Disclaimer: The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, but the plot is mine!

Chapter 6

A Walk in the Park

Bella's Point of View

The school week passed by quickly. Quite frankly, I was amazed at how much homework the professors assigned- they gave no mercy. It was now six o' clock on Friday night and I was sitting in my dorm by myself. Alice went to her aunt's house for dinner, which apparently was a monthly tradition. I sighed, What to do? Oh, what to do? I stared blankly at the ceiling, finding random shapes in the stucco. I had finished all but one homework assignment, which I decided to save for later, because I was tired of doing it.

I guess I could work on my filming project. But what am I going to do? I pondered that for a minute. What's something that is fun, yet me? I opened my notebook, ripped out a piece of paper and began writing in my chicken scratch.

Films Project

Things I like…

-Books

-Traveling

I racked my brain trying to think of something that I would have a little bit of fun filming but came up blank. Giving up early, I flipped on Alice's mini TV set and found my favorite channel- Fuse. The show called Fuse on Tour was on and they were touring behind the scenes with Paramore. Jared the host, was currently interviewing Hayley Williams the lead singer about what it's like to be on tour.

"So Hayley, do you have any advice to give to the band hopefuls out there?" he asked.

"Just be true to yourself, and don't ever give up."

Then it clicked.

That's it! My video can be about people giving advice to college students!

Excited that I had my topic for my video, I gathered my things and went to town.

I parked my car downtown. On the way here, I decided that I was going to simply ask them what advice they had to offer, and film it candid. After placing the new blank CD in my recorder and set off down the street. I passed a couple of people sitting at a bus stop and decided to make them my first interviewees. Breathe deep Bella, pull a Nike and "Just Do It."

"Uh… hi," I nervously stated as the two ladies and one man stared back at me, "my name is Bella and I'm doing a project for my filming class- would you mind helping me? Just by answering one question?"

The lady in a red parka answered first. "Sure dear, now what do you need?"

"Oh wow…" It worked! I thought. I fumbled to open my camcorder and then asked, "As a new college student, I was wondering if you had any advice to give that would help me."

She sat for a minute thinking, then replied, "Well, I would say the most important thing would be to keep up on your school work. Don't fall behind, and read, read, read!" Satisfied with her answer she nodded her head as the other lady sitting next to her spoke up.

"Use protection!" The man next to her choked when she said this.

Oh no, I can't believe she just said that. But I guess in the society that we live in it makes sense…

After a few more minutes of talking and filming, I thanked them and headed on down the street. Feeling more confident after the bus stop, I headed into a nearly empty diner. There was one guy in the corner, but other than that, the waitresses were all gathered at the bar stools chatting away. One paused from her conversation and looked up at me.

"Just one?" she asked.

"Um… well actually I was wondering if you all would like to help me with a project?" and I continued to explain it.

"Ok, sounds painless. Ask away!" the oldest one agreed eagerly.

"What advice do you have for college students?"

The young waitress on the far left answered first, "Save your money. Otherwise you get stuck working jobs in between classes, like me." To prove her point she made a sad face, and I giggled at it.

"Study groups helped my little brother through it," another offered.

"Don't worry about the freshman fifteen- you loose it from all the stress."

"Join a fraternity! I pledged and it was a blast!"

The cook in the back stuck his head out, wondering what the commotion was about.

"Dan, what advice do you have for college students?"

He replied, "Have a loud alarm clock so you can get to class on time. The professors don't care if you miss class, but your grades do."

As soon as he said this I suppressed my laughter thinking, That will not be a problem in our room.

For the next hour, I continued walking down the street asking random people what advice they would give. Not all people, however, were willing to help. Like this one guy that I had asked.

He just looked at me and said, "Are you kidding kid? Do I look like I have time to do that?" With that said he abruptly turned in the other direction and huffed down the street.

Other than that, I had gotten a large variety of people, even a little girl. I had originally asked her mother, but she piped up instead.

"My sissy says that when I get older like her, I can go to the parties! But she told me that I could only drink apple juice, otherwise I would hurt my head and miss school. She said that it hurts like when you spin really fast on the teacups at Disneyland! So only drink apple juice," the innocence in her expression was absolutely priceless.

Now that I had enough advice and tips I headed back to my car. As I walked back, my mind wandered to how I could improve my project. Maybe I can have transitions between interviews with things that are in the city. That might look cool…

I was almost at my car, so I decided to instead keep walking down the street, just in the other direction. I pulled out my video camera and began taping the scenery.

