Hearts on Fire
Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with the characters, with the support of my patient beta, EdwardsMate4Ever.
Chapter 1 - Trouble
"He's trouble," all the girls whispered. "But what a way to go."
Bella tried to steal furtive glances at him from her seat, but Jasper Whitlock always seemed to catch her. She blushed and looked down at her notebook when his eyes caught hers. It was all so embarrassing. She was sure he could read the crush she had on him like it was printed in a cartoon bubble over her head.
"Miss Swan?" Miss Dempsey's voice startled Bella.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied automatically. Had she missed a question?
"Answer the question please," the frumpily dressed teacher said.
"Tennessee," Jasper whispered, careful to keep his eyes glued to the teacher standing at the front of the classroom.
"Yes, ma'am. Tennessee," Bella replied.
"Very good," Miss Dempsey said, looking mildly disappointed. "Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union in 1861."
Though Bella tried to stay focused, it was an unusually warm day in April, and the classroom windows were open. A breeze blew in with the fresh scent of rain on pine trees. They would be closed when the sound of the lumbermen's saws began to disturb the class.
Finally, the bell rang and Miss Dempsey's endless droning about the Civil War came to an end.
Bella gathered her papers and made her way to the next class. At least Mr. Banner wasn't boring.
Today Mr. Banner deviated from his usual science lectures. Instead of pulling down a chart or writing on the chalkboard, he stood in front of his desk, leaning against it and looking into the classroom with a thoughtful expression. "Due to recent developments, I thought that today we should discuss the situation in Vietnam." The draft and the anti-war protests had been dominating the news for weeks.
For once the room went silent. No groans, muffled whispers, or the sound of papers rustling. Then the boys began to shuffle in their seats. Eric raised his hand. "My brother got his induction notice last night. He leaves at the end of next month."
Mr. Banner nodded.
Bella looked around. Forks depended on labor for the lumber industry, and a lot of her classmates, as well as guys across the county, were shipping out to Vietnam. Eric's brother wasn't the first. A number of boys from graduating classes ahead of hers had been sent to Southeast Asia. Several had already returned, and in some cases she had attended their funerals with the rest of the town.
She glanced over at Jasper again. For once, he didn't notice. His face never left Mr. Banner's, and he looked deep in thought.
The class was soon involved in a lively discussion about the Vietnam War, which was being shown on the nightly news on TVs across Forks. Jasper followed the conversation with great seriousness, though he didn't contribute until Mr. Banner called on him. When he did, he surprised the class with the amount of detail he knew about the conflict. The battles, the names, the geography of Southeast Asia. He asked questions that Mr. Banner admitted he didn't have answers for and would have to research.
"I seem to have found a topic that interests you," Mr. Banner said as the bell rang.
Jasper lingered by Mr. Banner's desk on his way out of the classroom, and Bella was close enough to hear his answer. "My relatives fought in the Civil War and most of the wars since," Jasper replied. "I reckon this is going to be my war, so I might as well know what's going on."
Bella shivered. She didn't want to see Jasper go. Would he volunteer? As she gathered up her books and papers she noticed she still had her homework. She rustled it a bit, looking at the graph she had made, hoping to hear a bit more of their conversation, but Jasper turned and left. Mr. Banner had been so involved he hadn't asked them to hand in their homework, so she slid it back into her notebook. Plenty of time to turn it in tomorrow.
The rest of the day passed more quietly. She had a pop quiz in Calculus and a vocabulary test in French III. Between classes, she looked for Jasper in the halls but only saw him once. He pretty much kept to himself. He hadn't really fallen in with the other kids from school, though he was on the baseball team. She wondered if they were giving him the cold shoulder because they considered him a logger, someone from the outside who hadn't grown up with them.
But no one could argue about his value for the baseball team. His lean body seemed to freeze to attention before he swung at the most impossible pitches, knocking the ball far before flashing toward first base. He could run and steal the bases like a dream. She had started going to the games just to watch him. He loved playing this game. His eyes shone with excitement, his foot tapping restlessly when he was in the outfield.
She, meanwhile, was doodling his name in the margins of her notebook, and occasionally adding a "Mrs. Jasper Whitlock" to boot. Seeing her name joined to his with a "Mrs." gave her shivers. She hoped nobody ever saw those pages.
Xx
So, here is my first chapter. What do you think? Please leave a review.
I will send a preview of the next chapter to all reviewers.