My eyes stayed on them, watching them as they crossed the cafeteria to an empty table next to one of the windows. It was a good thing that they'd chosen a table somewhere behind Angela, as I couldn't take my eyes off of them, completely tense as I studied them. For some odd reason, the more I looked at them, the less they seemed to be a threat. They hadn't tried to attack anyone, nor did they seem to be considering it. Plus, from the way they'd been ignored, they had been hear for a while, and I hadn't heard of anyone missing or being found dead around the town. Once that thought went through my mind, I finally calmed down. I got the feeling that they were different from other vampires like themselves.
I continued to looked at them to my leisure, as they weren't looking in my direction, or seem inclined to do so. For the first time today, I was free to look in a direction without being worried about meeting a pair of curious eyes. I frowned as I studied them. None of them were moving, which struck me as being sloppy. They could at least make it look like they were eating, even if they couldn't. If I was an actual human, and not a witch or mutant, they'd be in trouble.
I was curious as to who they were, though I kept quiet about my curiosity at the moment.
"Who are they?" I finally asked, turning towards Angela and Jessica. I saw Jessica look towards the table I had been looking at. However, based on the look on her face, I could see that she probably figured who it was that I was talking about. Angela also looked behind her towards the group I was talking about.
As Jessica and Angela looked at the table, I saw the youngest looking one look towards us. He only looked for a second, his dark eyes flickering towards me afterward. I raised my eye brow, not at all feeling guilty for being caught looking at them. He held my gaze for a second, then looked away. Still, in that second, I had seen that his face held nothing of interest. In fact, his actions reminded me forcefully of Tristelianna's actions, mostly those she would make whenever someone thought her name. I had a strong feeling that he was a mind reader, at the very least.
Jessica and Angela both giggled when they saw him look over to us, and I saw that they were embarrassed to have been caught staring.
They're the Cullens," Angela said. The last name sounded rather familiar to me, and I had to work in order not to show a sign that I recognized it. Not that it would have been a bad sign. If they were connected to the very Cullen I was thinking of, it meant that I had even less to worry with them about than I was originally thinking, a good thing, in all honesty.
"They're Alice, Edward, and Emmett Cullen and Jasper and Rosalie Hale," Angela continued. "They kind of keep to themselves."
I didn't doubt it, though I did doubt that everyone else knew that actual reasons for that.
"Yeah, cause they're, like, together, together. I mean, Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie. And they live together," Jessica piped in. Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of a small town. It wasn't surprising, though. No one here seems to have every attended a boarding school on a long term basis like I have.
"They don't share any blood, do they?" I asked.
"Rosalie and Jasper do; they're twins," Jessica said. "But, other than them, they're unrelated."
"Then it's not too surprising that they would pair up," I said, shrugging. The other two girls stared at me, as did the rest of the table.
"You don't find it...unnatural," Jessica said. I shook my head.
"No, not really," I said. "But then again, I've also spent most of my time at two different co-ed boarding schools. And at the one I went to in Scotland, one of the first things we're told when we arrive is that whatever 'house' you're sorted into is going to be your 'family'. And, since you see your house members pretty much day and night, it's makes it all the more true. And, more often than not, people pair up with others who are in the same house over pairing up with someone whose in a different house."
"Really?" Jessica said, and I could tell that she was surprised to learn that. I nodded, looking back over at the Cullens. I noticed that the bronze-haired one – the one I suspected to be a mind reader – was moving his lips a bit. I got the feeling that he was talking to the others, telling them what we were taking about. After all, that's kind of what we would use Tristelianna for, particularly if she caught someone talking about us. It's a good way of knowing of someone was suspicious or knew about us.
Of course, this time, his ability wouldn't help him with me. I'd automatically block it, after all. I had to wonder what he would do when he realized that he couldn't read my mind. Would he tell his 'siblings' or would he hide it?
"Yeah," I said, in answer to Jessica's question. "Which ones are the Cullens? "They don't look related..." particularly because they are not I finished what I was going to say in my head.
"Oh, they're not," Angela said. "Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties." And that right there was all the proof I needed on who they were. Carlisle Cullen was well known in the wizarding world, because of the fact that, though he was a vampire, he did not follow traditional vampire roads, and, instead, chose to help save lives, something that no other vampire seemed to want to do. He was also famous for choosing to drink animal blood instead of human. However, I didn't, and I don't think that anyone else did, know that he now had a coven of his own. I wondered where he found other like minded individuals.
"They're all adopted," Angela continued.
"They look a little old to be foster children," I commented, curious to know what the story on them was. Or, rather, what everyone else thought the story on them was, since it was doubtful that they'd let the real story out. I don't think they'd be living here if they did.
