Chapter 6
My alarm went off this morning and I rolled over in bed, grabbing the pillow and covering my head with it. About 20 minutes later, I was shaken awake by my mom who was saying, "Lily, get up. You will be late for school, young lady." I stood up and stumbled my way into the shower. I'm glad that I didn't keel over from tiredness and hit my head on the edge of the tub. At around 2 am I had been woken up by a thunder clap and tossed and turned for a great while until it sounded like the storm had subsided. After my shower, I hastily dressed in a skirt and sweater, not looking out the window. Not the best choice on my part. As I walked out my front door, it was still pouring outside and I ran for my car as rainwater splashed on my bare legs, making me shiver. I wasn't used to all of this constant rain, but it was beautiful here and always smelled good and really fresh. I drove to school thinking about Alice and Edward and wondering if it would be uncomfortable to be around them. As I pulled up to the student lot, I saw their Audi. I became extremely anxious and looked at my appearance in the rearview mirror, wiping my teeth with my finger to get rid of the sheen of gloss that had transferred onto them. I walked to my locker pulling out my necessary books and headed to my first class.
I walked into government and sat down at my desk and waited for instruction. Ms. Carver started lecturing the class and pulled out my notebook to take notes. We were studying the Bill of Rights. I became bored like the rest of the class and began to gaze out of the window. I was hoping to see a beautiful rainbow appear as the sun dried up the rain, but after waiting for ten minutes, I was resigned to the sheeting rain splattering against the windows. I looked away and jotted down some information about not inflicting cruel or unusual punishment stated in Article VIII and then turned my gaze to watch the trees swaying in the wind, anything to kill the time. At that moment, I thought I saw a man step out from behind the trees in the distance and he just stared at my classroom, but it was pouring so hard, I couldn't see very well. I quickly turned my attention back to Ms. Carver and refused to look outside for about 15 minutes. My heart had begun to race and I felt extremely anxious. When I gained enough courage to look back, the man was gone.
In between my classes, I kept bumping into Edward or Alice in the hallway. It was odd because the day before, I had not seen them until I was in class with them or in the lunch room. By the time Media English had started, I felt better. There wasn't anyone watching my other classes and became distracted. Thankfully, the rain had slowed down to a drizzle and the sky still was overcast. I peered over to my left and Alice looked at me and grinned widely. I smiled in return, but was distracted when my cell inside my pocket vibrated. I tried not to react because technically we aren't supposed to have our phones on during class. I promised my mom that I would keep my phone on in case she needed me. I grabbed it and pulled it out of my pocket and placed it on my lap. I looked up at Mr. Shields, who was mentioning movies that we had put down in our essays on our first day. Making sure the coast was clear; I glanced down at the display. I had four missed calls and a ton of text messages from Jack. I sucked in a startled breath and changed my posture to a more alert one. Then and there, I made up my mind to go to the phone store and change my phone number even if I had to pay for it. I quickly shut off my phone, looking out the window, saw a man out there and gasped. I looked away quickly, putting my hand up to my face, pulling my hair in the opposite direction of my part to make a curtain, shielding me from looking at the strange man. Jack had me on edge and it showed. For all I know, this man could be a security guard or a janitor. I needed to quit looking for dark omens or the boogey man. I live across the county and am perfectly safe.
After watching Lily's reaction to her cell and seeing the horror written on her face as she turned to look out the window was gut wrenching. Whoever was messaging her was scaring this poor girl half to death. The thought of us hurting her was unacceptable, but some stranger hurting her was not going to happen while I am around. As I thought that, I heard Edward groan at my determination. "Alice, I know we agreed upon us trying to be friendly with her, but now we have to be her saviors. We don't even know there is a threat against her." I just politely ignored Edward, who then gave up. "Alright, Alice, you win." I smiled giddily with my little victory. I would definitely have to make all of this up to Edward later.
