Jacob….. Jacob. For some unexplainable reason, I couldn't get him out of my head. Not since I first saw him in the cafeteria. I was thinking about him all the way to class, which Mike walked me to. "Mr. Melina," he said as we crossed the threshold. "Hey, Mike," the teacher looked from the stack of papers he was busy with to us. "Oh, yes; Miss Swan." "Hello sir," I greeted upon entry. Then I looked inside the classroom; imagine my utter delight when I found Mr. Black sitting inside. We were already beholding at one another by the time Mr. Melina got around to me.
"Hello, welcome to Forks, my dear." "T-thank you." "Here's your textbook; is there anything else you think you need?" I gently shook my head. "Right, uh; let's find you a seat….." "She can sit here," I heard Jacob speak for the first time. Oh my god, his voice! It sounded like a mixture of angelic salvation and promised sin. I simply adored it; I don't know where this adoration came from but it was there…. my god, was it there.
This little outburst caught not only the teacher's but everyone's attention in the classroom. "Uh, Miss Swan?" Mr. Melina turned to face me. "Are you alright with that?" "Yes!" I realized I said a little too quickly. "Y-yes, I wanna sit there." "Well, alrighty then; I'll leave her to you, Mr. Black." Jacob flashed the most brilliant smile as I sat down next to him. I set my backpack down and looked over; we stared at each other for a brief moment before he finally broke the silence. "Hi," his voice was low but extremely kind. "Hi…." I said in an even quieter tone. Neither of us were listening as the teacher came down the aisle dropping cups onto our desks.
"What's your name?" "Athénaïs, and your Jacob Black…" "You've already heard about me, I see," his grin grew. "Wow…" "What?" "Nothing, it's just…. I didn't know my name could sound like that." And a sincere smile rolled across my lips. I had no clue where these feelings came from but… it was almost impossible to explain. I felt… I felt almost compelled to be near him. As close as possible…..
We didn't get much work done that class, too distracted talking with each other. It was clear that this was a no-no; not because we neglected to do the project, but by the looks we kept getting from others. Neither of us were in a hurry by the time the bell rang. In fact, I doubt we would have noticed not our respective groups of friends interrupted. "Jake, dude; come on, class is over." "I'm busy," he shot them a glare. I was about to say that it was alright and he could join his friends before Jessica and Mike came over to me. "Come on, Athénaïs; we're gonna be late for English," Jessica urged, while eyeing Jacob. "Uh…." Jacob looked at me. "Can I walk you to class?" He offered in a kind tone. "Already am," Mike cut in. This earned a monstrous glare from Jacob, which I failed to catch. His friends did though, causing them to look at each other in slow realization. "Come on," Mike then ushered me and Jessica up and towards the door. "Oh! Uh, nice talking to you, Jacob!" I called back before leaving. We were out of the room before I could hear his reply.
The rest of the school day was fairly uneventful. I tried to forget about Jacob and carry on, but deep down a part of me kept hoping I'd run into him. When I didn't, I rode my bike home alone. Daddy suggested that we go out for dinner, to celebrate my first day of school. We went for classic fish and chips, at my request. The waiter gave me a strange look when I asked for curry sauce with my chips. "Curry sauce? That an English thing?" I giggled. "Yep! And it's delicious…. unless you order it in Brussels. Then they just mix mayonnaise with curry powder." Instead of laughing, he just gave me one of those "I don't know what to make of you" looks.
"You did…. a lot of traveling with your mom, didn't you?" "Yes. Traveling is easier in Europe." "I never did care for it much," Daddy grabbed a bottle of ketupat; I watched as he attempted to pour some on his plate. "You take after her," he noted without looking at me. I'm not sure if this bothered him or not. Unsure how to respond, I let out a soft smile and peered down at my plate. "My grandmother said I was much more like her than my mother; I think that was supposed to be a compliment to me and insult to her. And yet… I didn't know how to reply," I gazed up at him again; kindly, enduringly….
"I wanted to know in that moment if I actually took after you, but… I didn't know you well enough to make that assessment. In that moment, I missed you so much." And Daddy looked up at me with quiet yet listening eyes. "And then I realized that it doesn't matter if I'm like you or not. You're still my father," my hand reached out to grab his, giving it a squeeze. "I wanted more than anything to move to Forks with you." Daddy didn't respond verbally, just instead staring at me and holding my hand. We stayed like that for some time; long enough for our food to get cold.
