ISABEL: (Seeing Maria driving up) Of course.

MARIA: Going home? (MARIA looks up at the fake spaceship on the back of the tow truck. ISABEL's eyes follow MARIA's line of sight--she is not amused.) Um, I mean um, do you need a ride? (ISABEL stares at her for a moment and then gets in car)

ISABEL: Doesn't this thing have any air conditioning?

MARIA: Yeah, it's on all the way. (ISABEL holds her hand over the vent and uses her power to make the stream of air cooler.) Oh my God! What are you doing?

ISABEL: I'm just making it more comfortable in here!

MARIA: Don't do that in my car!

ISABEL: Whatever. What year is this thing?

MARIA: It's a '92, and it's never been towed either.

ISABEL: Well the sound system is pathetic. (ISABEL holds her hand over the radio in the car and makes the radio louder.)

MARIA: Oh my God! (Startled, Maria causes the car to swerve.)

ISABEL: I'm just trying to help you out. (ISABEL bends over and looks at MARIA's keychain, which is a plastic alien.)

MARIA: Oh, uh the keychain. My mother makes them. I'll tell her to stop.

ISABEL: My mother does stupid things too.

MARIA: She does?

ISABEL: Don't all mothers?

MARIA: Yeah, I guess. Does she know?

ISABEL: That she does stupid things?

MARIA: No that, uh, you and Max are, like, you know, different.

ISABEL: You mean horrible disgusting creatures from outer space who sneak into your room at night and perform excruciating experiments?

(MARIA stares at her in shock, then looks back at the road and slams on her breaks before hitting another car)

MARIA: (Gasps) Oh my god! Oh my God! (They realize they've just rear-ended the Sheriff's car.)

ISABEL: Oh my God.

VALENTI: (Walking up to the driver's window) Ladies.

[OPENING CREDITS]

[TOPOLSKY's CLASSROOM]

TOPOLSKY: What will the future bring? In ancient times man looked to the heavens to answer this question. Today our methods are a little more scientific, more personal. What will the future bring for you. As the millennium nears all eyes are on you. There are so many opportunities out there for young people today, and I want to help you discover exactly what's right for you. Because the most important ingredient for success is always preparation. You can't become something until you can dream it first. What will the future bring for you?

MARIA: (Talking to LIZ) Let me just make it easy for her: (points her finger to various classmates) Tasty Freeze, Denny's, Gas World, Prison.

LIZ's VOICEOVER: Listening to Topolsky I suddenly realized that it wasn't my future I was worried about at all. My future was filled with all kinds of promise, if I could just get through my present.

TOPOLSKY: That's where I come in, getting to know your dreams. So over the next few days you will all be coming in to my office for some interviews. A series of questions which will indicate where your strengths lie. And as you know I'm new here, so most importantly this will give me a chance to find out who you are.

(LIZ and MARIA walking through the halls)

LIZ: Okay, so you rear ended Sheriff Valenti, are you okay?

MARIA: Yeah, it was a love tap, it was nothing, I can handle it.

LIZ: Okay, Are you sure?

MARIA: Yeah, I'm telling you, it was a total fender bender, minor damage, and you know what? It probably would have never happened if Miss Isabel hadn't been playing with my head.

LIZ: Wait, why was she playing with your head?

MARIA: She was like, deliberately trying to freak me out.

LIZ: How?

MARIA: Okay, she like, made my air conditioner blow like a hurricane.

LIZ: Maria, what did you do to make her do that?

MARIA: What did I do? Hey look listen, I was there to extend myself. You know, I gave her a lift. Trying to reach out give her that old I come in peace thing. Look, Liz, it like, takes two people to tango. You know? And how can I tango with the girl if she's going around creeping me out.

LIZ: Okay Maria, look, I will talk to Max and I will have him talk to Isabel. But the important thing is for us to stay in control. Okay?

MARIA: Hey I am in control. You know, I am like, in control. (They see a posters on the lockers with an alien creature. Liz rips it off.)

