A/N: Yeah, yeah, it was a late update. SORRY! I had writer's block and all that good—cough, bad, cough—stuff.

Disclaimer: Twilight and Maximum Ride. Are. Not. Mine.

Chapter Three--BPOV

What do you think school means?

Here, I looked it up in the dictionary for you:

An institution for educating children.

Now want to know the real definition?

A place kids go to mindlessly learn things that will probably not help in life, also where one's Biology partner glares at said one like they would like nothing more to kill said person and then doesn't show up for a week afterward.

Okay, not really. But my definition makes a lot more sense, seeing as that was the one that actually happened.

Edward Cullen didn't show up for five days afterward our little one-sided glaring match. The whole week I grew more suspicious and definitely more confused.

What did he have against me? For some reason I had a growing thought that his disappearance was based solely on me.

So when I walked into the cafeteria on Monday I was feeling confident that he wouldn't be there, sitting in that little table in the corner. My eyes swept across to that spot anyway, to check for reassurance.

I gasped, seemingly not drawing in enough air. He was there. Posture straight, eyes trained on some faraway scene, his fingers picking apart his uneaten lunch.

"Don't you want to get something else?" Jessica asked, pointing out the only thing in my hands: a bottle of lemonade.

"I'm feeling a little sick," I admitted.

Mike seemed a little too concerned but I hardly noticed. As soon as I had admitted to not feeling my best, his eyes flashed to stare at me.

They weren't filled with the same murderous expression that they last had when I had seen them. No, if anything they were filled with curiosity.

I made a disgusted noise in the back of my throat. Couldn't he just hate me and get over it?

I sat down with Jessica and Mike. Conversation was normal until Jessica whispered, "Edward Cullen is staring at you."

"Didn't his mother ever tell him that staring wasn't polite?" I muttered under my breath, glancing up to look at Edward when I was sure that he wasn't staring at me. He head was turned to face his family but one side of his mouth lifted up, as if he was smiling at something he had heard.

Lunch ended too soon and I walked down the hallway towards Biology.

He wasn't there. Figures.

So I sat down and doodled on a notebook. I drew a girl with wings coming out of her back, 6 people surrounding her. 6 people she hadn't seen for 3 years. A/N: If you don't get it, she's drawing herself and the Flock.

"Hello," said a quiet voice—velvet, muted. It was beautiful, musical.

I whipped my head up to find Edward Cullen staring at me. His bronze hair was swept into disarray perfectly, his eyes were golden and entrancing, his pale skin was oddly luminescent.

He continued. "My name is Edward Cullen. You must be Bella Swan."

By that time I remembered all too clearly what had happened a week ago. I wasn't going to pull that stunt but I wouldn't—couldn't—be polite. I nodded curtly and turned around to face Mr. Banner.

But no, he wasn't going to give up that easily. "Are you liking Forks, Bella?" he asked.

I nodded again but under my breath I muttered, "Oh, I'm not."

Edward heard—how did he hear that? I mumbled under my breath! —And asked again, with something like concern in his voice, "What don't you like about our town?"

The words were out before I could stop them. "The people are just so polite, don't you know? That's the best part—the murderous glares that clearly show how much they like me." Every word dripped sarcasm.

"Bella," he sighed my name, sounding completely sincere and apologetic. "I'm truly sorry for my behavior last week. I had been given some bad news and it was unforgivable of me to take my anger out on you."

It was my turn to sigh and I thought about turning down his apology but I wasn't one to be that mean.

"Fine, I forgive you," I said, still a bit put out. I mean, he glared at me like he wanted to suck out my blood and here I am, accepting his apology?

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered to myself.

Edward shot a look—one that clearly asked if I was in my right mind—and asked, "Are you okay, Bella?"

Ha, nice question. I've just escaped from a lab filled with mad scientists where they performed experiments on me and he was asking me if I was okay?

Then again, he didn't know anything.

I snorted. "I'm fine."

