Quick, huh? *g*
I'll try to answer your wishes when I'm done with the Christmas chapters, all right with you?
twilight1987: How was the turkey? ;-) I'm just making cookies while my Mom does all the cooking. So the food is great right now! Yay Christmas!
Now go ahead and read the chapter!
Carlisle drove Maddie to school in the morning. He and Esme wouldn't have to be there until a couple of hours later for their appointment with the school's principal.
It was quite peculiar that she would want to talk to them concerning Maddie, but Maddie pledged she didn't do anything, so they had to believe her.
They couldn't help but suspect something bad - they had enough experience with six children, after all. This wasn't the first time they were called into a school to have a talk with the headmaster.
And it certainly wasn't the first time they had to come to school because of something Maddie did. The talk with the principal of Forks Junior High had sunken deep into memory of both Carlisle and Esme.
So now they were nervous.
"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, Mrs. Jacobs is now ready to receive you." the secretary said and led Carlisle and Esme over to the principal's office.
She knocked first, then opened the office door, said "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen." and left again after giving them a little smile. She was a nice lady.
The principal stood up from her chair behind the dark desk. "Nice to see you again, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. Please, take a seat."
They greeted her, shook hands and sat down on the chairs standing in front of the desk.
Mrs. Jacobs pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, then pushed her golden rimmed glasses higher up her nose and pressed her lips together in a tight line for a moment. "I am not sure if you know why I invited you here. It pains me to say that I don't have pleasant news for you, but hopefully I am just misinformed."
"Please go on, Mrs. Jacobs. Madeline couldn't tell us either," Carlisle told the principal.
"It has been brought to my attention that your daughter might develop what you would call an eating disorder," she said carefully, not knowing how they would react to that.
"An eating disorder? How is that possible?" Esme gasped, looking concerned. It was an act, of course.
Carlisle placed a hand on Esme's folded ones and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in a comforting manner. Acting in front of humans was a big part of their life, so they had no trouble playing the overly concerned parents now.
It was bound to happen that sooner or later someone would notice that Maddie did not eat. Her siblings kept to themselves at school and mostly ignored the other students, so it might be easier for them to hide that little fact. But Maddie was surrounded by humans, and had nobody else to talk to during classes, recess and lunch breaks. Of course there would be questions.
"You see, one of Madeline's classmates told our school nurse that she had witnessed Madeline being sick in one of the restrooms. Several times, right after lunch."
Carlisle frowned. "She didn't tell us that she's been feeling sick lately. Is this girl sure it was our Maddie?"
"I am afraid so."
Esme swallowed heavily, before stating, "Our daughter does not have an eating disorder, Mrs. Jacobs." She was the perfect image of a mother who was in denial.
"You see, young girls are very prone to develop anorexia or bulimia, what with all the media propagating certain ideals of beauty. Dr. Cullen, as a doctor, have you noticed any change in your daughter's behaviour lately?"
He looked pensive for a moment, but then shook his head no. "No, I haven't. Would it be possible to let our daughter join in the conversation about this matter? Maybe she can explain what her classmate had witnessed. It might be a misunderstanding, after all."
"Of course." The principal pressed a button on her phone, then said, "Mrs. Fisher, would you be so kind as to go get Madeline Cullen from her class and bring her to my office, please?"
"Yes, I'll bring her right over."
They sat in the office for a few minutes, waiting, until there was a knock at the door.
The principal asked the person to come in, so the door opened and in walked Maddie, looking nervous.
Well, come on, wouldn't you be nervous when in a room with your parents and the principal of your school?
"There you are! Take a seat, please, Madeline." Mrs. Jacobs smiled and pointed to a chair right next to Carlisle.
"Thank you, Ma'am."
"Don't be nervous, you haven't done anything wrong. We would just like to talk to you about something," Mrs. Jacobs tried to reassure the girl, for she really hadn't misbehaved.
Maddie nodded her head, but still didn't look at ease.
The principal implied with a nod of her head for Carlisle to talk to Maddie, because he might know how to best approach this difficult matter with his daughter.
"Sweetie, Mrs. Jacobs just told us that you might have some problems."
"I do?" Maddie scrunched up her nose, not liking that she had problems. "What kind of problems?"
"A girl witnessed you being sick in the restrooms."
