Sunrise by Nancy ZeyPage | 7

Chapter 7

Not Ready for the Majors

Tuesday morning arrives sooner than desired. I reluctantly get ready with the rest of the Cullen gang to head to campus. The usually banter is glaringly missing from our morning routine. The increasingly loud silence rapidly becomes uncomfortable as nobody wants to talk about the two issues affecting our household: Tanya and my impending womanhood. I offer nothing to ease the situation because I really don't want to discuss them either.

Jen spots our car as soon as the Tundra pulls into the parking lot. Bella and Edward give me parting smiles before I bound up to meet her. Jen wraps her arms around my neck in a surprisingly open act of affection. I am too distracted by her enthusiasm to be offended by the familiarity.

"I'm so glad you are ok! I missed you yesterday. Art class is so dull without you. Yesterday, Brittany was her usual obnoxious self with Matt and Ryan hanging all over her. Oh, and you missed the pop quiz in English, lucky."

Jen's chatter brings a smile to face as I continue to listen as we are walking to Chemistry.

"Anyways, I've been having nightmares about that movie. I can't believe you laughed through the whole thing. It scared me to death. I am so glad vampires don't really exist, could you imagine!"

I have to cover my mouth with my hand to hold back the laugh that threatens to explode as we sit at our lab tables and wait for the instructor.

"Oh, but he was cute. He reminds me of your brother."

If she only knew. I nod trying my best to act nonchalant.

Jen's monologue is interrupted by the arrival of the teacher only to be resumed the second the dismissal bells rings.

"So, your brother…does he have a girlfriend? I always see him with that Bella girl, but she's his sister, right? Anyways, did you have a boyfriend back in Washington? I wish I had a boyfriend." I could hear her wistful sigh.

One of the best things about Jen's conversations is that she doesn't stop talking long enough for you to contribute anything so I let the questions pass over me unanswered. We part ways as I head to French class. On the way into the classroom I am instantly reminded that I share this class with Brittany who acknowledges my entrance with her usual look of disdain. I shake it off and take my seat.

Bonjour, classe. Aujourd'hui travaillera aux dialogues. Ainsi l'associé haut et commencent à la page 56 en votre texte," the teacher greets and instructs.

Great, we have to partner up for dialogue work. I glance around the room and find only one candidate remaining—Brittany. With trepidation I drag a chair to her deducing from her rigid body language that there was no way she coming to my side. With no pretense we open our books and dutifully begin.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." Brittany would make any Parisian proud with the contempt with which this greeting is uttered.

Unaffected, I reply with as much sweetness as possible, "Bonjour. Comment allez vous? Le temps aujourd'hui agréable, tu es d'accord, n'est-ce pas?" I have too many other things to worry about than to think about Brittany's unfavorable opinion of me.

We suffer this way until the bell blissfully rings an hour and half later.

This interminable day ends with PE class. The current rotation is baseball. Because of the rain that just recently started falling, our practice is held indoors in the multipurpose room. In addition to being a modified gymnasium the space serves as the assembly area, theatre, cafeteria and town hall. The space is a filled with a hodgepodge of equipment. Folded lunch tables and stacked chairs line one wall while sport banners drape from the ceiling and durable linoleum carpets the floor. In front of the stage are piles of bats, balls and bags. The padded wall opposite the stage is bare. Scattered about the cavernous room are several dozen kids of various ages waiting for class to begin.

We start the session by partnering up and, luckily, Uncle Jasper has the class with me. Equipment is doled out and we take our places to do some batting practice with one pitching and other bunting. It is amusing to watch Jasper handle the bat so clumsily, even dropping it at times. Having watched my family play baseball when the weather permits, I know how his natural talent would send major league players racing for the stands in astonishment. He hands the bat to me and takes his place to pitch.

Jasper delicately tosses the ball in my direction. To a human observer this "toss" would have resembled a fastball and it makes a brilliant cracking sound off my bat held in a bunting position. Jasper's gloved hand is already touching the floor in anticipation of the ball's trajectory; he snatches it up and winds up for another pitch.

"No fastballs, kids!" cries the gym instructor as she shoots a warning glance in our direction.

With a wink, Jasper releases the ball and it travels only marginally slower this time. Out of the corner of my eye I see a misdirected ball heading straight for my face. In an unconscious reflex I swing at the incoming object with unexpected force.

