Before you read this chapter…if you are able to and can take a joke...check out the link at the top of my profile page. It is the first link. It is 'The Counts Song' but remixed in a funny way. I was shown this video by RandomSugarRush and I laughed so hard I cried. Well…there is a moment in this chapter when Amanda will reference this song, but the clean version, and it would be funny if you all understood what she was singing. So ya…please go to that link or find 'The Count Song Censored' on YouTube and have a good laugh! Hahaha!

Enjoy the chapter. It is filled with goofy Emmet and Amanda fluff, but also it is setting up something that will be addressed later on having to do with Amanda's school experience is going to be like this time around. It won't be the same as when she was 8/9 and living in Kipta. ;)


Worthy of Love

Chapter Twenty-Eight

|Friend Or Foe|

Practice was an hour long, with fifteen minutes to thirty minutes of warm up and stretching, so by the time Amanda was finished and showered it was already past five o'clock and it was getting dark out. She took another look in the change room mirror before she left the room. She had a crescent shaped bruise starting to form under her right eye from being punched in the face by Susie Bloom during a set of backstroke. Amanda poked her cheekbone and winced, making a disgusted face at her reflection in the mirror.

Susie Bloom was not only a slow swimmer – she was not very coordinated either. It had not been so bad; Amanda didn't like to draw attention to herself, so she kept on swimming after the incident happened. Susie apologized repeatedly for hitting Amanda, but at the end of practice when they were supposed to be swimming 100 meters of freestyle for a warm down, Susie decided to throw in a few breaststroke kicks right as Amanda was swimming past her and she heeled Amanda again in the same eye. Susie looked sick with guilt. Her mother was on the sidelines yelling something at her so Amanda smiled and forgave Susie again.

She didn't want to chance run into the clumsy girl, so Amanda walked out of the change room swiftly with her head down. She then carried on walking until she got outside the building. Her hair was wet and steam filed off it when it hit the crisp, winter air. She smelled like mangos because of her conditioner. When Amanda spotted her uncle's dark blue Mercedes she hurried over to the back, passenger side door and got inside. Rosalie was in the passenger seat and she turned around.

"How did it… oh my goodness! Did you mouth off to the wrong person?" Rosalie asked losing track of her question when she saw the swollen shiner Amanda was sporting under her eye. Carlisle turned around to look. He frowned when he saw Amanda's black eye. It really was only pink and purple in color. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been, but he never liked to see her hurt.

"No…" Amanda said defensively. Rosalie waited for Amanda to explain. Amanda shrugged, brushing it off, not wanting to make a big deal about it. Susie had already apologized to her over and over. "This girl hit me in the face when she was doing her backstroke," She admitted in a gruff tone. She heaved a sigh and leaned back into the leather back seat and did up her buckle.

"Ouch," Rosalie said sympathetically, grimacing. Amanda raised her eyebrow at her cousin who was being caring for just a minor injury. Rosalie was kind to Amanda for the most part, because they were family, but it was abnormal for Rosalie to be overly compassionate, especially over something so minor. "What? I care!" Rosalie protested to the questioning look Amanda was giving her.

Amanda laughed as Carlisle smiled at Rosalie and then drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Amanda thought she understood what was going on. She figured that Rosalie probably had a lecture from her father about showing the proper compassion to a person who was injured. It had been Rosalie's first day working with Carlisle after school. She was going to spend every afternoon and Saturday with him at the medical practice to gain work experience in his profession. Being around sick people, and a bit of blood, was good practice for Rosalie if she planned to carry on in her father's footsteps.

"Anyway…" Amanda continued so Rosalie would stop glaring. "Then later on, the same girl kicked me again! In the same eye! She swims all wonky and crooked," Amanda explained shrilly. She paused for a second and then added, "She kinda sucks."

"Is she handicapped or something?" Rosalie asked coldly, studying her well-manicured nails instead of looking at Amanda when she spoke. Amanda laughed with a little snort on the end. Carlisle gave Rosalie a disapproving side-glance, but didn't interrupt. 'So much for Rosalie learning how to be compassionate and understanding!' Amanda thought. 'Check, tactfulness, off the list as well!'

"I don't think so, but she is all over the place in the lane. She is just awkward, I guess. I don't think she even likes being there. She looked miserable. I saw her mother sitting in the stands watching. Like, she was actually there to watch a practice," Amanda announced critically, "she was shouting at Susie to 'pick up the pace' and to 'move over' and just all this other stuff that was so bossy! It was really annoying. I almost felt bad for Susie."