Maddie looked at him with raised eyebrows.
Oh, sweet!
Now she would be acting with her parents, she thought excitedly. An unscripted play exclusively performed for Maddie's principal. Here we go!
"Is that true? Have you been sick lately?" Carlisle asked, sounding careful and concerned at the same time.
"No, I'm fine," Maddie shook her head.
Carlisle took Maddie's hand in his and told her in a reassuring voice, "We just want you to know that you do not have to be afraid or ashamed."
Maddie seemed to feel uneasy. "What would I be ashamed of?" she asked with a frown, then looked between her father and the principal.
"The girl said that most of the time you do not eat during lunch break," Mrs. Jacobs told her. She wanted to carefully let Maddie in on the information they had, so she would hopefully give honest answers. They wouldn't be able to help her if she felt like she was with her back to the wall because of their way of questioning.
"Yes, I don't," She affirmed and gave her principal an apologetic look. Besides, she never ate during lunch break, not just 'most of the time'.
"Don't you feel hungry? Or do you prefer to eat somewhere else instead of in the cafeteria?"
Suddenly Esme sighed. "Oh, Mrs. Jacobs, I can explain that. Our daughter has several food intolerances, like lactose or gluten and she is highly allergic to peanuts. Therefore she has a big breakfast in the morning before school, and eats again when she comes home. I prepare her food. She has had bad experiences while eating out."
"So she doesn't take anything with her? Not even a snack?" That sounded quite unhealthy, the principal thought.
"No. She has never really liked eating lunch, not even as a little child," Esme explained.
The principal was stunned.
"I'm a breakfast person ... and then I don't feel hungry for a while." Maddie shrugged.
"But what did your classmate witness then?"
Shaking her head slightly, Maddie said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I wasn't sick at school. How could I be sick after lunch if I didn't eat lunch?"
"I believe you. But still, I would feel better if you talked to someone about your eating habits. Our school nurse is a fully qualified nutritional adviser."
Maddie looked up at her father then, unsure of what to say. Was it rude to decline? Or should she agree to talk to the nurse about her nonexistent human eating habits?
Carlisle cleared his throat. "Mrs. Jacobs, I appreciate your concern, but I am fairly sure that our daughter is developing healthily. I do like your idea of Madeline talking to a nutritional adviser, though. But truth be told, I would prefer for it to be with a colleague of mine at Forks Community Hospital. I have known her for quite a while now and I utterly trust her judgment. The necessary tests could be made immediately as well."
"If you prefer for it to be that way, sure," The principal answered, then gazed at Maddie through her golden-rimmed glasses. "Is that all right with you, Madeline?"
"Okay. I just don't want you to think I'm sick." She sounded a little worried.
"Nobody thinks you're sick, dear. It is just to make sure that you are healthy, and continue to stay healthy."
"Okay."
Carlisle was happy with the result of this talk. "Mrs. Jacobs, would it be all right if our daughter left together with us now? I would like to take her to the hospital today to talk to our nutritional adviser."
"Of course. This matter has top priority."
"Thank you very much."
"Madeline? You may go to your class and retrieve your books and utensils. Mrs. Fisher will take you there and inform your teacher of your leave."
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."
The secretary accompanied Maddie to her class, told the teacher what was going on while Maddie walked to the back of the classroom. She formed a little heart with her fingers and puckered her lips as if giving someone a kiss. That was meant for the silly girl that was trying to get her in trouble. No need to say that Maddie knew exactly who that was. Unfortunately for the girl it did not work out like she had planned, because Maddie looked happy and was even allowed to leave early.
Ha ha.
She grabbed her stuff from her table, whispered bye to some of the girls, then left with the secretary again to meet up with her parents.
"That was fun!" Maddie squealed after they had left the school building; she was skipping around like a bouncy ball.
"Calm yourself, Maddie," Carlisle said, but smiled in amusement at his daughter's excitement. He knew she loved telling people utter nonsense and that she could leave school early today was a welcome bonus for her.
Esme suddenly remembered something. "Maddie ... why would a girl say she saw you being sick in the restrooms? What happened?"
And Maddie suddenly stopped. "How would I know?" she asked and tilted her head to the side. "I haven't been sick." Then she continued to skip around.
So it had indeed been a misunderstanding.
