Jane

Are you surprised? I thought as Renesmee turned around. Really.

Alex stood just outside the room, looking in. Renesmee looked at him, and I saw a weird look of recognition on her face. She looked around the room and found the clock.

"I have to go," she said. It was so fast, I barely caught it. She ran past Alex, who looked confused. She looked paler than usual, and I wondered whether she was in trouble.

I followed her, and Alex followed me. She went straight out the back door, and Edward seemed less than reluctant to leave. They said goodbye blandly and disappeared quickly.

There was a long, awkward silence as me, Alex, Mom, and Dad looked at each other quizzically. I shrugged.

"Maybe they have to be somewhere?" I offered. The other three accepted the theory, and we went on with life as if nothing had happened. Canadian outlook, I thought, remembering how Grandma always said Canadians were friendlier than the others.

We sat down at the picnic table, and Mom happily cut the chicken.

__________

I pulled into the school parking lot the next day, ignoring Alex's taunts about my car. He made a point of touching the front and back windows at the same time, and asked how I could fit anything in here.

"With ease," I said, and I parked in my normal space, having no problem with the two cars on either side pointedly taking some space in the rectangle. I smirked, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"One more professional thing and I'll have to take everything back," he complained, getting out carefully. It looked like he was trying not to hurt the car. He walked to stand beside me, and a few people gaped.

"You've got nothing," I laughed, fiddling with the pad attached to my key. I pressed the button to lock the doors, and the car beeped in a high-pitched but threatening way. It made me think the car was saying I see you. Glare.

I led Alex to the office, and he got everything he needed for the year. Miss Cope (junior) went on about being at school with your family, and how she had replaced her mother as the secretary. I know, I thought, I was here two years ago. It didn't help that she was twenty-five, and that she talked a lot anyway.

"Okay," I said when she finished her most recent sentence. "We, unlike some, have classes to attend in a while. Bye." I grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him out of the building, rolling my eyes.

He let me bring him to the picnic tables. I was a little bit glad that he had no idea why I sat where I did. It was in perfect view of all the parking spaces for the school, and, for some reason, I felt the need to confront Ness on her sudden leaving.

My fingers tapped the mysteriously dry table. For something to do, I looked around at the other tables, wondering why they were wet, while this one wasn't. It was under a tree. It should be just as watery as the others....

"Beat it, shrimp," a familiar voice said dangerously. Keeping calm, I looked up coolly and smiled slightly.

"Hello, David," I said lightly. David grinned and sat down across from me and Alex, to Alex's dislike. I sighed. "Alex Lennon, David North, vice versa."

David waved fractionally, and Alex nodded. They sat there awkwardly for while. Seeming confused, David leaned in and said, "He's not as talkative as John."

That broke the silence easily, and Alex laughed. "That's new," he managed to say. "Usually it's something more annoying."

David shrugged. "Maybe it's only annoying because it's repetitive." He turned to me and kicked the side of the table. "Why are you at my table without permission?"

I snorted. "Without permission? I was under the impression that you specifically said I could sit anywhere. Now, the reason I'm here is very direct, and it may or may not relate to you."

"Does it relate to him?" Alex asked. "What's it about? I thought it was because it was dry."

David pointed to the middle of the tree beside the table, where a medium-sized beige tarp was nestled between the branches. Alex nodded in understanding. David looked back at me. "Does it concern me?"

I thought around for the right answer. "Vaguely," I said, with exaggerated slowness. "But not really. It's more about Renesmee Cullen. If there's one thing I remember from yesterday afternoon, she fled like a guilty dog, and I would like to know what it was about."

He put his hand up, and I let him comment. "Dogs and people both run when they're guilty," he said quickly. "That's all." One thing I really liked about him was that he didn't hover on a subject – he knew when I didn't want to talk. Alex, on the other hand, did not.

"You think she's a dog?" he asked casually. I shrugged, unsure. "Renesmee was the girl who came over yesterday, right?" I nodded. "I don't think she was a dog. She was hot."

"She ran away for no reason."

"That is weird...."

You're telling me, I thought, closing my eyes and shaking my head. I started tapping the table again, to the beat of a song I wanted to listen to. From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex and David roll their eyes.

"The band is not on the run," David muttered. I kept tapping, getting into the second phase of the song. As usual, David flipped my hand over so my fingers were tapping air. His hand held my wrist where it was, and I stopped. He let go. "Thank you." He turned around and examined the lot as cars came piling in, two minutes before the bell. "No Beetle?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" I snapped, looking over his shoulder. There was one empty space near my car that would become occupied in a second by a shiny silver Volvo C30, driven by Renesmee Cullen.