The next day wasn't too bad, though there were times that I disliked it. I was able to sleep better the night before, without the aid of a potion, so I felt more refreshed when I woke. Plus, the day didn't appear to have any sign of becoming worse, so I was able to ride my bike to school. Unfortunately, this cause people to stare at me again when I arrived – parking next to the silver Volvo – as my leather riding jacket wasn't all that flattering, and I had the feeling that I would be answering questions about it later.
I was mostly left alone, the selected group from the previous day being the ones who hung around me the most. I mostly talked to Angela, who I found worth getting to know over the others. During French, Jasper made a comment on my bike, but didn't pry about it, which had me extremely grateful.
However, what made the next bad was that the two teachers I disliked kept me on my toes, making me exhausted from their petty games. Gym wasn't as good as the previous day, either, for Lauren – who I hadn't even realized was in it – kept trying to trip me. It only stopped after I 'accidentally' elbowed her when she tried it again just when I was about to hit the ball. She was forced to spend the rest of the class sitting on the bleachers, a tissue to her nose that I'd bloodied up.
And it was made all the worse because Edward Cullen wasn't there.
And I even prepared for it, too. I made sure to do my scent spell before I even left the house, waiting until Biology to find out if it worked. But, when lunch came, and I noticed that there were only four Cullens there, I was...unhappy. I thought that, maybe, he had decided to skip pretending to eat, but that thought was shot once it was time for Biology.
I did my best to appear relaxed and unaffected by his absence during lunch. Unlike the previous day, Mike, Eric, and Tyler – who turned out to have been the boy from the previous day that Mike had chased all over the cafeteria – stayed at the table. Mike commandeered the talk, making plans to go to the Indian reservation sometime within the next two weeks, of which I declined giving an answer for, since I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not. He was also insistent in walking me to my next class, a task he repeated every day for the rest of the week.
I arrived to Biology pretty quickly, as Ms. Beniot let us out earlier than she should have. When Mike saw me sitting alone at the table, he walked towards me, taking a seat at the table and trying to talk to me. I wasn't all that happy at the attention; he didn't seem to get he signs that I wasn't interested. In fact, once class ended, he decided to walk me to my next one, despite the fact that it was unneeded.
He was talking on the qualities of a golden retriever more and more in my presence, for he'd done the same thing after Gym as well. In fact, once we'd gotten to the door of my Mythology class, I could pretty much see him with wagging tail. In order to keep myself from laughing in his face, I hurried into class, choosing, instead, to think about why Edward wasn't here.
It might have seemed egotistic, but I was positive that it had to do with me. It just seemed too much of a coincidence for him to disappear like he has after what happened yesterday, what with his reaction and then his attempt to get changed to a different class that period.
When school ended, an I'd pulled out to leave, I realized that I was being watch, and, unlike the eyes of everyone else, these ones felt...different. I followed them over to the silver Volvo I'd seen yesterday. The four remaining Cullens were standing around it, staring in my direction, probably wanting to see what was so strange about me that their brother had to run away.
I wasn't all that surprised that they were the owners of the Volvo. While not as flashy and expensive and some other cars out there, I knew that it was one of the ones that wasn't cheap to get. It was kind of expected that they'd own it, being as they'd had a lot of time to build up money – years, in fact. Everything about them screamed money, even their clothes. You only needed a glance to know that what they wore was the expensive in season designer clothes, as if they needed to flaunt their wealth.
Not that I could really talk. While I would probably never wear anything like that – I had my likes, and refused to change them for anyone – none of what I owned could be called cheap. Still, it did seem overkill, and, if I hadn't known that they were vampires, I'd wonder why people didn't flock around them because of their wealth.
When I got home, the disappointment of Edward not being there didn't linger long, for Tristelianna called me.
"So, how was your first and second day of school?" she asked, completely forgoing any semblance of a greeting.
"Did you not get my e-mail last night?" I asked her, choosing to ignore her question. If she was so curious to know, she could very well read that over asking me.
"Yes, I just figured I would ask," she said. "Besides, that e-mail didn't hold anything about today, either, so..."
I rolled my eyes.
"School was school," I said, repeating the words I'd told Charlie when he had asked. "Not particularly fun, but necessary."
"Did anything new happen with the Cullen guy?" came Kitty's voice, which got louder as she spoke. I got the feeling that she'd stolen the phone from Tristelianna, something that was confirmed when I heard the sound of the two fighting over it. After laughing at the bickering for a while, I finally suggested, "Why don't you just put it on speaker phone?"