[TOPOLSKY'S OFFICE]

TOPOLSKY: Why don't you start by telling me what your dream job would be.

LIZ'S FRIEND (from geometry): I want to be Brad Pitt's love slave.

KYLE: Uh, Houston Astro's left field.

STONER GUY: Lead guitar for Metallica.

ALEX: That's an interesting question. Uh, do you always ask it first?

ISABEL: Supermodel.

MARIA: Like I have any skills.

LIZ: Molecular biologist. Or a dream, dream, dream job would be head of molecular biology research at Harvard.

TOPOLSKY: That's fantastic. Now what job do you think you'll actually have in ten years?

LIZ'S FRIEND: Cheese factory, I guess.

KYLE: Houston Astro's left field

ISABEL: I usually get what I want.

ALEX: Excellent follow-up question. Very good technique.

MARIA: Oh, we could all be dead in ten years.

STONER: Video store. No, wait. Well, Cheese factory.

LIZ: Molecular biologist.

TOPOLSKY: OK, let's play a relationship game. Tell me which character in this picture is most like you, and tell me what they're doing at the park.

KYLE: King of the jungle gym

ISABEL: I never really played well with others.

ALEX: The kid holding the umbrella for the other kids. Which one are you?

MARIA: Can this get any more lame?

MAX: Probably the one behind the tree. (TOPOLSKY pauses and looks at him.) I was sort of kidding.

TOPOLSKY: No, that's interesting. That's a hard place to be. I've been behind the tree myself. In college I barely left my dorm for three years. Then I realized that I had gotten myself into this situation where I wasn't really living. I was just going through the motions, and it was really, really risky to change. To get out there in the world.

MAX: But it was worth it.

TOPOLSKY: Yes, it was.

MAX: Coming out from behind the tree, huh?

TOPOLSKY: Exactly. You start small. You say, "Today I'm going to do one thing to get out there." Nothing big. Just one thing.

MAX: And, what did you do?

TOPOLSKY: Started a conversation with this guy I liked.

(Bell rings. MAX leaves. In her notes about the students, TOPOLSKY writes, "has secrets" next to MAX's name.)

[SCHOOL HALLWAY]

(MAX is waiting around the corner, while LIZ is talking to some friends.)

LIZ: Okay sure, so we'll talk about it later. All right, see ya guys later. Bye. (LIZ walks down the hall and MAX comes around the corner.) Hey.

MAX: Oh hey. So, how's it going?

LIZ: Good, it's going good.

MAX: Good. That's good (feels awkward because he can't think of anything else to say) Great

LIZ: Okay. Max, is everything okay?

MAX: Yeah, yeah I just wanted to say hi. Uh. Just, uh, stepping out from behind the tree.

LIZ: What tree?

MAX: Oh, forget it. It's

LIZ: Uh, Max, do you know about the whole Maria/Isabel thing that's going on?

MAX: Yeah, yeah, I heard.

LIZ: Well, um, I just sorta promised Maria that I would mention it. See um, Isabel kinda makes Maria a little

MAX: Nervous?

LIZ: No, no, it's not nervous.

MAX: Because she makes some people nervous.

LIZ: She just said that she did things.

MAX: Things?

LIZ: Yeah, you know, like things to her car. So maybe you could talk to her, so we don't let this situation get out of control.

MAX: Right.

LIZ: Okay.

MAX: Okay.

LIZ: You know, it kinda seemed like you wanted to say something before.

MAX: No.

LIZ: Okay. Bye, Max.

[COURTYARD]

(MAX, ISABEL, and MICHAEL are having lunch together.)

ISABEL: That girl is just an accident waiting to happen.

MAX: Look, Isabel could you at least try and make an effort?

ISABEL: No.

MAX: Think about it. People see movies with aliens. Aliens killing humans. Evil aliens. Green aliens. If you keep acting this way with Maria, she's going to think that's what we are.