"Come, Maddie," Esme then said and held her hand out for Maddie to take. "Don't linger."
Maddie closed the distance between them and grabbed her Mom's hand, then grimaced slightly while whining, "But I don't like hospitals, Mom ... do I have to go there for show and talk about food?"
"No, princess," Carlisle answered immediately and patted her hair. "I'll call your principal tomorrow and tell her that everything is all right."
"It's kind of funny though, isn't it? An eating disorder? Me?" She laughed at the absurdity of it. Her parents didn't think for it to be that funny, because they remembered the physical condition she had been in before they had turned her. Thank God it could never get that far again.
Her father opened the rear door of his Mercedes for Maddie to climb in.
When they all were seated and buckled up, Esme turned around in her seat to look at Maddie and queried, "What would you like to do now, sweetheart?"
"I can choose?"
"Yes, whatever you like."
Maddie thought for a moment, before her face lit up and she asked, "Uh! Can we make Christmas cookies? Like gingerbread or something?" She sounded so excited that it made them chuckle.
"You enjoy baking?"
"We always made cookies during Christmas time. We made sooo many, so we could bring them to the soup kitchen for the people who didn't have a home like us. Oh, and we need to make some for the Christmas party at school. I volunteered to work at the cookie stand," Maddie explained then looked out of the window.
Two days from now, her school would host a Christmas party with plays, songs and different stands were postcards, Christmas decorations and cookies could be bought. The proceeds of the sale would be donated to a good cause.
Esme and Carlisle exchanged a look. It was surprising that Maddie would talk about her human parents with them - she was normally very reluctant to share memories of her past.
"I think that is a fantastic idea, Maddie," Esme praised, which made Maddie look back up at her and smile. "But we need to go to the store first - we don't have any ingredients for gingerbread."
"Oh, ok." Maddie nodded her head. "Can we go home first so I can change?"
"I need to go to work, dear, so we don't have that much time. But it's still early, no one will see you, I am sure." He knew that Maddie hated her uniform, but it would only take a couple of minutes to buy the ingredients needed.
Maddie sighed.
"Okay... but you're always working. You're never home with us," she remarked with a little pout.
Carlisle felt a pang of guilt. It was true - he worked a lot at the hospital here in Forks and wasn't home much, but Maddie had never told him that it upset her. Especially during the last couple of weeks he had worked more shifts than usual ... had that been a reason why she had acted up so much?
"I apologise. I'll be home for the Christmas holidays, so we can celebrate together."
Maddie's head shot up. "You're not working during Christmas?"
"No, honey, I am not. I'll be home," he replied while steering his car onto the highway in the direction of Forks.
"What if some humans get hurt and need an operation?"
"Dr. Fitzgerald will be the doctor on duty."
About twenty minutes later, they parked in front of the little convenience store in the center of Forks. Maddie got out of the car, too, because Esme wanted her to choose sprinkles and what not to decorate the Christmas cookies they were going to make that afternoon.
While Esme and Carlisle were still talking about something, Maddie went ahead and entered the shop.
"Hello, Mr. Smith," she greeted the old man behind the counter who owned the store.
He squinted at her before a smile appeared on his wrinkly face. "Maddie, isn't it? I haven't seen you here in quite a while. How are you?"
"I'm good. How is your back? Is it better?"
"Yes, a little. But I'm old, my back won't get much better anymore."
"You're not that old," Maddie told him with a cute smile.
"That is very kind of you, dear. Now tell me, what can I do for you?"
At that moment, Esme and Carlisle stepped into the store and greeted the old man.
Maddie looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her mother smiled when their eyes met and she asked, "We are going to make cookies today. Could you tell us where to find the ingredients needed?"
"The third row on the left, Mrs. Cullen."
"Thank you. Come along, Maddie," she chirped and grabbed a shopping basket from a stack next to the door.
They chose what they needed, while Carlisle asked Mr. Smith about his wife's condition. She had gotten an artificial hip joint during an operation that he had performed. The Smiths were a really nice elderly couple, and he wished them well.
When Esme and Maddie walked up to the counter, Maddie carrying the basket with things they wanted to purchase, Mr. Smith looked up again. He grabbed his glasses from right next to himself and put them on his nose, saying, "What am I seeing there, Maddie? You are wearing a school uniform?"
