Sunrise by Nancy ZeyPage | 5
Chapter 10
Score One for the Girls Team
Tonight is the big game and the Cullen family will be well represented. Auntie and Uncle Jasper, Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett will accompany Jacob and me to the gymnasium. Momma and Daddy will sit this one out. Auntie is going because she loves playing human. Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett are only coming because she is nominated for queen, though that is decidedly not the reason I am going. I am attending because it was determined that a sporting event could be a learning experience. I wonder what lesson could be learned in person that can't be duplicated on a television screen.
I am riding in Jacob's car. It's a 2001 Mazda Miata, a two-seater, so the others are taking Uncle Emmett's truck. Jacob salvaged this relic from the junk yard and spent almost a year restoring it to near mint condition. The engine roars with his signature embellishments. I am curious how the car will handle the turns once the snow chains are put on the tires as I watch the snow flurries outside my passenger side window. Jacob will need to get another car for the winter as the soft top will not tolerate the sub-freezing weather that is destined for us in a manner of weeks.
"How well do you think this will handle the snow?" I inquire gesturing at the dash.
"Not too well, I imagine," he laughs. "I got my truck from La Push here, too." Jacob's body heat quickly warms the air in the tiny passenger compartment and I crack the open the window for some cool air. "Are you hot?"
"I'm fine." Though I am warm, I am not convinced it is only the air temperature that is affecting me.
"What's up, Nessie? You are not one for small talk." He's right.
"I'm just nervous about tonight and tomorrow night."
"You'll be fine, trust me. What can happen?" Jacob gives me one of his brilliant smiles. His teeth contrast vividly against the rich color of his skin in the dashboard light. The distraction serves to prevent me from pondering his last question.
The parking lot is a zoo with all spaces occupied when we arrive and are forced to park along the highway. I don't mind walking, but I feel a sense of foreboding as to what the gymnasium will be like. Confirming my fears, there is a mass of people laughing and talking on the way in. Some even braved the high twenties temperature with a tailgate party complete with a grill. The smell of raw meat tempts my nose and I salivate remembering it has been a few days since my last good meal.
Jen spots me out of the crowd and bounds up to me letting go of Matt's hand to give me a welcoming hug. I have grown accustomed to her affections.
"Hey there! Glad you made it," she says and takes Matt's hand back into hers. Then her eyes settle on the man towering protectively over me and they widen in surprise and awe. "Is…this…your family friend?" Jen stammers in a whisper as she takes in all six and half feet of him. Jacob stifles a laugh.
"Yes, it is." I whisper right back. Jen mouths "wow."
"Jen, this is Jacob Black. Jacob, this is Jen Barnwell," I introduce.
"Nice to meet you," Jen shyly says.
"Same here. Heard a lot about you from Nessie, here," Jacob answers.
Jen blushes and Matt appears to be getting nervous.
"Hi, I'm Matt Warner," Matt says as he reaches his hand past me and Jen towards Jacob who takes it.
Eventually we make our way into the overfilled gym. Every available sitting surface has a body on it and dozens crowd around the perimeter. Jacob spots my family in the stands at center court. The four of us make our way up the stairs and squeeze in with little fanfare. Jacob and Uncle Emmett's imposing statures and Aunt Rose's piercing glare ensure that those sitting nearby will gladly offer their available space. Auntie and Uncle Jasper wave their hellos.
The din of the room is almost deafening, at least to human ears, as the accompanying conversations fill the space. There are easily five hundred bodies crowded in here. I am thankful to be sitting between Uncle Emmett and Jacob though the human stench is most foul tickling my nose and I am threatening to gag. The impact of so many bodies and the artificial heating to combat the subfreezing outdoor temperature has made the room quite stifling and I am a bit uncomfortable. Uncle Emmett notices my squirms and blessedly, puts his cool arm around my shoulders with his oversized hand near my neck. I blissfully relax in the cold and breathe in deeply his comfortable and non-human scent.
With great fanfare, a musical group begins playing marching band music, not all that well I might add, and the crowd jumps to its feet. Streamers, posters and oversize foam hands with pointing index fingers are vigorously shaken amidst yells and cheers. I want to cover my ears from the noise all these people are creating. Jacob and Uncle Emmett are in constant physical contact so that helps to keep my bearings. The place now reeks of human sweat and cloying perfumes.
Finally the girls enter the gym and unbelievably the crowd is now in a frenzy of motion, smells and sounds. I lose my balance as my mind reels with all the sensory input and Jacob deftly catches me.
"Are you okay?" he asks with his eyes full of concern.
"Yea, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Uncle Jasper whispers something to Uncle Emmett and soon they exchange places by gracefully maneuvering between the spectators. Uncle Jasper wraps his deliciously cool arms around my waist and soon I am calm as I lean into him.
