Chapter 3
BPOV
What is that GAWD AWFUL incessant noise?
Oh wait, that noise is coming from my phone. I turn over to grab it from the nightstand and notice is only seven in the morning.
"Hello." I reply my voice still raw and scratchy from the night before.
"Bella it's time. I'll be over there in a minute to make sure you're up getting ready. I wanna go see the duck parade before breakfast."
"Alice, are you crazy…it was after four by the time we got back and you want me to get up and go watch a duck parade? Your outta your damn mind."
Click
I pulled the covers and the pillow up over my head and burrow back into the warmth of the mattress. This might be the last time I get to sleep in a bed that's so comfortable. Just as I am about the doze off something is pounding on the door.
"Bella, if you don't open up I will get housekeeping to let me in!"
"Go Away Alice! I am sleeping and you can't make me come out of this bed!"
Yes! I can hear her give up; I knew she would see it my way. As I start to burrow back in, I hear the tell tale click of a key card in my door and then the door being slammed open. I peep out from under the covers to see a raven haired nymph standing in my doorway glaring down at me. I swear if she wasn't so small, I just might be shaking under these covers.
"Bella, don't be fooled by my size, I may be small, but I sure as hell can drag you outta that bed in no time flat. Do not even try to think otherwise."
How did she even remotely know what I had been thinking?
"How are you even awake right now let alone dressed and standing in my room?"
"I have been dying to just see these ducks, and I don't wanna go down there all by myself!"
"We can see ducks anytime Alice, why are these so important?"
"Because Bella they are on Parade!"
I swear this woman, who I have known for not even twenty-four hours yet, is outta her mind. But I do have to admit it must be pretty interesting if she's making this big of a deal out of it. So I crawl out of the heavenly bed and make my way over to my bags to dig out something to wear. I pull out one of my favorite long tees and jeans, along with my socks and underwear and make my way into the shower. I should have taken one last night after we got back from the bar, but I was wiped after being on the road for most of the day and then working at the Black Diamond.
"Alice, I desperately need coffee. Can you make some while I hop in the shower real fast?"
"Sure, Bella. Not a problem. I guess I could use some too."
With that I close the door and start my morning routine. I quickly wash the bar scum from my hair and body, while going over what this day could have in store for us. As I get out and dry off, I apply my favorite chocolate/cocoa butter lotion and run my leave-in conditioner through my hair before I blow dry it to get the remaining moisture out. I pull it up to keep the long strands out of my face and finish getting dressed.
I make my way out of the bathroom and over to put my sneakers on, when Alice asks me how I like my coffee.
"More cream and sugar than actual coffee would be awesome, Alice. Thank you."
"Oh my GAWD! Where did you ever get those old school shell tops at Bella?" Alice blurts out as she hands me my coffee.
"You know I don't really remember Alice to tell you the truth. I just know they're comfortable so I tend to stock up on things like that I find."
I finish tying my shoes and take a cautious sip of my coffee. Wow! Alice can make an amazing cup of coffee.
"Alice you frackin' nailed this cup of coffee!"
"I know, right? I pretty much take mine the same way."
With that I finish the coffee and we make our way down to the lobby to see this "Duck Parade".
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
When we make our way into the lobby , there is a flurry of activity and all I can see is people lining a miniature roped off area that led to a fountain in the middle of the lobby. All I can think is, these must be some special ducks to be afforded this kind of treatment.
"Oh, look Bella! Here they come now rolling out the red carpet for them!" Alice continues to pull my arm leading us to the front by the ropes, pushing her way through the crowd.
"We gotta have front row, there is just no other way to go, don'tcha think Bella?"
"Sure Alice, whatever you say," as I roll my eyes at her.
"Don't think I just didn't see you do that."
Damn, I've been caught.
"I am sorry Alice; I just don't see what the big deal is."
"You're about to eat those words, Swan." As Alice narrows her eyes at me and puts her full attention to the front.
The elevator doors open and some kind of song starts playing as a man, leads 5 mallard ducks off the elevator. Cameras are flashing and I swear it's like being at a movie premiere red carpet event, as people are trying to make their way to the front to capture just the perfect picture of the ducks as they strut their way to the fountain.
Alice is so filled with excitement; she's vibrating standing there next to me. It's so bad; I can feel myself shaking in her wake.