The impacted ball travels faster than a human eye can follow and leaves a telltale hole in the ceiling, but not before taking out the light fixture which rains down sparks on the students below.

Jasper's freshly released pitch pelts me in my upper arm and I release the bat in surprise. Jasper catches the ball on its return bounce with a look of fright.

Confusion erupts in the room as various students stop their activity and point at either at the impaired ceiling or at my injured arm, depending on which scene they witnessed first. Jasper immediately closes his eyes with a deep intake of breath and the room noticeably calms. Bewildered children look around in a daze, questioning their perceptions.

I then see a blur race into the room and climb up a rope suspended high up on the wall. The indistinct apparition quickly repairs the minor hole in the ceiling with unseen materials and retrieves the ball. Not more than three seconds have passed when Edward mysteriously appears in the gymnasium's doorway clutching the wayward ball.

"I think somebody lost this," Edward explains to a still dazed teacher who mumbles her thanks as she mindlessly takes the object from Edward's outstretched hand.

Watching Edward deal with people is what I would expect the Jedi mind tricks of Lucas' Star Wars movies to be like. Edward can charm anybody to do anything.

"I think my sister needs to go home. She's been hurt." The statement has the same effect as the Obi Wan Kanobi line: "These are not the droids you are looking for," but with a more suave delivery.

The coach nods her agreement and Edward briskly walks towards me and, taking me by my good arm, escorts me to the doorway. Jaspers eyes open and the students are slowly reanimated, wondering what happened during the last fifteen seconds.

As soon as the car door is shut I apologize profusely to Daddy.

"I am so sorry. The ball just came out of nowhere and I just hit it. I wasn't thinking, Daddy. I am so sorry," I stammer with my eyes bright with unshed tears.

With his eyes focused on the road in front of him, Daddy says, "It's okay, Sweetheart." However, looking at the tight set of his jaw I can see that everything is not okay. I face front to look out the windshield as we speed towards home.

A surprised Grandma greets us at the door with the unspoken question evident on her face: what's wrong. I show her the incident from gym and she immediately gives me a warm hug, hushing into my ear. The sweetness of the gesture crumbles my resolve and I cry on her shoulder. A minute later, after wiping the tears from my cheeks, Daddy, Grandma and I settle in the living room.

Grandma still hasn't let me go and continues to soothe me by brushing my hair with her cool long pale fingers. "I know this has been a trying week and half for you, Renesmee," Grandma croons. "First the move, then adjusting to human life at school and recently becoming a young lady. Now this incident.

"But this isn't trying for the family as a whole. The Cullen's have been around for a few hundred years and we have dealt with a crisis or two. In fact, many of the same crises you are dealing with. Very little surprises us anymore."

"But you never had a human in your family before," I counter while still enjoying Grandma's embrace.

"Hmm, are you sure about that?"

I look at her quizzically.

"Are you forgetting about your mother? She was essentially a member of this family for quite a while as a human. Your father and she married when she was still a human. And she conceived you as a human, remember?" Grandma gently reminds me.

I ponder this and slyly ask, "So she was probably having her time while in this house, too."

Daddy's wince is barely perceptible and Grandma nods her head in agreement. "And it was a bit more dramatic than that. When she was pregnant with you she drank human blood right in the living room with the rest of family within feet of her through a straw."

A light bulb moment of recognition goes off in my mind as I recall the stories. But I am not assured quite yet. "But you all knew about that at the time. You were prepared. My…thing… is unpredictable."

Grandma shakes her head in wonderment that obviously I haven't thought this through. "We have Alice."

Enough said. I am slowly becoming convinced that the family can withstand my periodic episodes. If they can tolerate an open container of human blood in the house and not succumb, I should be ok. I start to relax and then I remember the incident today:

"But what about what happened today? I am sure that no one displayed their vampire strength in front of humans."

Both Grandma and Daddy break into quiet chuckles.

"Well, Renesmee. I'm sure you would be amazed at what mishaps have happened in this family."

"Like what?" I ask earnestly, my curiosity piqued.

Grandma and Daddy exchange looks and Daddy nods his head inviting Grandma by saying, "Go ahead, and tell the story."