"They are now," Jessica said, and I clenched my fist in anger at her implication that she thought me an idiot to say that. "Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett are all eighteen, while Edward and Alice are seventeen." Basic translation: three seniors and two juniors. "However, they've all been with Mrs. Cullen since they were, like, seven and eight. From what I know, Mrs. Cullen is, like, Jasper's and Rosalie's aunt or something."
"That's nice of her," I said. "To take care of them all, when she's so young and everything."
The look that passed over Jessica's face suggested that she didn't agree with me.
"I guess so," she admitted reluctantly. I had the impression that she did not care for the doctor and his wife, and, with the looks she kept giving their children, I got he feeling that the reason was because of jealousy. After hearing Jessica give in, one of the other girls at the table snorted. I looked over to her.
It was the only blonde at the table, a girl who, if I was remembering correctly, had been in my history class. I didn't know what her name was, and, based on the disdained look she was giving me, I really didn't seem to care if I ever learned her name.
"What, Lauren?" Jessica asked her.
"Please," Lauren said, looking straight at me. "You really think it's nice of her?"
"Yes, I do," I said, looking Lauren straight in the eye. It seemed to make her uncomfortable, but she plowed on with whatever else she was going to say.
"The only reason why she's doing it is that she can't have kids of her own," Lauren sneered, as if that little fact lessened Mrs. Cullen's kindness.
"So?" I said. "That just makes her an even better person. After all, she could be bitter and hateful towards children, but, instead, she chosen not to , and is caring to those who need it. People could learn from her." My mother could learn from her. I wondered what people would do if I kidnapped her...
I kept eye contact with Lauren, challenging her. Lauren's lips pursed, but she didn't say anything. I could hear everyone around the table gasping at my action, and I got the feeling that Lauren was the undisputed 'queen' of this group. In fact, one could probably say that everyone always backed down to her. I had no intention of doing that, though. I wasn't the type to back down for things I thought and believed in, and every fiber of my being was saying that whoever Mrs. Cullen was, she did not deserve the harsh words spoken by Lauren.
I don't know how long this 'challenge' went on for, but, finally, Lauren looked down, much to the surprise of the others. Red-faced, she stood from her seat and stalked out of the room, tripping over the legs of the chair that Mike had been sitting on earlier.
"Oh, my God," Angela said, looking amazed at me.
"That is the first time I've ever seen Lauren back down," Jessica said, equally amazed. I shrugged, then looked back at the Cullens. My eyes ended up meeting the dark-haired girl's for a moment, and I saw her smile in a sort of thankful way towards me before she looked away again, seeming to ignore everything around her. Still, I knew that she had either heard what I said to Lauren, or the bronze-haired boy had told her.
"Have they always lived here in Forks?" I asked, dismissing Lauren from my mind. This seemed to impress the others as well for some reason, and it took a while before anyone answered me.
"No," Angela said. "They moved down from Alaska two years ago."
I nodded, my eyes still moving on them. As I continued to look, the bronze-haired one looked towards me once again, his face expectant. I had to work hard not to smirk as I realized what he was about to do. Just as I suspected, I felt a slight brush against my mental shield. When he failed at getting into my mind, I wasn't able to hold back my smirk anymore as his face grew frustrated. I felt like opening my mind up for a second, if only to go 'na, na, na, na, you can't read me', but I resisted the urge, figuring that it would be a bit too childish to do. Instead, I decided to 'memorize' what his attempts felt like against my shield, as each attempt was different, even if someone held the same abilities as someone else.
Like Tristelianna and Professor Xavier. Both of them held very similar powers – in fact, I couldn't think of a single difference between what the two could do. However, where as Tristelianna's ability was like warm water and barely discernible – in fact, part of the reason why I didn't mind opening my shield to her was that her ability was down right comfortable to feel brushing up against my mind – Professor Xavier was different. His was a cold, gel-like feeling, which wasn't the most comfortable feeling at all.
The bronze-haired boy's, however, was like a feather, making me feel a bit ticklish as it swept over my shield. Out of the mind readers that I knew, his was the most solid approach to my shield.
"Which one is the bronze-haired one?" I asked, looking at him again. He was pouting at his failed attempts into my mind. He also looked a bit puzzled, and I had the feeling that he didn't know why I had been smirking earlier.
"That's Edward," Jessica said. "He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I got the feeling that she'd asked him out and been turned down by him a few times. It wasn't something that surprised me; as a mind reader, he probably heard everything she was thinking, and was probably turned down by it.
