Chapter Two

Everyone was gone. That meant that I should have been on the phone to Renee, which I wasn't. Coward. Instead, I had run myself a bath, sinking into the freesia scented froth blissfully, trying to ignore the nervous energy running through my system. Logically, I knew she would be delighted at my change of heart. It wasn't that simple though- she would think I was running away from heartbreak, or closeting myself from the world due to some kind of identity crisis. She had an extreme tendency to romanticise things, which I hated- hence my lack of contact with her.

I lay there until the water was cold, my fingers and toes wrinkled like prunes, and sighed. I would have to do it now.

She picked up instantly, as I knew she would. 'Bella!' she shrieked in excitement.

'Hey, Ren… Mom' I said, almost forgetting her preferences.

I could hear the smile in her voice, 'Honey, how are you? What's new? Did you meet a boy? How's Jasper?' God, she won't give up on the idea of Jazz and I.

I laughed, 'Jazz is fine, Mom. Still admiring Alice from afar. I'm fine too… I was actually wanting to talk to you about something'

'What is it?' She was probably quivering with anticipation down in Phoenix.

'I, uh, I had a uhm..'

'Had a what, honey?'

'I had a rethink about the whole boarding school thing, that we talked about before I moved up here'

'And?!'

'I think I've found one I like. Alice's parents are actually considering sending her away too, so I'd have a friend there, which would make it easier.'

'Oh, honey! I'm so happy. I knew you'd come around. Where did you say it was?'

'I, uh, didn't. It's in London… well, just outside'

'London, England?!' I love how my mom talks in exclamation marks.

'Yeah' I replied cautiously, 'Would that be okay?'

'Well… I guess. I mean, it's a big pond you're putting between us, that's all. Who's gonna check on you?'

'Alice has relatives there, you know I told you she was English? You could contact them if you wanted' I crossed my fingers at this point.

'Yeah, I could' she sounded more confident now. 'Anything you want to tell me about why England is suddenly the place to be?'

'Yes, mom.' I had to be sarcastic to get through this. 'Prince William and I, we met through Alice and I just can't forget him, I mean… wow.'

She sighed at my tone, then giggled 'Well, you could meet him. You never know, honey. Buckingham Palace is in London.'

We hung up soon after, Renee having talked the financial side of things through with Phil. I gave her Alice's mom's email address, so that she could contact her English relatives, and it was sorted. It was slightly surreal, knowing that in a month or so I could be at the school Alice had described as 'like some kind of fairytale' only the night before.

Charlie was slightly harder to convince. I had reheated some of his buddy Harry Clearwater's fish fry, knowing it was his favourite food, and set the coffee table in the living room so that he could have a tv dinner, which I think softened him to the point of acceptance that evening. He asked a lot of questions about the school- I ended up showing him the website, and letting him explore, unable to cope with the police interrogation I was being subjected to.

I heard him on the phone to Renee that night, talking through finances and holidays, and that was when I knew I had won.

My GPA was almost flawless, as were Alice, Jazz and Rose's, and as the 'sixth form' admissions were judged on grades and references alone, we had few problems gaining admission to Tower, as we began to call it. All we had left was the long, probably not very hot summer break. We would fly directly from Seattle on the 28th August, to Heathrow, London where we would be collected by Alice's aunt, whose son Emmett also attended Tower. School commenced on the 2nd September, with everyone arriving the day before to settle into dorms and collect timetables, so we would have a few days to hang out in London first. I was unbelievably excited. It had all happened so fast, it was still dreamlike to me. One of our wild 'get out of Forks' plots had actually succeeded, spectacularly.

I spent my days with Alice, Rose and Jazz, lying on the Hales' couch, flipping through Alice's issues of Vogue and Nylon while Rose and Jazz argued their way through Car and Driver. To be honest, no one else really featured in our lives- Angela and Ben, a couple from our school, came over occasionally, but we were happy as we were, in our own cosy bubble. Weeks drifted past- in the movie version of my life, the calendar pages would float away on the breeze, over a montage of my friends and I watching tacky eighties movies, playing drinking games, cheating at monopoly and nearly burning Alice's kitchen down twice. It was glorious, despite the fact that it was, well, Forks, and the weather was crap and there was little to do.

