaned as his history teacher stopped him in the hall. “I hope your presence means I’ll be seeing you in next period?”

Michael pointed at his locker. “Just on my way to get my book.”

“Good. I’ve got a special treat for you today.” Michael’s smile bled from his face. Damn. That meant pop quiz.

“Max…”

“Got caught, huh?”

“Never mind that. Look, Maria caught me in a week moment, I sort of made plans with her this evening.”

“But…”

“Yeah, I know. Look we might be able to salvage this. I’ve got a plan. Walk me to my failing history grade, and I’ll tell you.”

“What about your book?”

“What book?”

“History?”

Michael shrugged. “I lost that book three months ago. So anyway, here’s my plan…”

~~~

“Max?” Liz found him in the quad sitting at table. “Hey!”

“Liz.” Max allowed him a long moment to just look at her. Smiling like a dolt, it took Liz to burst his mooning bubble.

“So I was told by Maria that Isabel captured you and Michael into shopping for the drama committee.”

“She did.” Max said sighing. He pulled out his list and handed it to Liz. She quickly perused it.

“Wow, this is detailed!”

“You’ve no idea.” Max sat back and smiled charmingly. “You don’t think you could do something about it? Maybe reorganize it so we can hit the mall, walk straight in one door, out the other?”

“Fast?”

“Very fast. I had plans with Michael after school today, but then this came up, and now Michael made plans with Maria.”

Liz turned slightly red, hiding her face, she nodded. “I know. Maria told me.” She concentrated on the list. “Let me keep this, and I’ll rearrange it by stores. That way we can move quickly.”

“We? You’re going to help me? You’ll do it?”

“Sure.” Liz smiled leaning on her books. “So now that your plans with Michael have fallen through, what are you doing later this evening?”

“I don’t know. Studying?”

Liz moved even closer, her foot going up Max’s leg. “Want a study partner?”

Max gulped. “Sure.”

“So we have plans?”

“Absolutely!”

“Good! I love having plans with you.”

~~~

“So where are they,” asked Maria as she and Liz paced in front of the mall.

“Max said he would meet us here with Michael.” Liz bit her lip and looked at her watch. “They’re only ten minutes late.”

Maria sighed. “Let me see the damn list!”

“What?” Liz handed it over. “What? Maria, Max will be here.”

Maria quickly went down the list. “This is a monster! Only Isabel Evans would make such a long and neurotically anal list. Look at the details!” Maria chewed on her lip. “It probably took her longer to make the list then it would’ve taken her to actually just come down and get the stuff herself.”

“Max and Michael should be here any minute. Maybe we should split the list into two parts, you and Michael take half, and Max and I will take the other.”

Maria grabbed Liz’s face. “Liz, girlfriend! Take a clue pill! We’ve been had by our boyfriends to do their damn list.”

“No. Max wouldn’t…” Liz frowned and bit her lip. “He’s late. We have plans afterwards….”

“Uh huh. Look, Liz. Michael late or a no show. Not unusual. Max late or a no show. Not going to happen! He’s late because he and Michael had plans. So guess what they’re doing?”

“Plans?” Said Liz weakly.

Maria nodded. “C’mon. Let’s get through this list so we can go find those two. I’ve got a few choice words for Michael Guerin, and then afterwards…I’ve got plans for him!”

“Plans?” Said Liz again weakly.

“Plans! And believe me, you don’t want to be there. It’s not for the faint of heart.”

~~~

“This was so wrong!”

Michael grabbed the brown bag from Max. “Stop your whining! We had plans first. So we doing this or not?”

Max seemed to think about it, but Michael pulled the box from the bag and showed it to Max. Smiling, Max nodded. Sure! He’d waited all day for this.

The two boys sat down and set up the TV as Michael took the latest, newest, most sought after Xbox game out of its wrapper. They powered up as each had a controller. The sounds from the TV were loud with an occasional sound effect from Michael or Max.

“How long,” Max asked taking another sip from his soda.

“I give it two hours.” Michael took the bowl of chips and moved them closer to him, holding out his hand for the Tabasco.

“Two hours? It was going to take that long?” Damn. Max felt guilty again. It was really Isabel’s fault, not Liz or Maria’s.

“Yep. Why do you think we’re playing here? Maria will storm my place immediately like a homing pigeon. This will give a few extra minutes of playtime.”

Max nodded. Made sense. He snuck a look at his best friend. “So do you want her to find us?”

Michael smirked and demolished another of Max’s men. “Sure, we’ve got plans.”

Max moved his body to the right, as did Michael to avoid a collision. “Oh! Brutal!” Michael laughed at the destruction on the screen. His enthusiasm increasing with the action and mayhem.

“Plans?” Max asked.

“Yeah,” Michael looked at him. “Plans.”

Suddenly Max seemed to understand. “Oh! Plans!” He cleared his throat taking a quick drink. “So you and Maria…you have, um, plans often?”

Michael sighed as the game end. He took a drink and waited for it to reload. “Not as often as I’d like, but as often as we can arrange it.” Michael looked at Max curiously. “So you and Liz have plans?”

“Yeah. Later this evening.” Max said, but he paused seeming to realize what they were talking about. “Oh! But, um, not quite the same plans, that you and Maria have. Or I mean, that we could, but….we don’t. I mean, we could, but haven’t.” Max seemed embarrassed. “We’re going to study.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Right.”

The two men went back to their new game. The room was quiet except for the sounds from the TV.

Max looked at Michael again. “So, dumping all the work on Maria…you don’t think that’ll change your…um, plans?”

Michael smiled slightly. “At first. Ultimately? Nope. Maria will get pissed, rage a little, but there’s nothing better than Maria in a passionate snit. Then the plans really pick up, if you know what I mean.”

“Um,” Max wasn’t all that sure, but heck, he wasn’t going to admit it. “Yeah, sure. Big plans.”

“Real big plans.” Amazing what a guy had to do to get some time to play a simple video game.

~~~

Liz and Maria stood in the doorway watching Michael and Max playing their new game. Maria crossed her arms across her front. Looking at Liz she raised an eyebrow.

“So? You got any plans tonight?”

Liz pursed her lips and looked at her boyfriend. “Nope. Not a single plan.”

“Movie?” Maria suggested.

“Love to. So something chick-flickish?”

Maria nodded. “That’s the plan.”