There was a pause on the other side.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Kitty said, grumbling a bit, which became louder as she turned it on. The noise of bad music, clacking utensils, and shouting became apparent.
"Because I was keeping it from your mind," Tristelianna grumbled. "I wanted to talk to her alone, nosy." She sighed. "Anyway, Kitty asked a good question. Did anything new happen with that Cullen guy you mentioned? The one who didn't seem to be able to handle the hint of your scent?"
"Nothing happened," I said. "He wasn't there."
"So he ran away," Tristelianna said.
"Seems so," I said. "After all, it's not like he can get sick."
"No, he can't can he," Kitty said.
"So, where are you two, anyway?" I asked.
"We're stopped at a diner several hours away from where my mother lives," Kitty said. "She was happy to see us, and says hello to everyone. We just left earlier today."
"How did she take to your road trip plans?" I asked.
"Oh, she wasn't surprised, but she did wonder why I was doing them now instead of waiting for summer. I think she suspects that we're doing this to look at colleges," Kitty said.
"Yeah, we kind of kept away from the real reason, and let her think that," Tristelianna said. "Besides, it's not like it's that bad of an idea. I mean, we are going to have schoolwork to do. The professor told us that we are to do two to eight page essays on certain sites that we'll be sure to pass by, which will count towards history and English, while our other work will be e-mailed to us."
"Sounds nice," I said.
"It is, to a point. The essays are to be due a week after we visit said site – and he'll known when we do that – while the e-mailed work is to be due every Friday – and we'll be receiving it every Monday," Kitty said.
"Is it a lot of work?" I asked.
"Yes," the two said.
"Of course, considering how much we've had to do in the past, it's not to surprising that we've got a lot," Kitty added.
"And, with the fact that we get five days to do it all, and that's a lot more time than we're used to for the amount of work, it makes it easier to get it down. What we'll probably have the biggest problem with is the essays. The way that's going to work is that, once we've hit the historical site, we let the the professor know, and he'll assign how long the essay needs to be," Tristelianna said. "He has assured us that they won't need to be longer than eight pages, but that we can make it longer than that if need be. We are also to have the word documentary be in a readable font, and have the font size be either ten or twelve. Oh, and the margins have to be at least half an inch inwards."
"Sounds fun," I said.
"Yeah," Kitty said. "So, have you heard from any of the others yet?"
"No, but I suspect that if something important comes up, I will," I said, going through the fridge to figure out what I was going to make that night. "What about you guys. Have you heard anything yet?"
"No," Kitty said. "Though, Tristelianna did call Hermione to see what was going on over there earlier this morning."
"And, what did she find out?" I asked.
"The trials would be starting the next day," Kitty said.
"Yeah, apparently, they've finally figured out a way to make sure that there's no way for those who are going to be on trial to get away with their crimes," Tristelianna said. "Hermione mentioned that she managed to find a fool proof way of making sure that people didn't walk free, unless they were truly innocent."
"I'm sure that not having Dumbledore, one of his ilk, or a sympathizer to anyone who is going to have a trial, will make that even better," Kitty said. "Hermione mentioned that the only reason why it took so long was picking out the jury for the trials, so to speak."
"Let me guess, most of them are hungry for revenge against the criminals," I said.
"I have the feeling it's either that or letting a sympathizer have a vote," Tristelianna said. "Unfortunately, there really isn't anyone available who wasn't touched by the war. At least having those who want revenge means that they won't be swayed by any lie the criminals attempt, so they manage to convince the Chief Warlock that they don't need to take Veritaserum."
"Wouldn't work anyway," Kitty said. "Harry mentioned that they've managed to make the prisoner stand into a lie detector. Should they not take Veritaserum, they will have a chance to prove that they won't lie, and depending on the result of whatever it is that will show the lie or not, it'll say whether or not they'll be forced to have the truth potion or not."
"Nice," I said. "And I take it that this...ward will let people also know if they somehow managed to get some way to prevent the truth potion from affecting them."
"Yes," Kitty said. The noise that had become background dropped until it was even quieter than before, and I could just vaguely hear Kitty asking for the check.
"Well, we're about to head out. I want to at least make it to state line before stopping for the night," Tristelianna said.
"Okay, then," I said. "Bye."
"Bye," she said, with Kitty calling bye to me as well. I hung up, feeling a bit better instantly now that I'd talk to someone I was familiar with, though it wasn't the one I really wanted to talk to. Looking at the clock, I smiled a bit, realizing that it would be a perfect time to call Elena. Dialing her cell, I waited for her to pick up.