"Almost?" Rosalie questioned, again not facing Amanda. She was texting Emmet on her phone at the same time, only half paying attention. "Her mom sounds like a nag!" Rosalie added. Carlisle coughed lightly in scolding. Rosalie looked at him and shrugged.

"She hit me in the face. Let's get real here. I'm the victim, okay?" Amanda squeaked defensively. She didn't want to feel sorry for Susie. However, Amanda did not like the way Susie's mother was berating her at practice. Susie had seemed too nervous having a watchful eye on her the whole time. That must have made the poor, meek girl even more flighty and skittish in the pool.

"Maybe this Susie needs a friend like you to help her improve her technique," Carlisle suggested pleasantly. He sounded so much like a parent it made Amanda roll her eyes. Rosalie did the same thing and neither girl responded. "You never know. You might end up with a great friend if you offer her some kindness."

"Okay, Dr Phil!" Rosalie joked sarcastically because her dad sounded so serious it was amusing. Amanda giggled too.

"She kicked me in the eye, Carlisle! That doesn't exactly spell friendship!" Amanda stated with a smile.

"Alright," Carlisle sighed gently, "it was only a suggestion."


Approximately fifteen minutes after leaving the recreation center, the three of them arrived home. The long, private driveway leading down towards the lake where the large house sat was wet from the rain and glistening in the moonlight as Amanda got out of the car and hurried into the house. She ran up the stairs to the second floor and threw her bag down by the stairs so she could take it up to her room on the third floor later. She ran into to kitchen, her adrenaline was pumping from the work out. Alice was suddenly by her side, bouncing with just as much or more energy.

"Sorry you got hurt, Mandi!" Alice said, hugging Amanda from the side. "I didn't see that one coming… but it is for the best. You'll see!"

Amanda shrugged and Alice released her. Amanda smelled something in the air that pleased her so she sniffed Alice's shoulder. She thought she smelled cookies, but that could easily have been Alice's scent, which often smelled like sugar. She pursed her lips as she thought about the scent she was picking up. It was not quite the same as Alice's sweet smell.

"You're right!" Alice piped up, "Liz made you cookies!"

"Ooo yummy!" Amanda stated gleefully and she ran over to the cookie jar on the counter and lifted the lid. A cold hand came down on hers gently, but with a firm force that pushed the lid back into place. It was Elizabeth's.

"Dinner first, then cookies," she said with a smile, "have you forgotten my rules?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed, but she didn't turn around to face Elizabeth. Esme didn't let her get away with eating junk before a proper meal was consumed first, either. Amanda didn't bother to reply. She tried to walk around the counter, but Elizabeth met her on the other side. Elizabeth's mouth dropped open when she saw Amanda's eye for the first time. She tilted Amanda's face up to the light with a few fingers pressed under Amanda's chin for control. Amanda roughly moved away.

"What happened to your face? Were you in a fight?" Elizabeth asked, looking concerned. Amanda was insulted that everyone jumped to the conclusion she had somehow brought the injury upon herself.

"No!" Amanda insisted strongly.

"A girl kicked her in the eye at swim practice," Alice explained helpfully. She bounced on her heels as she told Amanda's story. Elizabeth turned from Alice to Amanda and she frowned.

"Well, that is unfortunate. Why don't you have a seat at the table? I have your dinner almost ready. You must be hungry after your swim," Elizabeth told Amanda. She obeyed and took a seat at the kitchen table. Carlisle came into the kitchen and bowed his head to Alice and Elizabeth in greeting.

"Mom and the boys went hunting. They should be home before eight," Alice shared as she grabbed the first aid kit from inside the cupboard and pulled out an ice pack. She handed it to her father with a big, helpful smile on her face.

Rosalie walked into the room at the same time, holding an identical pack and her jaw dropped when she saw that Alice had beaten her to the punch. Alice stuck her tongue out at her sister. Rosalie turned around and left before anyone else saw her there. She hated when Alice stole her thunder like that. Rosalie went back to the first aid kit in the hallway and put the unused ice pack away before heading out to the garage to fiddle around with the engine of her new Bentley. She loved that car like it was a beloved pet.

