The doorbell rang.
"Alice! How nice to see you! And Rosalie, too!" Charlie exclaimed.
"I'm sure Bella's told you - we're here for our shopping trip!" Alice chirped happily.
I grumbled to myself as I pulled on my jeans and socks. Why we absolutely had to go shopping was beyond me. I would have been perfectly content to mope around at home, waiting for Edward to come back form his hunting excursion. But Alice was Alice, and when she wanted something, it usually happened. Her excuse this time was that I needed a distraction.
"Coming!" I yelled down the stairs. Still muttering darkly, I stomped down to face them.
Charlie gave me a reproachful look when he saw me. "You know, Bells, you could be a little more cheerful to go with Alice and Rosalie. It's not every day you get to see the city."
"Yeah, well, you know." I glared at him. He knew how I felt about shopping, yet here he was, handing me over to Alice.
I walked straight past Alice and Rose, and tripped over the doorstop. Before I landed face-first in the cement, Alice caught my shoulder. "Seriously now, Bella. I know you'll enjoy this." She and Rosalie exchanged a smirk.
Fifteen minutes later, the silver Volvo pulled up in front of a big amphitheater.
"Um, Rose, I think you've driven us to the wrong place. This doesn't look like the mall..." I trailed off as I read the huge sign in front of the enclosure:
Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My! - A Close Look at Hunting Styles
I sighed. "This is supposed to make me forget about Edward being gone?"
"No, silly! It's to give you a tiny little look at the way Edward hunts! It was his idea." Alice finished smugly, knowing I wouldn't argue with that. Rosalie chuckled a bit as I contemplated my chances of escape.
"No way, Bella. I can see you trying to run off."
There went my chances.
We walked in, and picked some seats by the front.
The man started talking about the evolutionary history of lions, tigers, and bears.
"This is dull." Rosalie complained. "And I forgot my wallet."
Alice's eyes suddenly lit up, and she gave Rosalie a mischievous glance.
"There's the sales boy," she said, indicating the young guy walking a few rows behind us, carrying a box of popcorn, pretzels, and drinks. "Why don't you try to persuade him to give us something for free."
Rosalie considered it. "OK, girls. Watch and see how the master works."
She stood up and walked until she was directly in front of the boy. The poor guy took one look at her, and tripped over his own feet.
Rose sauntered towards him, resting her hands on the front of the box.
"Hey," she purred.
"H-h-h-hii!" he breathed.
"I seem to have forgotten my wallet at home. Do you think you could give me something ... free of charge?"
The guy gulped audibly. "The boss said..." He fell silent, contemplating Rosalie's golden eyes.
"The boss said...?" she prompted him.
He tried again. "The boss said...he said... he said no freebies!"
"Oh, that's just too bad! I guess I'll have to go hungry." She pulled out a devastated expression and looked directly into his grey-brown eyes.
He turned red, then white, then purple.
"No ... you can't ... that would be ... bad! That would be bad!" he gasped.
Rosalie nodded somberly.
"So bad! Here, have - have - what do you want?"
"A pretzel would be nice." Rosalie nodded wistfully at the pile of pretzels.
"A pretzel! Here's a pretzel!" The guy pulled out four pretzels and handed them to her reverentially. She took them, thanked him, and walked triumphantly to us.
"And that, girls, is how it's done."
"Bah!" Alice scoffed. "I think Bella and I could do better."
I shook my head at her vehemently.
"I propose a bet! A bet as to who can score the most stuff by the end of the night!" Alice smiled at me. I glowered back.
"We both know either you or Rose will win, Alice. So why don't I sit out?"
"I think you're underestimating your appeal, Bella." Alice sniffed. Rose nodded her agreement. "You're quite attractive, for a human, you know."
"We'll see," said Rosalie. I grimaced at her. She could be confident that she would do well.