"Yes, Sir." Maddie smiled and placed the basket on the counter in front of the old man.
"She is student at a school in Fairholm," Carlisle added and rubbed Maddie's shoulder. He knew she didn't like being seen in her uniform or worse talk about it, but she was still very polite.
"Oh, yes, yes. It's a school for girls only, isn't it?" he asked and placed the goods into a bag.
Maddie grimaced. "It is."
He chuckled when he saw her facial expression. "Education is important, dear, your parents know why they send you there."
"It is a very good school," Esme affirmed.
Mr. Smith told Carlisle how much he owed him, and Carlisle paid while Maddie grabbed the bag to carry it to the car.
"Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mr. Smith," Maddie said before opening the door.
"Merry Christmas to you, too. Have a nice day," he told them. They said their goodbyes, then walked outside to the car.
"I wasn't aware you know Mr. Smith, Maddie," Carlisle said to her.
"Yes. Em and I go shopping for magazines here," Maddie replied and placed the bag in the trunk, then walked over to the rear door and got in.
"You have been very polite to him."
That they would always mention that ... "He's cool ... even though he smells like old people," she said and buckled up, because she knew that her father wanted them to always use the seat belt while driving. He was a doctor, after all.
"Why are you home this early?" Rose asked when she stepped into the kitchen and saw her mother and younger sister using some cookie cutters on some dark brown dough which smelled of brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and other spices.
"I have an eating disorder." Maddie grinned at her blond sister and placed a gingerbread man on the waiting baking sheet.
Rosalie frowned while Emmett entered and laughed at Maddie's answer. "You have an eating disorder, Mad?"
Maddie nodded her head and giggled.
"Maddie's principal was concerned about her health, and wanted to let us know."
"The same happened to me about four years ago," Alice chimed in and smiled. Yes, sometimes people did notice them not eating anything.
"And what will you be doing now?" Rosalie asked Esme.
"Your father told Mrs. Jacobs that Maddie would be talking to a nutritional adviser at the hospital to find out whether or not she is indeed having an eating disorder."
"Well, it is kind of true, isn't it? We don't drink human blood." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.
Yes, for vampires they were indeed having an eating disorder.
"You'll take her to the hospital? I'm not sure if that is a good idea."
"No, no, don't worry. Carlisle will call the principal tomorrow and say that Maddie is healthy just the way she is," Esme replied and pinched Maddie's cheek.
Maddie lightly swatted at her Mom's hand, to make her let go.
"Oh, good," Rosalie replied at hearing this. She wasn't sure if Maddie was ready to set foot into a hospital full of tempting, as well as repulsive smells. It might be a little trying and besides, she knew that Maddie really didn't like hospitals. Never had, never will.
Wiping a smear of flour off her sister's cheekbone, she then eyed the gingerbread and said, "That looks pretty. What are you making them for?"
"It's for the Christmas celebration. We'll sell them - the money will be donated." Maddie was so glad that she would be selling cookies instead of standing onstage and singing - she really hadn't been in the mood for that.
"Awesome! Can I help with the sugar icing?" Emmett asked and looked over Maddie's shoulder to see what she was doing.
"Of course, love. But we have to put them in the oven first," Esme told her son.
He did look excited - just like Maddie. It was nice to be doing something together ... and to be using the kitchen, of course. They wouldn't eat the cookies, but making them was just as much fun, Esme figured.
However, it turned a little less fun for her when Maddie and Emmett got the idea of making zombie cookies with the red and green sugar icings and sprinkles. When they started talking about severed extremities, vast quantities of blood and rotting eyeballs, she was very close to banning them from the kitchen. But Alice helped to get them back to the task in hand - decorating the gingerbread so it would look like something humans would want to eat so Maddie could sell it all.
It turned still less fun for Esme when Maddie dared Emmett to eat one of the freshly baked cookies ... Emmett never said No to a dare. So he indeed ate one - he snuck it out of the kitchen so Esme wouldn't see, and Maddie had to give him one of her most cherished Dvds then.
Rosalie stormed into the kitchen a while later and was quite upset, complaining to Esme that her husband was throwing up in her neat bathroom.
Yes, it never got boring in the Cullen household. But all in all, it had been a wonderful afternoon.
"Maddie?" Jasper called when he walked into the living room.
