"Bella…are you even listening?"
Bella blinked a few times, trying to get out of her thoughts. She smiled lightly at the girl who was sitting next to her, "Yes, I'm so sorry…" Bella frantically searched for the name. She had just introduced herself at the beginning of class. She had been very abrasive, making sure Bella sat right next to her in their first period English class. She had even gone so far to practically yell at a classmate to get out of the seat that was unofficially hers!
The girl Bella was still frantically trying to remember her name, just sighed, flipped her hair over her shoulder and frowned. "Bella. It's Jessica. We've been friends for the entire school year. I know you don't really remember anything, but that shouldn't be affecting your memory now. I've reminded you of my name three times!" Jessica was whining now. Charlie had wanted her to become friends with Bella, but she hadn't really liked her all that much the first time around, and it was beginning to look like it was going to be even worse if Bella couldn't even remember her name.
Bella blushed at Jessica's reprimand. Charlie had told her the day after their argument over dinner that Renee and he decided that she was progressing on her healing at a rate that they were both comfortable with, and she was okay go to back to school for the rest of the semester.
While Bella acted ecstatic on the outside, which she was surprised she could even pull off since she knew she wasn't the best actress, she didn't let on that she had overheard their conversation. Bella had the feeling that if Charlie even had a little inkling that she knew the real reason why they didn't want her to go back to school, she wouldn't be allowed to step foot into Forks High until the mysterious boy had left after the year was done.
That boy was what was occupying her thoughts while Jessica was trying to re-tell multiples stories about everything they had done together previous to her accident. Unfortunately for Jessica, even though Bella desperately wanted her memories back, her sole focus was figuring out which boy her dad was talking about. She just had this feeling that once she figured it out, everything would fall into place. She even prayed each night that if she could figure out this mystery, her memories would miraculously reappear all at once.
"…So, we went to Port Angeles and you…" Jessica stopped talking once she saw Bella's glazed look again. Huffing, she thumped her textbook on her desk, causing Bella to jump and look sheepishly over at Jessica, offering a blush and a shrug as an apology. Which was definitely not good enough for her. "Alright Bella. I'm just trying to help you. Maybe if you would just listen to my stories of our adventures before you decided to lose all your memories in Phoenix it would help you remember!" To emphasize her point, she dropped her English text on the desk again with her last word, again causing Bella to jump.
"Jessica I'm sorry. My mind is just in a different place today."
Jessica sighed. Charlie had said it was going to be rough trying to get Bella back to the place where she was before. She also suspected that Bella told Charlie that she and her were much better friends than they really were. "It's fine Bella, please try to listen at lunch. We'll be sitting next to Mike, Lauren, Angela, Ben, Eric, and Tyler. We all had a ton of fun together. They might be able to help too." With that last bit, Mr. Mason decided class was ready to start.
Bella and Jessica turned around, listening to Mr. Mason drone on about Shakespeare, normally one of Bella's favorite units, but her focus was solely on finding the boy her parents were talking about. She sighed, looking out the window at the shining sun, letting her mind wander on the many possibilities.
"Alright Bella, this is where we sit!" Jessica said enthusiastically gesturing to the round table in the lunch room. "When they finally get out of line, Mike will sit over here, Angela and Ben right here…" Jessica continued talking while Bella glanced around the room.
Nothing in this small, crowded place was familiar. The multi-colored linoleum was the same generic flooring in the majority of schools, but still didn't hold a special place in her heart. Her eyes wandered over toward the bank of windows letting in the unfiltered sun no one expected for today. Bella's eyes continued to wander, making sure she was nodding and inserting small noises to make sure Jessica thought she was listening, when her eyes stopped on one table in particular.
It was the exact same table that was practically a copy of the other tables littered around the room. Exact same shape. Exact same size. The only thing different was the fact that no one was sitting at it.
Bella narrowed her eyes, something was tugging at the back of her brain, and at her chest. That table was familiar.
"Um Jessica?" Bella placed her hand on Jessica's arm, interrupting her. "Are you sure we don't sit at that table?" She pointed over to the lone table, turning her hopeful eyes to Jessica.
Jessica's nose wrinkled, "No Bella. We have always sat at this table." She sighed before she continued. "Oh look, everyone's finally coming over!" And that was all it took for Jessica to hurriedly push Bella around the table's bench to make room for everyone else.
"So, Bella, how's it feel to be back? Where's Ed-" Jessica slapped his arm, leaning over to whisper something in his ear before he sheepishly turned back to Bella.
Ed? Ed who? Do I know an Ed? Is Ed the boy my parents want me to completely forget? Bella was desperately hoping something would break through her memories. In the middle of almost giving herself an aneurysm, Angela interrupted.
"Mike! Introduce yourself first. Remember, Bella doesn't remember us." Angela slid in, sitting right by Bella.
"Hi Bella," Her warm smile immediately eased some of Bella's nerves. "I'm Angela, we have next hour together!" She placed her hand on Bella's and gestured around the table, re-introducing everyone.
The hour passed quickly, much to Bella's delight. The people who considered themselves her friends were extremely loud, high energy, and just draining. When the bell finally rang signaling the end of lunch, Bella hurriedly got up from her seat and dumped her tray of food, which she hardly even touched.
Angela quickly caught up, "Bella! Let's walk to bio together." The two walked in comfortable silence, something Bella was again grateful for. Jessica had been non-stop talk, and she much preferred Angela's silence. She figured she was better friends with Angela before.
They walked into the Biology room and again, Bella desperately wished something would trigger more memories. Angela lightly took her arm while leading her to the lab desk that had been hers before the accident. Bella's eyes roamed the entire room. She took note of every microscope. Every person sitting down. Even every chair, but nothing jogged anything.
"Alright Bella!" Angela said happily gesturing to the lab table they had stopped at. "This is your table! Your lab partner is out today, but he should be here when the weather turns bad again." She laughed lightly, and Bella just stared at her. When the weather turns bad?
Just as she was about to voice her question, Angela started talking again, eyes twinkling with something Bella couldn't quite place her finger on. "Him and his family like camping. The weather here is always rainy and dreary, so the moment the sun shines, they take advantage of the weather. The weatherman isn't always right, but it should be rainy tomorrow." Angela and Bella both heard Angela's name being called from across the room, where a frumpy looking boy was desperately trying to motion her over.
Angela turned back to Bella, "Sorry, I have to go. I'll talk to you after class." Angela left Bella with a small smile, and walked over to her lab table, leaving Bella to her thoughts.
The only thought going through Bella's head was Ed. She was wracking her mind trying to figure out who that could be. Who even goes by Ed? Maybe Jessica cut him off before he could finish his sentence? Bella's thoughts continued to spiral, and when Mr. Banner started class, she was broken out of her trance when he addressed her specifically.
"Bella! It's nice to have you back!" She just blushed and looked down, her hands going to the lip of the desk. She went to look back up and pay attention when her hand slid over uneven grooves.
Curious, she slid her hand back over, her hand fitting into the grooves almost perfectly. The moment she lined up her hands to match the grooves in the table, the ever-present ache in her chest, which hadn't bothered her as much today, vanished completely. Shocked, she removed her hand and immediately placed it on her chest, where the pain had returned.
Timidly, she went to slide her hand back into the grooves, where again, the pain went away. Probing, she slid her hand a little further back and found that the grooves went all the way around the lip of the table, forming what seemed to be a hand.
Just content with the pain in her chest being gone, she left her hand where it was for the remainder of class, a small smile on her face.