However, I believe that it was a good thing. I mean, it not only saved her from being hurt later on when he would break up with her because she was human, but it was a lot safer this way as well – he wouldn't be tempted to drink her blood, particularly if it was the heat of the moment. And she wouldn't be able to fight him off if he tried that, either...
I bit my lips to hide the smile that threatened to show upon the first thought of her being turned down. Looking at him again, I noticed that he was smiling as well, a clear sign that he'd heard what we were talking about. I had to admit, even if only to myself, that he had a nice smile. Once that thought ran through my mind, I looked away, and tried my best not to look at that table again. While I didn't think it was a bad thing that I thought he had a nice smile – as a vampire, I didn't really have to worry about my mutant abilities getting in the way of anything – I didn't really think that it would be a good idea for me to be attracted to him.
After all, he seemed to be happy to be alone, and I doubted I was his mate, and I wasn't willing to attempt to find out, mostly because I didn't want to end up hurt in the end. And, other than his looks, I really knew nothing about him. For all I knew, we would have nothing in common, and if I wanted to be with someone, I would at least like to have some common things with them.
The only time I looked back toward that table for the rest of lunch was when they all left, throwing away their uneaten food. Another frown came to my face at that, since it seemed to be such a waste. They really should come up with a better plan than wasting food like that.
"The bell's going to ring soon," Angela commented as we stood up to throw away our trash. "What class do you have next, Bella?" she asked me as we walked out of the cafeteria. I dug out my schedule.
"Advance French with Beniot," I said.
"Well, I've got History, so I'll see you later," Jessica said, heading in the opposite direction we were. Angela looked at me.
"You managed to get into that class as well?" she asked, adding, "I'm in it, too."
"Shall we head there, then," I said. She nodded, and lead the way to the class.
"By the way, what do you mean, 'You managed to get into that class as well'? I asked.
"Oh, well, there are only three periods of French classes here, because the Spanish ones are considered to be the more popular – or, rather, easier – classes to do. And, in order to get into the class after lunch, you have to have pretty good grades, and be able to speak French a bit already. It's the only advanced class offered here in the school, and it's technically supposed to be an only senior class," she explained. "I'm the only junior in the class right now, in fact, though I guess, if your in it as well, I won't be anymore."
I smiled at her.
"Well, I'm bilingual, so languages come pretty easy to me," I explained. "I also have several friends who live in France, so I tend to be able to practice the language quite a bit as well."
"So you must be really good at speaking it," Angela said.
"oui, je le suis. Et je suis tout aussi bon dans plusieurs autres langues," I said, showing off my French skills.
"Pouvez-vous m'enseigner quelques unes de ces langues ?" she asked, speaking in French as well.
"Certainement, dîtes moi juste quelles langues vous aimeriez apprendre," I said.
"Cool," she said, switching back to English. "I really wanted to learn other languages as well, but they only offer French and Spanish here. And, while I tried to get to take some at the community college, they don't offer online classes for beginners in the other languages."
"Oh, I'd hate it if that happened," I said. "Does the ones that they offer online classes for need those beginner classes?"
"No, it's not required, but you do have to have some kind of knowledge about the language if you want to learn it," she answered.
"That makes sense," I said.
"True," Angela said. As we neared the door to the classroom, Angela suddenly paused, look that suggested she just thought of something important coming over her face.
"Oh, I probably should mention this," she said. "In this class, people are paired up at the beginning of the year. Whoever you're paired up with his your 'partner' for the duration of the year, meaning that you not only work on things with them in class, but you're expected to have conversations with them, as well as work on any project given in class with them," Angela said. "Now, last year, there was an uneven number of people, but now that you're here, well, the person who was left without a partner is going to be use, unless Ms. Beniot decides to put you with me."
She looked a bit apologetic for not having mentioned this before. However, I got the feeling that, based on the look when she mentioned that someone had been left without a partner, it was someone that she thought I'd be uncomfortable around.
"So, who is my possible partner?" I asked.
"Jasper Hale," she said. Of course, I thought. It made sense as to why she thought I'd be uncomfortable. I got the feeling that no one human ever felt comfortable around Jasper.
"Lovely," I said, giving her a small smile. I'd be able to handle it, although...
As an idea struck me, I saw that we were about to pass by the restrooms.
"Can you give me a minute?" I asked, coming to a stop in front of the girls.
"Yeah, sure," Angela said. "I'll wait here for you."
"Thanks," I said, smiling towards her. I walked into the bathroom, glad to discover that it was empty. Heading into a stall and locking the door so that no one saw what I was doing, I fished my wand from where I'd stashed it this morning – in my invisible arm holster.
