Disclaimer: Apparently, my last disclaimer was taken as a big giant burn, so I'll try and be less opinionated this time around. I do not own Twilight, and my initials are not S.M. Is that better? xD

Chapter 11—Edward P.o.V.

Edward groaned and opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling of his room. He rolled over to look at his alarm clock and saw that he had woken up a half hour too early. He groaned and put the pillow over his head in frustration; there was no way he could fall asleep for a half hour. He got up and went into the shower. Much to his surprise, he found Alice sitting on his bed when he got out of the shower. He glanced at the clock, but it was still early.

Are you OK, Alice? What are you doing up so early?

Alice shrugged, motioning for Edward to sit down. He did as she said, sitting with his legs crossed so that he was facing her. It was always easier to sign if they were facing each other directly.

So, Edward…what's up?

Edward shrugged, nothing, really. Why?

Alice rolled her eyes, obviously believing her brother to be either oblivious or stupid.

I mean, how are you doing at school. I know how difficult this must be for you. And I know how strange it must be to change from a School for the Deaf to a public school. I was just worried!

Subconsciously, without being able to do anything against it, Edward felt his lips curl up into a smile. He leaned over to hug Alice, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Thank you, he signed, once he had pulled away, I really appreciate it. But I am fine. Sure, Mr. Carper is a major ass, but other than him, everything is great. Bella and Jasper are great. So are Rosalie and Emmett, for that matter.

That's good. I worried that I had been paying too much attention to…other things, she blushed, and that I was ignoring you. Do you miss your friends back at Yale?

I guess I do, answered Edward truthfully, thinking about it, but it's not a horrible kind of missing. I email with a few of them.

Alice nodded, looking very serious. Edward snorted when he realized just how much like an approving mother she looked. Alice looked offended.

Hey! What are you laughing at?

You! Edward replied, now full out laughing. Faking anger, Alice picked up a pillow and threw it hard at Edward. He sat still, absolutely stunned, for a second before he pinned Alice to the bed and began tickling her. She was screaming something that he could not hear, but, from the way she looked, he assumed she was asking for pity. He only tickled her harder.

Once Edward and Alice had finished their little tickle fight (of course, Edward had won), they made their way downstairs, to eat breakfast. Esme was already there, making scrambled eggs for them. It seemed she enjoyed the life of the housewife. Sitting on the counter were two lunch bags, a small, foldable umbrella next to each. Outside the rain fell hard. Every once in a while, Edward saw flashes of lightening and by Alice's jumping on her seat he could tell when the thunder roared. The storm was practically on top of them.

Be careful driving today, alright, Edward? Don't speed too much, Esme asked, looking worriedly out the window over her shoulder.

I won't, Mom. I don't have a death wish, Edward joked back, rolling his eyes. He finished his eggs and followed them down with a mug full of coffee. It scalded his throat and stomach on the way down, but he would not admit to his mother (much less to Alice!) that he had not thought about that before making his macho gesture.

Well, are you ready to go? Remember that you have to remind Bella that she is coming for dinner tomorrow. We wouldn't want to inconvenience her family if they forget!

I know, Mom. I'm not a little kid with a nonexistent short term memory. Not anymore.

Esme laughed, her long blond hair falling behind her in waves as she threw her head back. Her green eyes, just like Edward's, shined with her laughter, and Edward yearned to hear the beautiful sound that her joy was bound to produce. Sighing, he picked up his bag, kissed Esme on the cheek, and hurried out to his beloved Volvo. Alice followed shortly after. Once she had gotten in the car, since the ride would be longer that day, due to the rain, she turned the radio on, playing with the tuner. When she finally decided on a station, Edward felt the vibrations from the speakers on his hands, which were holding the wheel. It was a rather slow song, with very strong bass. Edward felt himself relax under the vibrations.

They got to school slightly early, due to their early morning that day. Despite the storm going on overhead, and the cold, the students were going about their day normally. They did not seem to be in the least affected by the bad weather outside, whereas Edward and Alice found themselves missing the more reliable and warmer climate of Washington D.C.

