"I told you, call me Maris. So how's everything going?" Maris asked. "Are you enjoying your work with Alan?"

Liz couldn't help a glance at Dr. Sosa, who stood awkwardly behind Maris.

No, I can't stand him! Liz thought. "Yes, it's been wonderful so far," she said out loud.

"Good. I know he feels the same way," Maris replied, turning to look at Dr. Sosa. "Isn't that right, Alan?"

Dr. Sosa smiled at Liz. It looked more like a grimace. Wow, she can make him do anything, Liz thought in amusement. That's probably the first time he's ever smiled in his life.

"Liz is a very smart girl with a bright future ahead of her," Dr. Sosa said, staring intently at Maris.

Maris gave him a cold smile. "You'd better get started," she said, heading for the door.

Dr. Sosa's shoulders slumped, and his fake smile fell away. "Fine," he said quietly.

What is going on between those two? Liz thought. Whenever she saw them together there was a strange undercurrent of hostility, but she could never figure out exactly what the issue was between them.

Liz put her backpack at the empty work station that she'd decided to make her own… Dr. Sosa had never bothered to assign her a place. I will remain calm, she thought, and be perfectly… "Ms. Parker. I… I have something I'd like to say," Dr. Sosa announced.

Liz turned to face him. He was smiling at her… the

same forced smile he'd given her in front of Maris. He held a bottle of water in his hand.

"Okay," Liz replied, plastering a smile on her own face.

Dr. Sosa awkwardly handed her the bottle of water. "I'd like to propose a toast, actually," he said. "To you, and your future here at Meta-chem."

Liz didn't know what to say so she ended up just standing there holding the bottle and looking baffled.

"Oh, excuse me," Dr. Sosa muttered. He hastily grabbed an empty beaker from his work station, filled it with water from the tap, and held it up. "To your future," he said again, using his beaker of water to toast with. He gestured for Liz to join him.

This guy really is a mad scientist, Liz thought in amusement. Either he'd had a gigantic change of heart about her or else Maris Wheeler had given him a lecture about being nice to the scholarship student. Whatever the reason, he was acting like a completely different person today, and Liz kind of liked him this way.

"Thanks, Dr. Sosa," she said, tapping her bottle against his beaker in a toast. "I hope I do have a long future here."

She had barely gotten the bottle to her lips when Dr. Sosa began coughing. Alarmed, she put her water down and hastened to his side. "Dr. Sosa, are you okay?" Liz cried.

He tried to catch his breath. "Sure," he wheezed. "I'm fine. Finish your drink."

"Um, okay, if you're sure," Liz said. She picked up the bottle and took a sip of water. But his coughing continued, and Liz felt weird just standing there and watching him. She leaned over to thump him on the back.

Dr. Sosa jumped when she touched him. He jerked away from her, his arm knocking into a rack of test tubes on the counter behind him. The rack fell over, sending the test tubes clattering down to the floor, where they broke. The thick, pinkish liquid that had been inside them oozed out onto the floor, staining Liz's sneaker.

There was a moment of silence. Liz stared at Dr. Sosa, horrified. He looked at her in pretty much the same way.

"I'm so sorry," Liz yelped. "I hope I haven't ruined anything important."

Dr. Sosa shook his head slowly. "Don't worry, Liz," he said. "You are far more important than any of the experiments we've been doing here."

What an odd thing to say, Liz thought as she hurried to the closet for cleaning supplies. "I'll mop this up," Liz called over her shoulder. But when she turned around, Dr. Sosa was gone, the big metal door just closing behind him.

Michael poured another giant can of chicken broth into the big soup pot. He loved chicken noodle day… it was by far the easiest soup to make.

"Order up!" Maria called from outside the order window.

Michael frowned at her. "I'm supposed to say that, not you," he said.

Maria turned on her thousand-watt smile. "I know, but I have your order ready."

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked impatiently.

"Didn't you order a big, juicy kiss?" Maria asked.

Michael thought about it. Jeff Parker probably wouldn't

think making out in the kitchen was especially sanitary. Then again, Jeff wasn't here. And the Crashdown was pretty empty: an elderly couple in the corner booth, Kyle, and some guy at the counter. No one to rat him out to the boss. "I ordered three big, juicy kisses," he told Maria.

Still smiling, she hopped up onto the counter, propped her elbows on the order window, and leaned through to kiss him. Michael decided to just ignore the soup he was making and concentrate on his girlfriend.

"That can't be sanitary," Kyle said, shaking his head as he watched Michael and Maria.

The guy on the stool next to him laughed. "Well, they clearly put a lot of love into the food here," he joked.

Kyle nodded. "Best burgers in town. And I should know… I used to date the owner's daughter."

"So you pretty much ate here three meals a day," the guy said.

"You know it," Kyle answered. "By the time she dumped me, I was hooked on the onion rings, so I had to keep coming."

The guy shook his head. "You're unlucky in love, just like me."

"Well, I don't know about that," Kyle said quickly. "I was just unlucky with her. But I do okay."

"Not me," the guy said, sighing. "I just broke up with someone I really liked."

"Dumped you, huh?" Kyle said, taking a swig of Coke.

"No, I dumped her."

Kyle snorted. "Okay, what's your name?"

"Jesse. Jesse Ramirez."

"Well, listen, Ramirez," Kyle said, "Rule number one of dating: Don't break up with someone you like. What are you, a masochist?"

Jesse gave him a lopsided grin. "No, man, I was just too old for her."

"Oh, so you were doing her a favor by dumping her?"

"Um, yeah," Jesse said. "Though when you put it that way, it sounds kind of stupid."

Kyle emptied his Coke glass. "Hey, Maria!" he called.

Maria waved him away without breaking her liplock on Michael.

"I need another Coke," Kyle yelled, undeterred. "And one for my masochistic friend here."

Liz pushed open the door of the Crashdown and glanced around. Maria and Michael were hanging out at the door to the back room. Kyle sat at the counter chatting with some guy in a suit. It all looked normal, yet something seemed off.

It's the lights, Liz thought. The hanging lamps were LOO bright. She squinted up at them. That's weird. I didn't even know they had a bright setting.

"Liz!" cried Maria. "What are you doing here in the middle of the day?"

"She lives here," Michael put in. "Duh." He disappeared through the swinging door and went back into the kitchen.

Maria approached Liz, talking a mile a minute as usual. "Aren't you supposed to be at Meta-chem? Wait, is today your day off? You didn't get into a fight with that doctor guy, did you? I told you to use my mantra if he was acting like a jerk."

Liz winced. Was Marias voice always this loud?

"You got a real death grip on that thing," Maria added.

"What?" Liz said. Why was she so confused all of a sudden?

"Water bottle." Maria pointed at the plastic bottle in Liz's hand.

Liz glanced down in surprise. She'd forgotten she had it. "Oh, yeah," she mumbled. She opened it and took a swig. The water tasted funny. "I think I'm coming down with something," she told Maria.

"Is that why you came home from work?"

Liz shook her head. "No, Dr. Sosa had a little freak-out and sent me home. I feel bad about it, actually. He was trying to be nice to me, but he had a coughing fit and I accidentally made him spill some chemicals."