DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Stephenie Meyer owns it all.
CHAPTER 3
For her entire life, Renesmee had never actually been physically on her own. A loved one had always been nearby to protect her and explain things to her. Things that she couldn't learn from books.
However, today was different. Grandpa Charlie woke her up early and Sue helped her get dressed. Downstairs, Grandpa Charlie had made her scrambled eggs and oatmeal with blueberries. Soon they were on their way to La Push. Today was her very first day of school.
Billy Black had spoken to the council of elders on Charlie's behalf about allowing Renesmee to attend school on the reservation. It was not an instant yes. There were several members who argued that the Cullens were their sworn enemies. However, Billy appealed to them that she was only half a Cullen. She was also half a Swan. Charlie Swan had not only been a lifelong friend to him, but a trusted and respected friend of the Quileutes. And so the council voted to allow his grand-daughter to enroll at their elementary school.
Charlie sat Renesmee down and gave her the good news. Renesmee had always wanted to go to school, but the reality of it was much different. She would be on her own and her special gifts might not be appreciated. Charlie explained that she would have to be on her best behavior and that she would have to obey her teacher. Renesmee promised that she would be the best student ever.
Charlie worried about how she would adjust. While everyone thought that it would be a good idea for her to be around other children, he worried about how her advanced mental prowess would affect her everyday interactions. Would she cause problems because everyone would be seemingly lagging behind her? Would she start crying?
In fact, Renesmee understood that great pains were taken to allow her this opportunity. She was well behaved as Charlie filled out some paperwork and spoke to the principal. Almost to the point of being subdued. However, inside, Renesmee was eagerly taking in everything. It was just like on television.
Now the principal escorted her and Charlie to one of the kindergarten classes. Before they went in, Charlie knelt down in front of his grand-daughter.
"Now, sweetheart, it's time for me to go. Don't be nervous. School is going to be a lot of fun and you're going to learn a lot, okay?"
Renesmee nodded her head vigorously. She didn't want to disappoint her grandpa.
"So be a good girl and listen to your teacher, okay? I hear Mrs. Whiteheart is a real nice lady."
Mrs. Whiteheart was indeed a lovely woman. She had been a kindergarten teacher for twenty-five years and was famous for her calming presence and ability to make even the most dreaded lessons fun. She had been fully apprised of the situation and it was a testament to her character that she accepted the half vampire child into her classroom when not all of the parents were happy about it.
Precautions had been taken. Jacob had taken her hunting on both Saturday and Sunday. A huge list of emergency phone numbers had been compiled. Should Renesmee feel a burn in her throat or her control slipping, she was instructed to tell the teacher right away and either Jacob, Seth or Sam would take her hunting. It was also reiterated to her over and over again that she must be gentle with the other children. Especially with her gift. And, of course, to always be polite and considerate. Her Grandma Esme had taught her to always treat people as she would want to be treated. But she would have to be three times nicer to fight pre-conceived notions.
Renesmee hugged her grandfather goodbye and he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He would pick her up after work. She would stay at Billy's house after school until then.
But right now, she was standing in the doorway of the kindergarten classroom unsure of what to do next. The other children were all seated in groups at round tables doing a project.
However, Mrs. Whiteheart was watching as Renesmee stood peeking in at the other children. She was a woman of average height with a soft, slim figure covered in layers of earth-toned colors. Her black hair was woven with a few gray hairs and she warm eyes. The kind woman made her way over to the little girl and bent down so they were on the same level.
"Hello. You must be Renesmee."
Renesmee nodded, but didn't say anything. As courageous as she was, she was still a little bit afraid.
"Well, I'm so glad you could come today. I'm your teacher, Mrs. Whiteheart. Won't you join us?" Mrs. Whiteheart held out her hand in invitation. Renesmee took it in a show of trust and let herself be led to the front of the classroom. Mrs. Whiteheart cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
"Class, I'd like your attention please." Renesmee angled herself slightly behind the teacher who still held her hand. She wished for a moment that she had not cut her hair so that she could have hid behind it.
"We have a new student joining us. Her name is Renesmee. I would like you all to give her a warm welcome. So altogether now…"
"Hello Renesmee." said the class in unison.