I saw Lily looking out the window and I turned to see what it was she was seeing, which was a man. My hand shot up and begun waving frantically to get Mr. Shields attention, asking for a hall pass to use the restroom. I walked demurely out of the classroom and then ran out the side doors at vampire speed. "Alice, there is someone around watching Lily. Damn, whoever is thinking about her thinks she is beautiful and all his." Edward's tone became concerned. I tried to see who was around, but no vision came to me.
"Edward, I see absolutely nothing." I don't like not being able to see. It was just as frightening now as when I had my first vision as a human; it was fear of the unknown. Edward and I ran the entire perimeter of the school, up to a few miles away, but we weren't able to find anyone who looked suspicious. We decided to go back to the school and just stick as close to Lily as possible. I ran back to my class and opened the door. Lily was sitting there speaking to the class about her favorite movies. "Ah, Miss Cullen, please tell us what movies you chose to write about in your essay," Mr. Shields asked, as I sat down in my seat. "Oh...I look forward to seeing my favorite movies Gaslight and Better Off Dead. Both are classics in the Drama and Comedy genres." Mr. Shields nodded and said, "Both are excellent choices."
He allowed us to sit and talk quietly for the last ten minutes of class. Everyone huddled up in little groups, but Lily and I. I turned to her. "Would you like to join my brother and me for lunch?" Lily looked truly surprised that I had asked her to join us.
"Sure, I would love to join you for lunch," she said with a shy smile.
I smiled at her and then said, "Go ahead and invite your friend to join us, too." Before Lily could respond, the bell rang. Everyone got up and filed out of the room fast. Edward was already at the door waiting for us to make our way out. Lily's cheeks flushed as she looked at him. Hmmm, I see a match that needs making. "Shut up, Alice, there will be absolutely no matchmaking going on where I am concerned." Edward whispered so only I could hear. I pouted as we all walked to the cafeteria together and Lily got into line after we made excuses as to why we weren't going to be eating.
I left Edward and Alice at the table and stood in line to get my lunch and the nice blonde girl who waved at me yesterday was standing in front of me. I reached out for a piece of pizza and noticed she reached for the same thing. "Go ahead," she said.
I smiled back at her and picked up my pizza slice. "Thanks, I'm Lily, by the way."
She smiled and said, "I'm Mercedes. Hey, do you want to join me for lunch?" as she stretched her arm out for her own piece of pizza. I looked apprehensive for a moment until I realized what Alice had said just a few minutes ago.
"Sure, I will be sitting with Alice and her brother. Do you mind if we eat with them?" Mercedes looked excited and nodded her approval. I grabbed a coke and then we both paid for our lunches and made our way to the back table where Alice and Edward were sitting.
Mercedes sat down next to me and she said hello in a quiet tone of voice to the Cullens. After we made the appropriate introductions, I took a bite of the pizza and pulled it away from my mouth, creating a really long, stretchy piece of cheese. Mercedes burst out laughing and Alice looked disgusted. I apologized and waited for it to cool enough to not be so stretchy. Every time I took a bite, Alice and Edward would wrinkle up their noses. We all had begun talking about the latest movies we all wanted to see and then Alice began talking about the latest fashions. Making small talk with Mercedes, Alice and Edward was very easy. There were no uncomfortable silences between the four of us.
I saw a shadow cross over the table and I turned to see Sasha and her group all hovering above us. "You don't belong here." I looked confused as to why Sasha would say that. "This side of the cafeteria is for the upper classmen and you aren't one." I turned to look at Mercedes, who was looking like a fish out of water. She gathered her tray and started to rise, but I placed my hand on her shoulder, keeping her right where she was. All at once, I was confused, mad and protective of my new friend. I hope the Cullens aren't going to be upset by my outburst about Mercedes staying at our table. "She's with us." I looked at Mercedes and said, "You aren't going anywhere. Sasha, that is your name right? I will say this as nice as I can, leave us alone." I turned to Mercedes and resumed our conversation, ignoring the irate group standing there behind us. Eventually, I could hear them stalk away to their own table.
