"She's my friend; she sits with us," Mike whispered back loyally, but also a bit territorially.139 I paused to let Jess and Angela pass me. I didn't want to hear any more about what I had probably put my mouth on.
That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about my trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving me home alone on the weekends, but he'd spent too many years building his habits to break them now.
Of course he knew the names of all the kids going, and their parents, and their great-grandparents, too, probably their pets as well, and their imaginary friends. He seemed to approve. I wondered if he would approve of my plan to ride to Seattle with Fredward Cullen. Not that I was going to tell him. I wanted him to think I was a lesbian for as long as possible.
"Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier," I asked casually.
"Yeah—why?"
I shrugged. "Some kids were talking about getting together and doing some Wiccan stuff there."
"It's not a very good place for Wiccan stuff." He sounded surprised. "Too many bears. Yeah. Most people go there during the hunting season. To hunt stuff."
"Oh," I said. "Maybe I got the name wrong."
I meant to sleep in, but an unusual brightness woke me. Had I gotten smarter or was it bright out? Ho ho, good one, Belle. A nice day in Forks? I mentally high-fived and kissed myself on the cheek, happy to have both zinged the place I hate while gaining IQ points in my sleep. Ready for the elation of being right, I opened my eyes to see a clear yellow light streaming
139. Another reference to westward expansion.