"A few decades ago, Emmett wanted to try his hand at football. We knew this was a mistake from the start, but we were close to moving soon so we decided to risk it. We were in upstate New York. Syracuse, if I recall correctly. Emmett attended the tryouts for the high school team. He was so nervous about the event that when they passed him the ball he still managed to grasp it too tight and deflated it. He was able to convince the coach it was a defective ball, but Emmett lost his confidence and came home without a jersey."

I can imagine the surly expression Emmett probably had on his face when he walked into the house after that incident. "But why didn't Alice know about the accident and warn Emmett?"

"Alice can only see visions based on decisions and not accidents beyond one's control. Emmett didn't make a decision to crush the ball. It was a spur of the moment thing, something no one, not even Alice, could have predicted.

"Jasper had a similar incident, this time with baseball. He hit the ball with a wooden bat with such force that the bat splintered. That could have been explained away again as defective equipment, but the fly ball sailing past the tree-lined baseball diamond wasn't as easily dismissed. Fortunately, the family was watching this time and Jasper put everyone momentarily to sleep until Edward retrieved the ball. When everyone came to, so to speak, no one could deny the ball in Jasper's hand so the equipment malfunction excuse still worked. We moved soon after that time, too."

The events of Jasper's story were very familiar to me now.

"Daddy, how did you know about today? How did you know where to get the ball?"

"Jasper screamed my name in his head and showed me what happened. And I came running," Daddy explains.

I nod my head in understanding.

"Oh, and Edward has a few stories himself. But I'll let.…" Grandma is giving Edward a sly smile when I interrupt with my latest thought. I note with alarm a similarity between the two situations Grandma related.

"Are we going to have to move? Like you did after Emmett's and Jasper's trouble?" I start panicking again. I sit up and move out of Grandma's arms. I begin to hyperventilate. No, I can't move again. I can't do this again.

Grandma grasps me with gentle, but firm, hands and emphatically answers, "No, we are not moving."

I desperately want to believe her. "'So, you were about to tell me about Daddy," I request in an attempt resume the discussion.

"As I was going to say, I'll let Edward tell you those tales."

Daddy shakes his head. His features softened with a combination of embarrassment and amusement. He opens his mouth to speak. And the door opens letting in the rest of the Cullen clan home from school. My shoulders slump and I frown with disappointment.

"Whew, saved by the bell," Daddy laughs.

Wagging a finger at Daddy, my eyes communicate the promise that I will ask again later.

"Signing up for the majors anytime soon, Nessie," teases Uncle Emmett with a big grin.

I give him a wry smile in response. "My step-grandfather is the ball player, not me."

Momma runs to my side and asks, "Oh, Sweetie, are you okay? Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" I ask confused as to what she is referring to.

"When I hit your arm with the slow ball. I doubt it even left a mark," Uncle Jasper reminds me while putting down his backpack.

I totally forgot about it. I tentatively lift the sleeve off my shirt and sure enough, there is a faint red spot about the size of a baseball on inside of my right arm. I press with my fingers on the sore spot and don't feel any pain.

Momma, of course, runs to the Grandpa's office to get a bandage to wrap around the minor injury.

"The kids at school will ask about your arm so you need to wear this for at least a week since a human would bruise pretty badly," Momma suggests. "I want Carlisle to take a look at it, too."

I don't think in my brief life I have ever seen Grandpa for so much medical attention in such a short period of time.

Auntie sits down next to me. "All the kids at school were talking all about you on the way out."

I give her an astonished look. "What in the world for?"

"Gym class of course. When there are only two hundred kids in a school news travels fast, Nessie."

I put my face in my hands wondering how I am going to face those two hundred kids in the morning.

"They're imaging all sorts of gory details, especially the middle school boys. They just love blood and guts. They'll be so disappointed. But the high school boys, on the other hand, have a different type of concern," she elaborates cryptically. I thought being cryptic was only Daddy's forte.

"What are you talking about, Auntie?"

"You'll see," she promises with that smirk on her face. Sometimes I just want to smack her.

The early evening finds me lying on the couch watching a movie on TV, a rare indulgence. If I have free time I am usually spending it working on my art, but I am unable to focus on anything other than the fluff on TV. I'm watching a movie on the ultimate in fluff network: Lifetime. I get sucked into the plot written by a Nora Roberts wanna-be centered around a divorced and scarred travel agent who finds true love on a cruise ship. With five minutes left in the movie, I have to suffer through household cleaner commercials before I can find out for sure whether or not Mr. Cruise will propose. I know he will, but I want to see how it plays out.

