Assignment

Three weeks. I'd been living my new life for three weeks now. In my opinion everything was going great. Esme and I had built up a really good relationship. She'd arrive every morning at eight and stay after I got home till about half four. She even stayed for dinner once. Charlie seemed to have a soft spot for her as well.

Then there was Angela. I never spoke much at school and when I did it was with Angela and occasionally Edward. Angela was really nice to me and never expected anything from me. We didn't talk often but it was nice to sit together in the silence and read a book. I got the chance to introduce her to my 'brother' when she came back to mine to help with some homework. We were becoming close friends and I trusted her.

It turned out that I sat next to Edward Cullen in Health Class as well as Biology. He'd always greet me when I'd sit down and ask how I was doing. With a basic answer of fine, he'd go onto ask about my little Edward. His voice was always soft and gentle when he spoke to me. I couldn't trust him. Not yet. That didn't mean I couldn't be his friend though.

He looked as handsome as always as I took my seat beside. My favourite crooked smile adorned his face that was reserved for me. Despite hating the subject, I loved Health class because I got to sit with Edward.

"Hello Bella."

"Hi."

"How are you doing today Bella?"

"I'm fine."

Placing my books on the table, I gave him my regular small smile.

"Is little Ed alright?"

"Yes. He's as beautiful as always. His gums are getting worse though. Your father said that it was because his first tooth is nearly ready to come through."

My hands started to shake a little as I thought about the pain my baby had been in recently. His pale fingers reached out and lay over my hand. In response, I let out a long breath that I'd been holding.

"I'm sure he'll be okay Bella."

One look into his eyes and I could see his sincerity. He'd only met my son once but seemed to care and worry about him too.

"Thanks."

Before he spoke again, Mr Grays started the lesson. I'd particularly hated Health class last Monday as we did teen pregnancy. Most of the class complained about everything Mr Grays had said, saying that being a parent would be easy. I knew otherwise.

Mrs Cope wheeled a trolley into the room and everyone leaned forward, trying to see what was in the boxes. Only Edward and I didn't seem to care all that much. We all watched Mrs Cope leave the room and close the door behind her.

"So class, last week you all said that it would be easy to care for a baby at your age. I thought you should all see for yourselves what it's like to be young parents. I've paired you up and assigned you a simulator baby each. You'll have to care for the baby for a month between you. How you do that is up to you. Each baby has a monitor so at the end of the assignment I'll see how well you've done."

The class was divided in their reaction. Some, including Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory, were excited about it. Others looked sceptical. Me on the other hand I was stressed out. I already had my little Ed to look after but now another baby. And I was supposed to do this with a partner.

"Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton."

I watched them both stand and walk to the front of the class. Mr Grays handed them a plastic baby dressed in a pink romper.

"Meet Jenny."

They took their baby and sat together as Mr Grays continued down the list. Lauren ended up with a guy named Callum who she looked down upon. He's smart, in AP Math and wears glasses. He's cute but not that good looking. She doesn't like him for it.

It got to the point where there were no more babies in the boxes and Edward and I were the only ones left. Mr Grays handed out a pamphlet to each pair before coming over to us. He pulled a chair up to our desk and sat down.

"I'm afraid when I planned this lesson you weren't here Bella. I know that Edward volunteers at the hospital, so I wasn't going to make you do the assignment if you volunteered every day for the next month."

"I can do that."

"That's all well and good but as I understand it, you Bella take on a full time parent role when you aren't at school with your brother."

I nodded to him and clutched my hands under the desk.

"With your permission Bella, would you pair up with Edward and you care for your brother together? Anything you don't want to do you don't have to as this isn't a simulation."

"I guess. It could be nice but only if Edward wants to."

His hand took mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'd like to give it a go. I'll step away if Bella wants me to, but I think it would be good for the both of us to at least try."

Whilst he spoke he stared at me and our eyes created a link. All of a sudden it was like I was seeing him for the first time. His eyes sparkled with an emotion that I hadn't seen before. I couldn't put my finger on the particular emotion, but it was a good one and made me feel warm inside.

"Okay. If you get started on that tonight or tomorrow, see how it goes and if you decide to stop at any point just let me know."

He stood up and walked to the front of the class, leaving us alone. A short silence fell over us as his hand slipped off mine.

"Are you sure you're alright with this Bella?"

"Yeah. I think it could be interesting."

Another silence fell over us. It became awkward as I started to fiddle with my fingers in a method of distraction. I watched the rest of the class fond over their babies.

"Do you want to come over to my house after school? You can bring your brother. I know that you know my mom and dad a bit, but I don't think…"

"No. I'd rather not yet. You can come to mine though. I go home after Biology, but you can come around any time you want."

"Do you think I could come with you?"

Scrunching my eyes, my voice became a whisper.

"Won't you miss class?"

"Just music. It won't make much difference. I would like to come and see little Edward."

"Sure."

The bell finally decided to ring, and I sighed rather too loudly. Edward gave me a weird look and raised one eyebrow.

"I'll see you in Biology then."

"Yeah. Bye."

I left the room as quickly as I could, the noisy world around me catching up. Everyone was loud and excited for the prospect of the next month. I was a little unsure of what was going to happen. It would be alright if I was like all of them. They didn't have a baby themselves yet thought they had the right to judge how easy it was. This assignment would test a lot of people.