How are they not dying of the cold? And, do they have no taste? Don't they know that you don't wear that in this weather? A nice pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt in a dark color go much further in a day like today. Seriously. Alice signed, frustrated. She was talking about Lauren and Jessica, who were wearing short skirts and short sleeved shirts. Edward shuddered, quickly scanning the room for a possible escape route. He had managed to avoid the two flirts so far, but he did not feel like risking his clean slate now.

From what Bella and Jasper had mentioned, as well as Alice's remarks here and there, the two were completely superficial preps, both of whom were more interested in their appearance than anybody else. Bella had not said it in as many words—it fact, it seemed she had a tentative friendship with Jessica—, but Jasper and Alice were not shy and nowhere near as careful about their words.

Too late! They're heading right towards us. Quickly, fake some Deaf disease! Alice exclaimed. Edward stared at her in confusion. What on Earth did she mean by "some Deaf disease"? She interpreted his look right, because she signed back quickly, watching the approaching figures out of the corner of her eye, well, they know nothing about the Deaf world. For all they know, all Deaf people have to take meds, or have random panic attacks. Fake something!

Edward rolled his eyes. What a coward Alice was being! And, of course he would not fake some "Deaf disease!" He spent his whole life trying to prove to others that he was just the same as them, that there was nothing wrong with him except for his inability to hear. He was not about to throw all that right out the window because he did not like some bratty preps who were coming towards him!

"Hi, Edward," he read in Lauren's lips. He looked over at Alice. Lauren must have realized that it was rather silly to go up to him and begin talking to him, because she turned to look at Alice. She spoke quickly, and Edward watched as Alice tensed. It was almost imperceptible; he had only caught up on it because he knew her so well and because he was so attuned to his visual environment. Lauren and Jessica did not seem to notice Alice's negative reaction to them.

She said, and I quote, "Greet him for me, will you?"

Edward held back the groan that he wanted to let out. So not only they insisted in talking to him, but they were the kind of people who would not really talk directly to him, but rather give vague directions to his "interpreter," in this case, Alice.

Greet them for me, then, he signed back, faking a smile in their direction. He could swear he saw Jessica bat her eyelashes at him, and he shuddered. Again, the two girls seemed oblivious to the fact that they were not wanted. When Alice passed the message on, Lauren's face fell, a large frown overtaking her face. Jessica looked shocked. Together, the two girls turned and walked away without a word of goodbye.

Alice? What did you tell them I said, Edward asked, worried. Alice smiled innocently at him.

Nothing. Well, I might have mentioned that we were waiting for Bella to show up, and that you were just so excited to see her, she signed, batting her eyelashes now, as if she were a cute little child. Edward could not help but laugh at the situation. No wonder Lauren had looked so offended! He stopped soon, though, when he realized something.

But, wait…now they'll think I have a crush on Bella!

So? Alice signed, not understanding what was wrong with that concept, it's not like you are interested. If you are, I'll go over and tell them that you are very much available, if you wish. But, from what I have seen, you seem much more interested in Bella than you do in either of them. And I like Bella better. Even if her sense of style is worse than even theirs, Alice finished, once again glaring at the offending pieces of clothing.

Edward nodded begrudgingly; he could not deny what she had said. However, he felt awkward about saying that he liked Bella "in that way." In part it was in his own behalf; he did not know if he liked her in like that, let alone if he wanted to go spreading that rumor around. He also did not want to spread rumors about Bella without knowing what she wanted. Based on how rumors went, it was quite possible that, by lunch time, people would believe he and Bella were dating. If she had her eye set on one of the guys at school, she probably did not want such rumors flying around. When he voiced this concern to Alice, however, she waved it aside.

Bella doesn't like any of the guys in school like that, don't worry. I'm sure that, even if those kinds of rumors are going around later, she won't even notice. And, if she does, she probably won't mind. She'll laugh it off and be glad that she was of service.