After the National Anthem the event can finally begin. The two teams take to the court and everybody sits down. I take my seat between Uncle Jasper and Jacob. Jacob is careful to keep at least a few inches away so his body heat doesn't overpower me.
I know nothing about volleyball so I watch as the white ball moves across the net in almost slow motion. I am astounded that the girls miss hitting the ball so often and then I remember they are only human with hindered reflexes. Whistles stop the action and frequent conversations take place between an umpire and competitors before play is resumed. The audience is enthralled unleashing their fury at the opposition and exaltation at their favored team. I am studying the spectators almost as much as the sport. I wonder how Uncle Jasper is handling the range of emotions on display.
I am beginning to feel more acclimated to my surroundings and no longer need Uncle Jasper's support either physically or psychologically. The smell no longer bothers my sensitive nose and the heat is no longer oppressive. The logic of the game is slowly making itself known as Jacob whispers the significance of the actions. I feel a sense of accomplishment when Tri-Valley scores though I have done nothing but watch it happen.
Currently, Tri-Valley is ahead by two points and is preparing to serve. The five-foot five senior launches the ball, jumps, and swings with all her might sending the ball rocketing to the other side of the net. The opposing girl braces herself for the ball's impact, planting her feet on the ground and readying her arms, but she miscalculates the trajectory. Instead of the ball landing in her purposefully placed clasped hands, it smacks her full on the nose. A collective gasp escapes the stands and everyone, including the stricken girl, grabs their noses in reflex.
When she pulls her hand away there is no mistaking the bright red blood seeping between her fingers and cascading down her upper lip. Her teammates race to her side long after I stand up.
My family's eyes are not focused on the event taking place on the floor of the gym. They are all trained on me. Uncle Jasper has his hands on my shoulders willing me to sit down, but I won't move. The delicious aroma registers in my primal brain at the same time as the sight of my favorite food. The thirst is all-consuming and my throat burns with desire. It can be likened to when humans drive by chicken restaurants where they pipe the scent of cooking flesh out into the street and passerby's who weren't even thinking of food are overcome with intense hunger pains. That might pass for a faint description of the overwhelming need throbbing throughout my body.
A second might have passed since that unfortunate girl revealed the extent of her injury. Uncle Jasper is preparing to handle the situation in his unique way when I put up my hand to stop him.
"No, let this pass," I confidently request. With wide eyes my family falters.
"Nessie—," Jacob warns.
"No, I can handle this." I am not sure where this confidence is coming from but alongside the immediate and demanding thirst is an equally powerful resolve to not shame my family in this manner.
"Jacob, would you mind taking me outside." I say this using the reserve of air in my lungs. I refuse to take another breath until I am outside. Jacob acquiesces and we make our way through the stand.
"Did you see that?" Jen asks as we pass in front of her and Matt. I nod and envy my family in their lack of need for oxygen. "Are you okay? You look a lot like you did after that movie. Did you eat too much popcorn again?" Jacob and I hurriedly leave the stands.
Outside I take huge gulps of the frigid air both for its oxygen content as well as its lack of hemoglobin. Jacob holds me tightly as I slowly recover my senses. The desperate thirst is slowing abating. We are walking back to Jacob's car on the highway when we see a rapidly approaching SUV careening to a stop a few feet in front of us. Daddy jumps out of the car before the wheels stop turning and grasps me roughly by the shoulders. He can't hide the alarm in his eyes.
"I'm okay. She's okay. Everybody is okay, okay?" I assure.
Daddy takes me into his arms heavy with relief.
***
The rest of the family gathers in the living room. Those who attended the game come home shortly after I did.
"Like mother, like daughter." Daddy concludes after retelling what happened at the game.
"What do you mean?" I ask not understanding the reference.
"Tonight reminded me a lot of your mother's first hunting trip after her transformation. Most newborns are ravenously hungry and think of nothing else but blood – human blood, especially. Imagine our surprise when I take her out in the wild and she captures the scent of human prey. She consciously and deliberately avoided it." He shakes his head with lingering astonishment of the event that took place six years ago then turns to look at his wife with love and awe.
"And this compares how?" I was not hunting and I am far from being a newborn vampire. I am six year old hybrid.
"You were able to refrain for attacking that poor child tonight. You witnessed human bloodshed and, without any assistance from us, you had the strength of will to walk out. It's amazing. You're amazing." The family concurs with murmurs and nods. I beam inwardly with pride and satisfaction that I have pleased my family so.
"I didn't really think about the blood though the thirst was very much there. I didn't want to cause a spectacle if I succumbed. We would have to run away and move and I didn't want it to be my fault," I say.