"How has your day been?" Elena asked when she picked up.
"Okay," I said. "However about you?"
"Aunt Jenna wants to bone Jeremy's history teacher," was her answer. I snorted, shaking my head.
"You know, I so did not need to know that," I said.
"Nor did I, but, unfortunately, ended up being forced to know, so I'm letting you know as well," she said.
"Misery love company," I said dryly.
"Exactly," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I walked over to my bed, sitting down once I reached it.
"So," I said, my voice serious. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm in my room at the inn I'm staying at," she said. "And, before you ask, I will probably be a resident at the Salvatore Boarding House by tomorrow evening, if all goes well."
"I would have thought that you would already be one by now. I mean, it's been about five days already," I said.
"Four days as I had a late start Friday. And, well," Elena started, "apparently, Aunt Jenna wasn't exactly all for having me to stay there like I had originally thought she would. She wanted me at the house, but respected my decision on that matter, and tried to help me get an apartment, but...well, they're weren't many free ones, and those that were free, well, neither of us trust the other tenants, or the doors. I finally got her to agree to give the Boarding House a try...about five minutes ago, in fact, as I just hung up with her. However, it's a bit late, so I'll be going by there tomorrow."
"Why did Jenna take so long to decide?" I asked.
"Oh, apparently the boarding house has changed hands a few times since I...left," Elena said. "The owner I remembered being there died about two years after I left, and left the building to his grandson, who, apparently earlier this year, gave it to his oldest nephew before permanently moving to California. And, well, said nephew isn't much older than I am, plus his younger brother – who is our age – also lives there."
"Ah, it would be the opposite of what we had in New York, only with less people," I said, thinking about how Harry had ended up being the only boy in our group, and dorm house.
"Exactly. However, with the lack of places to live at in town, well, my only real choices are live at the house, get my own house, or continue to live at the motel I'm stationed at. And, well, I don't like any of those three, nor was Jenna for the latter two, so I finally manage to convince her to at least let me ask," Elena said.
"What if you can't get a room there? And what have you been doing about school?" I asked, though I doubted I really needed too. From the sounds of it, she hadn't had time to do anything school-wise.
"Oh, I won't be starting until I have a place to live," Elena said. "That's something that Jenna and I have agreed on, because Jenna doesn't want me to be distracted from my school work, nor does she want me to end up being stuck where I'm staying because I was more concerned for doing school work. And, thankfully, because of my grades, I can afford not to immediately have to deal with school.
"As for what I'll do if I can't get a room there, well, I'm not sure. As I mentioned before, there are not that many places around for me to live at. Of course, I did hear Jenna muttering that, maybe, she could convince someone to take me in as a boarder elsewhere. She has gotten to know some of Jeremy's friends, and she does know the sheriff as well. She thinks that Sheriff Forbes will be willing to let me stay there, and since Sheriff Forbes also has a daughter my age..."
"You might end up making a new friend," I finished. We talked for a few more minutes before she mentioned that she had to go – apparently, she had to get ready for dinner, which was going to be at her aunt's house. After saying bye, I hung up, going down the stairs to prepare dinner for myself and Charlie.
The rest of the week went by in much the same fashion as Tuesday had, though I refrained from riding my bike to school. Charlie had looked as if he wanted to chew me out for it, but the fact that I hadn't actually broken any promise that I'd made him stayed his tongue. Still, in order to keep him from worrying, I didn't ride the bike again, though that was mostly because it was raining on and off the next few days.
Edward was still conspicuously absent from school, though I always made sure my scent was hidden. While I had the feeling that he wasn't coming back for a while, I didn't want to end up blindsiding him when he did. Finally, the weekend arrived, heralding my survival of school, along with bringing light to the promise I'd gotten from Charlie about ridding of the yellow cabinets.
He told me where I would be able to find the the hardware store to get the paint at, then left, planning on fishing with his friends from the Indian Reservation, which he'd called La Push. I wished him luck, telling him that he should bring home some more fish – a joke, as we had plenty of it already – and headed to the hardware store, where I got the paint color I figured would look good with the rest of the house. It was a dark brown color, which would cover the yellow up nicely. I bought a paint brush – not wanting to deal with a roller – and went back. Then, after making sure no one was watching, I cheated, using magic to apply the paint. The cabinets looked a lot better afterward, and I was able to take off my glasses once it was done.