Edward frowned. The way Alice was speaking of Bella, it sounded like he was using her. He did not feel quite comfortable with that. He was about to voice his worries over this when he saw Bella walk into the school, Jasper and Rosalie following not far behind. Edward wondered if they had driven together or if Bella had used the old red truck again.

Good morning, Alice! Edward! How are you? You are here early, today. Usually Alice runs into first period in the last second, Bella commented cheerfully. Despite her cheer, Edward noticed, the way she carried herself proclaimed her tiredness. She was slightly hunched over, her head cocked to the side, her eyes rather sleepy. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he, once again, began to worry about what might be wrong with her. He did not dare ask, however, since they had not known each other for very long.

Edward woke up early this morning. He was so loud in the shower, he woke me up.

Edward's eyes moved over to Alice quickly. Was that why she had been awake? He had woken her up? He, of course, could not tell when his noise level was too loud, or when that loud could do things such as waking people up. His alarm clock flashed a bright light and vibrated, the idea of sound waking somebody up was rather incomprehensible to him. Of course, growing up with hearing people, it was not an alien concept.

Was I, really? I'm sorry, you should have told me earlier.

It's OK, Alice shrugged it off, I had been meaning to ask you if we could start coming to school earlier anyway, so that we could all hang out before classes began. It worked out just fine, she reassured him with an easygoing smile. Edward was not quite sure if she was being sincere, but he chose not to argue with Alice; he rarely ever won, tickle fights being the exception.

Well, today it was us that were behind schedule. I'm afraid I overslept. The bell is going to ring any second now, Bella said, looking at them apologetically. Just as she had predicted, all the students that were sitting around them suddenly got up and started to gather their belongings and say goodbye to one another as they made their way to class.

I'll see you in art class, then, Edward signed at Alice, Bella, and Jasper. He smiled at Rosalie before heading towards the library. He found that Mr. Carper was not there. He figured he was probably running late, due to the traffic, so Edward sat to wait. Halfway through the first class period, however, when Mr. Carper had still not shown up, he made his way up the librarian to ask.

The librarian, one Ms. Kraus, knew him by sight, but, since she did not know ASL, they had never truly met. Always prepared, in case he had to approach a non-signing person, Edward carried a little pad and a pen around. He took those out and wrote "I'm sorry, Mr. Carper is not here. Do you know where he is?" Ms. Kraus looked slightly startled, as if she had never thought of communicating with him via paper, but she quickly gathered her wits again. She wrote back: "I don't, but I'll go over to the office and ask. You just stay here, dear." And with that, she did as she had stated she would do.

Edward watched through the doors as Ms. Kraus walked across the hallway to the office. She spoke with Ms. Cope, who picked up the phone and dialed a number. Edward was not surprised that she knew the teachers' numbers by memory; the town was small enough, and there were barely 20 teachers in the school. There seemed to be no answer, however, as she hung up without speaking.

Ms. Cope then made another call and this one was answered. It was a very fast call, however. Barely a minute long. He kept watching as Ms. Cope and Ms. Kraus chatted lightly until Bella came down the hallway, looking worried. Edward could not help but wonder what she was doing in the office. Was she in trouble? She simply went up to Ms. Cope, however, and spoke with her rather quickly. She looked over her shoulder, towards the library, once. She then turned around and walked towards the library, followed by Ms. Kraus, who picked up a pen and scribbled back: "Mr. Carper is sick. You will be going to regular classes today, and Bella and your sister will interpret for you. The teachers have been informed."

Edward wanted to tell her that that was not necessary, and not to bother anyone for him, but he did not have time before Ms. Kraus had turned to work on whatever a school librarian in such a small school worked. He turned to Bella.

I'm sorry. I didn't know they would do this. I know it must be annoying to have to interpret for me.

Not at all! Bella answered, her eyes drifting to his empty table for a second before coming back to meet his gaze. Edward realized she seemed uncomfortable in the library. He did not quite understand that, since she seemed to be such an avid reader, but he would let it go. He did not want to pry too much into her life; he knew very well that some things were private and personal.