The front door opens and Jacob strolls right in. He is wearing his blue work jumpsuit which bears stains of some unknown automotive origin. His long hair is held back in a neat braid which manages to look very masculine on his tall frame. His hands are still a faint pink from his vigorous washing back at the shop but the fingernails could use a little more work showing faint black residue under them.

I can't help but be cheered up by his presence and a welcoming smile forms on my face. The smile he offers in return is just as inviting as he sits next to me on the couch after I move my legs to make room. He smells faintly of oil and gasoline mixed with soap and deodorant.

"What's with the arm?" he immediately asks after noticing the bandaging peeking out from under my shirtsleeve. His tone is fraught with concern. He knows it takes a lot for me to get hurt.

"Oh, this?" I comment while twisting my arm so I can get a better look at Grandpa's handiwork. "It's Momma's idea. I got into an altercation at school. It's mostly for show. Here…." and I reach up to touch his cheek.

He frowns with concern as I replay the bit where Uncle Jasper's ball pegs me in the arm and with relief when I show him Daddy's heroic rescue.

"So you aren't hurt?" He asks again. "What did the Doc say?"

"I'm fine. Just a little red mark and it doesn't even hurt. Momma says I have to wear this bandage so the kids at school don't gawk at a bruise that isn't there," I reassure.

I look at the television just in time to see the credits rolling. I punch Jacob in the arm. "You made me miss the ending!"

"What?" he innocently asks while rubbing his arm. I know it hurts just as much as mine.

"I've spent the last two hours watching this crappy movie and you made me miss the end!"

"Well there's a new movie I've wanted to see. Can I make it up to you?" he asks while changing the channel.

"I guess a Sci-Fi action movie can make up for missing a sappy romance," I concur and snuggle up against Jacob. Maybe this action flick will have some romance in it after all. I smile with the thought as a rogue robot terrorizes a city on the television screen.

The next morning, Jen gushes with concern over my injury. "Are you okay? I heard what happened. Everyone is talking about it. I'm surprised your arm wasn't broken! You sure it shouldn't be in a sling or something? I would have called you last night, but Dad wanted to take care of some stuff so we went into Fairbanks. Did you see…" Jen rambles on and I tune her out.

It's like the first day of school again. Everybody watches me in silence as I walk the halls. Once I pass by, the whispers begin, but the eyes never leave my figure. It's unnerving being the center of attention again. This strange treatment continues throughout the day.

Jen and I enter art class together and take our seats. The usual Brittany entourage enters soon after. The girls take their customary seats, but incredibly, Matt and Ryan, who usually trip over their own feet to be within spitting distance of Brittany, continue to our side of the room.

"Hey, Nessie," Ryan stammers, "I heard about your arm. You're okay, right?" His friend has a goofy grin on his face, but is mercifully silent.

"Yeah, um, I'm okay," I stammer right back. Why are these boys talking to me?

"Good, good. Well, see you later." Ryan offers a big smile and the boys lope back to their chairs.

"Oh, my God! Ryan actually talked to you! I haven't seen him talk to any girl other than Brittany in years!" Jen is beside herself covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes are wide with disbelief.

I can't refrain from looking over my shoulder back at the Brittany crew. Ryan gives me a nod still wearing that smile. Brittany sees the gesture and her face scrunches up in rage. Her eyes zero in on me and I can feel her seething where she sits. I quickly look away, relieved that Ms. Phillips' entrance marks the beginning of class.

"Nessie?" Ms. Phillips asks while scanning the classroom for me. "You need to go to the office."

I stand up as a shiver of fear shoots down my spine. "Why?"

"I don't know. You need to go now," she answers in a distracted manner as she picks up a book she knocked off her desk.

With heavy feet I leave the room and can't miss the snicker Brittany lets out as I pass in front of her chair.

"I hope it's to kick you and your sick-o family out, weirdo." I heard Brittany whisper just loud enough for me to hear which might as well as have been a shout to my sensitive ears. Her sidekicks hide a laugh behind their hands.

I enter the office and find Uncle Jasper there as well. I look at him with my eyes asking the question: Why are we here? His face is the picture of calm. No answers there.