"Cuero mi olor," I recited, tapping my wand on my head. A wind-like sensation developed around me, before a bodysuit feeling ghosted along my skin. Then, the feeling ended, and I put my wand away, stepping out of the stall and smiling at my reflection. While the spell I used was more for hiding a person's scent from animals, I was sure that it would at least dim down my scent enough that it wouldn't bug Jasper. At least, I hoped it did – this would be the first time I used it around a vampire.
"Okay, ready to go," I said as I rejoined Angela. We continued on to the room, separating after hanging up our coats. She walked to her desk, which was situated in the front, next to a girl with a bad perm. I, on the other hand, walked up to the teacher's desk. Ms. Beniot was a lovely but strict teacher, laying down the rules to me upon being introduced, and after signing my slip. They were rather easy to follow – being a French class, it was expected that everything I did was to be done in French, from talking to doing my work.
As Angela had warned me, my partner was going to be Jasper. While she mentioned that she had originally thought about putting me with Angela – something that she said loud enough for Angela and her partner to hear, which resulted in a smile from them – after seeing my scores in my previous classes, she decided that I could handle being put with a senior. The smile that had been on Angela's partner's face turned into a scowl at that.
I was directed to go sit in the seat next to Jasper, who was in the back of the class. I had the feeling that he hadn't quite been listening to what we were talking about, because he looked vaguely surprised that I was heading towards him. Then, as he seemed to remember how this class worked, several more emotions crossed his face. First, he tensed, panic easy to see. Then, he forced himself to calm down, looking resigned. I saw him stop breathing, and frowned. I wouldn't be able to know if my plan worked if he wasn't breathing, and, while I knew I should be glad that he was taking precautions so that he wasn't tempted to attack me, it did me no good not to know if the spell worked.
So, once I was sitting down, I turned towards him, holding out my and and said, "Salut. Je suis Bella, et je serai ta nouvelle partenaire dans cette classe. Ravie de faire ta connaissance."
He frowned, but answered me back. "Je suis Jasper. Tout le plaisir est pour moi," he said, shaking the hand I held out lightly; I could feel his icy cold skin through my gloves, but didn't flinch. Instead, I gave him a smile, and relaxed, watching out of the corner of my eye as he took another breath, preparing to hold it again, only to pause.
A considering look crossed his face then as he took another breath, and then another. He finally calmed completely after the third breath, and I knew that my plan had worked.
Ms. Beniot called order to the class then, greeting us. She went straight into the lesson, spending the first ten minutes talking before handing out some worksheets. She told us to complete them, and that, once we were finished, to do something quietly. We were allowed to talk to our partners for help, so long as we were quiet about it; I also got the feeling that we would be allowed to talk to our partners after we finished the worksheet as well, though she didn't quite say it.
However, I didn't really need help on the worksheet, finishing it within a few minutes of receiving it. I noticed that Jasper worked just as quickly as I did from the corner of my eye, but he didn't seem to be all that willing to talk to me, so I decided to do my own thing. I dug through my bag, taking out a crossword puzzle, and, after taking a quick glance towards the teacher, snuck one of my ear buds on, turning my I-Pod on. Gone with the Sin by H.I.M. Began to play, at a low volume.
As the song ended, and I finished my puzzle, I noticed that Jasper was looking at me as I put it away. I realized that he must have heard the music begin to play.
"Quoi ?" I asked.
"Je ne pense pas qu'elle voulait dire qu'on était autorisé à écouter de la musique durant le cours.," he said.
"Elle ne l'a pas non plus explicitement interdit," I answered back. He chuckled.
"Qu'es-tu en train d'écouter ?" he asked.
"Un groupe s'appelant H.I.M. Ce sont les initiales pour His Infernal Majesty," I said.
"Quelle chanson écoutes-tu ?" he asked.
"J'écoutais une chanson appelée 'Gone With the Sin' mais maintenant j'écoute 'Love You Like I Do'," I answered.
"Le groupe chante dans quelle langue ? Et dans quelle langue les chansons sont-elles chantées ?" he asked. I frowned at him, unhappy that he would ask the one question I wished he wouldn't.
"Anglais," I said, pouting.
"Je suis certain qu'il serait préférable d'écouter quelque chose en français, non ?" he said. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Instead, after another quick look at the teacher, I changed the song to one by a French artist known as Alizee.
"Voilà, maintenant j'écoute une musique appropriée à un cours de français," I said as the song Moi...Lolita began to play. He chuckled, shaking his head, and returning to the book he had been reading. I finished putting my puzzle away, pulling out my own book. I noticed him looking at the title before I did. Looking at it myself, I held back a laugh, choosing instead to wait to see if he would make a comment on it. Actually, I was expecting him to do so, and, just as I figured, it didn't take him long to say something.
