Here it is, the sequel to Just Like Kindergarten. I own nothing.


The halls of Forks High School were eerily quiet. The auditorium was deserted. Not one sound echoed inside the cavernous cafeteria. In the gym, a lone janitor mopped the floor. No one was rushing up the stairs, no one was running down the hall. In fact, the only sound that could be heard was Ms. Barfield talking to her homeroom class…

But no one, of course, was listening. Edward Masen gazed at the wall clock as the minute jumped to 2:58 p.m. He glanced over at Bella Swan, who smiled back. Only two minutes until they were free!

Ms. Barfield seemed completely unaware of the fact that she didn't have everyone's rapt attention. "Learning is never seasonal, so do allow the shimmering light of summer to refresh and illuminate your fertile young minds," she said.

Rosalie Hale frowned at the ticking clock while her brother, Barrett Hale, gazed absently out the window at cloud formations. Jasper Whitlock struggled to keep his eyes open as he did a silent countdown to three p.m. in his head. Emmett McCarty seemed to be studying-but he had hidden How to Bake the Perfect Muffin inside his advanced algebra textbook and was actually reading about batter. Angela Webber's feet were dancing with impatience under her desk. Alice Brandon sat with her hands folded on her desk like the perfect student, even though she was anxious as any of them for the bell to ring. And Jacob Black…Jacob was actually taking notes on what Ms. Barfield was saying!

"Your future greets you with its magic mirror, reflecting each golden moment, each emboldened choice," Ms. Barfield went on. "So use these incipient summer days and weeks wisely and well…"

Edward leaned over to whisper to Jasper, "Ms. Barfield has snapped her cap."

Jasper opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Dude," he said, "you're actually listening?"

Rosalie began tapping her fingers on her desk to the rhythm of the second hand. After a few seconds, she tapped even faster, willing the time to speed by, and turned to her brother. "Barrett, this semester of disappointment and humiliation now comes to a screeching halt, and the future begins," she whispered. "And that means-"

But Barrett wasn't listening. He was still staring out the window.

"Barrett!" she snapped.

"Is it me," he asked dreamily, "or do those clouds look like Jessica Alba?"

As the students fidgeted in their seats, the sound of ticking seemed to get even louder, drowning out Ms. Barfield's voice…

And the clock on the wall seemed to get bigger and bigger as everyone stared at it longingly…

"Summers have passed fleetingly since I was your age," Ms. Barfield went on wistfully. "Yet I recall them with poignant clarity, so…"

Jake raised his hand.

"Yes, Jacob?" Ms. Barfield said.

"What's your favorite summer memory, Ms. Barfield?" Jake asked.

The entire class groaned. What was Jake thinking?! But Ms. Barfield was happy to answer him. "Ah, yes, the Ashland Shakespeare Festival of '88 leaps fondly to mind. In fact…"

Claaannnggg! Just in the nick of time, the bell rang…and the whole school erupted in cheers! Classroom doors were flung open and students poured into the halls. It was time to say good-bye to school and hello to summer!

As Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Jake walked together toward their lockers, Edward said, "Dudes, when hoops camp is done, I've got to make bank. I keep hearing my parents talk about what college is going to cost."

"Yeah, my folks will match whatever I make this summer, but first I've got to get hired," Emmett said.

"Me, too," Jasper agreed. "I'm saving for a car…" He nodded toward Alice, who was standing across the hall. "…so I can take that girl on a proper date." He expertly spun the basketball he was carrying. "Unfortunately, this is my only job skill."

His friends nodded ruefully. Getting a summer job wasn't going to be easy, especially since they were in high school. Still, nothing could dampen the excitement of the last day of school! Talking and laughing, everyone headed for the front doors…but not without a few last good-bye rituals, like the signing of yearbooks.

Rosalie stood by her trademark pink locker and signed her name with a grand flourish. She occasionally flashed a smile at the student photographer who was snapping away with his camera, recording this celebrity moment for posterity.

Bella paused to watch what passed for a media frenzy in the halls of Forks High. Rosalie glanced at her and said, "I understand you've moved every summer for the past five years. I'd hate to think that today is…" She gave Bella a hopeful smile. "…good-bye?"

Bella smiled back, but it was because she was so happy knowing that all the years of moving from town to town had come to an end. "No worries. My mom promised I'm here until graduation next year," Bella answered cheerfully.

Rosalie's face fell. "Bless mom's little heart," she said insincerely. Bella could feel the tension. She decided this was the perfect moment to mend fences. Or at least try to keep them from completely falling apart.