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said as he squeezed the pack enough to break the seal inside and make the chemical reaction begin. It would be cool in a few minutes. He placed the ice pack on the table and he lifted Amanda chin up like Elizabeth had done to take a better look at her swollen under eye. Amanda let him look since he would have insisted if she tried to protest. Carlisle couldn't help being both a concerned parent and a doctor. He knew it bothered Amanda when he was too doting when she got hurt, but he also wanted the best for her. He gently probed her cheekbone and was satisfied that there was no damage to it and Amanda's eye itself was not bloodshot or tearing.

"Can you see me well, Amanda?" he asked, covering her left eye and waving his finger in front of her right eye slowly a few times. "Any spots in your vision? Any blurriness?" Amanda brushed his hand away and glanced at him impatiently.

"I'm fine!" She said dully. She was hungry. Elizabeth poured a glass of milk and set it down in front of her. Amanda reached for it eagerly.

Carlisle smiled and let her attitude roll off him. He was no stranger to Amanda's pushing him away. She was making progress, though. She was not quite as vocal about her hate for him as she was when he first revealed to her what he and the rest of the family truly was and what Elizabeth had become. Amanda had not taken that news well. She vowed to hate him forever and she stubbornly went almost an entire year without speaking to him. Carlisle had not been sure she would ever forgive him for saving Elizabeth in the way he did. Alice was the one who reassured Carlisle that, in time, they would all be a happy family.

"Alright. No harm done it looks like. Eat your dinner and then I want you to ice that bruise for fifteen to twenty minutes to eliminate some of the swelling," Carlisle said, tapping ice pack he had set beside Amanda on the table. He would be patient and wait for the day when Amanda would accept his love and his family's love. At least now she was speaking to him on a daily basis and not seething each time she saw him.

"Okay," Amanda agreed as she picked up glass of milk sitting in front of her and she guzzled half of it down. Carlisle smiled and patted Amanda on the back lovingly. He turned his kind smile over to Elizabeth as she came to give Amanda her plate of food.

Elizabeth forced herself to smile as she carried the plate of prepared food over to the table for her adopted daughter. It had been so long since she served Amanda food. Elizabeth used to enjoy the task, but it was bittersweet now. The food smelled horrible and she felt like an imposter as she took over for Esme who had been doing this job for the past three years. Elizabeth wanted Amanda's love more than anything she could think of in this world. She had eternity now, but the only thing that kept her spirit alive was Amanda. She hoped that it was not too late for them to rebuild their relationship.

"Thanks," Amanda mumbled as Elizabeth put the plate in front of her. Amanda was hungry so she began to eat right away without looking up at her mother standing over her, watching her with kind, wistful eyes.

Amanda noticed that the plate had been warmed up, but the carrot sticks were ice cold, just as she liked them. She picked one up and smiled to herself. Elizabeth had remembered how much she hated cooked carrots. Amanda bit into the orange vegetable with a sense of reassurance. She was glad that Elizabeth had not changed completely from her human self. Amanda ate quickly and when her plate was clear Elizabeth picked it up and replaced it with another. Applesauce cookies with icing glaze.

"Nice!" Amanda complimented with a nod and she picked up a big cookie and bit into it. Elizabeth beamed. She had successfully cooked a human meal to Amanda's liking.


After dinner and doing as she was told, Amanda tossed out the ice pack that was beginning to lose its cool. Since no one had homework that evening, the Cullen kids were free to do whatever they wanted. The same went for Amanda, who was usually the one stuck at the dining room table falling asleep on her notebook. However, when she was homework free, Amanda liked to watch the television like any other kid. The Cullen's only had one television in the house, as part of a rule. They had to share. Emmet hogged the television most of the time and Amanda like to bug him to get control of it. Tonight was no exception.

"Emmet!" Amanda said sweetly, tapping him on one of his huge, muscular shoulders, interrupting him from his video game where he was shooting at something. "My turn to use the TV!"

"Ha! Um…no!" Emmet said with a laugh. After all, it was not as if Amanda could really win the war of the remote with him if they really got into it. She had to use the only weapon she had. She would use her persistence and talent for annoying him to push him out of the room.

The flat screen flickered at the imaginary gunfight was being played out. Emmet nudged Amanda away from with his elbow as she got closer to him to say something into his ear. Amanda liked to tease him and she thought it was funny to bug him when he was concentrating on something that was important to him. She jumped onto his back and clung to him and began to sing in his ear.