Then, I pulled out a crock pot, filling it with water, cubed slices of meat, carrots, onion, celery, and a few other things, and set it to cook a delicious stew for when Charlie got home. Then, I set about putting safeguards on the house, the same wards I had put around the windows and door of my room. I was going to make sure that this house the most protected house in Forks. Of course, I also had to be careful with these wards. I didn't want Charlie to end up getting hurt because someone he knew wasn't quite 'human'. So I didn't stop supernaturals getting into the house. Instead, I made it so that one of my crystals would glow slightly anytime someone who wasn't completely human entered the house.
The crystal I used was on a thin, long, silver chain that I planned on wearing at all times. I added a slight heating spell to it so that, in case I had to hide it, I'd still know if someone inhuman came into the house. I didn't want people to notice the crystal glowing. It wouldn't be a good thing if they did.
By the time Charlie got back, the stew was about ready to be dished out and eaten. I didn't make anything to go with it, figuring that it would be enough. As we sat to eat, Charlie was silent, but I got the feeling that he wanted to say something, and it didn't have to do with the new cabinet color. This was mostly because he kept glancing at me every few moment, and looking as if he was about to speak. I waited for him to do so, but he kept eating instead.
"What?" I asked him, after another glance. I was getting a bit tired of him waiting to ask, particularly since I had the feeling he'd be finished eating soon, and never end up asking. He was, after all, on his third bowl of stew already.
"Um, well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind hosting a small gathering," Charlie said, a bit uncomfortable. I had the feeling that he was afraid of my answer. "Billy, Harry, and some of the others would like to come and meet you. I figured that it would probably be better here because you're more familiar with being here, and, if you wanted to disappear, you'd be able to do so more easily."
"Um, when would this be happening?" I asked. "I mean, I won't need a lot of time, and I'm actually not all that good with waiting for things to happen. If this happens, I would prefer it to happen sooner rather than later. And by that, I mean within the next day or two."
"You don't like having a lot of time to plan things out, do you?" he asked, looking a bit amused now that he knew I wasn't shooting it down immediately. I guess he must've wanted me to meet his friends.
"No, I don't," I said. "If I have too much time to plan, then not only will I change my mind at least a dozen times within the first few days, but I'll end up doing so after things have already begun to happen as well. And then, almost always, something will go wrong. I plan better on a short, short term schedule."
"Okay, then," Charlie said, sitting back. "You'd be open to it, though?"
I nodded. "Yes," I said. "Just so long as it happens soon, but I still have time to plan. Oh, and you better let me know just how many people would be coming as well."
"Well, I'll call Billy tonight, and see if we can't have it Monday night," he said.
"Tell me tomorrow what's been decided," I said. "And how many people are coming."
"I will," he said, picking up his bowl and heading to the sink. He rinsed it out, then placed it down with the rest of the things that needed to be washed. Heading to the living room, he grabbed the cordless as he passed it. I heard him turn the television on, the sounds of some ball game coming to my ears, followed by the sound of him talking to someone. Frowning, I pulled my I-pod out of my sweater pocket, putting my ear buds on and finding a song that I wanted to listen too, not feeling up to continuing the play list I'd had going earlier that day. As Marilyn Mason's Coma White played, I finished eating, then set about putting cleaning and putting everything away.
As I cleaned, I wondered how I would take meeting his friends, and how them meeting me would go. I didn't know what, exactly, Charlie may have said about me, and I didn't know how they expected me to act. It was a bit nerve-wracking, not to have any clue on such a matter. I figured, however, that I would do myself no favors acting like someone other than myself.
Once I'd finished cleaning, I turned to head up the stairs. Charlie hung up the phone right then, turning towards me. Pausing the song I was on – Fires at Midnight by Blackmore's Night – I looked at him.
"Billy will get back to me with the number of people who will be willing to come over tomorrow," he said. I nodded.
"Okay, then," I said. "Goodnight."
I wasn't actually planning on going to sleep, but I figured, if I did fall asleep, then I wouldn't feel guilty for not saying it. Especially since, after my shower, I didn't plan on leaving my room.
It wasn't actually until one in the morning that I did fall asleep. I never heard Charlie coming up to bed; I got the feeling that he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Still, there was nothing to tell me that happened for sure, since he, as usual, was awake before I was. It was the phone that woke me up the next morning, ringing shrilly through the house. Groaning as I got out of bed, I was about to head to it, only to stop on the stairs when I heard Charlie answer it. That confused me a bit, seeing that I didn't expect him to still be here.
"Morning, Bells," he said, having looked up and seen me.