Edward followed Bella to her class; she was in English. She had been given a note to give to the teacher, who frowned and motioned for Edward to sit in Bella's desk. He then set Bella up front, to sign the lecture over to him. She was blushing and shaking, obviously not very pleased or confident about sitting in front of the entire class, doing something as noticeable as signing a lecture. She bore it with courage, though, and, as she got deeper and deeper into the lecture, she seemed to forget about the other students.

Edward was fascinated by the class. They were reading Hamlet, and Mr. Mason was explaining the thematic effect of certain religious diction. Compared to Mr. Carper's teaching, this was very advanced. Edward found that he loved this class. Sure, Mr. Mason's lecture was not very rupturing or entertaining, and he seemed rather detached from the text, but the content of the lecture…it was marvelous. As his pen ran through his notebook, taking down every word Bella signed, he decided that he would ask the office to put him into the regular classes. Maybe Mr. Carper could interpret over to him.

That class ended soon, and from there they made their way to math. There was a very short lecture in that class, which Alice signed, and then they were set free to work with their books. Again, Edward found the work to be challenging and appropriate for his age group. He worked through the class period without looking up from his paper once.

Much of the same thing happened in history, where the teacher, Miss Evans, lectured passionately about the Thirty Years' War, going into explicit details. Bella, who had offered to sign that lesson, was exhausted by the time Frederick V fled the Palatinate. By the end of the class period, her hands could barely respond, yet she was elated. She had been signing quickly and accurately, and Edward had had a large smile on his face all throughout the class. Since Bella had not been able to take notes, Alice had offered to lend hers to her, but when she realized the state Bella's hands must be in, Alice decided to copy them over herself.

As usual, Alice signed the assignment to Edward at the beginning of the lesson. That day they were going to start working on the principles of art. Ms. Sanchez put up slides of notes for them to copy and barely discussed them at all. She put up some examples but, other than that, the class went by pretty slowly as they had to pay attention to the presentation. Edward much preferred it when the class had a looser structure and they could chat, move around, and do as they pleased during class. Ms. Sanchez promised that they would return to that style the next day. She just had to get the notes out of the way, she said.

By the time the class had finished, Edward felt like all the new things he had learned that day were floating about in his head. He was a smart guy; in all his previous schools, he had always been in the most advanced classes, much further ahead than the regular level for his age group. However, under Mr. Carper's tutelage, he had begun to fall behind slightly. The rush of returning to an active learning environment had him jumping on his seat with excitement.

Edward, calm down, Alice signed, I think you are scaring Bella.

Edward looked over at Bella and saw that she did, indeed, look much paler than usual. He frowned, worried. She had looked very tired and weary that morning, and she had been working hard during all of her classes, signing the lectures to him. He leaned over, placing his hand on her forehead; it was cool to the touch. She looked sick, though.

Bella, are you sick? he signed, the worry etched on his face, maybe you should be home, asleep?

Bella pulled away, shaking her head slightly. Jasper, who had been chatting with Emmett, looked over for a second and turned back around before his eyes snapped back to Bella. They widened with horror and he was instantly at her side, his arms around her, trying to soothe her. His presence seemed to calm her, and some color returned to her face.

I'm alright. I just didn't sleep very well last night, and signing lectures is harder than it would seem. I'm just…just a tad tired. I'll be better after a good night's sleep, she reassured Edward, smiling up at Jasper. Jasper seemed to read some hidden meaning in her words, however, because his brows furrowed together and his hold on her tightened.

Are you sure? A lot of the time a bad cold will start with you just feeling tired. Then you end up in bed for weeks, sneezing and coughing up your weight in phlegm, Alice signed, her expression very serious. Edward rolled his eyes at her overdramatic statement, but could not help but agree. Their father was a doctor and he had always warned them about the importance of realizing when one was getting sick.

Think about it; maybe you should go home, he signed. Again, Bella shook her head, and Jasper seemed to agree. Edward wondered what on Earth could make Jasper choose against whatever made Bella safer and healthier, but did not go too deep into it when Bella's eyes began to flutter closed and as her head lolled to the side. As soon as Jasper shook her a bit, however, her eyes opened again and she lifted her head. She had just been sleeping.