The bell sounded signaling the end of lunch and we all got up from our table, Mercedes and I putting our trash in the garbage can. "Wait up; I'm headed to the gym, too." Mercedes called out.
I turned to her with a grin, "You transferred into my gym class?" She nodded her head, "Yep, schedule conflict." Mercedes, Edward and I all walked toward the gym. She and I were chatting together about her schedule conflict; one of her elective classes needed to be switched around. We left Edward at the girls' locker room and went inside to change into our gym clothes. After we dressed, we walked inside the gym and our coaches weren't there. We all headed out as a group together into the gloomy afternoon toward the football field.
Edward was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and he didn't appear cold at all. I was freezing and hoped we would be doing something that would help keep us active and warm. Mercedes and I whispered together about how hot Edward looked in his gym clothes. He walked in front of us and turned around, smiling. We both blushed and then burst out laughing. How could he hear us?
Coaches Damon and Baxter called class to order and separated us into two teams. "We are starting our flag football unit. Obviously, the rules are no tackling, hitting, punching or fighting," Coach Baxter said. After the lengthy description of the game was explained, Edward looked bored, but there was a fire in his eyes. He wanted to play football. "We know there is light rain, but it won't kill us or melt us anyhow, so we are going to start the class off running laps." The school has an upper field and a lower one; we were on the lower one. The three of us ran together and by the time we were a quarter way through our first lap, we were soaked.
Mercedes and Edward were on my team and we all huddled up making a game plan. Heather and Josh were both on the opposite team and I could tell that they were playing to win. I really didn't care if we won or not, but would try my best anyhow. The football was snapped and the quarterback looked for an opening on the field. I was being rushed by Heather, so it was impossible to gain possession of the ball. Edward was open and the quarterback threw the ball to him. Edward literally looked like he was jogging to the end zone. There were kids all rushing to him to try and steal his flag away, but his yellow flag was still on his person as he strolled through the end zone. We all went back to the line of scrimmage and waited for the snap of the ball. After the snap, I ran down the field and made eye contact with the quarterback who then passed me the ball. I caught it near the sideline a few yards away and was immediately tackled. I felt an elbow go right into my shoulder and I went down like a brick. I felt two cold, wet hands pick me up off the dampened lawn. The coach's whistle blared out. "Heather, if you tackle anyone again, you will be benched the rest of the class."
"Hey, are you alright?" Edward asked. I looked up at him and nodded yes, as I couldn't find my voice. I rubbed my shoulder to ease the stinging that was shooting through it.
We went to huddle up again and Mercedes nudged me pointing off to the upper field and said, "There is a guy up there staring in our direction."
My head shot up, but I didn't see anyone. "What guy?"
"Huh, he must have left, too bad, I wanted to know if he was hot or not," Mercedes said as we lined up on the field. I noticed Edward looked up in that direction and then turn around to look at me. His face was a mask of stone. He looked to be emotionless. As we lined up, the ball was snapped again, with Edward receiving the ball and heading toward the line of scrimmage. Everyone on our team was cheering him on. After an epic touchdown, he looked happy at first, then angry. Not only did Mercedes and I notice, but so did everyone in our vicinity. He looked like a feral beast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man at the edge of the forest about one hundred fifty yards from the field. I was petrified, but asked Edward if he saw the stranger, too. Edward didn't answer, but Alice was suddenly standing on my right. She startled me, and I let out a blood curdling scream.
The coaches came to see if I was hurt. I assured them I was ok, and they asked Alice why she was there. In her most playful voice, she told the coaches that she needed to speak to her brother. They stepped ten feet away and had their conversation.
It was then that I could have sworn I saw numerous figures running in the trees. Whatever it was, it looked so graceful, but very fast. Was it human? Was it wild animals? I didn't want to stick around to find out.
The bell rang and we ran to the locker room really fast! I had this horrible feeling of being watched. This was a really weird day. Short skirt and wet legs, stupid texts and people possibly watching my school, but to balance the good and bad, I got a few new friends.
