When the bell finally rang, Fredward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement, heartbroken that I would not see him, this irrevocably beautiful creature again until lunchtime the following day. Had I been too hard on him? Had I ruined my chances?
Mike skipped quickly to my side, interrupting my troubled daydreams with his mundane thoughts, and picked up my books for me. His tail was wagging.
"That was awful," he groaned hoarsely. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."
If only he knew!66
"I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption that I hadn't already done this lab twice in Phoenix. I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done this lab before, though. In Phoenix," I added, before he could get his feelings hurt by feeling that he was as dumb as horse.
"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our unisex raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.
I tried to sound indifferent and not give away my true feelings. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."
I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym,67 and P.E.68 didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.
The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket all the way off, put the hood down, and fluffed my long, wet hair out so the heater could blow it dry all the way home.
66. There are two things Mike didn't know that Bella thinks it would be good for him to know. First, that all the slides did not look the same to someone who had already done the lab twice. Second, how lucky Bella was to have had Fredward Cullen for a partner.
67. Sometimes known as P.E.
68. More commonly referred to as Gym.