Chapter 4

Yeah...I've fixed the problem of the e-mails not being in bold, and thus harder to read. Please review, I won't know what to change if you don't tell me!

The professor's voice echoed throughout the full auditorium, commanding the attention of everyone in the hall.

"…DNA testing is incredibly important part of society now, socially, health wise and criminally," He paused, looking each one of his students in the eye, until he came upon Bella who was staring intently at a brick half way up the back wall. "…don't you agree young miss?"

Bella looked up, shocked then flushing pink when she realised that she was the object of the Professor's attention, and that the entire room was focused on her and her response.

"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention." She stammered out, casting her eyes down towards her note pad. "I was day dreaming."

"Ah, young love, sweet and fulfilling, but it does not have a place in my lecture theatre. Please keep all your future day dreams stored for after my lecture, ok?" she blushed even more profusely.

"It wasn't love." She protested. "But I will try to keep my mind more focused."

"Very well" he replied and moved on with his lecture.

The lecture continued on for an hour, going in depth on the various uses of DNA testing and the ethical dilemmas it raised. Bella remembered nothing of it, her eyes stayed locked on the clock throughout it.

"Could Time go any slower?" she thought, willing the thin black hands to move faster along the white background. As her professor's deep voice resonated in the background, her thoughts began drifting to Edward, and the e-mails that made her breath catch in her throat every Time she realised she had a new message. She began to wonder if her e-mails gave him the same thrill that they did her, of if he regarded her as some charity case, or worse, a huge joke.

Her thin face creased into a frown as her thoughts became dark and suspicious.

What if he's doing this all for publicity?

She flinched openly as the thought burned in her mind, causing the people around her to either stare curiously or shake their heads in annoyance.

So? At least you get the poster. What, did you really think you would actually mean something to him?

Her brow furrowed further as those viscous thoughts seared into her mind.

The professor's voice once again broke through her contemplation.

"Ok, lecture concluded. Considering I just know that you all paid complete attention…" he directed his gaze at Bella and pursed his lips, letting her know he knew she wasn't listening at all. "I expect to see a set of comprehensive notes on the lecture on my desk by this Time next week. If you can't type them, at least make them neat. Dismissed."

"Crap." She muttered to herself, making a mental note to find someone and grab a copy of their notes as she packed all her gear up into her faithful black bag.

She walked the familiar path to the train station, not even looking as she used her TravelPass, her muscles knowing the routine well. She stood up for the entire commute to her apartment, changing at the necessary stations, moving around people subconsciously as her mind coasted around in a sea of thoughts.

She almost missed the entrance to her building and was nearly past it until a man came running out of her building and nearly knocked her off her feet, and completely out of her thoughts.

"Sorry." They both mumbled, separating, assuming to never see each other again.

She trudged through the foyer of the building, checking her mail whilst giving meek smiles and half-hearted waves of acknowledgement to those she knew. She carefully walked up the creaky stairs, knowing they wouldn't break, but wary all the same.

When she reached her chipped unassuming door, she rummaged around in her pockets and bag for her keys. Her heart began to pound rapidly as the search took longer and longer, each second agonisingly creeping by as she began scrambling for the key, finally finding it in the back pocket of her faded sky blue jeans.

"What is it doing back there?" she asked the door, as if it would know.

Pushing the key into the lock and twisting it, she jimmied the door open, the air rushing out to even the pressure. Strolling through the door frame, she dropped her keys on the end table and closed the door, giving it a slight nudge with her shoulder to make sure it didn't reopen later, especially not the middle of the night, and relaxed into the couch. She sat there for about ten minutes, just running through the list of things she need to do, including copying those notes, when it occurred to her that she hadn't checked her e-mails. She rushed over to the laptop, cursing herself mentally at how desperate she was to have a reply, and almost screamed for joy when her inbox displayed she had one unread e-mail.

Dear Bella,

Wow, that sounds hard. You must be a very smart woman.

Stop thanking me! Honestly, it is nothing. If anything, I should be thanking you for this wonderful opportunity to do something worthwhile with my undeserved fame.

An Aussie girl!! Do you ride kangaroos around? Just kidding, please don't hurt me.

I have an idea of how you can 'repay me'.

In my free-Time (what little I have free of Jasper and his unending questions) is spent watching re-runs of the musical TV show 'Glee'.

I understand if you no longer wish to be associated with me ha ha.

-Edward

Bella chuckled throughout the message, laughing at the absurdity of the entire situation and hastily sent a reply, hoping to catch him when he was still online.