ISABEL: Exactly. I'm telling you this evil alien thing could work for us in this situation. The way to deal with her is to make her sweat, keep her on her toes. Make her afraid of my shadow, of your shadow, of her shadow, of Michael's shadow. Right Michael?

MICHAEL: Or we could just kill her. (MAX gives him a look.) Kidding. (MICHAEL holds the key up in front of him.)

MAX: Put that key away.

MICHAEL: You want to know, don't you? I mean you got the bug. I mean, we've got this key, now what does this key open? Admit that you have to know that.

ISABEL: Could you stop with the key. The key means nothing.

MICHAEL: If it means nothing, then why did it give me a vision the first time I touched it?

ISABEL: Because your brain is warped, just a theory.

MAX: What do you think it means? I mean it's a key, where could it possibly lead?

MICHAEL: I'm telling you, the government cleaned out the sheriff's station, and this is the key he kept from them. It's got to be something important. Maybe it belongs to the corpse from 1959.

ISABEL: Michael, you're grasping at straws.

MICHAEL: And I know that, but I say we follow where it takes us. I mean who knows where we'll end up. Maybe home. I mean, Maxwell, we can't let this go. We can't just hide.

MAX: I don't know.

(ISABEL looks up and watches MARIA talking to people nearby.)

ISABEL: One more day before she cracks. Tops.

MAX: Just try to find something you have in common with her.

ISABEL: Oh please, what am I supposed to her about?

MAX: Try something. Order some fries. Just start a conversation.

ISABEL: No. It's impossible. She's irrational. (MARIA trips and drops her books. Seeing the three looking at her, MARIA pretends to laugh and tries to casually pick up her stuff and walk away.)

MICHAEL: She's kinda weird.

[TOPOLSKY'S OFFICE]

TOPOLSKY: So you want to be a scientist? Wow. That's exciting.

LIZ: Yeah

TOPOLSKY: You seem very sure of yourself.

LIZ: Well, you know, the first time that I walked into a chemistry lab I just knew. There's this smell. The sulfur smell. I knew I was home.

TOPOLSKY: What makes you think the world of science is right for you? Other than the smell.

LIZ: Okay, the world is this incredibly mysterious place, and science is just this way of figuring it out. With science, there are answers to everything. Facts. When you're conducting an experiment, you're in control of everything.

TOPOLSKY: So you like to be in control.

LIZ: Of course

TOPOLSKY: You make a lot of plans, don't you?

LIZ: You've got to have a plan.

TOPOLSKY: What about taking life as it comes?

LIZ: No.

TOPOLSKY: Sometimes you don't have a choice.

[CRASHDOWN CAFÉ, BACK ROOM]

(LIZ is meeting with the Crashdown employees)

LIZ: In response to recent shift confusion I have created this color coated system so that we'll all have a clear plan. Now, like any good plan, there is flexibility built into it, but the important thing is, is if you need to make a change, tell me and I'll make it. That way, nothing will get out of control. Thank you all for coming in. Any questions?

EMPLOYEE: Can we go back home now?

LIZ: Yeah. (The employees leave. MARIA walks up to LIZ.)

MARIA: Nice colors.

LIZ: (pleased with herself) Thanks. Okay.

(MARIA walks out front, then returns to the back room.)

MARIA: You know what? You take the front. I'm going to go do that can inventory that your father talked about.

LIZ: Maria!

MARIA: She's out there.

LIZ: Who's out there?

MARIA: Queen Amidala!

LIZ: Okay, Maria, you've got to calm down here. You've got to control yourself.

MARIA: (to herself) I am in control. I am in control. (to LIZ) I'm not in control! Liz! Look! Let me just confide here, okay? I live my life in constant fear of her. Okay? Moment to moment, knowing that each one could by my last. Okay, I'm sorry, it's just

LIZ: No no no no. I get it, but we're just stuck with each other. You know? The five of us. For me, just try and be friendly with Isabel.

MARIA: Okay, sure. Great. All right. Just one big happy family.

