Chapter Three
Jasper couldn't avoid her during Spanish class, not when Mrs. Kelley, bless her heart, officially assigned them as partners for the rest of the semester. It felt like a slap to the face and she had a stupid test to thank for it because according to her score she was considered average. At least on paper, and according to the teacher Jasper would be perfect to help her make some progress. Of course his grammar was better than hers, who knew how many years he practiced, probably more than the time she was alive, so she wasn't offended in the least when his expression turned into one of absolute boredom ten minutes into the lesson. She couldn't blame him, honestly. Tutoring her couldn't be all that exciting. On the plus side, thanks to Mrs. Kelley she would be able to get a better read on him. Or so she thought. His reflexes were better than hers, he was faster, and she was never able to touch him again, or even brush up against him by 'accident.' God, she felt like a such a creep for even going that far.
At one point, after Amelia dropped her pencil near him on purpose, Jasper had the audacity to crack a fleeting smile at her poor attempt to grab his hand as he returned it. Unless they made skin to skin contact, Amelia's already unreliable gift wouldn't work.
"Are you serious?" She hissed under her breath at him. They were supposed to only speak Spanish and have a conversation about the topic on their textbook, which was ironically about the weather and how sunny the morning was. Well, it might have been sunny in whatever fictional town Tomas and Maria lived in, but Forks was cloudy as ever with heavy clouds that promised snowy rain sometime soon. Forgive her if she couldn't muster up enough interest to stay on topic.
Jasper didn't acknowledge her, simply repeated the question he was reading before she interrupted him and stared back at her blankly, waiting for her rehearsed reply. "Senorita?"
Amelia gritted her teeth and glared at him for another few seconds before reluctantly replying, "Tengo planes para salir a disfrutar los rayos del sol en la piscina esta tarde." I have plans to sit by the pool this afternoon and enjoy the sunshine.
The rest of the class was pretty much the same. He avoided her at all costs and mostly stared down at his workbook while her annoyance with him grew every second. After class he was the first one to exit the classroom, rising up with grace and speed from his chair to leave her behind, high tailing it out of there like a bat out of hell. Heads turned on his way out but he didn't seem to care.
Great, she thought bitterly as she then became the center of attention, now everyone thinks I pissed the new kid.
Somehow, Rachel was late for Biology and Amelia didn't get to talk to her right away. The hour dragged on forever, and Amelia was dying to tell Rachel what happened the day before at her house. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell her friend was equally curious but didn't dare ask a question during class when Mr. Banner was on a warpath, shushing anyone who dared interrupt his stupid lecture about cells.
"Finally, I thought this would never end!" Rachel declared with relief as soon as they stepped out of the classroom together, falling into step with Amelia and barely avoiding Lori as she briskly walked past them. Where the hell she was going so fast was anyone's guess. To meet her boy toy, probably. For all she knew they had a blow job scheduled under the bleachers. Amelia shuddered at the thought. So gross. Why did she put that image in her own head? "I got your text, how did it go yesterday?"
They were in public so Amelia couldn't speak freely but she figured no one was paying attention when they were still somewhat sleepy so early in the morning. "My mother decided to become buddies with you know who. And I was about to get the inside scoop directly from one of them," she raised her gloved hand and wiggled her fingers, alluding to her visions, "when that Jasper guy stopped me. I was so close!"
Rachel wrinkled her nose in distaste, "Why would you want to…"
"Because I got something from one of them earlier and let's just say that curiosity got the best of me." She shrugged. "I don't know, it was scary as hell, but they're hiding something. I know it."
Rachel gave her one of those skeptical looks she usually reserved for morons who occasionally asked her out, the one with the raised eyebrow and pursed lips. "You're willing to hang around them and potentially become a snack to satisfy your curiosity?" When she put it that way…
Okay, so Rachel had a point. Amelia was acting stupid, looking for answers that were none of her business. Yet. Because sooner or later something would happen, she just knew it. A funny feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach since yesterday when she met the Cullens at her house and it wouldn't go away. It was a sense of dread combined with an odd fluttering every time she was anywhere near one of them. And that little one, Alice, only made it worse by staring at Amelia with anticipation. How could she ignore them when she was so deeply aware of their presence everywhere?
Seeing that Rachel didn't care enough to help her investigate, especially when her mother warned her to stay as far away from them as possible, Amelia dropped the subject. No use in arguing with Rachel, not when Amelia knew damn well her friend wouldn't disobey her mother. Props to her, but Amelia was going to get to the bottom of things no matter what.