"Alice, are you alright? You're literally vibratin' girl."
"Sorry Bella, I tend to do that when I get excited, but aren't they just sooo adorable! I could just take one home with me!"
"Well they are pretty darn cute. Maybe you're right, Alice. Thanks for making come with you. It was truly an eye opening experience. Too bad we won't get to see them go back upstairs later on."
"So I take you will eat a slice of that humble pie." As Alice pokes me in the ribs.
I can't help but laugh as I tell her yes.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Alice and I make our way towards the small restaurant that the hotel has my stomach starts growling. I peek inside and see they have a massive breakfast buffet with all kinds of breakfast stations. They even have a person making omelets from scratch. That's the line I am definitely getting in. I can't resist a good veggie omelet. When the lady finishes up with my order I make my way over to Alice who's bouncing around waiting for them to bring out some fresh home fries to go with her biscuits and gravy.
"Alice, how can you eat that? It looks like slop."
"Well Bella, don't cha know this is a southern delicacy? All I need is some grits and I'll be ready and rearin' to go. Plus your eggs and toast seems pretty boring."
"I'll have you know this my dear Alice, is a not just some plain eggs and toast, this dear is a rare veggie omelet!"
"Veggie omelet! Bella do you have a strange obsession with veggies? Girl you need some meat in that their omelet!"
"I am just not a big fan of breakfast meats Alice." I confess to her.
"Oh. Well were just going to have to change that status, Miss Bella."
I can't help but giggle as I tell her, "Better people have tried and have yet to succeed in that mission Alice."
"Bella, I think some nice, long, thick piece of some good ol' home grown sausage will fix ya right up."
"Alice!" I hiss as I duck my head down since I can feel my cheeks starting to get hot with her certainty and my own embarrassment at her brazen suggestion.
The next thing I know, I feel strong arms wrap around me and lift me up and as they start spinning me. .
"Emmbear put me down, before I spill my omelet!"
Emm places me back on solid ground and gives me a big ol' kiss on my cheek as I smack him and try to shove him away. Trying to move Emmett is like trying to move a brick house, it just isn't going to happen.
"Mornin' BB! I accidently overslept or I would've woken you up this morning. Thank God this place has a buffet, I was afraid we would have to stop somewhere…" Emmett trails off staring at something behind me.
I turn around to see what has caught my ADD prone cousin's attention. This time, my plate does drop out of my hand. Standing maybe fifteen feet in front of me is one of the, if not THE, most striking pieces of the male species. I swear my heart has both stopped and jumped out of my chest, because I can no longer feel it beating. I think I just might pass out flat on the floor. He's extraordinarily tall, but he's not a muscular brick house like Emmett. He seems more lithely toned.
What I wouldn't give to have his body adhere to mine…In the light his dark hair becomes a multihued mess of red, blond, brown and some copper all mixed together to make the most unique hair color I have ever seen. I wonder what he uses to make it look sooo touchable…His slight scruff outlines such a strong jaw line, it makes my knees week… Gah… what am I thinking? I haven't felt anything remotely like this in forever.
By the time someone clears their throat, I realize I've been staring at the magnificent individual in front of me. I notice that there are two other people with him: a woman of such stature I feel a bit out of place being in her vicinity and a man who's almost as heart-attack-inducing as the other holds out his hand to me and says, "Well hello, you must be Isabella, my name is Jasper. It seems that you've dropped your plate."
His boyish smirk lets me know, he knows exactly what I am feeling at the moment.
After he shakes my hand, we both stoop down and try to gather the mess together that is sitting at my feet. My infamous omelet is in ruins. Jasper tries to help me salvage as much of it as we can. I can't help but feel flustered and embarrassed at my own foolishness. I never let boys - no, men - get to me. So what is so different about him?
"These two people here with me are Rosalie and Edward."
I shake Rosalie's hand as she steps forward and introduces herself, "Rosalie Hale, actually."
I swear my hand feels like it's going to be crushed if she doesn't let up on her grip.
"Well it's just plain Bella for me." She finally releases my hand and I turn to shake Edward's hand…mmmm…Edward…NO dirty thoughts! And it seems that he doesn't even want to touch me by the glare that is currently gracing his face. But he does shake my hand and as soon as my skin touches his it feels like it's being burned all the way down to the bones. I quickly move my hand away just about as fast as he did and I end up elbowing Emm right in the ribs.