LIZ: You can do it.

(MARIA walks back outside.)

MARIA: Hi.

ISABEL: Hi.

MARIA: So.

ISABEL: So. How about some fries?

MARIA: Fries. Great, great choice. Really.

ISABEL: Thanks.

(VALENTI walks in.)

VALENTI: Can I get a coke please? (MARIA looks at him, nervous.) You do have coke, don't you?

MARIA: Yes, yes, we do. Um.. To go?

VALENTI: Sure, that would be fine. (He looks around the café and sees ISABEL.)

MARIA: (Hands VALENTI his coke) Anything else I can tell you today, Sheriff? (Quickly corrects herself) GET you today, Sheriff? Anything?

VALENTI: Actually I need your insurance information for that fender bender that we had.

MARIA: Right.

VALENTI: City regulations. (MARIA is visibly uncomfortable) You all right?

MARIA: Yes. Totally all right. Happy as a clam. (ISABEL is watching this whole exchange.)

VALENTI: (Leans toward MARIA and whispers) I'm here to protect you. From anything. Do you understand?

LIZ: (LIZ approaches and interrupts the conversation) Um, you know it's time for that can inventory, Maria. Can I ring this up for you Sheriff?

VALENTI: Keep the change.

[CRASHDOWN CAFÉ]

(MARIA is working in the Crashdown alone. It's very busy. MAX walks in.)

MOTHER: (A mother is chasing her son, who is running around, aiming his toy phaser gun at MARIA.) Corey! Corey! Will you stop it with that thing or we're not going to the museum.

COREY: Blast all aliens! (Corey points gun at Max.)

MARIA: (to MAX) Liz isn't here, and if she were here, I would kill her.

MAX: I just want to--

MOTHER: Excuse me, but there's nothing really scary in that UFO center, is there? I mean, there's nothing real or anything?

MAX: I've never really been in there, so

MARIA: Of course not, why would you ever think something like that? There's no such thing as aliens, especially anywhere around here.

COREY: That's not what it said on the menu.

MOTHER: Knock it off!

MARIA: Thank you for dining at the Crashdown.

MOTHER: Let's go, let's go!

MAX: Are you okay?

MARIA: Of course I'm okay. Don't I seem okay?

MAX: Well you just shortchanged her ten bucks.

MARIA: Oh my God! Oh my God! I, I can't leave! I'm the only one here!

MAX: Take it easy, I'll take it to her.

MARIA: Are you sure?

MAX: Why not?

MARIA: Thank you so much!

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: And so on July 4^th, 1947, after all the fireworks had been shot off, after all the apple pie had been eaten, they came. The evidence suggests that they had been studying us for quite some time. To what end we'll never know, but on that fateful night something went terribly wrong, and one, though some say more than one, of the alien crafts crashed onto our planet, starting what was to become one of the most elaborate cover-ups mankind has ever known. Right this way. There are eyewitness accounts from people still living in Roswell today of debris found in the desert made of strange metals, inscribed with purple hieroglyphs. There are those who on their deathbeds spoke of being present at alien autopsies, and of the threats made to their lives and the lives of their families if they ever spoke of what they saw. Imagine, ladies and gentlemen, living with a secret so terrible that you can't even share with your loved ones for fear of their safety. I don't think anyone today is strong enough for that. Now are there any questions before we enter the video theater?

TOURIST: I heard that they found some aliens still alive, and that they were tortured into giving us their technology.

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: There are many theories son, many theories.

TOURIST 2: Did they ever come back again? You know, back to rescue the ones in the crash?

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: There have been sightings in this area on a regular basis since that night. You decide. Right this way.

MAX: What about 1959?

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: Who said that? (He looks around the room, but MAX does not acknowledge that he asked the question.) Lets continue with the, uh, documentary portion of our tour. Right this way.

(The tour group moves to another room. MAX pauses to look at an alien autopsy display. As he rejoins the tour group, COREY runs up to him and shoots him with his toy phaser.)