"Hungry for You. Est-ce un livre sur les vampires ?" he asked. I couldn't help but chuckle as he realized right away what type of book it was.
"Oui. Mais c'est aussi vraiment très différent de la majorité des livres de vampires, car dans celui-ci la raison de leur existence n'est pas surnaturelle," I said.
"Oh. Alors pour quelle raison sont-ils devenus des vampires ?" he asked.
"Une expérience scientifique ratée," I said. I saw him holding back a laugh as he turned away, leaving me to my reading. I got through two chapters before the bell rang. I put the book away, and switched off my music, pulling the bud from my ear. Putting it away, I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door, grabbing my coat. Angela was waiting for me right outside the door.
"Wow," she said. "You actually managed to get Jasper to talk." I realized that she had been watching me when she said that. I hadn't really noticed.
"If it wasn't for the fact that I saw how he was with his family, and that he keeps to himself, I'd say that you make it sound as if he doesn't talk to people often," I said. Angela laughed a little.
"So, what do you have next?"
"Biology II," I answered, without having to look at my schedule. I studied it in the last look I had done.
Angela laughed, confusing me. I looked at her.
"So, basically, we not only have another class together, but it's also one where an elusive Cullen is partnerless," she said. I laughed once she said that, understanding what she had found funny earlier.
"Which one is it this time?" I asked. I had the feeling that it would probably be one of the ones who were in our year this time, meaning either Alice or Edward. I ended up right when Angela told me that it was Edward. I didn't get to say anything because, at that moment, we'd arrived at the door. Stepping inside, I headed straight for the teacher, though I still noticed who else was in the class. I recognized almost everyone, not seeing a face I hadn't seen before.
As I passed by him, I saw Edward look at me, his eyes – a color that was dark enough to show that he would need to feed soon, but still light enough that there was some color to them, a color that almost looked brown in the light – showing that he had realized that, as I was in the class, I would be end up being seated next to him. He started clearing the table so that I would have room to sit down. Just as I was passing him, I felt a breeze from an air vent hitting me, and I watched as he stiffened, his now completely black eyes turning towards me. He seemed confused and hostile, and I frowned. I couldn't figure out why he was acting like that. The spell to hide my scent should still be in effect, at least until I took it off, so he shouldn't be acting the way he was, as if he had gotten a full dose of it.
Not that I expected him to have any reaction to it, beyond the normal reaction vampires seemed to have. I have been told, by some, that I have a rather nice scent, a floral one, but not one that seemed to attract more attention to me than they already would give me. So I was puzzled over Edward's reaction to it.
Looking away from him and continuing towards the teacher, I pulled down my shield enough so that Edward could 'hear' what I was about to think.
'If you even think of trying to attack me, you will regret it' I thought towards him, my shield going back into place once I was done. Once Mr. Banner had signed my slip, I turned, heading towards the table I would share with Edward. Looking at him again, I could still see the hostility on his face, but his confusion was even stronger. And it was easy to understand why: after all the trouble he had trying to read my mind during lunch, it made sense that he'd be confused about why he was suddenly able to read my mind now.
I felt the light feather touch to my shield once more. I frowned, noticing that it was much more insistent than before. Apparently, the small taste to my mind had him wanting to get into it again.
I didn't introduce my self. He was still tense, and not breathing at the moment. In fact, he hadn't been breathing when I had turned around. The only movement from him was the fact that he was still trying to get into my mind, though one couldn't really call it a movement. He was absolutely, completely still, and I had the feeling that he wouldn't be moving until it was time to leave.
When the bell rang and the class started, I did my best to ignore the male next to me, taking notes on what Mr. Banner said. Still, between his insistent attempts to get into my mind, and his lack of movement, I couldn't help but continually peak at him from the corner of my eye. As I gave him another perusal, I realized that, without his two brothers around, he wasn't as slight as I thought he was.
The entire class went by like that, and as his insistent attempts soon began to irritate me. By the time the bell was going to ring, I'd had enough.
'STOP trying to get into my mind, Edward!' I mentally shouted, removing my shield again so that he would hear. He jumped, surprised, and looked at me again. I was pleased to see that the hostility was gone from his face, though the confusion that took it's place wasn't all that welcome. I really hoped that he didn't try to confront me, and I was given a chance to get away sooner rather than later when the bell did ring. Grabbing my things, I hurried to get away. However, before I could get far, his hand grabbed my wrist far too tight; it would have probably ended up broken had I been a regular human. As it was, I'd probably have a bruise.
