Alice released her hold on me and took a step back, examining my face for my reaction. I gave her my most reassuring smile, hoping she bought it. Whether she bought it or not, she smiled back.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you wanna go or not. You are now my shopping buddy!" Suddenly she was gone, dashing back into her room to grab her purse, which was probably filled with more money than I would want her to take. I wanted to groan, but I had to convince Alice that shopping was just what I needed, so I kept a smile firmly plastered on my face as she passed me.

She quickly took hold of my left arm and started tugging me gently.

"Come on, Bella. We need to go to your cottage for a minute."

As soon as I knew that Alice was distracted, I stuck my tongue out at Edward.

Of course, trying to hide your intentions from Alice wasn't the smartest idea I ever had.

"Oh, don't blame Edward. I was planning on taking you shopping anyway. He knew what I wanted, so he gave it to me..not as if he really had a choice. He knows he could never stop me from getting what I want-" I let Alice babble on, unsuccessful in trying to keep Renesmee out of my thoughts. Alice must have sensed my distress, because she ran faster, tugging me all the way.

Her urgency did help with distracting me.

"Alice? Why do we need to go to my cottage, anyway? Is there something you want me to give you?"

She laughed, her singsong voice pleasant in my ears. I had truly missed that sound when she and Jasper had "left" us.

Now that she was back for good, I tried to spend a lot of time with her, please her in every way I could. Because of her, we all survived the Volturi's advance a few months ago.

"Yes, there IS something I want you to do for me. You are in urgent need of professional help with your lack of fashion sense. You are not going anywhere with me without looking your best." She smiled complacently.

I couldn't hide the look of fear that crossed my face for a brief instant. I chanced a peak at her reaction. Her smile only got wider.

She appraised my attire and tsk tsked her disapproval. "I mean, look at the way your dressed, for heaven's sake! Faded demin jeans and a white blouse. Haven't I taught you anything?"

We made it to the cottage and slowed to a walk. I glanced at her own attire - a turtleneck sweater dress with short sleeves, beige in color, which hung down to just above her knees. It showed off her curves and made her black, spiky hair stand out against the light colors of her dress and skin. I laughed at the broad difference in our style choices.

"Of course," I answered, grinning. "You taught me that you really are a terrible little monster when you want to be."

Her answering smile was dazzling, but I only saw it for an instant before she promptly shoved me through the door.

We went straight to the closet, in which she expertly sifted through the endless garment bags hanging on the row in the middle of the room.

"Ah ha!" She exclaimed, snatching one of the bags off of the rack and tugging down the zipper in one fluid motion.

I whimpered softly to myself.

She held up a deep blue, long sleeved off the shoulders dress which was covered in small diamonds that glittered when Alice shook it slightly. The sleeves were made of a see-through blue material that was cut open on the right sides.

I saw that smug smile cross Alice's face..that look that showed me her obvious pleasure in having me to use as her dress up doll for the day.

Great. Just great. This afternoon just couldn't get any worse...but of course, since my "magnet for trouble" luck didn't work that way, I was dead wrong.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

"What? Oh, well, of course we will be putting her through school, Charlie. Edward and I-"

"You do know that registration for Forks Elementary is today, right?" Charlie questioned, his voice rising.

I blanched. Edward had been absentmindedly twirling a strand of Renesmee's hair while she sat content in his lap, nodding off to sleep. He was sitting on the sofa, close to where I stood leaning against the wall, but when he heard Charlie's statement and took in my expression, he stood suddenly, being careful not to jostle Nessie in his arms as he shifted her to one arm. He was suddenly there in front of me. He held out his hand for the cell phone, which I gave to him willingly.

It was too bad that Alice was busy shopping with Rosalie without taking a phone, or maybe she could have seen what Charlie was planning and warn us ahead of time.

"Charlie, hello. This is Edward. I'm sorry we did not realize it sooner-"

"But you are going to register her, aren't you?" Charlie demanded gruffly.

Edward glanced at me. He must have seen the terror on my face, for he answered suddenly, "Well, Charlie, we actually were discussing having her homeschooled-"

"HOMESCHOOLED! Why? Do you think that Forks Elementary is not good enough for her!"

I heard Emmett's obnoxious laughter behind me at Charlie's rant.

He must have gotten back from his hunting trip with Carlisle and Esme.

"Ugh!" I growled, planning to snatch the phone away from Edward and talk some sense into Charlie, but Edward held up a hand, cautioning me to wait.

"No, of course not, Charlie. We were just discussing her education, actually, right when you called. Do you mind calling back in a few minutes? Thanks."

With that, Edward shut the phone, a smirk on his face.

"He is probably gonna hate you for that." I came over and gently took the sleeping Renesmee from Edwards arms. I needed to hold her to help me think of what we should do.