COREY: Blast all aliens!!

MOTHER: Corey! Do I need to get a leash!

MAX: This is yours. You left it at the café

MOTHER: Oh. Thank you! Let's go! We're going home. You exhaust me! I'm so exhausted from this ordeal.

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: (Approaches MAX) What do you know about 1959?

MAX: Is there something to know?

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: Come back tomorrow. We can talk more.

TOURIST: Hey you're blocking the screen!

(Tour Guide) TRUE BELIEVER: Tomorrow. I have something you may be interested in.

DOCUMENTARY: The mystery of what happened to the creatures inside the spacecraft have yet to be unraveled.

[MAX'S BEDROOM]

(MAX is staring at the stars through his window.)

ISABEL: Looking for something?

MAX: What if there is someone out there somewhere, waiting for us to come home, you know? Another mom and dad? I know we never really talk about this stuff. Do you? Wonder about it at all?

ISABEL: Every day.

MAX: Well what if we could find out? What if someone had the answers for us? Would you want to know?

ISABEL: I think I'd be really scared. What is this about Max? Is this about the key Michael found, because you know we can't do anything about it.

MAX: We're always being so cautious, you know? Always watching behind our backs. Never getting too involved, but we're never moving forward either. We're just kinda stuck, Isabel. I'm not sure I want to be stuck anymore.

ISABEL: What's making you think about this? The key or Liz?

MAX: I'm not sure.

ISABEL: Max, we already took a really big risk just telling them, and I don't like where it's headed.

MAX: I trust them, Isabel.

ISABEL: You want to trust them.

ISABEL: You know I wish I had somebody I felt that way about. But we can't, Max. We can't expose ourselves. I'm going to find out exactly what we're up against.

MAX: What do you mean?

ISABEL: I'm going to pay Maria a little visit.

MAX: What kind of visit?

ISABEL: The usual.

MAX: You can't just go around walking into people's dreams. Remember when you did it with mom? She wouldn't go back to sleep for a week.

ISABEL: Look, it's just to check things out. You know? Preventive measures.

MAX: Isabel

ISABEL: Max, just a short visit. Goodnight.

(ISABEL is lying in her room. She touches a yearbook picture of MARIA and enters her dream.)

[DREAM SEQUENCE: CRASHDOWN CAFÉ]

LIZ: (MARIA and LIZ are clearing a table) Some people are just pigs.

MARIA: Tell me about it. (She walks over to customers in a booth.) Welcome to the Crash-- AHHHH! (MARIA screams when she sees MAX and ISABEL with green hair and strange facial features)

LIZ: What's the matter, Maria?

MARIA: Look at them!

LIZ: What, Maria?

MARIA: They're repulsive, I mean

LIZ: They look perfectly normal to me.

(MARIA walks away, crying. ISABEL appears behind her.)

MARIA: What are you doing here?

ISABEL: I just thought we should talk, and since we can't seem to do it when we're awake, I thought I'd visit you in your dreams.

MARIA: What do you mean visit me?

ISABEL: I'm not really a part of your dream. I can't change it or anything. I just wanted to see what you were thinking. (ISABEL notices MICHAEL sitting at a table, dressed in a tuxedo.) Interesting.

MARIA: When he's dressed like that, it makes me feel much less afraid.

ISABEL: Afraid of what?

(MICHAEL turns into a monster. His tentacle reaches out and wraps around MARIA's neck.)

MARIA: (Screaming) Help! Sheriff, I have to tell you!

ISABEL: Tell him what?

MARIA: You guys are horrible, disgusting creatures from outer space.

ISABEL: Is that what you would really do?

MARIA: Sheriff! Sheriff Valenti! Sheriff! (The Sheriff is shown, sitting at the table, not acknowledging MARIA)

[END DREAM SEQUENCE: MARIA is shown, waking up and falling out of bed]

[TOPOLSKY'S OFFICE]

TOPOLSKY: Are you having a hard time with something in your life right now, Max?