"Hello." answered Renesmee, her voice squeaking.
Mrs. Whiteheart took over once more and led Renesmee over to the coat closet.
"Here, let's hang up your jacket. I've already put your name on one of the hooks."
Renesmee set down her new backpack and took off her jacket. She hung it on the hook and picked up her backpack. Then Mrs. Whiteheart led her over to a series of shelves.
"Here, I have a cubby ready for you too. You can put your backpack here during the day. You will need a smock for arts and crafts, but I'll send a note home to your grandfather about that."
Renesmee removed her pencil case from her bag and deposited it into the cubby marked "Renesmee C.". She then followed Mrs. Whiteheart as she walked over to a table where three other children were sitting engrossed in a project that involved cutting and pasting construction paper. The teacher put her hands on Renesmee's shoulders and cleared her throat. The two girls and the boy seated at the table looked up and stopped what they were doing.
"Renesmee, I'd like to introduce you to your table partners. You'll be sitting with Samantha, Callie & Teddy."
Renesmee gave a shy smile to her classmates and a quick downward nod of her head with a shyness reminiscent of her mother. She was excited to go to school like a normal child, but was very nervous about what the other children might be like. She quickly scanned the other kids and tried to gather some information about them. Samantha had stick straight, shiny hair that hung down to her waist. Her eyes were dark and turned upward at the edges. She was dressed all in pink. Callie also had dark hair and eyes, but she also had bangs that stuck out everywhere and long, thick braids. She was definitely a tomboy who seemed to be wearing her older brother's hand-me-downs. Teddy could be considered the runt of the bunch. He was the smallest boy in class and was all skin and bones. Plus he wore glasses that looked several sizes too big for his face that he was constantly pushing up. His head was shorn close to his head.
Mrs. Whiteheart pulled out the remaining chair at the table and motioned to Renesmee to sit down. She handed the little girl some green construction paper and a pair of safety scissors.
"Renesmee, we're making decorations for St. Patrick's Day today so feel free to be as creative as you want." The teacher motioned to the center of the table where there was paste, glitter, tissue paper and some round gold-colored stickers. Now everyone, please make Renesmee feel welcome." She then left and went to check on the progress of the children at the other tables.
Renesmee looked at what the other children were doing, but couldn't seem to make heads or tails of it mainly because she wasn't sure what the day represented. This was exactly one of the reasons that she was being sent to school even though her intellect was beyond her peers.
"What's St. Patrick's Day?" she asked quietly.
"You don't know what St. Patrick's Day is?" asked Samantha quite taken aback. She reminded Renesmee a little bit of Aunt Rose. Renesmee responded by shaking her head.
Callie was diligently cutting out a hat for the leprechaun she was making.
"It's when St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland." she added nonchalantly.
"And there's a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end. That's because the leprechauns hide their gold there!" interjected Teddy. Renesmee thought about this. It didn't make any sense.
"Well the leprechauns must not be very smart if everyone knows where they hide their gold." Callie laughed, but Samantha wrinkled her nose and flicked her hair.
"Yeah, but rainbows like never happen and they're really hard to find."
"Oh." Renesmee didn't know that.
"Are you Irish?" asked Teddy.
Renesmee felt like she was in over her head. This kindergarten business was stumping her at every turn.
"I…I don't know."
"You might be. You have red hair." Teddy was sure he had solved this mystery.
Renesmee had a long list of questions to ask Grandpa Charlie tonight at dinner.
"I think it's pretty." said Callie.
"Thank you."
Renesmee liked Callie and Teddy. She was a little afraid of Samantha. However, when lunch time came, she was the one to invite Renesmee to sit with them at their table in the lunchroom. Renesmee was relieved to discover that her packed lunch was similar to everyone else's. She had enough to worry about when it came to being different. There was great comfort to be found in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, a juicebox and a few chocolate chip cookies. She also found a note from her grandpa telling her that he loved her. She quickly put that in her pocket to read again later.
After lunch, the children put their jackets and gloves on and went outside for recess. Renesmee followed her new friends and began to jump rope with them. She was beginning to enjoy herself in this lighter moment. Once she got a hand of the rhythm, it was really fun. It was another new discovery she had made today.