"Morning," I said, yawning as I continued walking down the stairs. I took a look at him, seeing that he was in casual clothes. It looked as though he was actually getting ready to leave before the phone rang.
"Who was it on the phone?" I asked.
"Billy," Charlie said. "He was wondering if I was still coming fishing with them today."
"Ah," I said, starting to head into the kitchen.
"Do you mind me going?" he asked. "I probably should have asked you if you -"
I stopped him right there. I didn't want him to feel like he had to stay home with me.
"No, it's alright," I said. "I was just wondering who was on the phone. It woke me up."
"Okay then," he said. "Sorry the phone woke you up."
"It's okay," I said, looking through the fridge to figure out what I'd like to eat. I closed it as another yawn overcame me. "I'll probably go back to sleep once you leave, anyway."
"Try not to sleep the whole day," he said.
"Can't promise I won't," I said, heading back up the stairs. "Have fun. And don't forget to give me a count of how many people are going to be here for that little meet and greet you wanted."
"I won't," he said, grabbing his fishing gear and leaving the house. As I told him, I went straight back to sleep for at least another two hours before getting up for the day. Knowing that we'd probably have company the next day, I made out a list of what I could make for dinner that would be enough to feed a medium to large group. I decided that, while there would be a theme of what could be eaten, I would also leave it to the guest to have a choice of what they wanted. Since sub sandwiches were pretty easy to make, I decided to make a list of meats and cheeses that could be used.
When Charlie came home, I had a simple idea of what would be needed for the little shindig he wanted, and he had the number of those willing to come, which ended up being a grand total of...seven people. I had to admit, when I heard the number, I was a bit shocked – I would have thought it would have been more. However, from what he told me, two of the seven were his closest friends, and the rest was family to them, though he also mentioned that the daughter of his one friend would not be joining.
Nodding my head, I wrote down a note on the paper in front of me of how many people I would be expected to feed, adding up to three more people – in addition to my father and myself – just in case a last minute addition happened.
"Okay, well, tomorrow after school, I'll go to the store and get some more food," I said.
He looked at the kitchen, which was pretty full, as if to ask 'don't we have enough already?'
"I know what I'm going to do tomorrow, and we don't have enough of what's needed," I added on.
"Ah, okay," he said, eating his food in silence. The rest of the evening passed pretty quickly, and, before I knew it, Monday had arrived. It was cold when I woke up, shivering when I pulled myself out of my little cocoon of blankets. Knowing this, I chose one of my long sleeved shirts – a red velvet blouse with Celt inspired swirls on it. I chose a pair of gloves that went to my wrists, along with my usual dark colored jeans, and a pair of black boots. A thick sweater that laced up on the sleeves and hood, and had a silver glitter rose design on the front and back was also thrown on for insurance so that I didn't get too cold. I paused for a moment with my wand in my hand, unsure if I should do the spell or not, then decided to be safe rather than sorry.
I got to school pretty quickly, people greeting me in the parking lot. I didn't know all their names, but I did acknowledge them with a wave. Though it was definitely colder today – I could feel it through my gloves, which were thin due to the need for movement rather than a need for warmth – I didn't hurry to get into a building, because it wasn't raining at the moment.
The day went pretty well at first. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights in English that was pretty straightforward, easy to do. The two classes that had the teachers who didn't like me was spent with me being ignored by them, which was relieving. And, in Gym, the team I was on won every game, with little help from me – truthfully, I stayed in back, not really feeling up to playing.
However, my good mood disappeared when Jessica and I left the Gym.
The air was filled with swirling bits of white, and the wind bit at my cheeks and nose. I could hear others shouting excitedly to each other.
"Wow," Mike said as he rejoined us. "It's snowing."
I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face. A frown crossed it. This wasn't snow; it was mush.
"Ew," I said, feeling as if my good day was now gone. Mike looked at me, confused at my reaction.
"You don't like snow?" he asked, sounding as if he couldn't imagine someone not liking it.
"Oh, I don't mind snow. However, I do have a problem with mush, and this is mush," I said.
"Are you sure you've seen snow?" Mike asked. I looked at him, an eye-brow raised.
"I lived in both New York and Scotland, both of which get's snow, so yes, I have seen it," I said.
"Right, sorry, forgot," he said. Before he could say anything else, though, a big, drippy ball of mush hit him from behind. I was suspicious about Eric and Tyler, both of who were walking in the opposite direction – the wrong one unless they planned on not eating. I could see that I wasn't the only one who was suspicious of the two, as Mike bent down to gather mush for his own ball.