Mom called me that night; I was so happy to hear from her. "Hey, baby! How's life in Forks with your old man? You having fun?" "I love it here, and I love being with Daddy again. Mom, you should see this bike he bought me!" "Oh good! You love bikes! We still got yours here in the parkade." "Heh, oh Mom; I miss you." "I miss you too, sweetheart. Now, tell me all about your school. What are the kids like? Any cute guys? Are they being nice to you?" I couldn't help but smile; she was so cute! "Don't worry, Mom. Everyone is very... welcoming." "Oh. Tell me all about it." "It's no big deal. There's just this one guy." She gasped. "Who is he?! Is he cute? What's his name?" "Cute's not the right word. He's…. handsome; beautiful." "Oh, Athénaïs! I think I smell a prom date!" "We barely know each other," I twiddled with my pencil. "Well, you have all year to get to know him." "Yeah…" Yeah, I guess I do.
Ok, I'll admit it; I was excited to see Jacob in biology class. We'll probably sit next to each other again, meaning we'd have the opportunity to talk more. The very thought made me smile wide as I rode my bike to school. But to my disappointment, he never showed up to class or school. I was a little bummed at first, but my new friends helped to lift my spirits. We walked to class and ate together; I started to develop a new routine with them. But… three days later, when I was feeling a lot better, I started to notice that things were a little off. It started with Quil and Seth, the only two kids from the Quileute tribe currently at school, watching me from across the cafeteria. It was weird; I could feel their eyes on me but… it didn't feel stockerish or lustful. It felt confused and even a little protective; like they were keeping an eye on me, weird as that sounds. I knew that was crazy and obviously not the case but still…. I glanced for what felt like the fifth time over my shoulder to catch them looking at me. They didn't even try to hide it. And that was just the start of it.
The next morning, I was listening to Innsbruck by Owain Phyfe while brushing my teeth and hair. Daddy ascended the stairs to come see me. Leaning against the bathroom's door post with one hand on his hip, his head gave a little shake while a faint grin lurked in the corner of his lips. "You didn't get your music tastes from me. How did my kid end up liking French opera?" "I love opera music," I gave my hair a tussle while facing the mirror. "You can keep your Back Street Boys, but you haven't heard a real man sing until you've heard Toreador." "Oh boy," he gave a slight chuckle. "Would it kill you to be normal for a while?" "And give up my Edith Piaf? Never," I flashed him a cute smile. "I saw her grave, by the way." "It wouldn't hurt for you to say out of cemeteries too." "Even famous ones in Paris?" "This isn't Paris, kiddo." "Tell me about it! The guys here are so tame, if not really… juvenile." Still, they… some are still stunning; more stunning than a French or even Italian seigneur.
"Come outside when you're done. I'll drive you school," Daddy turned to go downstairs. "Oh, I don't mind riding!" "It's raining out, kid." "It is?" I leaned out in such a way to peer out my window. "That's alright, I've rode in rain lots of times." "The drivers here aren't used to bikers on the road. I'd prefer to drive you in this weather." "Ok, then I'll be down in a few minutes," I flashed him a smile. He was halfway the stairs when the opera started up again and I could practically feel his eyes roll from the bathroom.
I learned an interesting and slightly alarming bit of news on the ride to school. "I'll probably be late for dinner. Gotta head over to Maison county." "Why? Is everything ok?" "A security guard at the Graceland Mill got killed by some kind of animal." "An animal?" This caught my attention. "What kind of animal? Should I be concerned? Do you want me to stay of the woods?" "Easy, it was a while away; you should be safe here." "In theory." Daddy took in a deep breath. "The forests here are different; people aren't the only dangerous animals out there." "But I'll be safe on the roads, right?" "You'll be fine, sweetheart." I blinked to him in astonishment; that was the first time he'd call me anything besides Athénaïs or "kid". And I couldn't stop myself from immediately smiling.
Eric and Mike got into the habit of walking me to class in turns. This time was Eric's turn as he walked to me biology, talking the whole way there. "Prom committee's a chick thing, but I've got to cover it for the paper anyway and I need a guy to help choose the music." "Ok, first thing: there's no such thing as "a chick thing"," I corrected. "All gender "norms" are prescribed by society which are impressed onto us since birth. Simone de Bouvier says that we have no inherent gender, it is all a construct. So yes, Eric; there is nothing emasculating about you being on the prom committee." He just looked at me for a second. "Oh right, feminist. Well, thank you," his lips curled to a grin. "It's nice to know I can be on the prom committee without completely bulldozing my masculinity." "Your personality, on the other hand," Mike added, coming up from behind us. "Shut it!" But Mike wasn't listening to him anymore, smiling at me.
