Cleaning up the dishes following dinner was almost a welcome chore. Living alone, there weren't that many dishes to worry about, and it gave him time to think through the events of the day, as well as to begin preparing for tomorrow. That one kid, Jackson, in 2nd period really seemed to have a quick grasp of cellular mitosis and seemed really interested. With a little encouragement, he might choose to continue in biology, possibly even into college. Susan, in 3rd period, though. She was clearly floundering, and it didn't help that she spent all her time talking. He'd have to make a note about that. His thoughts were wandering, and he could tell he was just trying to avoid thinking about 6th period.

Today at the school had been as close to an Event as he had seen; he was sure of it. When the new girl, Isabella ("Bella", he reminded himself), had sat down next to Edward, he had feared the worst. Something was definitely different about her, even if he couldn't see it. He had certainly never seen any of the vampires react in such a way before. He'd definitely have to review the video when he was done cleaning up.

Placing the last of the dishes in the dish rack, he glanced around the room and made sure everything was in order. With a nod to himself, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked down the short hall to his office, and retrieved the USB drive from his pocket. Rubbing the small drive between his thumb and forefinger, he recalled how he had felt when class was finally over and Edward nearly fled the room. The wave of relief that had passed over him was palpable, and it was only tempered by the fact that the day wasn't over yet. Fortunately, 7th period was an open period for him, so he was able to quickly download the video from the video cameras that were hidden around the room onto the thumb drive. And, in a moment of paranoia, he copied it to a second drive just in case the first was corrupted. Then, it was just a matter of doing busywork until he could slip home.

Shaking off the recollection, he sat down at his computer and plugged in the drive. Fast-forwarding the video until 6th period, he pulled out a notepad and began taking careful notes.

"Interesting", he thought. "I hadn't noticed how Edward reacted when she first walked in."

Observation: Edward reacted strongly and instantly when Bella first walked past him.

He paused the video and swapped over to the infrared recording.

Observation: Bella's body temperature is within normal range for a normal human female according to the infrared camera. As expected, there is no change in Edward's body temperature. I see no reason for Edward's reaction.

Swapping back to the normal video, he focused once again on Edward. His eyes were wide and his nostrils flared, and if he didn't know better, he would have thought that Edward was afraid of Bella. The look on his face, though, was definitely not fear. It looked more like fury. The video clearly showed how he was sitting as far away from Bella as possible, and his hands were clenched so hard that the tendons stood out visibly against his pale skin. The instant the bell rang, Edward rose and left the room as quickly as possible.

Observation: Throughout the class, Edward did not calm back down, but rather stayed on edge the entire time.

After watching the video three more times, he was convinced that neither Edward nor Bella said a word to each other during the entire class, yet it was clear that something set Edward off, and it was equally clear that Bella had no idea what it was.

Satisfied that there was nothing more to gain from the videos, he closed them down and opened up his email and began typing:

/
Sir,

I have something anomalous to report regarding Edward Cullen. I am attaching my notes, 2 videos, and all of the information I have regarding one Isabella Swan, who was also involved. Due to the severity of this report, I request a response as quickly as possible.

Banner

/

Now, there was nothing to do but wait. He busied himself grading homework, but his mind wasn't really on it, and when he heard the chime announcing an email, he was at his desk nearly instantly.

/
Banner,

We agree with your report. Take whatever additional precautions you feel are needed to protect yourself if the need arises, but do not reveal yourself at all costs. One more thing: make sure to report in daily until further notice.
/

As usual, there was no signature.

After a few moments, he calmly deleted the files from the USB drives, deleted the email, and tossed his notes into the fireplace, where they burned briefly with a cheery flame.

Things had definitely gotten more interesting, and he could only hope that tomorrow brought more answers than questions.