MAX: No, not at all.

TOPOLSKY: Because some adopted kids go through tough times around this age. You know, identity issues, things like that

MAX: What does this have to do with my career path again?

TOPOLSKY: If I'm going to help you figure out what you're going to become, maybe we should talk about who you really are. Now, you're an excellent student. Are you thinking of college?

MAX: It's a little soon for that.

TOPOLSKY: Two years. You don't think that far ahead?

MAX: Not usually.

TOPOLSKY: What about the past Max? What did you want to be when you were five?

(MAX looks uncomfortable.)

TOPOLSKY: You don't remember anything before you were adopted, do you?

MAX: What does this have to do with my future?

TOPOLSKY: Sometimes it's hard to move forward with your future until you can figure out your past.

[UFO CENTER]

(MAX enters, looking at a crash display. One of the aliens appears to move, startling MAX. Then the tour guide comes into view, adjusting the alien's head.)

MAX: Excuse me?

TRUE BELIEVER: It's closing time.

MAX: It's Max Evans, from yesterday?

TRUE BELIEVER: Well, I thought you were playing hard to get.

MAX: Well, well I had school.

TRUE BELIEVER: All right, cut to the chase, kid. Don't you tease me. What do you know about 1959?

MAX: I thought you had something to show me.

TRUE BELIEVER: Is that the way you want to play? I'm about to show you unmitigated proof that aliens walked this earth. (Pulls out an old photograph to show MAX) I was that boy next to that alien shadow. That close. Now, what do you know about 1959?

MAX: Only that there was a sighting near this ice cream parlor.

TRUE BELIEVER: Damn. I thought you had something. Look, I know you're hooked. I can see it in your eyes. And I could use a guy like you around here. Minimum wage. Long hard hours. But just think of the rewards when we make the discovery of a lifetime. You a non-smoker?

MAX: Yeah.

TRUE BELIEVER: Good. I can't take any chances with my archives so close.

MAX: Archives?

TRUE BELIEVER: Just the most complete collection of UFO facts and findings ever compiled. Right up those stairs.

MAX: You have information on sightings?

TRUE BELIEVER: Look, I know it's a tourist trap cash cow, but every penny I make goes to my research. Everything you've ever wanted to know about extraterrestrials since 1947 waits for you behind that door.

MAX: Your archives, are they open to the public?

TRUE BELIEVER: Oh you're hungrier than I thought, and you remind me of myself as a confused, pained adolescent. Ever since then, I've spent my entire life searching for aliens. And I swear on my mother's grave that one day I will stand face to face with one of these creatures, and I will say, "I told you so!" (Points his finger at MAX's face) Now what about my offer? What do you think?

[CRASHDOWN CAFÉ]

ISABEL: (ISABEL is eating, while MARIA is busing a table. Reminiscent of MARIA's dream, she says) Some people are just pigs. (MARIA is startled, causing ISABEL to laugh to herself.)

(MARIA drops off the bus pan, turns as sees VALENTI sitting at a table, in the same position as her dream.)

MARIA: Sheriff! What are you doing here?

VALENTI: I enjoyed the coke so much I thought I'd try breakfast. Anything special you'd like to tell me about?

MARIA: (Responding too quickly) No.

VALENTI: Well, the board says you've got corned beef hash.

MARIA: Yeah, right. Sorry. Heavenly hash special.

VALENTI: Is that what you'd recommend?

MARIA: Oh absolutely.

VALENTI: You seem to know a lot about what goes on around here, so I'll trust you.

MARIA: Right. Uh, one heavenly hash special. Uh, to go?

VALENTI: No, I think I'll eat it right here this time.

MARIA: Ok.

VALENTI: Oh, by the way, the insurance company took care of everything. It's good to have a strong, dependable institution like that on your side. How's your neck doing?

MARIA: My neck?

VALENTI: Yeah, that was quite a hit you took from that car the night of the festival.

MARIA: Oh right! That was nothing.