"Mwha ha ha ha ha…You know that I am called The Count, Because I really love to count, Sometimes I sit and count all day, But, ah…sometimes I get carried away…." Amanda sang slowly with Count Dracula's accent. She didn't recall watching Sesame Street very often as a child, but she did remember this one song by The Count. She knew that it was kind of offence to her vampire family members to be singing about another vampire, who was a purple, fictional puppet who likes to count, but it amused her so she carried on. Emmet continued to ignore her and play his game.

"I count slowly, slowly, slowly getting faster… Once I start the counting it is very hard to stop! HEY! Faster! Faster! It is so exciting! I could count forever. Count until I drop!"

Amanda's voice was getting louder and her speed was increasing as she sang. Emmet shook his shoulder to try to get her to fall off him, but she clung on and continued to sing,

"One. Two. Three. Four… One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two… I love counting whatever the amount! One, two three four, Hi ya ya ya hi ya ya ya… one, two three, four. One two… That's the song of The Count!"

Emmet lost his patience when he finally finished his game and his score was one point less his record. He dropped the controller and stood up with Amanda still clung to his back. He silently, with a straight face, grabbed her thin arms and lifted them off from around his thick neck and he flipped her off him and onto the sofa beside Alice, who was watching with amusement at the whole scene.

Rosalie was snickering from her room upstairs where she sat, curled up in a chair with a book. Elizabeth and Esme were in the next room, piecing together a quilt that they were making for charity and eavesdropping as well. They liked to hear Amanda happy and they knew that Emmet was not deprived of time on the television. Jasper and Carlisle were upstairs in Carlisle's study going over some legal documentation they needed to get in order to complete Amanda's birth certificate that would prove she was Elizabeth's birth child if ever confronted formally. They had stopped what they were discussing when Amanda had begun her taunting song. Carlisle was laughing pretty hard, trying to contain his feelings because Jasper found it so funny.

Amanda was silent for a moment, listening to the laughter coming from the rooms around her, it made Emmet more ticked off. She waited until Emmet turned his back on her and then she stood up on the arm of the sofa and jumped into the air and landed on him again. He knew better than to let her miss him or to not catch her, so he played along and didn't fling her off his back. He groaned when she continued to sing to him. This time, she dropped her voice so it was deep and she slowed the tempo to a serious tone, which made the words seem even more ridiculous.

"I count the spiders on the wall, I count the cobwebs in the hall, I count the candles on the shelf, and sometimes when I'm alone… I count myself! Oh ya… I count slowly, slowly, slowly….." Amanda sang, starting over again and picking up speed. She jumped down from Emmet and snatched the remote control and danced as she sang the rest of the song very fast. Emmet covered his ears in attempt to ignore her, but he saw that Amanda was determined to sing that annoying Count Dracula song until he was driven out of the room. Amanda began to chase Emmet around the room so he could not avoid her without leaving the family room.

"…Getting faster… Once I start the counting it is very hard to stop! Hey! Faster! Faster! It is so exciting! I could count forever. Count until I drop! One. Two. Three. Four… One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two I love counting…. whatever the amount!" Amanda shouted. Emmet threw his hands down from his ears in defeat and he left the room, conceding the television to Amanda. She finished the song even as he flew out of the room. "One, two three four, Hi ya ya ya hi ya ya ya… one, two three, four. One two…. That's the song of The Count! Hey!"

"You are so annoying!" Emmet shouted from upstairs where he found comfort in his mate, Rosalie, who was trying to be compassionate to his feelings. Emmet usually won in any fight, but when it came to Amanda he could not do anything to her for simply singing him out of a room, but oh, how that song drove him insane.

"Yep!" Amanda agreed. She was still a bit hyper from her earlier workout at the pool, but she was wearing out now from the long day at school. She sighed and took a breath as she fell back into the sofa, out of breath from singing that song so fast, but she was very pleased with herself. Emmet was gone and she had the TV all to herself now. Amanda turned on the television and put her feet up on the coffee table.

"That song is so demeaning," Alice chimed merrily, coming over to take a seat on the sofa to watch 'Video On Trial' with Amanda who rested on that channel. Alice was still talking about 'The Count Song'. Amanda smiled proudly and nodded. The family could take vampire clichés with a grain of salt, but Emmet for some reason hated when she impersonated the purple Count from Sesame Street. He said it was insulting to his monsterhood. Amanda enjoyed holding one thing over his head.