In the distance, the cars on the free way zipped by, creating a constant flow of lights. I turned around and saw a late night baseball game going on at the park on the corner. Cheers from the stands echoed in the street. I continued walking in that direction, passing by business that were closing down for the night, the people walking down the street becoming scarce as I walked further away from the downtown into the local park.

By now the night had completely set in, the only light was coming from the stars and the few lamps placed sporadically in the park. The sidewalk had now turned into a pathway that wove in and out of the trees. After a few more minutes I felt a little tired, so I sat down on one of the benches before the bridge that tunneled under the freeway to the other side of the park.

My feet felt relief immediately, and I leaned my head back to gaze at the stars. For once the smog had been blow away by a light wind and created an opening in the sky that revealed the millions of twinkling lights. I felt like I was back at home, lying on the grass in the backyard with my dad, competing to find the Big Dipper and Little Dipper first. I wonder if I can find it… I pulled out my video camera to film the moment- not for the project, but for myself. I leaned back again and continued my hunt.

"What the hell was that?" a gruff voice accused.

Startled, I looked around, only to find myself alone in the park. Sitting up all the way, I jumped slightly when I heard something fall to the ground, making a small crack on the cement. Ok Bella, it's just your imagination playing tricks on you, I reassured myself. Just to be safe, I gathered my things and started to leave, when I heard the voice again.

"I said, what the hell was that?"

Another voice spoke up, "I can explain! They came to my house and threatened to take my wife and kids! I had to!"

"Matthew, I trusted you with this information," the other voice seethed, "and now it seems that you have violated the terms we agreed on."

A shiver made its way up my spine, and I hurriedly picked up my bag and began to brusquely walk back to my car. Afraid that in my rush I had left something behind, I dared a glance back towards the bench.

At that moment, a man was shoved against the tunnel wall by a slightly larger man. Hoping that they wouldn't see me, I dove into the nearby bushes for protection.

What should I do? I can't fight him off… wait, breathe Bella, this is an emergency- call 911! I frantically reached in my jean pocket to get my cell phone, but all I felt was the fabric against my hand.

Oh man! Where is it? The scuffling had now grown louder and I could hear the punches being thrown. I searched the nearby ground under the bush, silently sweeping my hand along the ground. Once again I was empty handed, so I peeked my head above the bush to look and see if it had fallen on the path. There it was laying in two pieces under the bench I was just at.

The person I assumed was Matthew, at that moment, emerged from the tunnel, panting and limping towards my hiding spot. I was almost positive that he couldn't see me in the night, but instinctively I ducked down further. A few short strides behind him, the other man approached him. Not sure what to expect, I lifted my video camera a little and tilted the screen down so that I could see what was happening.

"Matthew."

Matthew turned around automatically at the sound of his name, only to be met with the other man's fist cracking into his face. He fell backwards and tried to catch his fall with his arms. With a stomach-turning crunch, his arm gave out under his weight. However, he allowed only a frustrated grunt to escape his clenched teeth.

The other man, taking advantage of this, towered over him, speaking in a deadly voice, "You." Kick. "Will never." Kick. "Do that." Kick. "Again." With one final kick, he then bent down on the ground and got close to Matthew's ear. "Do you understand?"

Unable to speak, Matthew only nodded. Crumpled on the ground and defenseless, he began cough up blood. The attacker stood up and brushed off his pants, walking back in the direction that he came from.

I had been holding my breath and only realized it when I released it as he walked off. Still hiding behind the bush, less than three feet from Matthew, I began to think of what I could do. My cell phone was broken, and I couldn't just drag the man through the park. Maybe I could run back and get some help in town, I thought.

Matthew lay on the ground, barely moving when he froze at the sound of a phone ringing, his eyes darting towards the tunnel. From the black, he emerged on the phone, and came back towards Matthew. My body stilled, I became a statue waiting to see what would happen next.

Please just leave him alone, I chanted in my head, willing the man to go away.

As he got closer, he hung up the phone. The man's two large hands grabbed Matthew's shirt and pulled him up his eye level. "The boss wants you," he stated. He finished dragging Matthew to his feet, and forced him to walk back with him, mumbling something incoherent.

I waited for five minutes and when I was sure that they would not be returning, I warily stood up from behind the bush. The coast was clear, so I closed the video camera and ran back to the bench to grab what used to be my cell phone. As soon as I picked it up, I ran back into town, never looking back once.

A/N: So finally I got to the good stuff… I apologize that it had taken so long to write, but school comes first. Please write a review… I really do appreciate them, criticism, applauds, and all that great stuff help improve my writing so it's better for all of you guys!
3 Kinsie