April 2009
"Grande Extra-Hot Vanilla Latte?" I yelled from behind the espresso machine as I set the white paper cup on the counter. One of the regulars at the Port Angeles Starbucks walked up to the counter and grabbed it, taking a long sip before smiling back at me.
"Thanks, Bella, you're the best!" Grace said before bouncing out of the coffeeshop. I smiled to myself. Starbucks was the most enjoyable job I've ever had. I loved the interactions I got with the amazing regular customers and the homesick tourists. I walked into the backroom and punched out on the computer screen.
Pulling my green apron off and smoothing the collar of my black polo, I reached into the locker and pulled out my cellphone. Two missed calls. I punched a couple buttons and checked my call log. Charlie. I pressed the send button and the phone dialed his number.
"Hey, Dad. How's it going?" I asked when he answered the phone.
"Good, good, Bells. I'm in Port Angeles and I wanted to see if you wanted to grab lunch?"
I groaned. "Aw, Dad, I've got class in like ten minutes. But how does dinner at my place sound? You have a key, just go over there and hang out for a couple hours."
"Sounds great, Bella. See you tonight."
I hung up, turned on the car, and drove out of the parking lot and headed to Peninsula College. It was freezing cold, so I flicked on the heater in my ancient truck, and it warmed the cab quickly. I turned onto East Lauridsen and hit the gas. I only had two minutes to get to the school, park, and get to class. I had my Physiology/Anatomy class today, and we were supposed to have some guest speaker, a doctor at a local hospital. I couldn't miss today's lecture- we were being tested on it tomorrow.
I finally made it to school (in barely enough time) and ran to the classroom. I wanted to take a seat in the back, but my Professor O'Connor called me up to the front. I sighed as I trudged my heavy backpack down the steps to the front of the classroom.
"Bella, you're late," he said.
"I know, sorry." What the crap was I supposed to say to that? 'No, I'm not.' I almost laughed thinking about his reaction to that answer.
"I passed back last week's exam." His face was straight. Did I fail? Oh shit...
I gulped. "Oh. Okay," I said meekly.
"You're the only one who got a 100. Your classmates will probably want to kill you, seeing as you completely threw off the curve," he said as the corners of his lips pulled up ever-so-slightly.
"Thanks," I grumbled as I turned around and plopped into a seat in the front of the room.
I let my mind wander while Professor O'Connor blabbed away before the guest speaker was supposed to show up. Maybe tomorrow I would drive to La Push and hang out with Jacob at the Garage. He said business had been slow this week, he probably wouldn't be too busy. And I didn't have work or class tomorrow. We could have dinner at Charlie's place. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. I caught the professor finishing his mini-speech and saying, "Please welcome our guest speaker, Dr. Carlisle Cullen." A few oohs came from the class. Dr. Cullen was well-respected. In my case, the air drained from my lungs in a loud ooooof and my vision became blurry.
Keep it together, Bells. So, you haven't seen the Cullens in three years. Big freaking deal. Pull. It. Together. And I did. I sat quietly in my seat while Carlisle lectured. I did notice, however, that whenever our eyes met he gave me a very peculiar look.
I fumbled with the key, trying desperately to unlock my truck and get in before Carlisle had a chance to talk to me. A voice cleared behind me, and I turned around.
"Bella, hey!" he said smiling brilliantly.
"Hey, Carlisle! Long time no see!" I said giving him a warm, genuine hug. When I let go, he gave me the same funny look. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing, nothing," he said, smiling again. A distraction, I knew. Edward had once told me that a vampire's smile was meant to distract his prey from other pressing matters. Namely life.
"Carlisle," I said, a little sternly. "I'm not stupid. I've known you guys long enough to know when you're lying to me. What's going on?"
"Bella, truly, it's nothing. It's just, well," he paused, as if to look for the right way to phrase the sentence. "You just haven't changed a bit, that's all," he said, still smiling. He kissed me on the cheek and muttered, "Take care," before walking off to his car.
"What was that all about?" a voice sneered behind me. I whipped around, my back now to the truck.
"Jake!" I squealed, smiling. I jumped into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. I loved when he surprised me at school.
"Uh, yeah. What was Carlisle doing here?"
"Oh, Jake, that was nothing. He was a guest speaker in class today, and we were just catching up out here in the parking lot."
"What did he mean, 'you haven't changed a bit'? What's going on?" he demanded.
"Jacob, freaking calm down, you're overreacting. Anyways, I've gotta get home, Charlie's waiting at the house for me. Wanna come over?" I asked trying to change the subject.
He sighed. "Yeah, sure. I'll follow you."
But Carlisle's words still rang in my head. You haven't changed a bit, that's all. What was that supposed to mean?