| At the Crashdown, Isabel
is once again totally disgusted by the public displays of affection that Max and Liz seem
to be always subjecting her to, and declares Max’s ogling of Liz to be
"creepy." Yet Max finds himself inexplicably and irresistibly drawn to Tess,
experiencing fantasies about her in the Crashdown. Back in school, Tess teases Isabel
about Alex’s crush on her, and Isabel asks Tess if there’s anyone who interests
her. Tess tells her that she’s disappointed Max is taken, to which Isabel mocks Max
and Liz by saying, "You should hear him talk about her. ‘Oh, Liz is my soul
mate. I never felt like this before.’ It’s enough to make you want to gag."
But Tess implies that she thinks otherwise, and then stops herself from commenting
further. More and more suspicious of Tess,
Michael checks out her house and finds it completely empty, but while he is there,
government agents appear and enter the house. Later, Isabel decides to check it out for
herself, and finds the house completely furnished. Tess introduces Isabel to her father,
Ed Harding, who, Tess claims, works for the army. Isabel attempts to help with putting
things away, but when she picks up a box labeled, "Photos," Tess harshly tells
her to put it down. She then tries to cover up for her rudeness and paranoia by saying
that Isabel is a guest, and shouldn’t have to help at all.
Meanwhile, Max’s fantasies escalate, and he
finds himself unable to stop thinking about Tess. Though he tries to fight it, he ends up
kissing her for real, witnessed by a heartbroken Liz. When Max tells Michael about it,
Michael is furious, and they end up fighting again. In the brawl, they discover that
Michael’s apartment is bugged with a miniature camera.
Liz goes to Tess’s house on the pretense of
having to talk to Tess about her relationship with Max, but while she’s there, she
plants the miniature camera so that they can keep an eye on Tess and her father, Ed
Harding. Consequently, they discover that Tess is much more than they realized – she
is another alien.
Judith Gerber |
