Disclaimer: The Twilight universe belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No profit is made here, and no offense intended.
We had lived in upstate New York for almost two years now. I was beginning the spring semester of my sophomore year at the University of Rochester, majoring in Biology with an emphasis in Pre-Med. I found college to be much more stimulating than high school, both in terms of the classes and in the hundreds of minds I was able to follow throughout each day. I did have to pay attention to my professors, as the material was new to me, but when I had spare moments I enjoyed dipping into different students' minds, following along in their lectures as well as my own. I especially liked listening in on engineering lectures, music classes, and mathematics. In this way, I was never bored, and I was able to keep my mind off the tempting scents of the humans around me.
After my close call back in Montana, I had seriously doubted whether I would be ready to begin my college career upon our arrival in New York. But Carlisle had spent the spring and summer helping me desensitize myself to human scent, much like he had done when I was a newborn. But the process was much quicker this time, and by the time classes started, I was ready. I had been obliged to escape the campus a few times, and Carlisle had written a note to excuse me from all future physical education classes, as those presented the highest risk of students injuring themselves, and thus bleeding in front of me. To this end, he provided the necessary documentation for my diagnosis of hemophilia, which also explained my refusal to participate in any laboratory classes that involved needles. This semester would be tricky, however- I had a dissection lab, and I was a bit nervous about the scalpels that my classmates would be wielding.
I had chosen the pre-med track as a gift to Carlisle. I was immensely grateful to him, not only for his forgiveness, but also for his help with my control over my thirst. I didn't plan on ever actually going to medical school, but my this was a way for Carlisle to vicariously keep up with the latest advances in medical science. The discovery of Penicillin had altered the field significantly, and he was eager to keep up with the changes in every way possible.
Carlisle himself was busy with his patients at Highland Hospital, where he worked the night shift in the Emergency Room. He was also able to participate in vaccine research at the University, and our paths crossed on campus occasionally. I was posing this time as Esme's younger brother; our similar hair color was the inspiration for this. The story was that my wealthy brother-in-law and sister had agreed to take me in after my parents were killed in a car accident two years ago. The recent trauma this history provided was enough to explain why I was so shy on campus, and although there weren't any girls in my major, my quiet, standoffish demeanor was usually enough to keep the few female students at bay.
We lived in a two-story house that backed up against Northampton Park, and I had my first automobile. It was a dark blue Lincoln V-12, and the envy of my classmates. Carlisle had disapproved of the purchase at first, saying that we should try to fit in with poor economy, but in the end he allowed me this one indulgence. It had a top cruising speed of ninety miles an hour, but in order to protect the engine I generally kept it below seventy. Ironically, the drive to and from school was the most tedious part of my day; I could run much faster than this. Still, it was necessary to keep up appearances, and I had to admit that I enjoyed the mental drooling of my classmates when they saw me pull into the campus parking lot.
Esme was accompanying me to school today. After work last night, Carlisle had come onto the campus to do a bit of research, and Esme was coming to meet him for "lunch" later on. We pulled into the parking lot, but we were forced to sit and wait out the burst of sunshine that had found a hole in the clouds this morning.
"What do you have today, Edward?" Esme asked as we waited.
"I have my biochemistry lecture, followed by English Lit, and then my dissection lab begins this afternoon." I made a face as I thought of the lab; being around a chemically-preserved human corpse for three hours wasn't going to be pleasant. I was also worried because Larry Thornton was in my dissection group; he was notoriously clumsy and I hoped he wouldn't cut accidentally himself right in front of his vampire lab partner.
Esme wrinkled her nose, as well. "That sounds awful. Maybe Carlisle could have you excused."
"No, I'd like to try it. I'm interested to learn more about anatomy," I admitted. "Now that I'm two years into it, I find the field of Biology interesting. Even though I'll never really practice medicine, perhaps I can assist Carlisle in his research someday."
"Oh, that would be wonderful! Though I think you underestimate your control, Edward. You would make a fine physician."
"Let's not find out," I said darkly. Carlisle and I had told Esme about the man I had almost killed on our final day in Montana, but she seemed determined to forget it.
"Well, I think you should pursue whatever field you find interesting. It's so nice to see you enjoying yourself!" She reached over and smoothed that stubborn lock of hair that always irked her. I grinned and flicked it back out of place as soon as she turned to look out the window. Our peaceful family life was a healing balm to me, after my years away. I would never again take for granted my parent's love, and I understood now how lucky I was to have it. Esme was the best mother I could imagine, and was always trying to see the best in me. We often spent our evenings together, working on the house while Carlisle was at work.
