Chapter 16
As I stepped out of my car I noticed Edward and his siblings standing across the parking lot chatting casually, but as always looking everything but casual. They all looked like super models, making me feel even more uncomfortable in my own skin, my hair dampened by the rain and my clothes directly out of the laundry day pile. I was a mess compared to the gods and goddesses across the parking lot. "Hey, Bella!", Edward called across the parking lot, waving his arms at me. "Oh hey guys", I called out and skidded over the icy parking lot to get to them. Just as I reached them I hit an icy spot and I was going down. But as if by a miracle Edward managed to grab me just I was about to fall and steadied me. "Whoa, take it easy!", he said laughing," I know nobody likes a Monday morning, but don't you think it's a bit overkill to commit suicide?" "Yeah, ice is not great for the uncoordinated", I said feeling how I was blushing. I was now not only plain and boring, I was also clumsy. "Yeah, we could tell", Emmett said bursting with laughter. "Well, I'm sure Bella didn't have to put up with all the ice and rain back in Phoenix", Rosalie said reassuringly and I loved her for it, "Your hair looks nice when it gets a bit curly by the rain, Bella." She gave me a big smile and I loved her even more.
"Well, about that, me and Edward were just here talking about how your name means beautiful in Italian. Coincidence, right?", Emmett said with a broad grin, looking as if he was going to burst out laughing, and then he nudged Edward in the side. Edward didn't look pleased by Emmett's joke, to say the very least, and if possible he turned even more pale. "You're embarrassing yourself and Edward, Emmett Cullen", Rosalie said harshly and Emmett's smile shrunk a good couple of inches, "I apologize for my boyfriend's lack of class, Bella." She turned to me. "As a matter of fact, we were talking about you. Not about your name though. We were talking about how we've been talking about going camping but we never actually get around to do it, so we figured we'd actually make it happen. It would be so cool if you'd like to join us?", she said, giving me one of her big smiles.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy… Mother Nature and I were not famous for getting along, I had always been more of an indoorsy person who enjoyed electricity and tap water and all the other comforts of modern society. And who the **** went camping in January? A masochist society? "Um… well I don't know really. Going camping at this time of year? Wouldn't it be a bit cold, I mean?" Suddenly the three of them looked like they'd just seen a ghost and I could see how Edward shot Rosalie a dark look. "Oh, no, not at all!", Rosalie started off, although not sounding very convincing, "We're all about camping in our family, we go all year round. Carlisle bought this crazy tent with heating a couple of years ago, so it never really gets cold." "Yeah, it's really high-end", Emmett added hurriedly," It's got rooms and lights and everything, it's practically a castle." Emmett and Rosalie looked at each other, as if making sure they'd gotten their stories straight. This was so weird and they were giving me the strangest vibes.
"Um, I don't know, guys. I'll have to ask Charlie about it. He's usually quite mellow, but I'd better check with him first", I said hesitantly, not at all sure if I actually wanted to go. Sure, I'd actually never gone camping and perhaps I was missing out on something? And I really did like the Cullen's and I was intrigued by the thought of getting to know them better. I still felt kind of amazed by the fact that they seemed to have singled me out from the rest of the crowd, seeming very eager for me to join them. But it was also a bit weird and I couldn't help but feel there was something going on that I hadn't quite comprehended.
"There's no pressure, whatsoever", Edward added adamantly," If you're not keen on joining us that's totally fine too. Really. I told them you might not want to come, I told them you're not big on Mother Nature." This guy just seemed to know it all. "Don't hate it 'til you've tried it though", Emmett interjected but Edward shot him a dark, dark, DARK look that seemed to shut him up. "It would be nice if you decided to join us, that's all", Rosalie said firmly, adding a smile, "You might even like it." And I actually thought I might, at least with their company. And if they had this fancy tent, and surely a lot of other stuff to make the experience less… traumatizing, then how bad could it be?
"I'll talk to Charlie, just to check. It sounds… interesting", I said and tried to muster a smile for my audience. "Awesome", Rose said and shot me a killer smile, "This will be so much fun!" "So when should I tell Charlie we're going?", I asked. And there it was again, the weirdness. They all looked at each other, as if to make sure they all were going to tell the same version of the story. "Well, we're going away this weekend to visit a couple of relatives, so it would have to be the weekend after that I suppose", Edward said. "Yeah, and we left out tent with them also, we went camping a couple of months ago so we'd better pick that stuff up too. So we can go camping, I mean", Emmett added, sounding ever so weird. "Yeah, exactly", Rose said, as to confirm his story. "Right", I said, just looking at them and wondering if I was being pranked or something. Why were they acting so weird all of a sudden?
"Okay, so I'll ask Charlie and I'll get back to you on that. Okay?"
"Sounds perfect", Rosalie said and reached out to squeeze my shoulder. Edward just stood there looking both smiley and confused, as if he couldn't quite decide on which one he was feeling. Emmett was smiling like a mad man and I couldn't quite figure out whether or not he was just happy or if the joke was on me.