Amanda woke up the next morning, curled up to something frigid and solid. She made a mental note before even opening her eyes that it must be Alice coming in to wake her for school, no doubt. She moaned and pushed herself away from the rock that was in her space and then rolled over and hid her face under her arm.

"Tickle, tickle…" Emmet chuckled and his cold fingers lightly pinched Amanda's sides and she screamed and bolted up in bed. She turned around to him with a fierce glare, though her hair was covering the majority of her face so it was hard to see. She smacked at her face to move the hair away and winced when she accidently touched her sore eye. Emmet laughed at her confusion.

"Go away, Em!" Amanda belted out, frowning deeply as she smoothed out her disarray of hair that was tangled around her face. She looked up at him and took a better look at him. She gasped and her mouth opened wide in horror when she noticed he was wearing her favorite latex swim cap. It was purple and matched her Denali team suit that was purple and black.

"Take it off! You'll rip it!" Amanda yelled, rising to her knees and reaching out to grab Emmet, who was faster and he moved off the bed and stood out of her reach. Amanda nearly fell off the bed. She glowered at him as he snickered at her misfortune. This was his funny way of getting her back from taking the TV from him last night. Emmet's face was so smug that Amanda decided she would not let him get the better of her. She smiled at him menacingly and then she let herself topple off the side of the bed like she had stopped herself from doing a second sooner.

She hit the floor with a dramatic thump on purpose and then where she had hit her shoulder she grabbed it and cried out in a yelp. Truthfully, it did hurt. She had landed hard on her left side, her shoulder and arm taking the brunt of the fall, but she knew she was not seriously injured. She was going to milk it though, to teach Emmet a lesson: he could not mess with her. She sat up, holding her arm and she rocked a bit like she often did when she bumped her knee or her head. Something about movement as a distraction helped her get over pain. This time it was all for show.

"What the…?" Emmet stated dumbly, confused at what just happened. He bent down to see if she was all right, even though she had done this to herself. Amanda hissed at him.

"Ow, ow, owww," she cried believably, her voice high, "why did you do that?"

"Do what? You did this to yourself! You…you…" Emmet stuttered as Amanda's bedroom door opened and the rest of the family, besides Jasper and Alice, rushed in to see what the commotion was about. Amanda's little act was so good she even had tears welling in her eyes. Carlisle rushed to her side immediately to access her injuries; Esme knelt down next to her to stroke her hair. Amanda had them all fooled. Elizabeth stood back, but watched with concerned eyes. Rosalie came from behind Emmet and pulled at the swim cap till it snapped off his head.

"What hurts, sweetheart? Tell me what happened," Carlisle instructed authoritatively. He was dressed nicely for work in grey slacks and a white dress shirt. His silver tie was half done up and hung from his neck in Amanda's line of vision as he reached out for her arm. She held it tighter and she gasped as he tried to take it from her. He didn't let her protest deter him and began looking her over with a medical eye.

"My shoulder," Amanda told him with a shaky voice, "I landed on it when I fell off the bed. Emmet stole my cap and he wouldn't give it back. I tried to grab it from him, but he moved and I fell off!"

"Emmet!" Esme scolded, looking over to her son, who was gob smacked from the entire scenario. He was not sure what was going on, but he was in the doghouse for sure.

"No way! She did this to herself! She did it on purpose!" Emmet defended himself, sounding slightly ridiculous in light of the fact that Amanda sat hunched over on the wood floor with tears in her eyes and clinging to her arm protectively as Carlisle tried to take a closer look at the damage. Rosalie shook her head at Emmet disapprovingly and Elizabeth frowned, but tried not to judge him to harshly. She knew Amanda probably contributed to the accident, but she stayed silent seeing as Amanda seemed to be injured.

"You have been warned about this behavior, Emmet! You cannot play so roughly with Amanda. Accidents can happen and people can get hurt. What were you thinking, taunting her like that?" Esme lectured her son all the while soothing Amanda by placing a hand on the girl's back.

"I was just playing with her. Getting her back for singing that stupid Count Song last night. She is the one who let herself fall off her bed. She fell on purpose to get me in trouble. She is evil minded… just evil, I tell ya!"

"Emmet," Carlisle said his name calmly, with a tone of disappointment in his voice. Amanda wanted to laugh, but she knew better. She sniffed and looked down at her arm.