After receiving Mercedes' phone number and telling her I would give her my new number after I got it, I quickly walked to my teacher's aide class and shook my wet hair away from my cheeks and forehead. I was running late and the halls were empty. A loud sound came from behind me, but when I looked there was nobody there, then a loud throat clearing could be heard and I looked behind me once more. An unfamiliar teacher spotted me and instructed me to hurry to my class or face detention. I ran the rest of the way there and hurled the door open. Mr. Shields just smiled at me as I entered. He gave me the stack of essays to grade and I pulled out a red sharpie marker to mark the grades with. Just before class was over, I looked outside the window and could have sworn that I saw Alice out there in the rain searching for something. I wasn't sure because of the distance and weather, but it appeared that she had a determined look on her face.
Class was pretty uneventful and I sat doing homework that was assigned until the bell rang. The rest of the school day was pretty much the same and I quickly ran through the puddles, splashing through them to reach my car. I shut the door, clicked the locks and turned the engine over, turning the heat up to generate warmth. I was numb from the cold that went through my body; I had been feeling that way since PE.
Edward and I both walked to the Audi and just waited for Lily to get to her car. The humans are funny; they all run through the rainfall attempting to stay as dry as possible when they would get wet anyway. Why not slow down and enjoy their walk and not look like chickens with their heads cut off. Edward grinned at my inner thoughts. We pulled out of the parking spot slowly, yeah slowly, and followed behind Lily the entire drive. "Edward, it is alarming how unobservant this girl is."
"I agree, we have been following her for quite a few miles and she hasn't even noticed us yet," Edward said. Lily cruised slowly down the main street and then parallel parked her car. We watched her feed the meter and rush inside the phone store. We both listened in on her conversation with the phone salesman.
"Hello, Miss. How may I help you today?"
"I would like to change my phone number," Lily said. The words tumbled out of her mouth and she appeared nervous. She kept switching her weight from one foot to the other.
"Okay, Miss. Let me look up your profile and see what we can do for you."
"Lily, please call me Lily." The salesman smiled at her warmly and began typing quickly.
"Well Lily, it looks as if you don't have an upgrade until October."
"I want to change my phone number anyway. I will pay any fee that you might have." We could hear the frustration in her voice as the salesman did not understand her request trying to save her some money.
The salesman was looking at figures and calculating them up. He pulled out a clipboard and showed Lily the list of new phone numbers that she could acquire.
"I'll take this one, it seems like it is easy to remember...no wait, I want a hard one. Which one do you think is the hardest to remember?" Lily asked. The salesman pointed to the number on the bottom on the list.
"How about 594-8706? That is the last number I would pick out."
Lily breathed out a sigh and then said, "I'll take it! Please make sure to shut this number off completely. I don't want any of my contacts to be able to call the old number and have it roll over to the new one." The sound of her voice was frantic.
"Miss, are you alright? You seem frightened," the salesman said.
"No, I'm fine, I just have someone who has my phone number who shouldn't and they won't stop calling me. The only way to keep them from calling is by changing my number. Just to be safe, I would like to pay for a brand new phone, as well."
The salesman nodded his understanding and he hurriedly changed her phone number and replaced her old phone, as well. He rang up her purchase. "That would be $363.95 cents." Lily pulled out a checkbook and wrote a check for her new phone. She walked out of the store with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face.
"Edward, we need to figure out what is going on with Lily and this strange man following her. He must be the one who is phoning her."
Edward started his car and proceeded to follow Lily all the way to her home. She parked in the driveway and ran inside her house. We only drove away after she had locked her door. "You're right, Alice, but let's wait until we have further proof that this man wants to do her harm."
"Okay, Edward. We will do that, but I will be checking in on her tonight, just to make sure. This girl has no common sense when it comes to self-preservation. She still hasn't noticed that we followed her from school, into town and then all the way home. No wonder this guy is so easily stalking her."
Edward merely responded by pinching the bridge of his nose.