He saw a hand being raised over the backrest of the couch, so he walked on and seated himself in the armchair, facing his little sister who was busy lying around and looking a little bored.
"Whazzup?" she asked lazily and glanced at him.
He hesitated for a moment, but then gave a nod and spoke. "I would like to ask a favour of you."
He waited for her reaction, hoping she would say Yes.
And indeed, he instantly felt that he had piqued her interest.
With one raised eyebrow and a little smirk on her lips, Maddie asked, "A favour? Of me?"
"Yes."
She sat up then, curiosity clearly visible in her golden eyes, and said, "Shoot."
"I would like to surprise Alice for once, so I was wondering if you could block her visions," he told her straightforwardly, but looked a little unsettled.
Would she help him?
He wasn't exactly her favourite big brother, after all. He hoped they could change that sometime. Now that she seemed to have fully accepted Esme and Carlisle as her parents, then maybe she was ready to work on their relationship, too. Jasper indeed loved having a baby sister, even though Maddie didn't realise it.
Maddie drew in a sharp breath after hearing what he wanted her to do.
"I don't think I can do that. She would know beforehand, Jasper." She sounded like she wanted to help him, but couldn't. Her gift was no match for Alice's, because she had to make the decision to use it. And Alice saw the freaking future the moment you decided on doing something! Figures, huh?
Jasper bent forward a little, letting his elbows rest on his knees, before pressing, "If she agrees, would you be willing to do it?"
"Sure." Maddie shrugged.
"That is a great idea," Rosalie remarked when she entered the living room and sat on the armrest of the couch next to Maddie.
"Really?" Maddie looked up at her sister, sounding slightly baffled at that statement.
Rose smirked, grabbed Maddie by the wrist and started to brush flour off her sleeve.
How did she manage to get so dirty? Or why was she still dirty? It had been hours since they had finished making cookies!
"Yes. Christmas is a little difficult with Alice, because she always knows what she is going to get. And she tells us off when she sees what one is planning on giving to her, and she doesn't approve of the gift."
"Oh." Maddie had never celebrated Christmas with them, so she had no idea what took place during that time.
"Then I'll do it," Maddie remarked resolutely and grinned. She liked the idea of helping to make this holiday special for everyone.
At that moment Jasper's phone buzzed. He fished it from his pocket and left the room while answering it.
All Rose and Maddie could hear was an aggravated voice on the other end of the line.
Rosalie smiled while tucking a strand of hair behind Maddie's ear.
"I think someone doesn't like the idea," she told her little sister and tried not to laugh.
But Maddie's determination started to falter. "I cannot do it as long as she doesn't agree. I don't wanna be in trouble."
If she would use her ability on Alice without her explicit consent, she'd get a right royal dressing down and a sound hiding from their parents. No need to say that she didn't want that to happen. In fact, she intended to not get into any trouble with Carlisle and Esme for as long as possible.
"Don't worry, you won't be in trouble. Alice will give her consent and I bet Esme and Carlisle will be very happy about it."
Suddenly Maddie gasped, sat up on her knees and looked at Rose with wide open eyes. "What about Edward?"
"Oh, you are right. Maybe his mind-reading should be blocked as well," she mused. It would only be fair, and Alice might be more likely to consent to loosing her visions when she wouldn't be the only 'blind' one.
"Will he agree?"
"Persuading him will be mere child's play in comparison to Alice," she replied and Maddie nodded.
She had already blocked his gift a couple of times and he had always seemed more at ease then. Well, he would start missing his ability after a couple of days, but otherwise it helped him relax his mind once in a while, he said.
"So?" Rosalie queried when Jasper came back into the room. "What did Alice say?"
"She'll be home soon and then we'll talk." After baking cookies, Alice had left the house to do some Christmas shopping. Her mood wouldn't be too good now, because her latest vision and the talk on the phone with Jasper made her come home earlier than she had actually planned.
"She thinks you're out of your mind, doesn't she?" Maddie questioned and laughed when he slumped into an armchair and groaned.
"You can put it that way, yes," he answered vaguely and leaned back.
No award for Maddie, haha! Do you really get awards at school? :/)
Soooo ... what do you think? Will Alice agree? Huh?
I have an awesome idea for the next chapter, let's see if you'll like it!
REVIEW :-)