"Ouch! BB that hurt!"
"Sorry Emmbear, oh hey where are my manners? This little nymph is Alice and this big bear is Emmett," as I point to each of them.
Emmett removes his arm from my shoulder and tries to shake both Jasper's and Edward's hands, but Edward continues to just stand there glaring at us and in the process snubs Emmett completely. Emm brushes it off and steps forward to introduce himself to Rosalie.
"Rosary, right? All Hail Rosary!" Emmett bellows out, while genuflecting in front of her.
Rosalie stands there stunned while I try to pull Emmett back up and smacking him at the same time.
I whisper hiss to him, "Emm get up and quit acting like an idiot in front of all these people!"
"Sorry BB, but I'll try to be better for you." He turns and winks at Rosalie and I just happen to catch a slight smirk make its way across her face.
Jasper bends forward and picks up Alice's tiny hand, kisses it and says, "Well, aren't you as cute as a baby possum?"
A huge smile beams across Alice's face and she replies, "Oh honey, shut my mouth, I am much obliged."
After her formal southern introduction, she steps up to Rosalie and gives her a half hug while still holding her plate. At first Rosalie seems a little taken back, but smiles anyway. When Alice turns to approach Edward, his face seems to soften from the glare he's been giving me and Emm, and he gives her a slightly lop-sided smile. That smile, almost gives him a boyish, mischievous look to him and it would seem it could burn me all the way to the core as well. If he smiled at me like that I might be going up in flames and leaving nothin' but a pile of ashes in its wake.
Since Alice is the only one who now actually has food to eat, she leaves telling everyone she's going to go claim a table for us. Emm about pulls my arm out of socket as he tries to drag me back to the buffet.
"Emm, where's the fire? The food is surely not going anywhere."
"I know, BB, but my belly button is about to eat out my backbone if I don't get something in my stomach now!"
I can't help but roll my eyes at him. He acts like he's never been fed before.
I can't stop wondering what Edward's malfunction is. What did we do to deserve that nasty glare and his obvious snub?
"I can't believe Edward, Emmbear. Did you see the way he was looking at us, and his blatant disregard in shaking your hand?"
"I didn't really notice, BB, do you want me to say sumthin' to 'em? I just could NOT peal my eyes off of Rosalie."
"I did notice that. I am sorry, Emmbear, but she seems totally out of your league and is the type to let you know it too. And no you don't have to say anythin' to 'em."
"Well, I'm gonna, cuz I can't let anyone be hatin' on my BB." Emm tells me as he pulls on the end of my ponytail.
Once everyone gathers up their grub, we make our way over to the table Alice reserved. Emm and I say a silent grace before we dig in. It seems everyone's either really hungry or just trying to really evaluate everyone else. I try to sneak a couple of short glances at Edward, trying to desperately to figure out his major malfunction. Of course, the silence can't last forever with Emmett sitting at the table.
"Soo, Mr. Ed, do you have a problem with my BB, here?"
"No." His reply is so sharp; it could be used to pierce steel.
Just as Emm is about to waylay him, Jasper's phone started ringing and buzzing across the table in front of him. All of us turn and stare as he reads the text to himself.
"What does it say?" Rosalie asks him in exasperation.
"Well, it would seem they want us to meet them in the conference room here for a meet and greet in ten minutes."
"Really!" Alice chimes in, "Well y'all better hurry up, I don't like being late!" She specifically eyes Emm who is only half finished with still a mountain of food on his plate.
"Oh, don't you worry yourself Miss AliCat! I didn't win all those eating contests the team participated in for nothing!"
"He's right ya' know. Though it is pretty gross to watch, I have seen him do it several times. Just can you please try not to get your food all over me though, Emmbear?"
"I'll try, but ya' know there are no guarantees BB," as he flashes me his "angelic" smile.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
As we walk down the hallway that leads into the meeting room, I can't help but feel a little bit nervous. I wasn't with Emm when he signed us up for this so now I have no clue what to expect going into this room. I clutch to Emm's side and try to calm my breathing.
"Everything is going to be alright BB; I'll be by your side the whole way." Emm whispers into my ear.