However, there was a bit of a black cloud over recess. Out of the corner of her eye, Renesmee noticed that some of the children, particularly a group of boys, stared at her intently. Now she had been warned that people would be curious about her, but this was somehow different. Sinister even. Maybe by tomorrow she would be old news.
At the end of the day, Renesmee stood in the front of the school all bundled up with her backpack full of notices for Grandpa Charlie and a homework assignment. Mrs. Whiteheart was kind enough to help her gather her things at the end of a long day for the little girl.
Her teacher spent a lot of time with her today trying to gauge Renesmee's academic level. She was able to identify her letters and numbers; she read on a higher level and did well with basic arithmetic flashcards. She far surpassed her classmates. It was obvious that her parents had taken pains to educate her in the short time she was alive.
Yet she was still given the same homework as the other children to practice writing her letters and a coloring assignment. Mrs. Whiteheart decided to give Renesmee a little something extra to keep her stimulated. So, she brought her over to one of the bookshelves and selected a book with a red spine.
"Now, Renesmee, I know you are a little bit more advanced than the other students and I don't want you to get bored. So I was thinking that perhaps you might enjoy doing some reading on your own to start with."
Renesmee enthusiastically nodded her head excited at the prospect. She loved books, but with all that had gone on over the last few months she really did not have an opportunity to do so.
"This is a book called The Boxcar Children that I read to the class earlier this year. I thought that you could read it on your own and then we could discuss it. Would you like that?"
"Yes, please! I love to read."
"I'm so glad to hear that. Read this at your own pace and let me know when you finish. And then we can add to your work as we go along."
"Yes, ma'am."
Mrs. Whiteheart gave her the book which was now securely packed into Renesmee's backpack. Together, the two stood together with the rest of the children in the front of the school to wait for their parents to fetch them. Jacob strode up to the front of the school and waved to Renesmee. His pleasantry was returned with a look of elation and relief.
"Mrs. Whiteheart! Jakey's here!" Renesmee pointed out excitedly.
"I know. He used to be one of my students."
"He was?"
"One of the sweetest, but also one of the naughtiest."
"Ha! Ha! I'm gonna tell!"
"Tell on who?" said Jacob as he walked up to them.
"Jacob, I'm afraid I was indiscreet and revealed tawdry past as a kindergarten ne'er-do-well." admitted Mrs. Whiteheart. Jacob tousled Renesmee's hair and laughed.
"You're too late, kid. My dad already knows." Then he turned to his former teacher. "Thanks again for…um…everything."
The kind woman gave him a soft smile not wanting to alarm Renesmee that her presence had caused problems.
"Well, we'd better get going. Bye Mrs. Whiteheart." Jacob took Renesmee's hand.
"See you tomorrow. Renesmee, I so enjoyed having you in my class. I'll see you tomorrow." Renesmee waved goodbye and her heart felt lighter. She had made it through her very first day of school without any mishaps and she was already making friends.
Jacob walked Renesmee over to Billy's house which wasn't very far from the school. Billy had milk and cookies waiting for her. She told Billy about her first day and before they knew it, Charlie was knocking on the door to take his grand-daughter home.
The night before, Charlie and Renesmee had decided that they would have meat loaf and mashed potatoes for supper. So when they reached the house, Charlie changed out of his uniform into street clothes and put on an apron. He found an old t-shirt and tied it around Renesmee as a makeshift apron. He then pulled a chair up to the counter for Renesmee.
Charlie gave her the cookbook with the bookmarked recipe. Renesmee read out the ingredients for Charlie to gather. He set the potatoes to boil and then set about assembling the meatloaf. He let Renesmee smoosh the ground meat together and when it was time to mash the potatoes, she was in charge of getting out all the lumps.
Finally, it was time to taste the final product. They had followed the directions exactly. Renesmee had made sure of that. However, they were pleasantly surprised that not only was it edible, but it was delicious.
"Mmm! Grandpa, it's good!" said Renesmee with a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Well, you made them." Charlie breathed a sigh of relief that no one would be rushed to the emergency room with food poisoning. Soon, he was gathering up the plates to wash the dishes and Renesmee was setting herself up at the kitchen table to start her homework. She easily printed her name at the top of the page and very quickly finished copying the letters and numbers. Then she ran to get her crayons from the desk in her room. Once more, she settled down and contemplated the best color scheme to use for this project.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" Charlie was fighting with the residue on the baking dish left over from the meatloaf,
"Am I Irish?"
