A/N: Alice and Edward have always had a peculiar relationship, though I think they both are a tad OOC in this…. Sorry if they are. I'm very used to my OC characters that have taken root in my brain for the past four plus years…..
Alice
What was the fun of school if you couldn't book a cool field trip? Especially for a Biology class, there ought to be better options than a fancy green house.
A month since my integration to this tiny school society, and I was already nearing the top. Jessica was my closest friend; we practically raced with our mouths every time me met, speaking our own code that left the rest of the world in the dirty dust. Mike and Eric – especially Eric – hovered at whatever table we sat, content to pretend to understand what garble of girl speak we gossiped.
On the side, I walked with Angela to the classes we shared, enjoying the quiet responses she gave me – smiles, frowns, or a mix of both. Sometimes Mike or Eric would tag along, finally getting some word in every sentence or so when it was only one speed demon. Tyler Crowley made his appearance periodically too.
Bella Cullen was the only Cullen so far to enjoy speaking with me. English was one of my favorite periods because we would secretly pass notes to each other all through it. As for her lover boy, Edward, he was complacent at best. But I got him to say hi at the beginning of every Biology period.
I didn't see Emmet or Rosalie Cullen outside of the lunch room due to their being seniors, and I had no classes with them. From the quick glances I stole while I multitasked socializing with Jessica, I determined Emmet to be somewhat of a teddy bear. His girlfriend though, remained a blank slated question. She certainly wasn't the liveliest of the group….
Yet as puzzling as the seniors were, they weren't the strangest case of the five. Jasper was.
He hasn't been back.
If I hadn't spoken to him myself, heard his low voice directed at me, I'd more believe he never existed.
"Oh, he's just visiting his grandparents," Bella had replied when I'd asked.
Jasper must really love his grandparents then to stay out with them this long…..
I sat with Angela on the bus ride to Mr. Banner's favorite greenhouse. He had given us a worksheet earlier to take notes on the things we saw and how they worked. I was bored out of my mind.
"Mr. Banner seems to finally be feeling better," Angela pointed out, trying to cheer up my gloom mood.
He was no long in a cast, true, but the man still looked a little off in his step when he walked. It made me feel a bit of pity for him, though not enough for me to appreciate his love of lectures.
So I shrugged. "I don't think I would mind getting hit by a car right now. At least that would give me something to do." I ignored the confused look Angela geared my way.
As the bus slowed to a screeching stop, Mr. Banner got to his feet and faced the pond of glazed faces. "Everyone remember now to keep to your buddies. We'll be getting off kindly now. No pushing each other out."
Everyone got to their feet, donning their daily rain gear and their backpacks. As short as I was compared to the class, I suddenly felt like a third grader. Angela was a very tall girl.
"Everyone except you, Miss. Brandon. Miss. Weber, I have you partnered with Kaitlin. Miss. Brandon, I'll have Mr. Cullen escort you around. I want the other students to have a chance to learn something, and since you both are so far ahead, I might as well keep you two partnered."
I grimaced. Angela was quiet, yes, and not much for talking. But Edward was like talking to a wall. A very boring wall.
Edward let me walk off the bus first without a peep. I resigned myself to the next hour being filled with weird silence stretches.
That's when he spoke.
"Bella's told me about you." His voice was rather musical, its symphonic waves pleasurable to the ear. But it reminded me of another, more resonating voice.
"Oh, so now I'm worthy to speak to?"
He shrugged, hardly bristled by my accusatory tone. "She likes you as a person, you know, says your talks are interesting and engaging. I'm just a little curious."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm so flattered."
My sarcasm seemed to aggravate him. "I'm not mocking you, just trying to make small talk. I thought you liked to talk." His last sentence was almost a sneer.
"Not when the person I'm talking to is condescending, I don't."
"Who said I was condescending?"
I jerked out the worksheet and stuffed it into the same hand as my pencil as we trailed behind the line of partners. "I've been trying to make 'small talk' with you since my first day. And now, you're suddenly perked up and ready to journey into the world? What changed?"
Edward was quiet.
I sighed. Here we go again.
We stopped, a few paces from the backs of two blonde girls. "Bella likes you," he said finally, as if that explained all reasoning.
"Yes, you've told me that already."
His jaw locked.
I looked around, trying to occupy my fluttery mind. Angela was dutifully writing on her paper. A dark blonde girl scribbled beside her. Mike was just a few bodies ahead, his head bent next to his partner – a burnet boy I forgot the name of – whispering some great trove of words.
"You came from Arizona?" Edward asked.
"Yeah; its a lot different there than here."
He hesitated. "Do you miss it?"
I felt my irritation melt at the easy, comfortable subject. "Yeah; the green is nice and all, but the sun means happy weather. I like it better."
"Happy weather?"
I flushed a litter at my silly slip, rolling it off my shoulders as if it didn't mean anything. "I mean that people are happier when the sun is out, and it's not so dark. At least, that's what I think…."
Suddenly, I was rather self conscious speaking to him. I tried to shake off the feeling, but it wouldn't leave.
"Are you not happy here in Forks?"
The question came as abrupt. No one had bothered to ask me that. The world simply assumed I enjoyed whatever social circle I was included in. "Um… honestly? Not as much as Phoenix." There were no shops in Forks, not good ones anyway. It was raining, rinky-dink, and dewy forests.
Edward smiled, chuckling quietly. I wondered what was so funny.
The procession of students began marching again, and I had yet to write a word. Oh well. It was a ten point paper anyhow.
"Why does your brother like his grandparents so much?" The words flew from my mouth before I could choke them back. Looking warily at Edward, I watched for signs that I offended him. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean… it's not my business…."
"Jasper's coming home soon," Edward said, surprising me.
I wanted to ask how soon, but this question I managed to bite my tongue.
Edward didn't notice and added as if it I had asked anyway, "It's an annual thing he does. He's due back the end of the week."
Oh.
His customary silence resumed and not another word was spoken between us. I tried not to feel put out, but he was making it very hard. His contempt for the world rolled off in waves. One question worried me, though: Edward's motive. What were they? I wasn't naïve enough to think he'd woken up and just decided to have a conversation with me. Woman's intuition told me he was listening for something. Was he the mouth for Bella? Had I missed something in his words that implied a message for me? Fireworks were crackling in my head.
Yes, he definitely had a motive, and whatever it was, his mission was going to be completed soon.
In light of my little discovery, I was inclined to pout. He didn't speak up because I finally annoyed him enough to try and shut me up. I hadn't conquered the all mighty Edward yet.
That meant I would have to up my game plan.