"What was..." he started to ask. I put my face into a politely puzzled look, and he stopped whatever he was able to say, shaking his head.
"Nevermind," he muttered, releasing my wrist. I resisted rubbing it, knowing instinctively, that he would feel bad about it.
"Sorry," he added, as if realizing that his behavior was deplorable.
"Are you okay?" I asked, as if I hadn't already been aware of what was wrong. He nodded his head.
"Well that's good," I said. "I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you." I held out my head for him to shake.
"Edward Cullen," he said, shaking my hand lightly before letting go. He seemed to be a bit distracted.
"Okay then," I said, turning to leave the room once again. I got the door this time before he stopped me. Angela, who was waiting for me, looked just as confused as I was.
"So, what class do you have next?" he asked.
"Mythology," I said, curious as to why he was asking. I looked over to Angela, mouthing, 'go on without me' to her so that she wasn't late to her next class. She nodded her head, leaving as I turned back to Edward.
"May I walk you to your next class?" he asked. "As an apology for grabbing you as I did."
"Sure," I said, though it sounded like a question. He smiled, held out his arm, and led the way to my next class. The stares that had been on me all day seemed to double as they realized just who it was that was walking with me. I wondered what would happen when they got over their shock, and just how fast the rumors would flow. I also wondered just what would be said, and how many people would come up with the idea that I had to know the Cullens, especially when the fact that I had been able to converse with Jasper quite easily got out as well.
He seemed to be itching to ask something specific, and seemed to be fighting himself to keep from doing so. I was about to ask if there was something he wanted to know when he spoke.
"So, how as your day been going?" he asked.
"Okay," I said, shrugging. "But that's not what you really want to know, is it?"
"What makes you think I wanted to ask you a specific question?" he asked.
"You weren't hiding it well," I said. We arrived at the classroom at that moment, and paused outside of the room.
"Well, here you go," he said, avoiding answering my question. "It was nice meeting you."
He let go of my arm and hurried away. I watched him leave, a frown on my face at his peculiar behavior. Shaking my head, I entered the class, heading towards the teacher as I'd done in the previous classes. Mr. Molina seemed nice, greeting me as he signed the paper and directed me to my seat for the class. Jessica, who was also in this class and in the seat to my right, leaned over, about to say something when the bell rang, and Mr. Molina stood up, a silent demand for attention. Jessica pouted as she straightened.
Mr. Molina started his class with a welcome, and informed everyone that we'd be starting on Celtic myths for today. He handed a stack of books to each desk, instructing the person in front to take one and pass it back, and then started talking about the subject. After I'd taken a book and passed the stack behind me, I let my mind drift.
I began to wonder about Edward's odd reaction towards me. More than that, I wondered what it was that he was going to originally ask me. A million different questions ran through my mind as I tried to think of which one he might have asked. It wasn't until I thought about him asking me to 'accompany' him to his car – which, after first, amused me slightly – that I froze ever so slightly, an image of how he had acted at the beginning of class running through my mind.
He had become rather hungry – more so than he was before class – once some remnant of my scent floated over him. While I had distracted him with letting him into my mind, a part of him had probably still hungered. While he hadn't gotten a full blast of it, what bit he did had been able to affect him, quite badly in fact. It worried me, and I silently told myself to make sure that I always placed my spell on myself, particularly around him. If only a small bit of my scent affected him like that, I really didn't want to know what it would be like if he got the full blast of it. In fact, I really doubted that it would be a good thing.
With that thought, I tuned back into Mr. Molina, who spoke his lesson with great passion now that he'd gotten off of what to expect from these myths and legends. It wasn't all that boring to sit there and take notes on the subject of some battle known as Moytura. When he looked at the clock and saw there there were only three minutes left of class, he assigned up to read about the battle of Moytura, both parts, as well as to read the chapter before it, which was nothing more than selected information from something called The Book of Invasions.
Jessica all but pounced on me once the bell rang.
"What was that?" she asked, her voice incredulous.
"What was what?" I asked.
"You know, that. Edward Cullen, walking you to this class. Does it ring any bells?" she said.
"He was just being a gentleman," I said, shrugging. "I've got to head to the office, and get this turned in, so I'll see you tomorrow."
I hurried away after that, hearing her unhappy farewell as I walked in the direction of the office. It wasn't a long walk, as the classroom actually wasn't that far from it. I ended up using the back door, the one that I had seen when I had first entered the room before, right next to the one hallway. I glance down it showed that it led to the nurse's office. I heard Mrs. Cope talking to someone, mentioning that something wouldn't be possible. Looking towards her, I was slightly surprised to see Edward standing at the desk. Suddenly, her words made a bit more sense to me, and, when he caught sight of me, I rolled my eyes at him.