"Okay, have fun," I said. If they were going to start a mush ball fight, I was going inside. I powered walked to the cafeteria, keeping myself ready in case someone tried to lob one of those balls at me. Jessica, who'd followed, thought this was funny, but something in my expression seemed to tell her that it wouldn't be a good idea to test what I'd do if she decided to lob a mush ball at me.
Mike, who apparently decided to either postpone his revenge or had gotten enough of it, caught up with us as we were walking through the door, looking as if he'd been hit by even more mush balls before getting to us. I took a glace at the table the Cullens tended to commandeer, not expecting anything to have changed. So I was rather surprised when I saw that there were five people at the top, almost freezing when I noticed it. Luckily, I had enough sense to keep walking and acting normal, so that Mike and Jessica didn't wonder what was wrong.
I kept an eye on the table as we headed to the usual table we sat at, purposely taking a seat so that I could look at them without problem. I only took my eyes off of them for a second, long enough to pull out the food I'd brought with me, before looking back at them. Ignoring what was going on around – though I vaguely heard disbelief from Lauren about what I chose to eat – I continued to watch the Cullens.
Unlike how they usually were – still and unmoving – they definitely weren't today. It was obvious that they had enjoyed the unexpected mush – I couldn't call it snow, really couldn't – as much as everyone else seemed to. Because of my focus on them, nothing they did escaped my eyes, which was how I was able to see what happened next. Emmett held out something in his hand, which turned out to be a compacted chunk of ice, flicking it towards Alice. She flicked it away from her, and I followed the chunk of ice across the room, where it hit and broke against the wall, causing the wall to crack as well.
I looked back to the table, my eyes narrowing at the careless action they'd just done. Anyone could have seen that, which wouldn't have been good. They were lucky that I was the only who did. In all honesty, it seemed rather idiotic of them to do that, making me wonder if, perhaps, some words were said that made Emmett and Alice almost show off the fact that they weren't human. Not that you would suspect that, for, within moments, the scene changed. Emmett was now leaning towards the girls, shaking the mush from his hair onto them, causing them to lean away. There were obvious smiles and laughter on their faces.
A frown crossed my face. While the scene looked innocent enough, it looked as if it was staged as well, as if it was a scene for a movie. It make me wonder if, perhaps, they expected someone to look over towards them, to see if they were like regular teens. Or, maybe, I was just being paranoid. I didn't expect them to know that I knew what they were, as I hadn't given them any idea towards it, nor did I expect them to know that I was watching them, as I doubted that Emmett and Alice would have done what they did before if they did.
Shrugging my paranoia off, I looked at Edward, trying to see if there was any indication that he was doing better. The dark circles that had been underneath his eyes before were definitely lighter now, and, even from where I sat, I could see that there was a definite difference in his eyes. He'd fed before coming here. That was good, at the very least. It meant that he should have some more control over himself than he did before.
"Bella, what are you looking at?" Jessica asked me, interrupting my thoughts. She followed my gaze to the Cullen table, where I know sat in a staring war with Edward, who'd looked over when she asked for my attention. I felt him brush against my shield, and withheld a sigh. Instead, I slowly looked away, turning towards Jessica.
"Just daydreaming," I said, shrugging. I started on my food, eating it quickly without being rude about it.
"Edward Cullen is staring at you," she whispered, giggling a bit in my ear. I noticed that everyone else had quieted down, and were looking at us.
"Why is he looking at you?" Lauren sneered, jealousy evident on her face.
"Don't know," I said. "Maybe he's wondering if he should ask that question that seemed to have been bothering him last Monday."
She gritted her teeth for some reason, but didn't say anything else, and, not long afterward, the conversations started once more. I listened in this time, which turned out to be a good thing, for Mike was making plans to have a mush ball fight after school. Silently, I made contingency plans to either stay behind in Mythology, or get to my truck before the mush balls started flying.
Once I finished my food, I planned on heading straight to class. I didn't want Mike to walk me to French – he was a popular target for the mush balls, after all – but, when he saw me getting up, he immediately stood as well, and, though I tried to tell him that I didn't need him to walk me to my next class, he was insistent in doing so that I finally gave up on trying to convince him otherwise. Thankfully, as we went to leave, I saw that the rain was washing away the mush, which, while it disappointed Mike, made me really happy.
In fact, I was still smiling once I got to French, something that Jasper noticed.
"Salut," I greeted.
"Tu sembles vraiment contente qu'il ait fini de neigé," he said, and I wondered how he knew that the missing snow was the reason for my happiness. However, I didn't ask him about it.
