Fredward Cullen wasn't there, either! I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, a la golden retriever, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach he had planned, which I knew he was organizing for the sole purpose of getting close to me. He lingered by my desk 'til the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm, who kind of looked like my Aunt Barb⁴³ did in the 90's. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike. After all, I couldn't have the only blond-haired, blue-eyed guy in the school going all ga-ga over me, even if he was cute, charming, and nice. It wouldn't be easy to ease him off my quickly emptying teat of reciprocal attention, though. In a town like this, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.
I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Fredward was absent, but I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It's like I had a sixth sense that was incredibly sensitive to the reality that existed between us, one that, though young and born only yesterday, was maturing quickly. It was ridiculous and egotistical to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.
When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident in which I was very clumsy and caused harm to myself and others, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed...
Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon, so I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was more than willing to hand over the keys to the banquet hall,⁴⁴ where I found nothing but empty cabinets and a fridge stocked with a three month supply of eggs and bacon. So



43. Bella's Aunt Barbara was Rénee's sister; she died shorty after a head-on collision in the early days of 1990.
44. The kitchen.

32

Chapter 2

←

→

main contents contact