"But… but… she's fakin' it!" Emmet protested. Carlisle pushed back Amanda's short sleeve to expose her bare shoulder that was red from where it hit the floor. Emmet opened his mouth to speak again, but he was cut off.

"Enough, Emmet. This is not the time for excuses. What you did was childish. You are much older than Amanda and much stronger. Horseplay of this kind is dangerous and exactly what your father and I have been warning you two about," Esme ranted. Emmet hung his head, defeated.

"Sorry Mom," Emmet said sadly.

"I am not who you need to be apologizing too," Esme replied lightly, looking down at Amanda who had dropped the charade a bit as she let Carlisle take her arm in his own to move it slowly. Emmet nearly growled in annoyance. Amanda had everyone on her side it seemed. Amanda had always been a fairly good liar and since she had actually fallen on her shoulder when she hit the floor, she was not lying entirely about the pain. Amanda gasped as she allowed her uncle to squeeze her shoulder.

"Oh, honey," Esme cooed and she pulled all of Amanda's hair back off her face and placed it over Amanda's right shoulder to get it out of the way as Carlisle examined the shoulder in question. Amanda whimpered as he took her arm to lift it a bit. He watched her carefully for her reaction. Amanda decided she had better not get too carried away and so she didn't make too much more of a fuss.

"I am sorry you hurt yourself, Amanda," Emmet said stiffly giving her a knowing glare.

"That's okay, Em. It doesn't hurt so bad now," She admitted forgivingly. Enough was enough and she only wanted to get Emmet scolded and she had done that. She couldn't milk this injury much longer or she might lose the privilege of going to swim practice after school.

"Is the pain less now, Amanda?" Carlisle asked her, putting her arm down by her side. Amanda nodded honestly. He was pleased with the mobility she had in her arm and was sure nothing was broken. Rosalie came back into the room with that ice pack and handed it to him. It was activated already and he placed it over Amanda's shoulder with care. Amanda twitched from the cold against her skin, but she used her right hand to reach up and hold the pack in place. Esme smiled and rubbed Amanda's back, relieved to hear the news. Elizabeth relaxed a bit from her position.

"There we go. Does that help, darling?" Esme asked lovingly. Amanda nodded again. Emse leaned forward and kissed Amanda's cheek gently.

"Ya, I think I'm okay now," Amanda repeated quietly with a touch of uncertainty as she tested her arm out. She moved it cautiously, but to show that she was well enough to go to school and later to her swim practice. Then she leaned forward to get balanced on her feet so she could stand. Esme stood up and steadied Amanda from behind.

"I am glad. It appears to be only bruised. I suspect you may have jarred the ball from its socket when you landed on your shoulder, but you didn't fully dislocate the joint. There is no break or sprain that I can tell, but if it is bothering you, Amanda, perhaps we should rest your arm in a sling for today," Carlisle suggested as he helped her up. Amanda's horror was obvious on her face. She hated showing weakness still to this day. It was something she had not gotten over from her childhood. She shook her head, no. Emmet huffed and folded his arms across his big chest.

"Maybe she should wear one to be safe. I mean, she did jump… oops… I mean fall off the bed very hard. You all heard the thump!" he said harshly, staring at Amanda with narrowed eyes.

"No!" Amanda blurted out, "I don't need to. It is fine now!"

"Better safe than sorry, right?" Emmet pressed with a cheeky grin. "Sling the arm!"

Amanda decided not to react to him or else she might get caught in her lie. She looked to her uncle with her big, blue eyes, hoping for some support. Carlisle placed a hand on her other shoulder and smiled down at her, but he spoke to Emmet.

"It is not necessary if she feels alright to go on without one," Carlisle explained softly. Amanda had full range of motion and she was not in pain unless pressure was placed on the area she fell. It was only a bruise, after all. It would probably not be visible either, not like the purple rim under her right eye that she got last night at swim practice. Amanda had known it all along and no one was going to deny her injury. She had successfully gotten away with her trickery and Emmet had been properly schooled about not messing with her.

Carlisle bowed his head and left Amanda's room to finish getting himself ready for work. Elizabeth watched Amanda curiously before she retreated out of the bedroom. Esme kissed the top of Amanda's head once and then walked over to Emmet and grabbed him by the ear. "In the hallway. We need to have a little chat!" she demanded as she towed him out of the room by his ear. Emmet winced and hurried along beside his mom, hunched over to avoid pulling. Rosalie shook her head with amusement over her mate's idiocy and tossed Amanda's purple swim cap on the bed before she trailed out of the room after everyone, shutting the door behind her as she went. Amanda smiled and went to her closet to pull out an outfit to wear.