"What's up, Amsterdam?! How you liken' the rain, girl?" Mike sprinkled some hat from his hat onto my head, cause that's attractive. "You better get used to it, girl." He's obviously never been to Europe in the winter; this was normal to me. "Yeah, hey Mike; you're real cute, man," Eric smirked sourly. While they got to bantering, I walked further inside. Imagine my utter delight at the sight of Jacob sitting at our desk again. He instantly looked at me and smiled; his gorgeous, luminescent smile. And I smiled back, going straight to sit right beside him. "Hi, Athénaïs." "Hello, Jacob." "Uh, listen. I'm sorry I….." Before he could continue, Mr. Melina began speaking to the class. "Onion root cells; that's what's on your cells right now. So, separate and label them into the phases of mitosis, and the first partners who get it right are gonna win the golden onion," he held a whole onion up to the class from the front of the room.
Jacob smiled at me and gently slid the microscope my way. "Ladies first." This made me mirror his expression. He was a gentleman, and I rather enjoyed that. "It's pro-phase, I think," I checked the cell. Then I scooted to over to him. "Do you want to check?" "No," his head gave a little shake, still grinning. "I know you're right. You're smarter than me." "How can you know that?" I laughed a little. "Well look at you. You have this air about you." "Snobbery? Arrogance?" "Intelligence." This made my eyes widen a little. Sure, guys have complimented me before; usually on my looks. But he was the first to ever say anything like that before. It was like…. like his eyes were digging deep inside me, beneath the skin. He may have thought I was pretty but that wasn't what he found appealing about me. There was something else, something deeper….
"Listen, I'm sorry I disappeared like that." "It's ok, we only had one class together and I'm sure you had a good reason." "I did, it's….. family matters; extended family." "Is everything ok? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!" Jacob flashed me yet another dazzling grin; that was like the third in five minutes. Not that I was complaining. "It's ok, it should be fine now. I'm glad to see you're doing well. How are liking the weather? Is it too cold for you?" "No," I shook my head while glancing out the window thoughtfully. "It's gonna sound weird but I love the rain." "Really?" "Oh yes. Sometimes, when I was back home, I'd deliberately plan my walks when I knew it would be raining. Then, to my mother's annoyance, I'd go outside without an umbrella just so I could feel the rain on my face and in my hair," I paused for a moment as if to be remembering something pleasant. Jacob waited patiently for me to continue.
"I think… I think that's one of those feelings of being alive; feeling the rain drop onto your skin. It's almost like magic when you think about it. Water falling from the sky; that's a bizarre concept in itself but to falling onto you… it blows my mind every time. Bit silly, isn't it?" "N-no!" Jacob suddenly straightened up like he had been listening to me intently. "I've never heard anyone describe rain like that before. I think you're the first person I've ever met who actually likes getting rained on." "Me too," I chuckled. "Everyone else thinks I'm crazy. Weird…" "You're not weird," he said, making me look at him. He was naturally smiling back at me. "You're one of a kind." "Really?" "Hey, I might not be as smart or like the rain as much as you, but I know personality when I see it." "Thank you," I smiled. He kept making me smile, over and over. It never ended, and secretly, I didn't want it to end.
"Is that why you moved here? You like the rain?" Jacob broke the silence after a minute. "Heh, no," I answered while writing down on our work sheet. "My mother recently remarried." "And what? You don't like the guy?" I may have been imagining things, but I could have sworn I detected a hint of aggression in his voice. "Oh no! I love him; Phil is a wonderful husband and step-father. But… it's just, I wanted to spend some time with my real father before I graduated." Jacob merely replied with a solemn head nod. "I haven't… I haven't lived with him since my parents got a divorce. I miss my mom and Phil, of course, but…. I need to be with him for a while. Just a little while, I think."
"So you're not planning on moving back anytime soon?" "No." "Good," he said in the most elated way possible, which caught me off guard. Though I chose not to address it; I'm sure it was nothing bad. Not him, not Jacob…. Again, I had no idea where these emotions came from, but they were there and intense. Instead of fighting them, I was just going to coast; they didn't seem harmful. No…. if anything, they made me happy. He made me happy. My eyes lowered onto Jacob softly. There was something about him that made me happy.