Then, suddenly, our gorgeous summer montage stopped playing, and it was a week and a half 'til London. It was Alice, of course, who noticed this, jumping up from my bedroom floor on a particularly misty, pathetic day, announcing 'Girls! We are going shopping.' I glanced at Jasper, whose face had brightened at his apparent exclusion from her plot, and she smirked. 'And boy', she added.

'But why, Ali?' whinged Rose, who had apparently been woken by this outburst.

'It is ten days until we get on that plane to London and we have not bought a single item of clothing to wear at school yet, despite the fact that all our parents have provided ample funding for this! What are we doing, people?'

'Not shopping' I mumbled. Unfortunately, she heard me, and two minutes later I was being bundled into my own bathroom with a folded stack of clothing, chosen (of course) by Alice. My dark hair stayed as it was, tangling down my back and around my face. I slipped into the skinny jeans and laughed when I saw the tee, printed with 'Who the f*ck is Chanel?' in scribbly writing- Alice poking fun at my lack of fashionable knowledge. A black blazer with rolled sleeves and quirky studded boots completed my look and I stepped out into my room just as Alice and Rose walked back in. Jasper had clearly changed in there, now wearing trashed jeans and a blue plaid shirt with his trademark beanie. I had to laugh- he loved that thing, and owned about eight replicas. Alice was smiling too, the same height as me in the sky-high Topshop ankle boots she'd waited six weeks of last year for, having paid shipping from Britain. Super skinny black jeans and an oversize embellished sweater matched with the beloved boots, and with Rosalie next to her in her favourite black double u-neck dress, an oversize cardi, thick tights and flat ankle boots, the scene was straight out of her latest issue of i-D. We scooted down to my garage, directed by drill sergeant Alice Brandon, and hopped into Jazz's adorable yellow Mini Cooper for the drive to Port Angeles, which held the nearest mall deemed acceptable- this, however, was just the start. Tomorrow, we were informed, would be Seattle.

The drive was short, and we passed the time singing along to the Beatles- 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was our group favourite, the trippy lyrics burned into our brains from more of these trips than could be counted. Pulling into the mall car park, Jazz barely had time to put on the handbrake and Alice was out of the car and in through the revolving doors, disappearing into a nearby store. By the time we caught her she had armfuls of clothing for us to try on, her smile wide as she explained her system. 'So, Rose, I know your favourite colour is red but I was thinking more nudes, embellishment, that kind of thing for you. Kind of Serena from Gossip Girl, 'cause you've got that whole tumbling hair, endless legs thing going on and I really think it would suit you..' she rambled as she held various wisps of chiffon and intricate beading up against Rosalie's form. Rose grabbed the things she liked, disappearing into the fitting rooms and leaving me at the pixie's mercy.

'Well, since you're, like, surgically attached to your skinny jeans and stuff already, I figured you'd be more comfortable if I just made you a bit more edgy' Alice chatters, 'But, Bella, there will be skirts and dresses. And you have to wear them. Please?' she adds as an afterthought, grey-blue eyes wide and pleading. Ugh, that girl. 'Fine, do what you think best' I resigned myself.

It wasn't too bad, actually. Kind of Alice's version of my style, if that was possible. Even the dresses were good- mostly plain American Apparel double u-necks like Rose's. Worn with big plaid or denim shirts over them and a pair of flats, I was fine. I ended up with bags of things I liked- a first for an Alice-led shopping trip. I could see myself wandering around campus in my new boyfriend blazer, skinny jeans and a tee, carrying the beat-up leather satchel I'd found in a thrift store for $6, to which Alice had attached a thick silver chain in place of the fraying strap.

Rose and Alice's new wardrobes were pretty amazing too- to be fair, Ali had really outdone herself. She was right, Rose did look like a better version of Serena van der Woodsen in her new clothes, and for herself, Ali had conjured up a kind of French, faintly dishevelled chic that we all loved.

Jasper refused to take part in this restyle, claiming that he was 'fantastic the way I am, thanks' through the laughter when Alice suggested he try a bowler hat instead of his beanie. He ended up purchasing more of his usual slouchy v-necks, knit vests and plaid shirts- 'indie boy uniform' as Rose called it. Astonishingly, I had actually enjoyed my day and as we all slouched down in the corner seat in the food hall, I was happy and relaxed. We munched away on our shared pizzas, giggling and ribbing Alice about the constant flow of Topshop parcels entering her household. For the first time we realised just how different it would be living in London-shops, food, culture… I was becoming more and more excited as we continued to speculate.