When the Cullen kids arrived at school Emmet dropped Amanda and Alice off in front of the Middle School before parking in the High School's parking lot. Jasper smirked at Amanda as she got out. He was onto her. Alice had either told him about her deceit or he had felt her betrayal. Amanda stuck her tongue out at him playfully, knowing Jasper would not tell on her. He didn't like confrontation and he knew that Emmet liked to play games of similar nature on Amanda. Jasper figured that this was Amanda's revenge and he would not tell on her in order to keep himself and Alice's knowledge of the incident from being found out. Besides that, Jasper thought it was quite impressive for Amanda to have pulled the wool over everyone's eyes this morning.

"Have a good day, evil child!" Emmet huffed as he slowed the Jeep to a stop.

"Oh, leave her alone, babe. She's hurt," Rosalie said out of the blue, sounding sincerely compassionate once again for her human cousin's well-being. "How is your arm, dear?"

"Dear?" Amanda, Emmet, and Jasper all asked at the same time, questioning the caring concern Rosalie was showing. Alice would have joined in if she had not seen that one coming. She chimed in with a sweet laugh instead.

"What? I care!" Rosalie justified but then she got her grump back and flicked her hand in the air in Amanda's direction and said, "Oh, just get out already!"

"Ya!" Emmet agreed boisterously, "Get out and go to your kiddy school and play with glue and stuff!"

Amanda rolled her eyes and hopped out of the Jeep to the pavement below her. Emmet did not face her when he spoke. Esme had given a proper scolding outside in the hallway of Amanda's bedroom that morning. He was grounded from playing video games or watching television for one week for disobeying his parent's rules. One; rough housing with the human, two; entering someone's room without their permission to do so and, three; lying instead of confessing when he had made a mistake. Only, he had only broken two of those three in reality. Amanda got away making the others believe he committed the latter offense.

"Oh, whatever, Em! You're the one who got in trouble, not me!" she taunted him back. Emmet rolled his window up and stuck up his nose in response and then drove away. He was still stung by her act this morning since he was grounded, but he forgave her. After all, he had done plenty of pranks that got Amanda in trouble over the years as well. They were usually even at the end of the day. Now he was giving her the cold shoulder, but the ice would melt and by that evening they would be goofing around together again. That was their routine. Alice giggled and took Amanda's hand to tow her towards the front doors of the grey, school building.

"You are so bad!"

"So bad I'm good, though," Amanda said with a sly grin, giggling to herself gleefully after she spoke. Alice laughed and nodded in agreement. Amanda was not going to be caught this time. She was in the clear with Alice on her side and Jasper taking the Fifth.

"He deserves it… he is always bugging you and stealing your things," Alice said to justify what Amanda had done to her big, dopey brother.

"I know, right? I just got so mad when he woke me up by tickling me. Then when I saw he had my swim cap on his giant head, stretching it out, that I had to get him back. I am still not over the time he told on me to Liz at my birthday. And for all the times he threw food around in the kitchen and then left me to take the blame," Amanda ranted as they made their way toward their locker to hang up their winter coats and grab their books for class. Amanda had Science first thing and Alice had History. In the afternoon they had the same classes, but reversed. All the ones in between they had together.

"Emmet can be a pest, that is for sure," Alice chirped. The first bell rang and Amanda groaned, lifting her heavy Science textbook into her arms. She winced a bit when she moved her shoulder too high. Alice smiled and said, "I suppose that is the price to pay for a good comeback."

"It was worth it!" Amanda decided as she slammed the locker door shut and smiled goodbye to Alice who stopped Amanda to tell her something. Amanda waited for Alice to tell her the vision, but Alice smiled and changed her mind, releasing Amanda.

"You will make the right choice!" Alice decided.

"Uh… okay then," Amanda mumbled, confused, "see you in Math class."

"I miss you already," Alice sang as she twirled down the hallway in the opposite direction, almost hitting a sixth grader with her shoulder bag in the process. Alice knew she was going to miss so she just smiled at the alarmed boy and danced off to her class. Amanda wanted to laugh at Alice for being so exuberant. She had tried to tell Alice to tone down her cheerful, perky way at school, but Alice had only stuck to that for one day and she was already back to her usual self.