"Without a doubt," he agreed, sounding smug. He wrapped his arms around me, leading me to the sofa. We sat, watching Renesmee's sleeping form. Her eyelids fluttered and she stirred slightly, snuggling closer to me.

Kindergarten? What kind of a crazy idea is that? I'd have to think of a way to let Charlie realize that we were adamant in our decision.

Edward nodded, seemingly to himself, and muttered, "I know." It broke me from my musings and my gaze flashed to the door in time to see Carlisle and Esme enter the room. I greeted them with a halfhearted smile.

Carlisle was deep in thought about something, and I watched as he frowned when he heard Edward's answer.

"What did I miss?" I looked over at Edward, eyebrows lifted.

Edward smiled, tightening his arms around me as he shifted me onto his lap.

"Carlisle mentioned how Charlie was most likely going to be difficult about our previous decision."

I groaned. Leave it to Charlie to suddenly become Grandpa of the Year and start to worry - too much - about Renesmee's future education. We were planning on homeschooling her; we knew that doing so would be the wisest decision, considering her growth spurt was far from over - she still had six and a half more years of growing left. She grew too fast for humans to be in a lot of contact with her daily. Charlie was already getting worried. I kept telling him that she was just going through a major growth spurt, but I was still worried about whether Charlie could handle the actual truth, or if we should tell him in the first place..

I saw Edward's head snap up suddenly in Emmett's direction.

"Emmett.." Edward cautioned him. Edward shook his head slightly. I stared at Emmett, confused.

Emmett chortled at my expression. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh, come on, Bella." Emmett said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just put Renesmee through school. I mean, her skin doesn't glitter, she can stomach the human food, and her eyes are brown. Those are three huge advantages right there!"

I snarled, my upper lip lifting slightly to expose my teeth. How dare he make such a moronic comment! Emmett seemed unfazed by my reaction. Which ticked me off even more.

"Keep it up Emmett, and I'll show you how my strength becomes a huge advantage right NOW!" I cried, seething with fury. Edward's hands tightened around the upper part of my arms.

And then a sudden calm swept over me, and I remembered Jasper's presence in the room. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Stupid emotions. Being a newborn had its disadvantages. I began to concentrate on breathing evenly in and out.

I cast a sidelong glance at Jasper. He sat in the chair closest to where Edward and I were sitting. I smiled an apology, and he seemed to be trying hard to keep a grin off his face.

I took a steadying breath and continued. "Emmett, with her growth spurt as it is, she couldn't possibly stay in a classroom for an entire year unnoticed. They'll realize-"

"But her growth spurt has reduced in appearance," Carlisle explained. "You cannot tell day to day now that the growth is still occurring. Of course, after a year, there would unequivocally be a considerable difference, but children go through growth spurts even at an age as young as Nessie's. I'm sure a year in kindergarten wouldn't really hurt."

I glanced at Esme, hoping that there would be someone among us who saw the obvious threat in this, besides me. She had her head slightly lowered, pondering over her husbands words.

She looked up at me and smiled tenderly. "I don't see any trouble in it, then. If she will go about undetected from human eyes as just another gorgeous young child, then I don't see any harm in letting her go through with it."

The hope I had been building left me and my shoulders slumped. Edward felt my reaction and chuckled, slowly moving his hands up and down the sides of my arms in a comforting gesture.

"She will be fine, love. Besides, she will gain some experience from this. She will be able to witness how normal human children her age act and be able to duplicate their behavior with ease."

I wanted to comment, but suddenly Jacob burst through the door, shaking his dripping wet hair as he stepped through the doorway.

Since the near death experience with the Volturi, Jacob had missed out on a lot of his schooling. He had recently returned and was busy finishing up his last year. So it must be three o' clock. That was the time he usually always appeared after school was over.

Renesmee stirred. She slowly blinked several times as her vision adjusted, then her beautiful brown eyes surveyed the room, stopping on Jacob.

"Jakey!" She cried, gracefully taking two bounds before leaping into his arms.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, catching her automatically. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in an embrace. He hugged her back, sighing.

"Man, school was boring without ya, Nessie." She beamed, showing her adorable dimples.

She placed her left hand on his cheek. "Sure," Jacob shrugged. "But you should know that this time, I'm gonna catch the biggest game," he teased, setting her on the floor.

He then turned to head back outside with Nessie to hunt, but I intervened.

"Jacob, wait!" He paused and turned, flashing me a puzzled look.

"There's a certain problem that needs resolved, and I wanted you to have a say in the decision."

Jacob froze, gazing at each of our faces. He must not have seen any worry or alarm in them, because he softened his position.

That hope that left me a short while ago came crawling back. Surely Jacob would side with me, see the danger in this. "Charlie called. He wants Nessie to start Kindergarten," I blurted quickly.

"Dun, dun, dun," Emmett taunted.