"Rosalie, we got off to a rough start, but you came through," she said. "You helped me with the winter musical."

"I did?" Rosalie couldn't believe what she was hearing. When had she helped Isabella Swan? And how? And how could she make sure she never made such a mistake again?

Bella nodded. "Those breathing exercises…" She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out slowly, demonstrating what Rosalie had taught her.

"Delighted to assist a fellow Spartan," Rosalie said in a tone that made clear she bitterly regretted offering any advice to Isabella Swan. "And, actually, I appreciated the opportunity to rest my voice for the spring musical."

"In which you were excellent," Bella said.

"So they say…" Rosalie said, gratified. Always ready to relive a triumph, she pulled a copy of the school newspaper from her locker. A huge photo of her filled most of the front page under a headline that read: ROSALIE SOARS. "The second show on the third Friday wasn't everything it might have been," she said, "but the media is so easily impressed."

Then she tossed the newspaper back in her locker, where it landed on top of fifty other copies. At the other end of the hall, Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Jake were still talking about summer jobs, and now Alice, Renesmee Cullen, and Angela had joined the conversation.

"Bella and I have had five job interviews, but we keep getting beat out by college kids," Alice said.

"Same here," Angela sighed. "Guess I'm back in the baby-sitting business. Nessie, what are you planning to do this summer?"

Nessie looked up at Alice, who was a little bit taller. "Grow," she said wryly. She added the obvious, "Write music." Then she glanced up at Angela, who was a lot taller than her, shook her head and said again, "Grow."

Bella had almost finished cleaning out her locker when Edward snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Your summer activities consultant has arrived," he said in a teasing voice.

Startled, she looked around, and he grinned at her. "Me! After basketball camp, we'll see movies, download music, a little karaoke, and I'm definitely teaching you a twisted flip on the skateboard."

She laughed. "I have First Aid training, so I can patch myself up afterward."

Rosalie was standing close enough to hear their teasing, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, worse comes to worst, we just chill," Edward said. "As long as we spend the summer together, it's all good."

Bella looked up at him. "Promise?"

He nodded as he pulled a necklace from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here's my promise."

Bella's eyes widened with surprise as she saw the "E" hanging from the necklace. Across the hall, Alice and Jasper noticed this moment-and Jasper, of course, had to make a joke. He pretended to offer her his basketball as a present, but she just gave him a withering look and turned back to see what would happen next.

For a moment, she thought Edward was going to actually kiss Bella. Until, that is, a couple of starry-eyed freshmen girls came squealing up to ask him to sign their yearbooks. As he agreeably autographed their books, Rosalie turned to Barrett. "…going to movies, listening to movies…and, golly, Edward, I have First Aid training so you can teach me skateboarding," she said in a falsely sweet voice, mimicking what she had overheard. Then, in her own voice, she added, "What she really needs is new product for her wayward hair."

She saw Nessie standing at her locker, watching the other Spartans wistfully. "Cheer up, Nessie, I have a summer job for you," Rosalie said. "Our rehearsal pianist is evidently moving."

"Or hiding," Nessie said under her breath.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "Pardon?"

Barrett saw the warning signs of real snit coming on, and he quickly jumped in. "Relax Rose. It's summer. You get to do whatever you want. Everything changes.."

At Barrett's words, Rosalie's head snapped around again, this time to give her brother that look of intense focus and concentration that always made him so nervous.

"What did I say?" he squeaked.

"You're so right, Barrett," she said. "After what I've been through this semester, I deserve a special summer."

Edward, Bella, Jasper, Alice, and the rest of their crew walked past, headed for the front doors. Rosalie watched them go, thinking hard.

"Barrett, who is the absolute primo boy at Forks High?" she asked.

Barrett rolled his eyes at the utter obviousness of the answer. "I think Edward Masen has locked up that category, don't you?"

"And Forks High's primo girl?" she went on.

Barrett glanced warily at Bella.

"Just answer the question!" Rosalie snapped.

"Gosh, let me think," Barrett said as sarcastically as he dared. "You?"

Rosalie nodded with immense self-satisfaction. "Edward…Rosalie. Rosalie…Edward," she said musingly. "It just makes sense."

"Evidently not to Edward," Barrett pointed out.

But Rosalie wasn't listening to him. She was focused on the delicious plot that was beginning to form in her brain. "But it's summer, Barrett," she said, smiling. "Everything changes."

A few feet away, Renesmee took some sheet music from her locker and looked at Rosalie thoughtfully. What, she wondered, was the diva of Forks High up to now? Then she glanced down the hall and watched as the Spartans burst through the front doors into summer…and freedom!