As Amanda made her way into her classroom and looked around to find an empty seat, she only saw two places free. One was a stool beside Jennifer Beach, the most popular, mean girl in the seventh grade and possibly, the whole school. The other free seat was the table behind Jennifer's. Susie Bloom sat by the window with the isle seat still available. The choice was up to Amanda. Would she take the closer spot, by Susie who was eyeing Amanda hopefully as she pushed the stool out a bit with her foot so Amanda would see it? Or would Amanda walk on by and take the seat next to Jennifer?

"Hey Jennifer!" Amanda greeted in a pleasant voice, walking past Susie without making eye contact. She quickly sat down on the stool and placed her binder and textbook in front of her on the table. Jennifer looked at Amanda with a blank expression for a moment and then a big smile crept onto her make up caked face. It was triple the amount that Amanda wore and Esme was right. Too much makeup on a young girl looked ridiculous and fake. However, that was Jennifer Beach. Amanda smiled back and complimented, "I like your lipstick. What kind is it?"

"It's from Sephora!" Jennifer stated proudly. Amanda's compliment warmed Jennifer a bit. She pointed to Amanda's face and asked, "What happened to your eye? Where you in a catfight?"

Amanda caught herself about to give a sarcastic response, but instead she laughed it off and shook her head, no. "Uh, no. A girl kicked me in the face at swim practice yesterday," she explained in a neutral tone.

"What a loser! I hope you kicked her back!" Jennifer responded loudly with a smug superiority. It was almost as if she knew it was Susie who had accidentally hit Amanda and she wanted to rub it in. Amanda could almost see Susie sink down in her seat in her peripheral vision. She felt her stomach twist in a knot. She forced herself to laugh, but it came out sounding a bit contrived and she hoped Susie didn't think she was laughing at her.

'Surly Susie understands why I didn't sit next to her,' Amanda thought arrogantly, immediately gulping back the feeling of guilt as the class began. Jennifer passed her pink lipstick to Amanda as an offering. Amanda was 'in' if she wanted to be, but Amanda was not sure anymore if she wanted to be one of the 'popular' girls anymore. She took the lipstick and smiled at Jennifer and put some on her full lips and passed it back.

"It looks good on you," Jen said with a wink that made a shiver run down Amanda's spine. She really felt like a bad person at that moment. Perhaps Emmet had been right. She was an evil girl. Who would choose the path of lies and cattiness over sincerity and the possibility of true friendship? 'Am I a bad person?' Amanda wondered as she hid her face from Susie's view and she opened her text to the page the teacher instructed the class to read. She had only been joking with Alice earlier about being bad. It was all a joke until now when it came down to choosing who she wanted to associate with.

Amanda didn't like Jennifer and she didn't need to get to know the plastic girl to find that out. However, associating with the queen bee would make her climb the social ladder at school, something Amanda always thought she would enjoy. It was fun to be on the top and get the best of people. The only problem with being on the top of a pile was hurting those who were being crushed underneath. Susie reminded Amanda so much of her younger self when she was the outcast at school in Kipta. She had just become as bad as Stacey Peterson when she laughed at Susie. It was not as fun being part of the in crowd as Amanda imagined it would be.

Amanda wiped her lips roughly with the back of her hand and she picked up her books in haste. Jennifer watched her with glowering eyes as she stood up and slipped back one table and quietly sat on the stool next to Susie. Jennifer gave her the stink eye and then flipped her attention back to the front, giving Amanda the brush off. Amanda gulped and looked next to her at Susie who was wide eyed and confused at what had just happened. She smiled at the meek girl, who was dressed frumpy and didn't take care of her appearance.

"I think I made the wrong choice earlier. Is this seat taken?" Amanda whispered to Susie, who sat frozen for a long pause until she recovered from shock and nodded quickly. Amanda smiled faintly. Susie returned the gesture, her cheeks blushing deep red.

This was the right choice Alice had been talking about. The knot in Amanda's stomach loosened and she carried on with the day as someone who would have to fit somewhere in the pile between the top and the bottom. Amanda didn't plan on being held back by the Stacy's and the Jennifer's in her life anymore.


Thank you for reading.

Coming up next...Amanda rebels against accepting Liz as her 'mother'.

If you don't want the preview for the next chapter you will have to let me know. All review responses will get one. :) If you have any questions feel free to ask me and I will do my best to answer.