We worked on the assignment but finished a lot earlier than the rest of the students, probably because of how smart Edward was.

I sighed, glad that the schoolwork was over.

He interrupted the silence. "Why did you move to Forks?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that?" I said, but it ended up sounding like a question.

"Bella…" He glanced at me with deadly golden eyes, trying to draw the truth straight out of me, I supposed.

It worked.

"My father—he's a police officer—had to go to a police convention in California and my mother went with him." I made up on the spot.

"Your parents?" he asked cautiously

"Je—Charlie and Renee Swan," I growled out. I couldn't believe myself—that after all these years, that after all the betrayal, that at first, without thought, I still considered Jeb my father.

I was sure my face showed all the emotions so I turned away from Edward—I didn't want him to see my weakness.

"That doesn't seem fair," he continued, as if I had never turned away. "They could've taken you with them."

I barked a cold, harsh laugh. "Haven't you heard? Life isn't fair."

"I believe I have heard that saying before," Edward agreed dryly.

"That wasn't the saying that I first thought of," I disagreed.

"Oh?" He sounded interested now, but was playing it off as nothing,

"The saying I thought of was, 'It's all a test,'" I quoted, from none other than Jeb. "But I wouldn't expect you to hear of it."

The bell rang and I was out of my seat before Edward could respond.

***

Jeb knelt down beside me in the small dog crate I was in.

"I'm so sorry you have to be treated this way, Bella. I really am."

I shot him a look that clearly said, 'Then sorry doesn't mean the same thing I thought it did.'

He sighed, looking dejected. "I miss them times when we were in our house with the Flock too, but you have to understand. This is all a test, Bella."

"Get away from me, Jeb," I snarled. "You lost my good opinion of you the first time I saw you here being chums with the white coats."

I then imitated a white coat's voice: "Oh, I've wanted to get my hands on Subject Fourteen for years!"

"Bella, listen to me," he pleaded.

"If I were out of this cage you would be six feet under already," I threatened.

"Fine." He stood up and brushed imaginary lint from his coat.

"Got blood on your coat, Doctor?" I muttered under my breath.

Jeb turned and walked away, stopping only once to call back to me. "It's all a test, Bella. You have to understand. It's all a test."

***

I woke up the next morning in the cab of my truck in a very cramped position. Already I could tell this was going to be a bad day.

I just didn't know how bad. So, like the clueless person I am, I decided to go about my usual schedule.

I slipped on some not-too-dirty clothes and drove to some place to eat breakfast. I then drove to school, enjoying the breeze that would feel so much better if I was up in the sky, flying.

Jessica greeted me as I pulled in and I said a normal, "Hi."

Classes were boring, with a capital B. I listed to the teachers talk, but mostly didn't do anything.

Soon it was lunch. I got in the lunch line when Ms. Cope signaled for me to come towards her.

"Ms. Cope?" I asked.

"Your father called, he wanted to check on you, see how you were doing at a new school."

My first thought was father? I don't have a father!

I tried to save the situation and put on an excited expression. "Sure, I'd love to talk to him, I've missed him too much!"

She smiled and bought my excuse. "You can use the phone in my office."

I walked into her office, Ms. Cope behind me. She silently handed me the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

Who would it be?

Maybe the Flock? I felt that traitorous feeling, hope, in the pit of my stomach and knew somehow that I would be disappointed.

"Why hello, Bella," a throaty voice chuckled. "Miss me?"

It was Ari.

A/N: -Cue the creepy music- Dun, dun, dun… Cliffhanger! Oooh, so what'll happen? Ha, I'm being evil, but it had to happen.

And I've gotten so many alerts but not a lot of people have reviewed. People, how hard is it? Just type 'good' if you're that lazy.

Sorry for the late update, by the way. :(

Now, review! Seriously, or I'll sic Cerberus on you. He'll happily jump out of my other story, Daughter of the Ocean, to help me. So please review! 'Cause I really don't want to sic him on anyone.