I think, Jasper signed, that Bella should just sleep for the rest of lunch. Hopefully it will help. If it doesn't, we can always take her to the nurse later on. Let's just wait and see, he said, looking down at Bella worriedly as she arranged herself so that she was laying on the lunch table's bench, her head on his lap. Before he even had time to finish his sentence, Bella was out of it once again.

Is she really just that tired? Edward asked Jasper. Jasper just shrugged, his hands pulling strands of hair away from Bella's face. Her face kept turning into deeper and deeper frowns; she looked like she was having a nightmare. Edward wondered if that was what she meant when she said she had not slept well. It did not look like that sort of sleep could provide her with any rest at all. A little sleep was better than no sleep, though, and so they just let her sleep away.

When the lunch bell rang, Bella's eyes shot open. They were red shot and heavy with sleep, but she seemed determined to go on with her day. She looked less tired, in any case. Worried about her, Jasper asked Alice if she minded if Edward went with Bella to her afternoon classes, rather than to hers, so that he could keep an eye on her. Her afternoon classes (Biology, Spanish, and Phys. Ed.) were not classes with lots of lectures (Biology was usually PowerPoint Presentation driven, Edward had never studied Spanish, so he would not do anything in the class, and they were all together in Phys. Ed.). Alice agreed, of course, so Edward headed with Bella towards her Advanced Biology class.

The Biology teacher, Mr. Banner, sat them at a back table and set his PowerPoint. Edward copied down the notes at first but, as he saw Bella begin to nod off, he got worried about her and forgot about the notes. Why had she been sleeping badly? She looked as if she had severe sleep deprivation, not just a night's worth. He felt bad for her, and really wished that he could help. He allowed her to rest slightly against him and did his best not to move a muscle, so he would not shift her and wake her up. By the end of the class she seemed to be in a much better state.

Mr. Banner had not even noticed that Bella had been asleep, and they started to head off to Spanish when Mike Newton appeared to ruin the moment. He started speaking quickly, yet Bella seemed to tired to either process his words or rely them, and she did not bother replying. Since Edward could not tell what he was trying to say (he spoke so fast! He could barely read a word in five!), he excused himself by nodding respectfully at him and waving his hand in the air, and leading Bella away. Once in the Spanish class, he shifted her to a seat in the back, once again, and let her sleep. Nobody realized a thing, and Edward assumed that Bella must regularly be an excellent student for the teachers to ignore her misbehaviors so easily. He was not about to complain, however, since that meant that he did not have to struggle with some stranger interpreting to him.

The Spanish class went by slowly, particularly since Bella was practically asleep and, therefore, could not chat with him, and because he did not understand any Spanish. Then again, he could, technically, not understand any English either, so that was not as bad as it sounded. When the class was dismissed, however, he began to worry. What would happen in Phys. Ed.? What if Bella had to play? He shook her awake, picked up her books for her, and led her, hand in hand, to the locker rooms. There he returned her bag to her and motioned for her to go in.

Go along, and get changed. I will see you in just a few minutes, OK? I promise I won't leave.

Like a young child, Bella nodded her head, grabbed the bag, and went into the locker room to do as she had been told.


AUTHOR'S NOTE—w00tness, more spoilage! I think I have gotten too used to writing to quit now. Too bad, because I was practically falling asleep in my classes today, and I had an in-class commentary on John Donne poetry…Gah! (Kind of how Bella is in this chapter; guess where my inspiration came from!). Anyway, I have an IMPORTANT QUESTION TO RAISE WITH YOU (my readers): I have been considering alternating Points of View within chapters, instead of doing a whole chapter by each person. If I do this, however, the chapters will probably have to be longer, so they will take longer to write, so you will get updates much less frequently. What do you think? Please drop me a word to tell me! I want to make this story enjoyable for all of us.