"Je suis contente. J'avais peur de finir au milieu d'un tire-croisé de boules de neige puisque Mike ne semblait pas saisir mes tentatives pour lui faire comprendre que je ne souhaitais pas qu'il m'accompagne en classe,"I said instead.
The bell rang then, and Ms. Beniot call the class to order. She went over the day's lesson, ending with the fact that she wanted a five page essay on any topic, done in French, and due in two weeks. She then gave us free rein to talk for the rest of the class – all of ten minutes. I pulled out my shopping list, deciding to check it again since I had time to do so. Jasper saw what I was doing, and looked at it.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est ?" he asked.
"C'est une liste d'articles que je dois me procurer au magasin. Mon père souhaite me faire rencontrer quelques uns de ses amis de La Push, et il a été décidé que la petite soirée aura lieu aujourd'hui, en grande partie dû à mon insistance,"I told him
"Pourquoi à ton insistance ?" he asked.
"Oh, avoir beaucoup de temps pour planifier les choses ne me réussit pas. Je finis toujours par tout saboter, en grande partie parce que je ne peux pas m'empêcher de changer sans cesse d'avis," I answered.
He laughed at that, and then left me alone. I finished checking the list, seeing nothing that needed to be added, and put it up, thinking about what I'd write my essay on. I thought about some of the other essays I'd done in the past, wondering if I could – or even should – just translate one of them, but figured that I was taking a big enough risk at using them for their actual classes. While I'm sure that Ms. Beniot wouldn't care if I did that – I mean, after all, having given permission to write anything could also be taken as permission to just translate another essay into French, but I was sure she'd prefer seeing something new.
Of course, as an idea formed into my mind, I wasn't sure she'd appreciate what I was planning on writing about. Still, it was the only idea I was getting, and I did have information on it easily in reach. I'd be able to easily write a five page essay on it.
Angela and I walked to Biology together, as we normally did, and were among the first to arrive at Biology. I saw that there was a microscope and box of slides on each table, and wondered what we would be doing today, but my mind didn't focus on that for long. I was keenly aware of my surroundings, waiting for Edward to come in, so I definitely heard when he did so, noisily moving the chair next to mine to signal that. I resolutely kept from looking at him, to keep myself from seeing what his reaction was like. I wasn't going to be the one to make the first move, if he decided to make one at all.
"Hello," he said. I looked towards him, glad to notice that, unlike before, there seemed to be struggling in his expression. Though, as I studied him – and noticed that he seemed more open than before – I saw that his eyes showed carefulness, as if making sure he didn't give anything of himself away. I was tempted to tell him that he didn't have anything to worry about, that there was nothing he had to be careful not to say in my presence, but that would probably do more bad than good.
"Hi," I said.
"Sorry I wasn't here the rest of last week," he said. "I was...indisposed."
"It's okay," I said. "There weren't any labs, so it wasn't like I was forced to work on something that requires two people."
The bell rang then and Mr. Banner started the class. Of course, he only did long enough to tell us what we were to be doing, and then set us off to work.
"Ladies first, Bella?" he said, giving me a crooked smile that made my heart skip a beat and made me forget to breath. He waited a few minutes, his smile disappearing as an uncertain look crossed his face, and I quickly made myself move.
"All right," I said, reaching for the microscope. I snapped the first slide in place, and adjusted the microscope to a 40x objective. I studied the slide rather briefly, grabbing a pen and the worksheet that Mr. Banner had passed out beforehand, and went to write down what it was when Edward stopped me. I looked at him.
"Can I..." he started to asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"You don't trust me?" I asked.
"No!" he said, then paused, frowned, and added, "well, I just want to check."
"You don't trust me," I said. "It's 'prophase'. Check it if you want."
I quietly steamed as I freed my hand from his and wrote it down, while he checked the slide himself. I didn't like it when people doubted my abilities, particularly in school. Despite the fact that the Xavier school was mostly a school for mutants, in order to attain the level of privacy and ability to call itself a school for 'gifted youngsters', it's class program were very advance from the bat. This lab we were doing right now was one I'd done only four years ago – of course, this was during summer school, since I was at Hogwarts during the regular school year at the time. And I did it a few time, too, so that the knowledge of how to tell what the phases of mitosis looked like was ingrained in my head.
So it was insulting to know that someone doubted me.