During Gym, Amelia thought she could finally catch one of them around the track. The weather was shit outside, bleak and ominous, but it wasn't raining. Coach Clapp made them do warm ups for what seemed like the longest time, then finally told them to run a couple miles. Amelia purposely caught Jasper's gaze and tilted her head to one side with a polite smile as she waved. Maybe they wouldn't run away from her if she was friendlier and looked more approachable. Not that she was actually trying to befriend the Cullens, but it would make things easier for her if she took some people's advice and smiled more. Jasper was standing a couple of feet away next to his twin sister Rosalie, if she was even related to him, but he didn't seem worried at all. The blank look on his face never changed. He nodded nonchalantly without a care in the world while Rosalie looked her up and down, found her distasteful, and rolled her eyes before vainly tossing that beautiful blonde hair to one side. What a strange creature, Amelia thought, quickly dismissing her as a potential source. Too bitchy.
The plan was to brush past one of them, preferably Jasper, whose life she wanted to catch a glimpse of again. The dead bodies Amelia saw deeply disturbed her, but this time she planned to focus more on the present and find out what else his 'family' was hiding. Hopefully her gift would work with her and focus on what she needed to see. The flashes of pictures were random and sporadic more often than not. She rarely tried to control it given how seldom she caught sight of things but it was important now.
When the coach gave them the signal to start, Amelia did her best to remain in line with her classmates. And consequently failed miserably. She forgot how physically unfit she was, and soon she was unable to keep up. Her breathing became erratic within the first mile, almost before that, and by then the Cullens were so very far ahead of her it would be next to impossible for Amelia to ever catch up.
A stitch on her side allowed her to pause briefly to try and catch her breath, then the coach threatened her with suicides after school if she didn't get it together. With no other option, Amelia pushed herself to run at least one more mile so she didn't look like an idiot and promptly regretted it when she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her stomach rebelled and she almost threw up. Coach Clapp finally told her to stop when she saw Amelia doubled over struggling to get enough air into her overworked lungs.
"Fucking hell!" Amelia threw in the towel. Literally. She was sweating like a pig after slightly jogging/fast walking so she took a shower in the locker room and was changing when Rachel joined her. "They beat me and I couldn't do anything."
Rachel snorted as she changed back into her clothes. "Of course they beat you, you couldn't run more than a mile to save your own life." Amelia glared, which had no impact on her friend who only laughed at her expression. "I'm serious. Thank your lucky stars you have a magic to defend yourself, otherwise you'd be dead. Like, you know those stupid girls in horror movies who stumble all over the place until the killer catches them and dismembers them? That's you."
Amelia pulled a face. "You don't have to rub it in."
Running wasn't Amelia's thing. She was much better at semi stationary sports like yoga.
"Oh, but I do." Rachel countered, still chuckling. "You looked like… god, I can't even describe it! Your face was so red."
Amelia stared at the mirror inside her locker, noticing how blotchy her cheeks were even after her shower and wished she had concealer or foundation to correct it, but they were at home. The eyeliner and mascara she'd put on that morning had mostly been washed off save for its dark traces under her eyes that gave her a raccoon look. Awesome. Next time she needed to remember not to wear any make up for PE. She never learned, though. Through the mirror's reflection she saw a glimpse of Rosalie walking by behind her. The bitchy blonde stared at Amelia with superiority. Despite having run a couple of miles, Rosalie still looked ready for the runaway. Her high ponytail hadn't moved an inch and her skin remained bright and pale. If she didn't know the girl was a vampire, Amelia would be really confused right about now.
Even knowing that achieving Rosalie's level of beauty was next to impossible, Amelia couldn't help the pang of jealousy she felt. Glancing back at her reflection she noticed how her limp long dark hair made her forehead stand out where there was a small zit forming. Yay for teenage hormones. If that wasn't enough, her lips were too thin and her mouth too small, and her eyebrows too prominent. Everywhere she looked on her face, Amelia could point out a little something she wasn't happy with. She touched the side of her face with disappointment and wondered whether her mother would ever agree to lip injections. Augh, who was she kidding, of course not. What a silly thought. With her luck she'd end up all botched up and spend the rest of her life with a bag over her head trying to hide from the rest of the world. Granted, looking at the bigger picture, she knew she was pretty; not inhumanly gorgeous like Rosalie or stunningly beautiful like Rachel, but Amelia could admit she was average.
Rosalie walked away a moment later, leaving Amelia feeling a little down. Amelia chose not to dwell on it, not too much at least, shutting her locker harder than she meant to after getting dressed. The day wasn't over yet.