VALENTI: You seem to be having a lot of accidents lately though. I'll tell you what, why don't you stop by my office tomorrow, say, about this time, and you and I can talk.

MARIA: Okay.

VALENTI: Oh, and I'll take that order to go.

MARIA: Okay

[BIOLOGY CLASSROOM]

BIOLOGY TEACHER: Outside forces. They're very powerful. Nothing in the universe is immune to them. If no man is an island, thEn no molecule lives in a vacuum. Heat makes them expand, and cold forces them together. They even effect each other.

MAX: I'll help you if you help me.

LIZ: Ok.

(MAX knocks some books on the floor, and they bend down under the desk to pick them up.)

MAX: I know this is all really strange.

LIZ: No, no it's not.

MAX: And keeping a secret like this is a lot of pressure.

LIZ: Yes, but Max I would never even say anything.

MAX: I know, I know. Never on purpose, and I believe that. But what about Maria?

LIZ: Maria? Max, no, she's like completely trustworthy. She's like, um, she's like a fortress. She's the Fort Knox of friends.

MAX: So she'll be okay when she goes to see Valenti tomorrow.

LIZ: Oh yeah, totally. She'll be fine. I'm gonna talk to her about it. Don't worry.

MAX: Right, okay. I guess I am a little worried. It's just she seems to be a little uh, high--

LIZ: I know, high strung. Well, yeah, you see that's what Maria's like on the outside, but on the inside she's like this really, really, um, like, um

MAX: Calm.

LIZ: No she's not calm, it's something else, she's like this, on the inside she's much more, um Max, Maria's my best friend in the whole world, and she is going to be fine tomorrow. I'll make sure of it.

MAX: Right. It's just, it's important.

LIZ: I know it is. You don't need to worry about it. It'll be fine. I promise.

[TOPOLSKY'S OFFICE]

TOPOLSKY: So, I'm sure you're eager to hear the results of your computer profile.

LIZ'S FRIEND: Writer. Cool. How hard could that be?

KYLE: Law enforcement? This is a joke, right?

ALEX: Psychologist. Wow. How did you get started in this field?

STONER: Video store clerk. My dream.

TOPOLSKY: How well do you think you know yourself?

ISABEL: Very well.

TOPOLSKY: Then you might be a little surprised by your computer profile. Now, you said in our first meeting that you wanted to be a supermodel.

ISABEL: You work with what you're given.

TOPOLSKY: That's quite a jet set career for someone who puts family first, craves stability and security, and leans towards care giving fields.

ISABEL: Well, I never trusted computers.

TOPOLSKY: Think about who you are Isabel, and what's important in your life, and don't forget, there's nothing wrong with just wanting to be normal.

[CRASHDOWN CAFÉ]

LIZ: Okay, you got tapped by the car and you blacked out. And you just, you don't remember a thing that happened after that. Okay? Now, let's pretend that I'm Valenti. What did you see in the parking lot that night?

MARIA: (Looks at the cheat sheet that LIZ gave her) Nothing, just headlights.

LIZ: Perfect. And, um, oh wait, and how did you get that handprint on you?

MARIA: (Referring to cheat sheet) I don't know, I was unconscious?

LIZ: Right.

MARIA: Wrong, Liz. This is so ludicrous. Look, the sheriff is smart! He's going to find out the truth. And maybe that wouldn't be so bad. He's Kyle's dad. He said he was here to protect us.

LIZ: Do you think we need protection from Max and Michael and Isabel.

MARIA: Yes. Maybe. I don't know. I just wish you would stop trying to control the way I feel. I am not you Liz. Look I just, I have to do what I think is right. I gotta go.

[MECHANIC SHOP]

(MARIA is waiting for her car. ISABEL and her mom pull up. MARIA watches them hug before ISABEL gets out of the car.)

MRS. EVANS: Have a good day. Call me.

ISABEL: Yes.

(ISABEL walks up to MARIA. They look at each other, wordlessly.)