"Irish? What made you think of that?"
"Well, today at school, we made decorations for St. Patrick's Day. Teddy said I might be Irish since I have red hair."
"It takes more than just red hair to be Irish. Now let's see, I'm a quarter Irish and then all English. Your Grandma Renee is English, Irish and a little German. The red hair comes from your father's side, but I don't know if he was Irish. He could've been. So, you're a little more than a quarter Irish that we know of."
Renesmee nodded, thankful to have a better idea of who she was and where she came from.
"Now who is this Teddy? Do you have a boyfriend already?" Charlie teased.
"No! He's not my boyfriend!" she protested.
"Are you sure? Maybe I'll haul him down to the station and interrogate him." Charlie threatened playfully.
Renesmee blushed just like her mother.
"He's one of my table partners, Grandpa! He's not my boyfriend!"
"Well, okay then. No dating til you're thirty though."
She once more became engrossed in her work, wanting to get it just right. She easily stayed inside the lines and made sure that she colored in one direction.
"So," Charlie started. "Tell me about your day. Was everyone nice to you?"
"Yes, I love my teacher. She's so nice. I sit with Samantha, Callie and Teddy. Samantha is a little bit scary, but I like them all."
"Good, good." Charlie was relieved. He had visions of pitchforks and torches running through his head. The doorbell rang and Charlie went to answer it. Sue had mentioned earlier that she would stop by after dinner.
"Hey there!" said a grinning Charlie when he opened the door and saw Sue smiling back at him.
"Hey there, yourself!" A quick kiss was stolen before returning to the kitchen.
"Hi Nessie!" Renesmee jumped out of her chair and ran into Sue's arms. Sue kissed the top of the little girl's head.
"How was your first day of school, sweetheart?" Renesmee pulled back to look at Sue and smiled.
"It was good."
"Really? Did you have fun too?" Renesmee nodded enthusiastically.
"I am so proud of you! You were so brave today!"
"Yes, she was." said Charlie as he ruffled Renesmee's hair. "You finished with your homework?"
"Um, yeah, but Mrs. Whiteheart gave me a book to read just for me."
"Well, why don't you go read it in the living room then?" Renesmee obeyed her grandfather and scurried off to start her book.
"So…" said Sue.
"So…" echoed Charlie.
"How do you think she really did?"
Charlie leaned back against the kitchen counter and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, she said she likes her teacher and she made a few friends. She seems okay. She hasn't said anything alarming."
"That all sounds good, but you seem like you're leaving something out." Charlie swallowed and cringed.
"Well, tomorrow, Jake is taking her hunting after school." She raised her eyebrows in understanding.
"Ah. Well, think of it this way. You eat animal meat so it's not that different,"
"I know, but to think of her drinking blood. It's just a substitute for something else. It's just…I don't know." Sue put her hand on Charlie's shoulder.
"I know this is difficult, but she needs it to survive. She can't help what she is. She's still your grand-daughter."
"I know! I know…I just want her to live as normal a life as possible." Charlie just stared down at the floor.
"She will. She is. She's going to school and making friends. She seems to be eager to adjust."
"It just seems too unnatural and wrong. I just…I just love her so much. I don't want to make any mistakes with her. She's already been through so much. I'll come to terms with it, but it's still real hard." Sue moved in closer and wrapped her arms around Charlie.
"Just be there for her and let her be who she is. You're doing a wonderful job."
Charlie was grateful for the hug. No matter how strong he tried to be, there were certain times that his humanity chipped away at his steely façade. He needed human contact. He needed to be propped up in these rare moments when he needed restoration; he needed relief. The chief stumbled. He didn't fall down, but he faltered. Luckily, Sue was there.
"Why don't you sit down and relax? I'll make sure she gets a bath before bed."
Thanks, Sue." She patted him on the shoulder and then headed into the living room.
"Sweetheart?" Renesmee looked up. "Why don't we get you ready for bed?"
