Kevin Ryan: A New Beginning

Opening the door, he took her inside, and she removed rust and fixed holes and tears in the upholstery. She made it all look new.

"And now the fun part," Kyle said when they got back outside.

Isabel touched the side panel of the van and concen- trated. It was like a wave of color washed over it. And then the psychedelic paint job looked like it must have when a teenager named Johnny had first applied it.

Isabel took her hand off the van.

When she was done, she smiled broadly and gave Kyle a quick, impulsive hug.

Kyle took a moment to look at the van. The tires were missing, and it still sat on cinder blocks. Otherwise it looked like it must have thirty-some years before, when Dan and his big brother had set out on the road with a group of friends to see a rock-and-roll show.

"Let's go before Dan comes looking," Isabel said. And they left, heading toward Main Street and their own friends.

Liz watched Max as he pulled away from the diner. Bell was waving frantically. Liz waved back.

In seconds, they passed the garage, then the hill where the alien ship had sat. From there, it was just open road.

"The van sounds good, Kyle. Actually it sounds great," Michael said.

Kyle smiled, "Thanks. I had some extra time.”

"We really did something back there," Liz said.

The others nodded. They all felt it. They had helped Jimmy and others they didn't even know.

"I know what you mean. You should have seen the way the paint was peeling on the diner. We got there just in time," Michael said.

Liz heard a smack and Michael say, "Ow!”

She smiled, and then found herself getting thoughtful. "What do you think they wanted?" she asked.

No one answered for a long moment. Finally, Maria said, "That's just one mystery we may never solve, Velma.”

"What did you call me?" Liz said, whipping her head around.

"Like you're not completely Velma?" Maria teased.

"If anybody's Daphne, it's me," Liz said defiantly.

"You've got… ”

"Hold on," Max said. He smiled. "Are you telling me that all girls see themselves as either Daphne or Velma?”

"Well, yeah," Liz and Maria said in unison.

"See, you're either the hot one with the cute boyfriend, or the smart one in the bad orange sweater," Maria said.

"I don't know, I like Velma," Max said seriously.

"You're kidding me," Liz replied.

"Yeah, smart girls are hot," he said. "Besides, do you realize what a killer body she has under that sweater?" Max said.

Liz laughed out loud, saying, "I didn't realize you watched so closely.”

"I'm only human. At least only half-human," Max cor- rected himself.

Everyone laughed at that, Liz noticed. Even Isabel, which Liz was glad to see.

There was more laughter and lots of talk about nothing. Though she wouldn't remember a single thing that she and her friends discussed, Liz knew she would remember that morning for a long time.