The school nurse, a frumpy young woman wearing Bugs Bunny scrubs, reads off a folder label, "Jasper and Ren-is-me Cullen? Come on back."

I numbly stand and follow Uncle Jasper into the tiny first aid area that holds one examination bed and a counter full of medical paraphernalia. She sits at a small and overly cluttered desk and opens the folder she is carrying.

"Okay. I understand there was an incident in Gym yesterday afternoon, but you left the school grounds before filing a report. Ren-is-me, here is a form stating what your brother here reported happened." She hands me a piece of paper. "I need you to read it, and if it's accurate, sign it, please. I'll be sending a copy home to your parents and I'll need their signatures as well."

I take the paper, my eyes wide with surprise and begin reading:

This report details the incident that occurred at Tri-Valley School in Healy, AK in the Denali Independent School District on Tuesday, September 23rd. At approximately 2:00 pm, Jasper Hale, ward of Dr. and Mrs. Carlisle Cullen, accidently threw a baseball at Renesmee Cullen, ward of Dr. and Mrs. Carlisle causing a minor injury to her upper right arm. Apparently, he was distracted by the ceiling light fixture that had partly fallen. Renesmee Cullen left school grounds immediately after the incident with her brother Edward Cullen, ward of Dr. and Mrs. Carlisle Cullen, to their home. Mrs. Theresa Chase, Physical Education Instructor, gave verbal permission and observed that Renesmee Cullen was able to walk and exhibited no signs of major injury. This was an unpreventable and unforeseen accident.

I sign the form and return it to the nurse. I realize now that this is an attempt to cover their butts from being sued now that the faulty light fixture is to blame.

"Thank you. Now I need you to show me your arm and any other injuries you sustained yesterday afternoon," she requests as she reaches for my arm.

I immediately pull back and look to Uncle Jasper for help.

"Ma'am, my sister has already been examined by a doctor, our father. I am sure he can forward the results of his examination," Jasper offers.

The nurse is undeterred. "Sorry, it's district policy that the school nurse has to examine any injuries that occur on campus for insurance purposes. Now, Ren-is-me, let me have a look."

Uncle Jasper using his ability causes the nurse to become confused and as quickly as he can, knocks over a stack of files and returns to my side before the nurse can even blink.

"Oh!" she exclaims and is temporarily distracted by picking up the files now scattered on the floor. Within the thirty seconds it takes to recover the files, I see Grandpa at the front office through the first aid room's window. I sigh in relief.

"Don't know what happened there, but let's get this over with. Ren-is-me, your arm." She reaches for me again.

"But my G…Dad is here," I stutter and frantically point at the distinguished gentleman through the glass.

Grandpa walks into the first aid station with a warm smile and a commanding presence just like a doctor should. "Good Afternoon, I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen." He offers his hand to the dumb struck nurse. I guess she thought she would meet such a handsome doctor only in her dreams. "I stopped by to check on my daughter, and, look at that, here she is." Grandpa's smile gets wider and the nurse swoons. "It appears Renesmee is in good hands here." Incredibly, the nurse swoons even more. "While I am here, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh, yeah," the nurse giggles and even bats her eyes bashfully.

I groan at the display.

"I need to examine her injuries, but she said you already did that. So, I'll take your word for it, Doctor." She says the word "Doctor" as if she was calling him "Lover."

I shake my head. Grandpa is unfazed, no doubt quite used to this kind of attention.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. She's been through a lot, lately."

"Oh, yes, poor thing." Her eyes never leave Grandpa's face.

"Well, if there is nothing else…?"

"Hmm, yes. Could you sign this form?" She offers him the form I just signed as if asking for a movie star's autograph.

"Certainly." He signs the paper with his elegant script and hands it back.

"Thank you, again. Jasper, Renesmee, I'll see you tonight. Good day, Ma'am."

The nurse sits down heavily as she watches his retreat through the glass. Not expecting anything coherent from the nurse, Uncle Jasper and I take our leave.

"How did Grandpa know? His timing was perfect!" I ask Uncle Jasper.

"Alice. She was keeping tabs on the administration here and called me as soon as the nurse decided to page us to the office and I paged Carlisle. His office is right down the road. I guess he just ran. Good thing the clouds are still here."

I look up at the ceiling, silently thanking the gods of good fortune for bailing me out once again.