Renesmee marked her page in the book and put it in her backpack. Sue made sure that she had put all of her homework in the bad in preparation for the next day. Charlie had settled at the kitchen table to sort through the paperwork that Mrs. Whiteheart had sent home. He found an old shirt for Renesmee to use as a smock for art class. He made her lunch and wrote another note for her to find.
Upstairs, Renesmee was taking her nightly bath. She seemed more subdued than earlier in the evening.
"What's wrong, Nessie?" asked Sue as she lathered the girl's hair. Renesmee wasn't quite sure what to say without hurting anyone's feelings. She took a moment to answer.
"Well…does Grandpa Charlie think I'm disgusting?"
"What? Whatever makes you say that?" She quickly rinsed Renesmee's hair free of shampoo and started to gently apply conditioner.
"I heard him talking about Jakey taking me hunting and drinking blood." She looked down, embarrassed and ashamed. "He sounded like he thought it was disgusting."
Sue internally cursed herself. Renesmee being half vampire was always present in their minds. However, they had neglected to remember that she shared other genetic traits other than a thirst for blood. Like super vampire hearing. Maybe not quite as sharp as Edward's, but far superior to human ears. Sue thought she and Charlie were speaking in hushed tones, but apparently not hushed enough.
"Nessie, your grandpa loves you unconditionally. That means he loves every part of you. The human, the vampire and the person you are inside. He loves Nessie no matter what. But you have to understand it's a little…well, it's not what humans are used to. You and your grandpa are still getting to know each other, but the more he gets to know you, the more he loves you."
"I love him too. A lot. I'm just afraid that he'll find something he doesn't like about me and he'll send me away. Then where would I go?" Little did she know that her words embodied her father's own fears about her mother's reaction to his perceived monstrous nature.
"Oh, Nessie. The last thing your grandfather would ever do is send you away. You are home forever and always. You will never have to doubt that." Sue would have to have a talk with Charlie after Renesmee was fast asleep.
Renesmee had become an expert at controlling her thoughts shared by touch, but she took hold of Sue's hand and transferred a tremendous amount of genuine relief. Sue was not in the practice of raising such a special child, but she was glad her words had brought some comfort.
"Now, let's get you out of that water before you start to look like a prune." She wrapped Renesmee in a towel and began the nightly process of getting her ready for bed.
A heartfelt hug and goodnight kiss from Grandpa Charlie was all it took to set her world right again.
With a renewed sense of security, Renesmee took on school as a blessing and applied herself with fervor. She followed the rules, excelled at her work, made new friends beyond her table and, much to her delight, received the most gold stars in the class. She enjoyed the structure and camaraderie of school. She delighted in her afternoon visits with Billy and Jacob. Billy always had milk and cookies waiting for her. Every other day, Jacob would take her hunting. Renesmee felt energized. Despite her thirst, she felt like a real girl.
Sue had a discussion with Charlie about Renesmee's fears. He was beside himself with worry that he had upset his grand-daughter and had caused even a moment's doubt of his love. So, soon afterwards, Charlie outfitted her with a life jacket and took her out fishing with him. It was bittersweet because Renesmee seemed to enjoy fishing unlike Bella.
"Lookit, Grandpa! I got one!" And sure enough, Renesmee had been blessed with beginner's luck. She was able to reel in her trout by herself and held it up with pride.
"You're a natural! Would you look at that! There's no question about it! You've got those Swan fishing genes!"
"Really? I do?" Renesmee squealed in amazement. Charlie took over and removed the fish from the hook, depositing it into the bucket to take home.
"You're one of us, kid. I guess that means I'll keep ya." He put more bait on her hook and she started the waiting process again. Charlie thought that this was a good moment to reassure her of a few things.
"I guess this waiting around isn't as exciting as going hunting, is it?" Renesmee just shrugged. She didn't want to upset her grandfather by talking about things that might make him uncomfortable.
"You know, sweetheart, it's okay to talk about it. It's a part of who you are and that means it's just another part of you to love. You need to eat to be healthy and that's all I really want for you, okay?"
Renesmee understood what he was trying to say and nodded. That was the end of that topic.