Thanks to:

Cmedina2002

zapeable

Bluebaby3296

Viper003

Beachcutie12—yay! I'm very happy you like it!

Kolored

iWant2BaMonster2

ameeona—yay! Thanks so much!

5tarRach6330

not-a-writer-ish

skittleysweet

dangwe---thank you! I hope this plot twist is not too tiring to read?

Tianna M.V.A.

ChanceTakerHeartBreaker x3

SRK1012010—I always try to get more to you guys as soon as I can, don't worry! =]

beachcutie12

itsisa—well, thank you for reviewing this time around! As for James...I think I made that very confusing. Renée got pregnant as a teen by somebody OTHER than James. When she found out, she married James. But Bella is NOT James' child.

BOREDOM14—I'm glad!

reborn-fire-bird

dramione12

Questions & Comments:

Mrs. Dom Masbolle—I'm glad you like it! The double scene is because I want to show you the events that happen from both points of view. I am considering doing alternating PoVs in chapters because, otherwise, my chapters would be twice as long, and since school also gets in my way, you would get chapters less often. As to James—he is not Bella's father biologically, he fulfils the role bureaucratically. And Edward...well, Edward is doing the best he can, since nobody has stopped to tell him Bella isn't related to Jasper, and she does not seem to be making any advances to tell him so. He will eventually find out, though, and then there will be the overprotective Edward we're all looking forward to. I hope that answers your questions!

HorsecrazyJr—Victoria is James' mother, so she is, technically, not really related to Bella, but, if she were, she would be her grandmother.

A. Light. in. the. Attic.—I put spaces between the words and the periods, to see if it would accept it. It obviously did. Yay! And I'm happy you liked the chapter. I was kind of falling asleep as I wrote it, so I was not very sure if it came out very well.

goldenrose37—as in, eat lunch? No, she eats at school. Other meals, yes she does.

Twilight Is My Second Language—I don't see Bella as the sort who would; she's too much of a martyr. (Yay, new reader!)

Cabtwilighter—I don't really have a place I come up with the ideas for the Journals from…I just like art! I'm glad you don't think they are too childish or simple.

Special thanks to:

Scarlett—thank you so much! I am very, very, very happy that you enjoy my story not only plot-wise but stylistically and where it relates to Deaf culture. Yay! Please, keep reading, and don't be afraid to leave any comments or corrections you feel I need.

HONVampyreChick—you have me blushing, over here! Thank you so much for your encouragement. I will work my hardest to make sure I'm worthy of it.

Hannajamesnivek—yay, Stephenie Meyer bashing! Thank you for your review, as well as for your praise for Jasper. I will try to reduce the "doubling up" chapters. I have been thinking of having alternating PoVs within one single chapter. Do you think that's a good idea? As for Alice and Edward's relationship, it will be developed soon. I have been outlining, and I have added in a few sibling bonding scenes, most of which spent with talk about Bella and Jasper. Finally, to address your question...Renée is not really unscrupulous...but, from what I've deduced about her character, I think she is the sort of woman who would cheat on her boyfriend/husband if she got tired of him. She just seems like the type who gets bored with what she has easily, but does not want to go to the trouble of ending it. That is, at least, the character I'm trying to give her. I realize that I am blowing up a lot of character traits from different characters (Alice's perkiness, Jasper's empathy...), but I think I work best when I can assimilate a character with one specific trait, to have a backup in case I have writers' block. Renée's trait is her ADD-like qualities. I hope that answered your question! I hope to hear (or read) from you soon!

cheesepuff311—actually, my exams are not for another week, thank goodness. But I wish you good luck with yours for now! And, just so you know, when you pointed out my mistake I got REALLY embarrassed. I could not believe I had written that! As to my sources for Deaf culture...if you don't know very much about it, I recommend a book along the lines of The Complete Idiot's Guide to ASL, or ASL for Dummies, (I mean no offense, I have found those books very helpful!). If you know a little bit more and are willing to read a few more serious books, your library probably has a section devoted to ASL and Deaf culture, so you'll be able to find great sources there!

BroadwayBound96— =]

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