I can't help but smile as he lends me the strength to get through this meeting. We all walk in and I see not only the members of our camera crew, but several other people sitting and standing in the room. There is a man in a suit with his black hair slicked back in a ponytail standing behind the chair at the head of the table, standing alongside him are a man and a woman to the right. I notice Tyler and Felix along the left side of the table sitting next to some other fella's.
"Welcome my dears! Everyone pull up a seat please. My name is Aro and I am the producer and this handsome man to my right here is Carlisle along with his wife, Esme. While Carlisle is our wonderful host in this endeavor, you will be doing interviews with Esme on almost a daily basis as part of the show. Your camera crews, of which you already met a few, are Jacob, Seth, Garrett, Peter, Tyler, and Felix." As each person was introduced they stood and nodded in our direction in acknowledgment.
"There are also small hidden cameras placed all throughout the Winnebago so we don't miss a minute of action, the only place there are no camera's are in the toilet area on the bus. When you are on your missions and in the bus your microphones must be turned on at all times, so please make sure you keep the batteries charged up. You will be equipped with 4 batteries a piece so there should be no reason as to why the mics should not be on." At this point Aro sat down while Carlisle went to stand.
"First, I want to welcome you and tell you a little bit about myself and Esme here, along with a little bit about the show." He gave a nod to his lovely wife sitting next to him.
"My name of course is Carlisle, Carlisle Cullen. My wife and I have been married for almost twenty-five years now and we see each day as a new adventure. Aro and I have been friends since the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. While Aro here is a long time well known producer of other shows and movies, I have been more in the background as a private investor in his production company. We came up with this idea based on our mutual love for traveling and our wonderful country. We decided on a show based on what happens when people are faced with challenges, how they deal with them, and what they learn in the process of it all. We thought best to use people just either right out of college or just starting to move into the workforce for the maturity levels, their knowledge and their experiences of the world already. You, young people on just on the verge of entering society and we want to capture what makes this generation so great. Excuse me." Carlisle pauses and takes a drink from the glass sitting in front of him.
"This trip you are about to embark on will, hopefully, be lots of fun and jam packed with plenty of opportunities to win some great prizes and give you experiences of being out there in society and what this great country is made of. You will be on the road for approximately 100 days, each week you will have either a challenge or a mission to compete in and the winning team will win a prize for it. Some days you will be working in different environments doing a number of odd jobs to help make the extra money for your own conveniences.
At the end you all will be handsomely rewarded for your time and effort for being a part of this journey. Esme and I will hold onto the credit card that may be used for gas and emergencies that may come up along the way. We will also be following not far behind you in another bus along with your daily camera crew of Jacob, Seth, Tyler and Felix. Peter and Garrett will be brought in when there are more cameras needed. Get to know these guys, because they will be around you virtually twenty-four seven, except when you are on the bus, because we don't want you to feel too overcrowded.
As previously mentioned my wife Esme will be interviewing you on a regular basis to see how you are doing and what you're feeling at any given time. So feel free to come to her if you have any problems or just want to give us some feedback on anything going on. She's going to be like your own personal confessor. She will be your pseudo mom away from home so to speak." Esme turned to us with tender expression on her face. I couldn't help but smile back at her as she gave me the warm fuzzies inside. Maybe this will turn out better than what I thought…
Carlisle finally takes his seat, while Aro continues to give of the run down on how everything is going to work.
"Basically, each day or so, someone will receive a text with a clue on where you will be going and what you will have in store for when you get there. Don't worry we will give you plenty of time to reach most of your destinations and the bus is equipped with GPS for your navigational system.
Now for your first mission and competition we have just straight out told you but from here on out the messages will be clues for you to solve. Today, as you know, you will be participating in Memphis' Annual BBQ Championship. Teams for this competition will remain the same as last night. You will be helping out two rivals in this competition and then at the end you will be participating in the judging portion. Once this is complete and the winners are announced you are free for the evening.
I wish each team good luck and remember, have a great time!"
After Aro's speech, I continue to hold Emm's hand until everyone else stands up and we make our way out of the conference room. As we go downstairs I couldn't help but feel like something is trying to penetrate through my back. I slightly turn my head and I see Edward with this menacing glare on his face, almost like he's shooting laser beams into my back. I snuggle into Emm's side and try to concentrate on just getting out to the vehicles that will take us to the fairgrounds.
Thank Gawd I am not on his team this round…
