The whole time, Dan watched him, scowling.

When he was outside, Kyle said, "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry if I… ”

"What are you doing?" Dan asked.

"I was just checking out the van to see if there was any- thing we could salvage," Kyle said.

"But it's not your van, is it?" Dan said, his voice stern.

Kyle got the feeling that Dan was holding himself back with some effort.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would bother you. I wasn't taking anything. You said we could talk about us maybe using some of the parts to fix our van," Kyle said.

Dan was silent for a moment. His face didn't change, or soften at all, though. Finally, he said, "You've got work to do. I need you to put a new carburetor on the pickup inside. Dawn has the parts in the office.”

Then Dan turned and walked toward the garage. Kyle gave him a few seconds' head start and then started after him.

When Bell turned the sign on the door to open, Liz real- ized that something was wrong.

"Where's Jimmy?" she asked, as the first customers came inside.

Bell shrugged. "He's usually on time, but he hasn't been the same since…”

There were a dozen people inside the diner. Liz knew more were on the way. Liz had to put aside her worry for Jimmy and his sister.

"What can I get you?" she asked the three men at her first table.

Twenty minutes later, Jimmy came in. Gone was any pretense of normality. His face was vacant. No, not vacant, haunted.

"Hi Jimmy," she said.

He didn't look up until she repeated herself. Then he glanced at her mustering a thin smile that died quickly. Liz hated to see the broken expression on his innocent and open face. It didn't belong there, even though Liz knew she had seen it before: in her vision of Jimmy at his sisters funeral.

Suddenly Liz was overwhelmed with feelings of help- lessness. For all of the incredible things Max and her friends could do… things she was beginning to do her- self… they could do nothing to help a scared teenage girl in trouble and this boy who had lost his sister.

Bell came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay, Jimmy?" she asked.

He nodded.

"You don't have to work today if you don't want to. Why don't you go home," she said.

He shook his head. "She'll come here first. She knows I'm working today.”

Jimmy disappeared into the back and came back out with his apron on. He immediately began collecting the first batch of dirty dishes. When he came back, he grabbed another tray to get some more. He stopped what he was doing for a moment, looked up at Bell, and said, "Sorry about the mess.”

"What?" she said.

"The mess. I'm sorry," he said.

Then he turned quickly, accidentally smashing his tray into the pot of coffee that Maria was carrying. Maria let go immediately and the coffeepot went flying to the floor, breaking and spilling half a pot of coffee onto the floor.

Though Maria jumped back, Jimmy just looked at the coffee and then at Bell. "Sorry, I'll clean it up.”

Bell was right there, putting a hand on Jimmy's shoul- der again. "It's okay. Why don't you come with me?”

She took Jimmy to an open booth near the window and sat him down gently "Why don't you take some time, Jimmy?”

"She might come," he protested.

"Then you can stay right here and watch for her," Bell said.

"Okay," Jimmy said flatly.

Liz and Maria immediately started cleaning up the mess when Bell came over and said, "I'll get that.”

Going back to the kitchen, Liz picked up the order for her table. She looked at Jimmy sitting at his booth, staring brokenly out the window. He was waiting for his sister, but he somehow sensed that she wasn't coming. Whatever force that allowed Jimmy glimpses into the future was telling him that his sister's time was very short.

Liz had the same feeling about Jessica's future.

As she worked, Liz found herself thinking about Jimmy and the spilled sugar, then about the spilled coffee. Jimmy had known about each event before it happened, but had been unable to stop it.

Teiresias, Liz remembered. That was the name of the man from ancient Greece who was cursed with the ability to see the future but was powerless to change it. Well, Max had given Liz the power to see the future. Was that power… that incredible ability… going to be Liz's curse? She and Max had used the power just days ago to save the life of a woman who was attacked in an alley outside the Crashdown. Then they had used it to save themselves from the gunman on graduation day.

Were those two successes going to be the exception, not the rule? As Liz looked at Jimmy sitting by the window waiting for his sister, Liz was afraid that she already knew the answer.

15

That is it?" Max asked.

Isabel was silent for a moment. "Nothing that will help. She was dreaming about her brother. They were both younger. They were playing Candy Land.”

"So maybe she's okay for now," he said.

Isabel shook her head. "No, something's wrong. The dream was disjointed. She's… fading somehow. And I got the feeling that the monster was always just around the corner.”

Max put his hand on her shoulder. "You're doing every- thing you can.”

When she looked up, her eyes were ringed with tears. "She was playing with her brother, Max. He's very sweet, and she loves him a lot.”

Max didn't need telepathy to know what Isabel was thinking. Isabel had been his sister for as long as he could remember… and for a lifetime on another world that he couldn't recall.

How many rainy weekends had they spent playing Chutes and Ladders or Monopoly… sometimes with Michael, but always with each other? Was Jessica dying? Was that image of playing with her brother going to be her last thought on Earth? Max had not had visions of the missing girl like Liz, nor had he shared a dream with her like Isabel. Nevertheless, he felt like he understood her.

He wanted to say something else to Isabel but could think of nothing to say, nothing to make this better. So he kept silent, but he did something he hadn't done in longer than he could remember.

He took Isabel's hand in his.

A few minutes later, Michael approached the bench they were sitting on and said, "Looks like they won't be needing any help today meeting the community's laundry needs.”

Michael looked closely at Max and Isabel for a minute and said, "No way. Get up, you just can't sit here and stew. Come on, let's take a walk or something.”

Max shook his head. "No, I don't want to leave Liz and Maria. We should stay here," he said, indicating the bench outside of the diner.

It wasn't rational, Max knew. Liz and Maria were indoors, in a public place with plenty of people around. Max was certain that he was being unreasonable.

But he was equally certain that he wouldn't be going any- where. Michael didn't argue. "Okay. You're probably right.”

Michael sat down next to Max. After less than a minute, he said, "But we can't just sit here all day.”

Max nodded. "Come on, I have an idea.”

He led the trio back into the diner and approached Bell, who was working the register. When she smiled at him, he said, "Maybe there's some work we can do around here." "There's lots we need done, but I really can't afford… " "We'll work for free," Max said, before he could finish.

Immediately he felt Michael's elbow in his side. Bell looked surprised. "Free?" she asked. "Well, Maria tells us that you're cutting us a break for our food," Max said. "We'd like to thank you." He paused and then said, "And frankly, it would let us keep an eye on Liz and Maria.”

"Okay, hang around till the breakfast rush is over and we'll figure something out," Bell conceded.

Kyle walked into the office and saw Dawn sitting there. She looked up immediately and smiled broadly. "Hello, sugar," she said.