Nancy Parker held Liz tight, pressing her lips to Liz's forehead. Then Jeff gave her an affectionate push toward the podium. "You'd better get up there before they give your job to someone else," he joked.

Shocked at winning, Liz managed to walk over to where Dr. Sosa was standing. She shook hands with him and accepted a congratulatory kiss from Maris Wheeler, all

the while wondering how she'd pulled this off. Josh Faber from her AP biology class was going to have a coronary… he'd been beating her grades for a year now.

"Um, thanks," Liz said into the microphone at the podium. "I'm really… I'm thrilled. I can't wait to start working with Dr. Sosa…"

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Max. He was watching her adoringly, but she knew he would leave her in a moment if he had a chance to find his son. He can't put me first, Liz thought sadly. So maybe it's time I put myself first.

"I've wanted to be a biologist since I was a little girl," Liz went on. "And right now, I feel more committed to that goal than I have in a long time." She took a deep breath. "This new job is my number one priority."

Michael sighed happily and gazed through the order window at the Crashdown Cafe. There were two old men having coffee at the counter, and a family of tourists at one of the booths. No Liz, no Maria, no Jeff Parker. Michael was in charge, and he liked it that way.

He made his way out of the kitchen and jumped over the counter… which was strictly forbidden when the boss was here. With a self-satisfied grin, he grabbed a pot of coffee off the burner and headed for the two men. "Hey, old-timer. More coffee?"

"You bet," the gray-haired man answered. "The wife won't let me drink it at home. She's got me on that decaf crap."

"That's not right," Michael commiserated while filling the guy's mug.

"These damn women," put in the other old man, pushing

his mug forward to be filled. "Why do they think they can run our lives for us?"

"We do just fine on our own," Michael agreed. "All they do is make sure we never have any fun."

The two old guys growled an agreement.

'Well, not me," Michael went on. "I am not gonna let a woman tell me what to do."

"I'll drink to that," the gray-haired guy said.

Michael grinned as the two old men sipped their coffee in his honor. This was the life… -just a bunch of guys hanging together. He leaned against the back counter and pulled a Motor Trend magazine from his jeans pocket.

"Michael!" a familiar screech broke into his quiet moment.

Maria burst through the front doors, long blond hair flying behind her. "Why didn't you call me last night?" she demanded as she stomped across the restaurant. "And clean up that coffee spill!"

Michael froze like a deer in the headlights. He glanced down at the counter, and sure enough, there was a ring-shaped coffee stain drying on the Formica. He looked up and met the amused gaze of the two old men. He would totally lose face if he didn't stand up to Maria. "Cleaning isn't in my job description," he said. He forced himself to begin reading his magazine again.

There was a moment of silence. Michael grimaced. Silence was bad. With Maria, silence was a very, very bad sign. He peeked over the top of the Motor Trend, expecting to see two furious brown eyes boring into his own.

But Maria was gone. Baffled, Michael stuck the magazine back in his pocket and glanced around the restaurant.

"She went in the back," one of the old men told him. "And 1 think you're in trouble."

With a sigh, Michael went around the counter… lifting up the end this time to walk through instead of jumping over… and pushed open the swinging door to the back room. If his girlfriend was too mad to even talk to him in public, he really was in trouble.

"Baby, I'm sorry I didn't call… " Michael stopped, shocked. Maria was curled up in a ball on the couch in the corner, and she seemed frightened. "What? Did something happen?" Michael asked, instantly on alert.

Maria nodded, her eyes wide.

"Well, what is it?" he demanded. "An alien crisis? Something with the police? What?"

"It's my mother," Maria whispered. "I'm hiding from her."

Michael rolled his eyes. This was Maria's idea of a crisis? The two DeLuca women spent most of their time bickering, as far as he could tell. "What did you do, dent the Jetta again?" he asked.

The door behind him swung open, revealing Amy DeLuca.

"There you are! How dare you storm out on me, young lady!" she cried. Michael took a step back. Maria had clearly inherited her shrill voice from her mom.

Maria leaped up from the couch and faced off with Amy.

"I had to get to work, Mom. Remember? What did you call it… my 'dead-end job that will never prepare you for any sort of real life'?"

"Your shift doesn't start for another fifteen minutes,"

Amy shot back. "So I expect you to finish the conversation we were having instead of running away like a five-year-old."

"You were the one having a conversation, Mom. I was there to be abused," Maria said.

"Urn, I gotta get back to work," Michael mumbled. He retreated to the kitchen, but since it was only ten feet away, it wasn't far enough to block out the sounds of their argument. Michael knew the fight would come around to him sooner or later. It always did. He knew Amy liked him, but she didn't exactly approve of his relationship with Maria.

"I'm not abusing you, Maria, I'm just concerned about your future," Amy was saying. "Watching Liz win that scholarship today got me thinking… "

"I'm not Liz," Maria snapped. "I'm not about to win any science prizes."

"I know that," Amy said. "But Liz is getting ready for life after high school… she's getting good work experience, starting to earn money for college. What are you doing?"

"I do earn money!" Maria shrieked. "I've had a job since I was fourteen!"

Michael wondered if the customers could hear them fighting. He snuck a look through the order window. Yup, they could hear. The two old men were listening attentively, while the tourist family looked nervous.

"You earn money and then you spend it on Michael," Amy said.

"I knew it," Michael muttered. "It always ends up being my fault."

"It's my money," Maria told her mother. "I can spend it however I want."

That means I'll be getting a lecture from Maria later about how she can't keep paying for dinner all the time, Michael thought.

"Look, honey, in a few months you'll be a senior," Amy said, putting on a calm voice. "I'm not saying you can't still goof off and have fun. I'm just saying that you have to start thinking about life after high school. If you're not careful, you'll end up a waitress in Roswell for the rest of your life."

"Not everybody wants to go to Harvard and become a biochemical-whatever scientist like Liz," Maria said. "Maybe I want to stay in Roswell and work."

Michael sighed. The last thing Maria wanted to do was stay in Roswell. He would have to hear about that later too.

"Great. Fine," Amy cried, throwing up her hands. "Stay in Roswell. Marry Michael, get yourself pregnant. Throw your life away just like I did!"

"Oooh, not good," Michael whispered.

Maria grabbed her backpack up off the couch. "I'm so happy to know that you consider marrying Dad and having me to be 'throwing your life away,'" she said coldly. Then she turned her back on Amy, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Michael shook his head. Usually he was jealous of his friends, who, unlike him, all had parents. But on days like today, he felt like the lucky one.

"How about dinner at Senor Chow's tonight to celebrate your scholarship?" Max asked. He and Liz sat at one of the booths in the Crashdown just as the lunch rush started. Jeff Parker had given Liz the day off in honor of her big win.

Liz was quiet for a moment, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.