I Do Not Own Twilight
On the other side of the world, a seventeen-year-old American girl with long chestnut hair and big sparkling eyes to match was pressing her ear to her door straining to hear the discussion between her mother and step-father.
"Renee, Bella is seventeen! She has a car, straight A's, and a job. She is the most responsible teenager I have ever met. Why can't you come with me to spring training and let her stay home by herself?" Phil the girl's step-father whined to his much older wife.
"Phil, I can't leave my daughter to be alone for two months. That isn't fair to her."
"Well, it isn't fair to me either. I married you so I could be with you. Not so I would have to beat off all the young female fans by myself."
Bella groaned inwardly. Using the threat of younger female fans against her mother who was already insecure about being older than her minor league baseball player husband made her very angry.
She continued listening to the argument until she heard her mother say, "Phil, I would rather be with you there then with her here but I am still her mother and I have obligations." It was at this statement that Bella picked up her cell phone and dialed a number she didn't use frequently enough.
"Chief Swan speaking."
Bella took a breath, "Dad?" She hesitated and wondered if he would be upset, she called while he was at work.
"Bella? Hey kiddo. I haven't heard from ya in over two weeks. How are you? What's goin' on kiddo?"
She took a deep breath and smiled as she released it, "well I was actually calling for a favor."
Her father chuckled, "Need some money, huh?"
"No, nothing like that. I just was thinking that I missed you and since I am almost done with junior year and just have one year before I am off for college," she paused, "I wondered if I could come and live with you and finish school in Forks?"
There was a very long pause, "Dad?" Bella asked the tears already beginning to form in her eyes at the thought of being reject by her father.
"Bella? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, Dad I am."
"I would love for you to move here? What will your mother say?"
Bella laughed with the relief of knowing someone would be happy to live with her, "I have already discussed it with her and she is fine with it. I think I wouldn't be coming for another month probably about the time Phil goes to spring training. Is that okay?"
"That's wonderful, Bella! That'll give me plenty of time to get things worked out at the school and fix up the house some. I'm so excited. I didn't think you would ever want to live here."
While the two continued to make plans Bella logged into her computer and bought a plane ticket to Forks scheduled to leave the next month. She looked up the school website and found a course guide to determine what she would need to take to graduate on time from Forks High. She sighed internally when she saw the school only offered one foreign language, Spanish. She sighed and her father, she routinely called Charlie, decided that was the cue to get off the phone. After exchanging their farewells Bella begin to search for a language solution.
Bella was practically fluent in Spanish having grown up in Phoenix, Arizona. She knew whatever entry level Spanish classes this school had to offer wouldn't be at the level she would need and she was more interested in the other languages she had been studying anyway.
Ten years prior, Renee had decided the two of them needed to learn a foreign language. Bella chose Italian and Renee chose French. Which meant that Bella studied both languages because Renee wouldn't work on something alone. Bella would label the house with vocabulary words and quiz her mother in order to help Renee reach her goal. The end result was Renee quit learning either language in order to learn macramé and Bella continued learning French and Italian online. Once in high school she took both languages as electives.
She now knew a plethora of vocabulary words, sentences, phrases, and could read and write fluently in both languages. However, reading and writing were very different than actually speaking a language. She knew she would need some program which would allow her to use her skills conversationally. With this in mind she began to research.
She came across Polyglot a website which paired language learners together for conversations. She would be paired with someone whose primary language would be Italian or French who wanted to learn English. They would schedule time, log into the website, and video chat with each other rotating between languages so both parties would get to have a conversation.
After reading the reviews on the website as well as on independent sites Bella decided this was exactly the thing she was looking for. She signed up, filled out countless forms detailing hobbies and interests, and was happily waiting to be paired up with a partner to converse with.
After all this was done Bella stood and went back to her door to determine if the argument was still going on about Renee going to spring training. It was not so she gathered her courage, the confirmations of the plans she had already made, and headed outside of her room to discuss her plans with Phil and Renee.
"Mom, Phil," she called as she walked into the room. "I've been thinking about this for a while. I think I would like to go live with Dad."
Renee put the cactus gardening magazine down, a new hobby she recently acquired, and looked up at her daughter shocked, "What? You want to move in with Charlie?" She asked incredulously her eyebrows reaching to her hairline in shock and disbelief.
"Yes, I know that the Jacksonville team has been looking at Phil and I'm not interested in moving someplace to possibly change midyear if he were to get traded again. I also have been wanting to spend time with Charlie. I have never really gotten to know him and I think it is time."
Renee grabbed Phil's arm, "We have to discuss this Bella and we need to see if Charlie is even interested. He might not want to deal with a teenage girl in the house."
Bella took a deep breath and tried not to roll her eyes at her mother. "I have already spoken to Charlie and he has agreed. I booked my flight to leave next month. I've looked at the school and already signed up with Polyglot to continue my French and Italian lessons."
"Bella you can't just make decisions like that without discussing it with us first. We are your parents. Tell her Phil." Renee looked to her husband helplessly.
Phil's eyes twinkled and he tried not to show the excitement he was feeling on his face. "Well actually Renee it seems like that might be the best choice for Bella. I mean a father is important in a girl's life." He tried to look thoughtful but he came across to both Bella and Renee as if he was trying to get rid of the girl.
Renee huffed and folded her arms around her chest. "Well, I think I should get to see all the fun things you will be doing senior year. Prom, homecomings, senior skip days, all those last times I will miss if you are in Fork," she practically spat the name of the small town out.
Phil put his arms around his wife. "Renee be reasonable. Bella wouldn't do that stuff anyway. She doesn't even hang out with kids her age. Who would possibly take her to prom when she is so mousy and it isn't like she can dance? All she does is read long boring books." He looked to Bella completely mystified as to why anyone would want to hang around the pretty brunette.
Internally, Bella's heart broke at Phil's words. She knew he was trying to get Renee to go with him but she also knew he believed what he said. Truthfully, she agreed with him. Who would be interested in a boring girl who loved classic literature or spent her time in some other academic pursuit like learning languages? Outwardly, Bella smiled, "See Phil gets me. I wouldn't do any of that stuff anyway. You and I both know that."
Phil smiled and Renee sighed, "I guess you're right. You really are middle aged." She sat and thought for a few moments. "I guess you will have to tell Phil which banks you have set up automatic bill pay with."
Bella smiled and handed Phil a file folder, "here is all the financial stuff I take care of. We are caught up for this month but everything is in that folder with an explanation of what needs to be paid, when, and how."
Phil scratched his head, "Well, I didn't know I would have to take this on?"
"I can't do it from Forks, Phil," Bella smiled.
She started to head back to her room but heard Phil begin whining about all this new responsibility he would have to take on if Bella was gone when she heard Renee exclaim, "Hey, whose gonna cook?"