And so life carried on as usual. Renesmee was just discovering life and Charlie was rediscovering it. Every Sunday morning, they sat at the kitchen table going over cookbooks deciding on the menu for the week. They made a shopping list and went grocery shopping. Charlie pushed the carriage while Renesmee read off what they needed to buy. While they pretty much stuck to what they knew, every week they tried out a new dish. This week, it was tacos. While they cooked together, Charlie would put on the classic rock station and Renesmee would get an education of another kind.
The refrigerator doorbecame cluttered with Renesmee's artwork and highly praised, gold-starred assignments. While Charlie would watch Sports Center, Renesmee would read the books Mrs. Whiteheart gave her. Several times, Sue joined them. Sometimes Seth and Leah did too. Seth joked and played with her while Leah kept her at arm's length. She did so without sneering because she all too well knew the pain of losing a loved one. She felt a kinship with the little girl even if she didn't show it. What she didn't do or say was just as important as what she did. There were nights when she babysat Renesmee so Charlie and Sue could spend time together. Leah brought the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies with her one night. She showed Renesmee what to do and even though Leah wasn't demonstrative with her feelings, Renesmee felt very comfortable around her.
Everything was going swimmingly. Except at night after she said her prayers and was tucked into bed, Renesmee thought about her mother and father. She wondered if they saw her. If they still remembered her. She looked at their smiling faces in the picture by her bed. She pretended that they were smiling at her. She smiled back.
There was one aspect of her new life that took away from Renesmee's contentment. The playground. Oh, it was great fun. Except for the stares. Except for the leering group of boys who seemed to shadow her while she, Samantha, Callie and Teddy played. It was the only time she felt uncomfortable or threatened. They whispered things. Nasty, mean-spirited things fell from their lips taunting her. They knew she could hear them. Someone had told them that.
"Billy?"
"Yes, honey?" They were watching General Hospital, Billy's guilty pleasure. It was a commercial break.
"What's a half breed?" Billy's eye's widened and he muted the television.
"What?"
"A half breed?" She was sitting by his feet playing with the rug.
"Where ever did you hear that?"
"That's what some of the boys on the playground called me."
"Who?" Billy sat up straighter in his chair.
"Some of the older boys. First and second graders. I don't know their names."
Having Renesmee go to school on the rez was proving to be a very good idea indeed. However, there were elements of the tribe that were not comfortable with Renesmee's presence. Old habits and prejudices die hard. It was expected and understood, but she had shown that she was very well-controlled. This was the only fly in the ointment. He would have to have a word with a few people at the next council meeting. They were spreading their poison to their children.
"Nessie, that's not a phrase that should be repeated. Ever. Those boys don't know what they're saying and what they're saying is nonsense that should be ignored. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She was solemn in her response.
"Just ignore them."
Renesmee nodded. He had confirmed her fears that the words were bad ones. She would need to be on her guard. It was a shame really because she had found school to be such a place of safety and freedom.
Billy would have to have a word with Charlie about all this. He regretted having to add to his friend's stress. Charlie was working late so Jacob drove Billy and Renesmee back to Charlie's. They stopped on the way to pick up some pizzas knowing Charlie would be exhausted. Charlie was in fact barely able to move. There had been a bank robbery. They had secured the perimeter and were able to apprehend the thief, but the stress had done him in.
The foursome were eating in front of the television when all of the sudden both Jacob and Renesmee looked at the front door. Billy and Charlie took notice immediately.
"What is it?" demanded Charlie. Jacob slowly rose from his seat and held up his hand.
"Stay here."
Charlie scooped up Renesmee and stood by Billy. Jacob went to the window and peeked out from behind the curtain. He exhaled the breath he had been holding in. He walked to the front door and opened it.
Renesmee squirmed in her grandfather's arms and her strength took him by surprise. She almost fell to the ground as she broke free. She ran to the door with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Aunt Alice! Aunt Alice!"
Renesmee ran into Alice's arms and was engulfed. Alice spun around as she held on to her niece like a life raft.
A/N Okay, I cannot believe it's been so long since I updated this. 2010 was not a good year for me. In fact, everyone I know had a pretty crappy year. Maybe you did too. I didn't get to do much fic writing. However, I'm hoping to change that. Here's hoping that 2011 is the best year ever for all of us!
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my story. It is much appreciated.