"Prophase," Edward said. I glared at him, letting him know in no uncertain terms that I wasn't happy with him. He flinched, and gave me an apologetic face. I sighed, letting go of my anger. I doubted that he really meant to imply that I would be wrong. After all, I doubted this was the first time he'd been through high school, and I had the feeling that, like my classmates back at Hogwarts, most of his other 'partners' either weren't right or were content with just letting him do all the work. Though I hoped that he got a wrong answer every now and then – getting perfect scores would probably end up causing him trouble at some point.
"It's your turn," I said, handing him the next slide while giving him the worksheet. He switched the slides while I placed the one he'd been looking at back in the box.
"Anaphase," he said as he wrote it down. I nodded, grabbed the microscope, and began switching the slides once more. He looked at me, confused.
"Did you want to check?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I'm actually trusting that you got it right."
I pulled the worksheet towards me, checking the slide, and writing down what it was before pushing the microscope and worksheet towards him. I waited, seeing him check my answer, and expected him to need to check the microscope himself, only to be happily surprised when he didn't do that, just switched the slides himself, and check the new one.
We did this until we were done, setting the slides back into the box and putting the microscope and worksheet side by side on the table. We were the first to be finished; in fact, it didn't look like anyone else was close to it. I could see several people looking between two slides, and I saw that Mike had his book opened on his lap. I shook my head – Mr. Banner had specifically forbidden the use of books in this lab. I wonder what Mike would do if he ended up caught.
I felt a brush against my shield, and resisted the urge to sigh. Of course he'd try to get into my mind. I looked over at him, seeing the frustrated look that crossed his face as he expectations to get into my mind were dashed.
"Something wrong?" I asked. He shook his head. Mr. Banner came by then, seeing that we were done and looking at the worksheet rather intensely. He frowned, looked at the table, and then seemed to get an idea of what we did. Or, at least, he seemed to.
"So, Edward, did you give Isabella a chance with the microscope?" he asked.
"Bella," Edward said. "And,actually, she identified half of them herself."
Mr. Banner turned towards me, his expression skeptical.
"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.
"Four years ago," I answered. I saw his surprise at that, and I was reasonably sure I knew what caused it. This lab was considered advanced for junior Biology II, so telling him that this was considered an old lab was probably surprising.
"Were you in an advance placement back in Phoenix?" he asked.
"No," I said. "Considering that I didn't go to school in Phoenix, it's impossible to have been in an advance placement there. And I wasn't at the school I did go to, either." I didn't bother mentioning that it was because the school itself was advanced anyway. If he was willing to make a mistake about where I went to school – particularly considering that my school records clearly stated were I went to school exactly – I wasn't going correct it for him. He could look it up himself if he wanted to know.
He thought for a moment, then set the worksheet back down and said, "Well, I guess it's a good thing that you two are partners," before turning and walking off. I got out a notebook, not sure what I was going to do with it, but feeling the need to do something rather than just sit there.
"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked, gaining my attention once more. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was being talkative.
"Not really," I said. "But then, that wasn't snow, that was mush."
He smirked.
"Now, you want to ask what's really on your mind?" I asked him, rather bluntly. His smirk disappeared as a flash of surprise when through him before he let his face settle into a politely confused face.
"Why do you say that" he asked. I snorted.
"So you really do want to talk about the weather?" I said, slightly incredulous. "Come on, you obviously want to start a conversation, or at least start an interrogation. So, here's your chance. Now, either ask me what question it is that you really want to know, or don't bother me."
He thought about it for a moment, then looked away, giving me the impression that he wasn't going to ask. I flipped open the notebook, looking for an empty page so I could get started on brainstorming for how I was going to write my essay for French, mentally sighing since I had been hoping to get a hint of what was on his mind about me. However, he ended up surprising me, turning back towards me with a determined expression on his face.
"Why did you come here to Forks?" he asked. I was a bit taken aback at how forceful the question was; I was also surprised that he had asked if, because I didn't think anyone else would ask.
"Because I could," I said in a offhanded way. I looked at him, seeing him blink at my answer, and gave him my own half smile.
"It's...complicated," I said, actually being truthful this time.
"I think I can keep up," he smirked.
"I...I wanted to get to know my father," I said.
"You wanted to spend time with him," he said, not quite repeating what I said, at least, not the right way.
"No," I said, looking him straight in the eye so that I knew he'd understand. "I wanted to know him."
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then he looked at me, clearly wanting to ask what I meant by that but also not wanting to push too much. I bit my lip, and looked away for a moment, closing my eyes as I thought about it for a moment. Then, reaching a decision, I looked back at him.