'Coward,' I thought towards him. His eyes widened slightly, and he quickly said good-bye to Mrs. Cope, hurrying out of the office my way of the other door. I could tell that Mrs. Cope was taken aback by Edward's quick escape. I stepped up towards the counter, holding out my signed slip.
"Oh, hello dear," she said. "Have any trouble?"
"Other than with Mr. Varner, no, not really," I said.
"Oh yes, sorry about that," Mrs. Cope said. "I managed to let the other teachers know, but he didn't listen when I told him earlier." She sighed. "Perhaps now he'll learn to listen to what I say."
I held back a chuckle at her words.
"Have a nice day," I said, walking back out of the office and heading to my truck. As I got in and backed out, I felt eyes on me again, ones that I hadn't felt before. A look around showed that no one was staring at me with the intensity these eyes were doing so. Shrugging, I joined the line to leave the parking lot, thinking of what would be waiting for me once I got home.
I did my homework first when I got home, despite knowing that there would probably be quite a few e-mails from my friends waiting for me. I hadn't answered any of them, not yet. Since there wasn't really anything to say – at least, I felt that there wasn't anything to say – I hadn't bothered opening them. If there was something really important, I knew that they'd either call or text me.
Once I was done with my homework – which was fairly easy to do – I started dinner, while, at the same time, wondering how to convince Charlie to let me rid of the horrid yellow cabinets. I really didn't want to always have to wear sunglasses if I wanted something from in there. The task of dinner was rather mindless, so I ran up the stairs and grabbed my I-Pod and it's speakers, filling the kitchen with the music of Within Temptation, starting with the the song Utopia.
For dinner, I decided to make something with the fish that Charlie had informed me was in the freezer in the garage. I didn't bother trying to figure out what type it was – I wasn't really all that good doing that. Instead, I pulled out what I would use, and brought it inside with me. After defrosting it in hot water, I removed the head, guts, and scales, then wrapped it up in foil with some seasonings and lemon juice, put it on a tray, and threw it in the oven.
For the side, I made a salad, one that was mostly made up of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chopped carrot slices, avacado, and cucumber. I left out the blue cheese crumbs, since I wasn't sure that Charlie would like it. However, I did put those, some sunflower seeds, and a few other salad additions to the side, so that Charlie could add what he wanted to it.
I decided to have dessert ready as well. I pulled out a frozen cheesecake I'd gotten, putting it into the fridge to keep cold until it was time to eat it.
With the fish still cooking – and knowing that it would be a while before it was done to perfection – I finally decided to take care of any e-mails I had from my friends. I also planned on letting them all know about the fact that there were vampires here, and that I just might eventually meet Carlisle Cullen – if he was the very Dr. Cullen that they were talking about as the 'kids' father.
As I had known, none of my friends were impatient to know what was going on, nor were they wondering why it was taking me so long to answer. I had the feeling that would change once I gave them my news, but, right now, it was okay, and everything was calm from them. In fact, I didn't even get an e-mail from everyone. I had to admit, I was a bit concerned when I saw that Elena was one of the few who didn't e-mail me, but I figured she was probably thinking like I was, that it would be better to wait until she had some news to tell. That, or at least until she was truly situated. She probably wanted to start her e-mail saying that she was now living wherever she was going to be living.
After sending everyone my news – via mass e-mail – I went back down the stairs, pulling out the fish from the oven, and setting it on the stove to cool off. Charlie arrived home then, coming into the kitchen.
"Smells good, Bells," he said. "What did you make?"
"Fish and salad," I said. He sniffed the air, a look of appreciation on his face.
"Sounds good," he said as I got the salad from the fridge. "You know, you're going to spoil me if you continue to make such good food."
"It's nothing, really," I said as I began to place the food onto the table. "I like cooking, and, at least here, I don't have to share the kitchen."
I grabbed two plates from the cupboard, as well as a fork. Handing one plate and a fork to him, I muttered, "Dig in," as I sat down.
"Who did you have to share the kitchen with before?" he ask as he pulled two of the pieces of fish on his plate and then scooped out some salad, adding some of the sunflower seeds, bacon bits, and ranch dressing to it.
"Harry," I answered, making my own plate. "He loved to cook just as much as I do."
There was silence for a few minutes as we ate a few bites. Then, Charlie asked, "So, how long do you plan on wearing sunglasses in the kitchen?"
"I'll be wearing them for however long those cabinets are painted yellow. No offense Ch-Dad, but it gives me a major migraine looking at it," I said. "Which is why I wanted to ask you if I could paint them over this weekend?"