"We are proud of you. But also rest assured that had you 'messed up', we would have gladly done whatever it took to make everyone safe," Grandma says while patting my hand thoughtfully.
"Thankfully, that's not necessary tonight," I sigh in relief.
***
The next morning finds a weakened sun shining in vain against the crunchy frost left by the twenty-five degree overnight low. The fine layer of ice coating the trees gives the area outside our house a magical quality. The annual arctic ice is rapidly approaching. Forks had cold weather too, but not in October and it never dipped below zero for months at a time as I am foreseeing here in Alaska.
My family is immune to the severity of the temperature. Despite my hundred degree internal reading, the cold is merciless against my skin and I wrap the blanket tighter to myself at the sight of the frigid landscape. I peek at the house's temperature and gawk at the fifty-degree reading. Hybrid or no hybrid, that's too damn cold and I adjust the thermostat to a more moderate sixty degrees. I go to start a fire in the living room to warm myself and find Jacob already here.
"What are you doing here so early?" I ask.
"Early? It's ten o'clock in the morning. I was bored at home."
"Aren't you cold?"
"Nah, it's nice. I am usually hot all the time, but I think I like it here in the cold." He stretches out on the couch.
"Not me." I readjust my blanket around myself. Jacob notices my attire for the first time and jumps up to start the fire. Afterward he joins me on the couch and warps his arms around me. I bask in the heat and the attention.
"Where is everybody?" I ask as I luxuriate in the warmth.
"I think the girls are out shopping in Fairbanks. I guess they needed something or other for tonight. The guys? Haven't a clue."
"Hmm." It is the only response I can manage. I watch the flames dance in the fireplace. Jacob plays with my hair, taking strands of it in his hands and twirls them around his fingers. The motion is comforting. I feel myself dozing off again when the front door opens. I don't even open my eyes when Daddy and Grandpa enter the living room.
"Good Morning, Nessie. Jacob," Daddy greets though his voice is hard when he says Jacob's name. As if beckoned by some silent signal, Jacob detangles his arms from around me and stands up. Disappointed I look at Daddy and notice he has that same look on his face from when we were are that store where we ran into Ryan.
"Nessie, I have come back from seeing that girl from last night. She broke her nasal septum and I repositioned it. Other than a potential pair of black eyes she will be fine," Grandpa informs.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad she'll be alright," I say. I look for Jacob and Daddy for they seem to have left the room. I head towards the kitchen and stop when I hear them conversing in quiet and quick statements.
"Jacob, she is just a child," Daddy whispers urgently.
"Actually she's about fifteen going on sixteen. You can't keep her a child forever," Jacob responds.
"But she is my daughter! I will determine when she is ready to know."
"You can already see it happening. You can't shelter her for much longer."
Daddy tenses up and turns his head in my direction though I am partially hidden by the wall. I immediately think about last night to clear my head from Daddy's inevitable scan. I try to nonchalantly walk into the kitchen.
"What are you guys whispering about?" I ask.
"Nothing much, just guy stuff," Jacob answers.
Yeah, right. I think. You guys are not known for being chummy with each other.
"So sorry to intrude on your male-bonding," I say sarcastically and walk over to the fruit bowl. Grandma would be ecstatic to see me select an apple on my own initiative and I stroll back out to the living room. I hover in the hallway hoping they will resume their conversation, but Jacob follows me out.
"Up for a game of tennis?" Jacob asks as he gestures to the Wii console in the bookshelf.
"Sure," I half-heartedly agree still wondering what that cryptic conversation was all about.
***
After lunch the girls return from their shopping excursion carrying bags overflowing with various merchandise items. My aunts have closets stuffed full of clothing suitable for any occasion, but they never turn down an opportunity to purchase more.
"Get what you needed?" I ask.
"That and then some. I found the cutest dress for you tonight," Auntie enthuses and reaches into a garment bag to reveal a lovely black cocktail dress. The velvet garment boasts a portrait neckline and a-line skirt that should just skim the knee. I take the dress and hold it up against my body and notice with distress that it might not fit. The dress comes to several inches above the knee and the chest area seems tight. I double check the tag and find my usual size 2.
"I love the dress, but I think this is too small."
"Hmm," Auntie takes the dress and attempts to stretch it out over my frame. "I think you are right. Let's measure you." In a flash Auntie dashes out of the room and returns with a fabric tape measure and uses it on me.
"Yep, you have grown, my dear. About two inches in the bust, one inch in the waist, a couple in your hips and another two inches in height. Don't know why I haven't noticed this before. Wonder if the shoes will fit." She grabs my foot while I am still standing and tries to stuff it into a black sling without success. She huffs and examines the seams of the dress.
"I won't be able to let this out enough. Guess we have to go back out."