MECHANIC: (To MARIA) Fixed the headlight. Popped out the fender. (To ISABEL) I fixed the leak in your radiator hose. (To both) You can pay at the cashier, ladies.

[HIGH SCHOOL LOBBY]

MICHAEL: So what do you mean she was nervous?

LIZ: I don't know. She was just, she was like nervous.

MAX: Nervous, like, just overexcited nervous?

MICHAEL: Or nervous, she's gonna crack, nervous.

LIZ: I'm not sure what she's going to say. I'm really not sure of anything anymore.

MICHAEL: You're not sure. That's great. That's good. (He walks away.)

LIZ: Max, I'm so sorry. I should never have even told Maria in the first place.

MAX: Well you did it 'cause you trusted her, and you needed someone to talk to. It was only natural.

LIZ: So why did you tell me?

MAX: It was only natural.

LIZ: What did you mean the other day about that thing, about the tree?

MAX: Just somebody's advice. Not to get stuck behind them.

LIZ: Oh. Well did you take it? That advice?

MAX: I think I just did.

[VALENTI'S OFFICE]

VALENTI: What are you afraid of, Miss DeLuca?

MARIA: A lot of things.

VALENTI: You know what I think? I think someone is controlling you, controlling you through fear. Am I right? I'm here to help you. You know that, don't you? Then tell me what's frightening you so badly. What you saw the night of the crash festival? You were in that parking lot to meet whom?

MARIA: Nothing, just headlights.

VALENTI: Was there someone waiting for you?

MARIA: I don't know, I was unconscious.

VALENTI: Maria. We both know why we're here, right? So what do you say we stop lying to each other? Okay?

MARIA: Okay.

VALENTI: Now who is Isabel Evans?

MARIA: Um, she's a girl at school.

VALENTI: Why does she make you so nervous?

MARIA: I'm not nervous.

VALENTI: Isabel and her brother Max. How well do you know them?

MARIA: Not well, not well at all.

VALENTI: You know, I think you and I have something in common. I never really got to know my father very well either. He was the sheriff around here about forty years ago. Did you know that?

MARIA: No.

VALENTI: Strong man. Strong hands. And he had this theory, you know? About aliens? That they were real. Sounds awfully silly, doesn't it?

MARIA: Yeah.

VALENTI: That's what everybody thought. But my father, he was a very stubborn man, and he wouldn't let it go. He believed, and he lost his job over it. And, uh, he lost his family over it. Now I would hate to see that happen to any other family in this town, wouldn't you? Now there's one more thing that you and I have in common, isn't it? (MARIA begins to cry.) We've both seen things recently. Things that have made us start to wonder, made us question ourselves, our beliefs, and I think that if we share those things with each other, we're both going to feel a little bit safer. Now Isabel Evans she's just a girl?

MARIA: She's a special girl.

VALENTI: What makes her special?

MARIA: Where she comes from.

VALENTI: Where is she from? Maria, where are they from? Where did they come from?

MARIA: (MARIA looks at him and makes a decision) A very nice family. And like you said sheriff, we wouldn't want to destroy any other families in this town, would we?

[HIGHWAY]

(MARIA is driving along the road, and pulls up next to ISABEL, whose car has broken down again.)

ISABEL: You alone?

MARIA: Do you see the army behind me?

ISABEL: You lied.

MARIA: Like a rug.

ISABEL: Were you scared?

MARIA: Understatement, but that's when I realized what it's like being you.

ISABEL: (doesn't know what else to say) You look awful.

MARIA: "Thanks for saving our butts, Maria." "Oh no problem, Isabel." (Pauses) So, need a ride?

(ISABEL smiles and gets in.)

[HIGHSCHOOL LOBBY]

(MARIA and ISABEL walk up together where MICHAEL, MAX, and LIZ are waiting.)

VOICEOVER: The future was always so clear to me. A straight path towards my goal. I just never counted on there being any intersections. I guess that's what makes life more interesting. Keeping yourself open, letting new people in, changing your mind.