When we had first arrived, Esme had tried in vain to hide her disappointment with the house Carlisle had purchased so many years ago. She knew how much it meant to him, and so it was several days before I finally broke one of my rules: I went and told Carlisle how Esme felt about it. He encouraged her to make any changes she wanted, and within a week the entire thing was torn down. Esme had had the time of her life designing the new house, and we simply lived in the woods while it was being built. I took care to absent myself while the men were working, as my control was still shaky at the time. After the main construction was complete, Esme and I took on the bulk of the painting, finishing, and decorating, since Carlisle had already started his new job at the hospital. Just this past Thursday, we had put the finishing touches on the stone fireplace, and later this week we were going to begin work on a deck behind the kitchen. It was nice to spend time with Esme, doing what she loved. I found I enjoyed learning a bit about carpentry;I was planning on surprising her with a homemade greenhouse for a Mother's Day gift.
The sun finally winked out, and a quick glance at the sky reassured us that we had a good cloud cover for at least the next half hour. I nodded to Esme, and we walked into the science building together, chatting and laughing as we went. We stopped in to visit Carlisle, and I left them there, hurrying to make my first class on time.
.
.
.
The biochemistry lecture was fascinating. I was careful not to read ahead in my classes, as much as I wanted to; it was much more fun to learn from the professor. Dr. Banner was an eccentric man, with tufts of white hair and eyebrows poking out around his spectacles, and although he wasn't always correct on the subject matter, he made it interesting.
My next class was English Literature. This was the class where I usually let my mind wander, as I had already read most of the books we were discussing. There was a mechanical engineering lecture taking place at the same time, as well as a Musical History course; I usually divided my attention between the two, my English professor never the wiser. But my real problem with this class was Royce King II. He was an arrogant, stupid young man who had already been expelled from Cornell after too much carousing, and his rich parents had paid a considerable bribe in order for him to continue his education here. He was only taking a few classes at a time; his father was grooming him for his future in bank management in the afternoons. He wouldn't have been able to handle much of a course load, at any rate.
Royce's mind was so lecherous and asinine that I generally avoided it. Unfortunately, he didn't avoid me. He found my lack of social involvement amusing, and since he had no intention of listening to any of the lectures, he usually spent the hour joking with his cronies about me or harassing me directly. He was feeling mischievous today, and I groaned as I saw his plans to torment me later on during the class. I took a seat up near the front of the lecture hall, hoping this would discourage him.
He and his three favorites entered just as the professor was beginning her lecture. She frowned at their tardiness and gestured with her hand toward the front row, which was empty except for me. Wonderful.
Royce took the place next to me, flopping down in the seat and purposely slamming his arm into mine as he did so. I recoiled enough so that he wouldn't feel the granite hardness of my arm, answering his idiotic sneer with a glare of my own. He was quiet for most of the lecture, at least. But near the end of class, we were instructed to discuss the third chapter of Pride and Prejudice with those students nearest us. I had no intention of discussing anything with Royce King, and left him to his friends. They were congratulating him on his recent engagement to one of the local girls, and I strained to focus my attention on the music lecture as their minds descended into an especially distasteful level; they were teasing him about his upcoming wedding night.
"Enough of this," he said haughtily to his fellows. "We're supposed to be discussing Austen. Take, for example, the icy unfriendliness of Mr. Darcy. He seems quite familiar, don't you agree?" They all snickered, peeking over at me. I rolled my eyes at their juvenile attempts to rile me and picked up my book, pretending to read.
"Now that you mention it, he does," answered another one of them loudly. "When a man spends his time reading women's novels, I suppose he would turn out like Mr. Darcy. Cold, pretentious and completely unaware of what to do with a woman."
Royce guffawed at this and grabbed my book out of my hands. "Boys, let's see if Darcy can give Edward a few pointers," he joked as he flipped through the pages. I gritted my teeth and turned on him with just the right amount of danger in my eyes. I was careful to keep my lips closed- it wouldn't do to scare them too much.
Royce's laughter died out when he saw this, and he carelessly tossed the book back onto my desk. Creep.
I smiled to myself; Royce had no idea how lucky he was that we hadn't met three years ago. He was exactly the sort of man that I would have hunted down. Although I saw no evidence that he had committed a serious crime yet, I could tell what direction he was heading in. I had voiced my concern to Carlisle last semester, but he had advised me to stay out of it.
"Remember, Edward. Remember where playing God got you before." That was enough to silence me on the subject, though I pitied the poor girl who was doomed to marry him soon. Hopefully she knew what she was getting into.
Class was over now, and I sauntered out, not bothering to respond to the jeers behind me. The next three hours were challenging in a different way; the stench of the dissection lab was utterly revolting. Fortunately, Larry Thornton was careful with his scalpel, and since none of my group were chatty, I was able to get though the lab without too much breathing.
As I drove home that afternoon, eagerly looking forward scrubbing off the cadaver stench, I smiled to myself as I rolled down the window, savoring the clean air as it hit my face. I enjoyed my schooling, and I had the best family in the world. If my biggest problems were an odiferous cadaver and an Neanderthal for a classmate, life was looking good.