"Yes!" I jump up in excitement. I have noticed my clothes being a little tight so I had been raiding Aunt Rose's wardrobe. She's five foot nine, but her clothes fit better on my now five foot five frame than my own. This also explains why my shoes have been tight lately not to mention my bras.
"What are you so excited about?" Aunt Rose asks. "I didn't know you were even going to the dance since you were nominated for homecoming."
"I'm always ready to go shopping!" I reply.
"And from the looks of it, you'll need a whole new wardrobe," Auntie adds with a twinkle in her eye.
***
Charge card in hand, Auntie fills the first of many Macy's counters with skirts, pants, blouses, sweaters, and other such garments. We still need to go to the dress section, but Auntie wanted to start with the basics. The cashier happily offers to hold our purchases at the credit counter so we can continue our shopping unencumbered. Almost a thousand dollars later we move on to the intimates section.
Auntie with no apparent regard for my modesty drapes lacey bras and even push-ups bras one after the other against my apparently larger bosom. It seems that I am now a "B" cup and Auntie is determined to show them off to their greatest potential.
After dropping another four hundred in undergarments we finally find the dress section. Now I am scouring the racks alongside Auntie to find the perfect dress for tonight. Both of us reach for the same size six number. An elegant and tasteful black cocktail dress not unlike the one Auntie picked out for me earlier. I rush to the changing room to try it on and Auntie admires it when I emerge. The length of the princess cut garment is perfectly settled above the knee and the cut also emphasizes my growing chest much to Auntie's delight. The scoop neckline also reveals the same. The credit card balance is increased by two hundred dollars and we search for the perfect shoe.
I am now a size seven so into two bags goes four pairs of dress shoes (though when I wear them given the upcoming winter is anybody's guess), two pairs of athletic shoes and two pairs of boots. Finally, some functional items are purchased. Not one for frugality; however, Auntie adds socks and two handbags. The credit card bill will now top three thousand dollars just for me. But Auntie assures me that our stock in a new internet business will more than pay for today's extravagance within a matter of days. In fact, an impending announcement of a new big-name client will ensure the stock price will double by the end of the month.
The store manager eagerly arranges for our packages to be sent to our home as we cannot carry them all out ourselves, at least not without drawing undue attention. We take only the essentials for tonight and head home.
"So spill it," Auntie demands on the drive home.
"Spill what?" I innocently ask. Auntie always tries to have these 'girlfriend' talks in the car. I am still peeved that she didn't let me drive.
"About Jacob and the dance."
"Oh, that. I thought I told you I had to ask him since I said no to Ryan."
"Yes, you did. But you could have said you were out of town or sick or whatever. You didn't really need to go. I thought you hated being around humans anyway. What gives?"
"Humans aren't that bad actually, like Jen. She's nice. Brittany: not so nice. I think last night proved I can handle being around them in large numbers."
"But this isn't school or a sporting event. It's a dance, typically for those of the romantic persuasion."
"Are you suggesting that I asked Jacob because I like him?" I figure I'll trip Auntie up with a direct question instead of skirting the issue.
"Yes, precisely." Her bold agreement catches me off guard.
Uh, oh. "And…what if I do…?" I quietly confess.
"I knew it!" Auntie confidently squeals. As if she didn't see this coming. "So, tell me all about it."
"Well, since we moved to Alaska I have started to see Jacob as…someone other than just a friend. I don't know. Maybe it's just the different surroundings, the stress of school, but I find myself thinking about him all the time…romantically." I am blushing profusely.
"I think love is wonderful." Auntie is beaming.
"Love?" I choke out. "Who said anything about love? Anyways, I don't think he could ever feel that way about me. I'm just his kid sister in essence."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
"Why would you say that? He has done nothing other than be a good friend."
"Hmmm, a good friend who moved to Alaska to be with you? And who is going to a dance with you? I think he knows what a dance is for, don't you?"
A spark of hope ignites within my chest. My heart beats a little faster. Auntie nods in approval probably noting my increased pulse.
"But what about Daddy? I heard him and Jacob talking about me this morning, but I didn't hear everything."
"Edward has to understand that little girls grow up. It's not the first time he has overreacted when it comes to the women in his life."
I have not a clue what Auntie is talking about, but I slip into daydreams about tonight's dance for the rest of the ride home.
We arrive back at the house by five o'clock which is still too soon to get ready for the dance which starts at eight. Aunt Rose assures me it is improper to arrive at an event like this on time, so we plan on arriving at around nine. Since I have time to kill I lumber up to my room and hang my new dress up in the closet. I change into my grungy clothes and work on my mural. The Cullens home is all finished and I start on the Quileute tribe. My mind can't help but think about Jacob the entire time I am painting in the distinct shades of his pack members.