"Are you willing to do them alone? 'Cause I planned on going fishing this weekend, but if you need the help..." he started.
"No, I can do it alone," I said. I'd actually prefer to do them alone I thought to myself, but didn't voice out loud. I didn't think that saying it would make him feel all that happy – in fact, it would probably hurt his feelings. Still, it was the truth, particularly since I could use magic to speed the whole thing up.
"I can surprise you with what color I do," I continued. "Don't worry, I won't do something you won't like."
He still looked unsure.
"Don't worry, Dad. I can do it, just you wait. When you come back from fishing, it'll be done, and I'll be making something delicious for dinner," I added. That got a smile out of him.
"Well, if your sure," he said.
"I'm sure," I said, and we continued to eat in silence. It was as we were finishing eating – he had another two pieces of fish – that he asked his next question.
"So, how did you like school? Did you make any new friends?" he asked.
"School was...school," I answered. "Um, I have a few classes with a girl named Angela, and most people seem nice. But, other than Angela, I can't exactly say I really made any friends. I just made acquaintances, mostly. A girl named Jessica did invite me to sit at her table at lunch, though, and I met some of her friends."
"Angela...Angela Weber, right?" he asked. "I nodded. "She's a nice girl. Minister's daughter, takes care of her twin brothers from her mother. And the Jessica you met was Jessica Stanley?" Another nod. "She's an okay girl. Doesn't get into too much trouble, but follows the wrong girl around that does. Who else was at the table?"
Um, Eric Yorkie, Mike Newton, and some bi...girl called Lauren," I said, quickly correcting myself on the last bit. "And those are the only names I caught. None of the others were nice enough to give me their names."
"Um, I'm not all that familiar with Eric enough to say that he's a good kid, but his parents are good people. Micheal is a good kid, though. His parents own the sporting good's store just outside of town. They make a good living off of all the backpackers who come through here," he said. I nodded. Once we'd finished eating, I stood and brought out the dessert. Charlie look appreciative at it at as gave him a slice.
"It's still sightly frozen," I told him.
"That's okay," he said, taking a bite.
"So, do you know the Cullen family?" I asked.
"Yes, I do," he said. "Mrs. Cullen was the one who helped do your room with her daughter Alice, and Dr. Cullen is a great man."
"The kids seem nice ,but they don't seem to fit in all that well," I said. Charlie surprised me by being angry.
"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, making ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder as he spoke. "We're lucky to have him – lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite.
"I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them, but they're all very mature. I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them, which is more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should: camping trips every other weekends. Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."
"Whoa, down, down Dad," I said. He looked at me strangely, though he didn't say anything. "I guess I can see where I get my fierce defending people from," I commented.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, during lunch, as Jessica was talking about them, and telling me about Mrs. Cullen, I mentioned that it was nice of her to take care of all the kids when Lauren said something very unkind about her," I said. "I kind of got on her case about it."
"Lauren... do you mean Lauren Mallory?" he asked.
"Not sure, but probably," I said. "Particularly if she seems to be a popular girl who things she's a queen."
"Yeah, Lauren Mallory," he said. "Troublemaker. I got called out to her house three times last year for disturbing the peace."
"And she still didn't learn not to throw a loud party," I said, rolling my eyes. "Like I said, she gave off the impression that she thought of herself as a queen. Not that it worked with me; I made it clear I wasn't going to back down from her. As for why she said it, I get the feeling that she doesn't like the fact that the girls are prettier than her, plus I wouldn't be surprised if she tried with all three guys, and they turned her down. I definitely impressed everyone else, though.
"As for what I thought of them, personally, I found the two I met nice, if not a bit nosy. I just noticed that they kept to themselves for the most part. They're all also very attractive." I added the last part as an after thought.
He laughed. "You should see the doctor. A lot of the nurses have trouble concentrating when he's around," he said, still chuckling. However, when he caught sight of my face, he stopped.
"They have trouble concentrating," I said. "That's not good. They could end up messing something up and causing serious harm or a death to someone."
He frowned. "I never thought about it like that," he admitted.
"It's not your fault," I said. "If this was happening someone other than a hospital, I'd probably think of it as funny as well. However, in a hospital, a single mistake could be dangerous."
Dessert finished rather quickly after that. I put the rest of the cheesecake up into the fridge, cleaned the dishes, and went upstairs, where I took a shower and got ready for bed. I spent the rest of my time waiting until it was worth going to bed letting my hair dry and watching a movie – I chose a horror one. Once it was done, I went to bed, wondering what the next day would bring.