6. First

I woke up to the smell of pancakes and Alice snoring.

I quietly got out of my bed, attempting not to wake Alice up. She was in the top bunk, but I was sure she would still hear the bed squeak if I moved.

The bunk beds were white, and both of us had a light green blanket and black sheets. There were two dressers, and an empty toy box in the corner. Carlisle said that he would fill it by Christmas, but I could tell he wasn't sure if that was possible.

I wandered into the kitchen where I found Carlisle making pancakes and reading from a think book. It had bones on the cover

"Hey Edward! You're awake early"

I stared at him, still unwilling to talk. He shifted, uncomfortable in his chair

"Do you like blueberries in your pancakes?"

I smiled and nodded.

The morning continued uneventfully. Carlisle packed our lunches and helped us get dressed. He attempted to do Alice's hair, and he tried to move my hair to cover the stitches. The bald spot was gone, but my hair was still shorter on one side of my head.

The subway was busier this morning. People kept on looking at us, but instead of annoyance they seemed to take pity on us. I could sense that they knew we were orphans.

The school was bigger than I expected. Children ran around on the playground equipment and seemed unaware of the sorrow that was behind everyones eyes.

We continued to walk to a large classroom with full length windows. Inside I could see toys, tables, play doh, and a woman hanging something up in the cubbies. She looked up and waved at us, and pointed us in the way of the door.

"Good morning Carlisle" The woman said,

"Good morning Esme," Carlisle said. He looked at her and then looked away, like he was embarrassed about something.

"And this must be Alice and Edward. My name is Mrs. Everson and I will be your teacher"

Mrs. Everson smiled warmly at us, and I couldn't help but smile back. She was the only one who had not looked at us with pity all day.

Carlisle hugged us goodbye as the other students began to fill the room. The teacher's assistance helped Alice and I sit on the carpet. Some of the students asked us who we were, and I was glad Alice could talk enough for two people. She was so good at pretending everything was okay when nothing was.

"Good morning class" Mrs. Everson said

"Good morning Mrs. Everson" everyone said in unison

"We have two more students joining us this year. This is Mary Alice Brandon and Edward Masen."

20 curious eyes looked at us.

"Hi, I'm Alice!" Alice said cheerfully, completely comfortable, "This is Edward. He doesn't like to talk. I like princesses, dinosaurs, and books"

"Why do you have a cast on your leg?" a boy with blond hair asked

"Oh, that's because we were in the plane crash. We were in the building and our parents died and we got hurt. But it's okay cause a guy named Carlisle let us come live with him"

I stared at her in disbelief. How was she so okay with this? Didn't she miss her parents too? How could she talk about so… casually?

"My daddy said that the government did it and that is was-"

"Okay everyone!" Mrs. Everson interrupted, "Let's all be friendly to Alice and Edward"

The morning went by in a blur. We read "The very hungry caterpillar", sang good morning songs, and then we each had to fill out a letter in the morning message. Alice had to write the letter A, and I had to write the letter E.

I got to sit next to Alice the whole morning, and nobody made me talk. During recess Mrs. Everson let us stay inside with her because we couldn't move without help. We were playing dinosaurs when Mrs. Everson got a phone call.

"Hello?" She asked

"Oh hey Carlisle….. Yes they are both doing well…. They are both staying inside with me today since Alice isn't very good on her crutches and Edward can't use his wheelchair….. Yes of course I can watch them until 5pm, I have to do some lesson planning anyways…. No, no no! You cannot pay me for watching them…. Just text me when you are here and I will come and let you in… I will. Have a good day" She snapped the phone shut.

"Your.. um…" Mrs Everson stopped herself

"Carlisle" Alice said

Mrs. Everson smiled, "Yes, you Carlisle. He has a big test tomorrow and he is going to stay at the library to study with his friends, and the three of us will play here. Does that sound okay?"

Alice smiled and nodded

"Do either of you have allergies? I will get us a snack for after school"

"Edward is allergic to peanuts and we are both vegan"

Mrs. Everson spun around, "Vegan? What do you two eat then?"

"Lot's of food! My mommy used to work with Edward's daddy and she was friends with his mom and they would share food… um… the things that say how to make it"

"Recipes" Mrs. Everson laughed, "I will find us some fruits and veggies"

The rest of the day passed in the same way. We had P.E, choir, and centres. There was going to be a Christmas concert in December with treats and music. The music teacher thought I was absent minded, but really I just wanted to play her piano in the corner.

Mrs. Everson sat with me during centres. I poked the play doh with my finger and made a face. It was sticky. She smirked at me and rolled my sleeves up, as well as her.

She touched the playdoh, but I started at her arms. They were full of purple marks.

As she was talking, I placed my fingers over the long strips of purple. Someone bigger than me had given them to her…

She abruptly pulled her sleeves back down and looked at me sheepishly. She looked scared, but I couldn;t figure out how she would have got them, unless someone gave them to her.

"I'm okay sweetheart," she said, "I got them from cooking"

I knew that was a lie. The lines would not be that straight if she got them from cooking, and she wouldn't be this uncomfortable if she wasn't lying to me.

I leaned in towards her and tried to hug her with my good arm. She put an arm behind me and pulled me closer.

"I am so sorry Esme!" Carlisle said and he arrived, "The university hired me to help shelf books and I needed to stay late-"

"Don't be sorry!" Mrs. Everson cut him off, "It really was not an issue. They played with toys and helped me organize the books"

Carlisle looked down, seeming embarrassed.

"Look," Mrs. Everson sighed, "It's really… remarkable what you are doing for these two kids. I don't know anyone who would be as… compassionate as you to take in two orphans"

They locked eyes, and they both seemed to lean in into each other unconsciously.

"Come over for dinner" Carlisle blurted out

"I'm sorry, what?" Mrs. Everson said in shock

"Let me make it up to you. I'm still trying to learn how to cook for these two, and um…." Carlisle looked extremely awkward.

"How about tomorrow after school?" She smiled, "I can drive them to your house and you could meet us there after you're done school"

"Really?" Carlisle smiled at her as if she had just told him he won the lottery,

"Of course" She said and winked at him.