SAVE DOOMSDAY FOR ME
edward's pov
"Hey Ed, hand me that brochure again, will you?"
I tossed the folded booklet to Emmett and he caught it with just 2 of his incredibly big fingers.
It was Jasper's turn to drive his 'new' car, a dark green 1990 Toyota MR2 GT Turbo-a little something he bought from what he'd saved while working at Burger King during our short stay in New York. From our starting point in 'The Big Apple' we had a rough 7-hour trip ahead of us to Ohio and we're now down to 2 or 3 more. Emmett was in the passenger's seat and I was at the back with one earphone on.
"What's it say?" Jasper asked.
"Erm ... Hatheswood Academy. Yes, that's what it says."
"And? I'd love to hear you read."
"Good morning, gentlemen."
Carlisle literally popped out of nowhere. One moment I was alone at the back seat and the next, he was there beside me. Jasper turned the wheel unconsciously. The engine screeched and the car ended up hitting a tree. Emmett still couldn't stop screaming like a little girl. It always scares them whenever he makes appearances like that.
"Sorry about that," Carlisle apologized.
"No problem," I reassured, half-amused.
"Damn it!"
"Now now, Jasper. It's not good to swear."
"And my car?!"
"I'll find a way to fix it."
"When?"
"As soon as I can. Moving on, gentleman, Hatheswood Academy!" he clapped his hands together.
"And we left it in God's mercy for one year, just one year, and look what had happened," I grumbled.
"You know how I feel about violence, Edward-Michael. Only when necessary," he said sternly.
I looked outside the window and tried to tune him out.
How can I put this, Carlisle is kind of like our teacher. We have been training with him for at least a millenium now, in a place you probably all know as 'Heaven'. Emmett, Jasper, and I are members of the Elite Forces, classmates, but more than that, we have developed an eternal bond of friendship and of brotherhood.
"We could not have just marched in there last year when demons were present on campus," he continued.
"Demons?" Emmett freaked. "We're headed for a demon-infested school?!"
Carlisle sighed. "Yes. Last year it was but I truly doubt that they linger in a place for more than a year."
"Wait a minute, is this the same school where Hell was unleashed, in a sense?" Jasper asked in sudden realization.
Sometimes I felt like I was the only one paying enough attention. They could've at least browsed through 'Good Morning America' or 'CNN' once in a while.
"We're too late," I murmured under my breath.
"I can't say we're not," Carlisle replied with his voice as leveled as usual. "The student population hit below the belt this year. The task is simple-make some minor improvements but don't go beyond that. We'll simply do some cleaning up and leave as soon as the job's done."
"We?" I cocked my head up.
"Yes," he agreed. "I'm Professor Carlisle Cullen this year."
bella's pov
I tried to look at the wet slippery streets on both sides before crossing it-just as normal humans should.
After all, that's what you get when you live with them for quite a length of time.
Their ways just rub off on you-silly practices, unneccessary precautions.
If I get hit by a truck, I won't die.
But that would certainly kill the driver of heart failure.
My sisters are back in Hatheswood. Alice caught some kind of human flu which is a weakness demon undercovers share. As Madame Esmecell had mentioned, when taking on human form, chances are you catch all things humans normally catch-sickness and all. It's only been 2 years since Rosalie and Alice and I graduated-and graduation means leaving a place you call 'Hell' to take on missions on Earth. I just wonder what we will be catching next.
I finally made it way back to the campus lobby. There were only about 5 students max in the campus. Others are still back home probably, most of them are not coming back after last year's party we threw-if you know what I mean, and the very little few we sent back to 'The Father'. The past months when we were suppose to be back home was difficult for all three of us.
The entire 13th century ruins-turned-school was deserted and I chuckled under my breath.
"Hey there, Alice. How are you feeling?"
"Terrible. As usual," she muttered and blew her nose off while tucked in under the antique green sheets of her four-poster.
Room 24 was the exact same room we stayed in last year. The place where we not only planned our unearthly sinister plots together-there are more to demons than being evil (especially teenage ones)-we were also forced to do homeworks and projects here. In this four-sided wall, three four-poster beds, one bathroom of a room we share.
"I got you those fruits you wanted-apples, mandarins, grapes ... and I got this instant hot lemon tea mix for you," I said and put down the brown grocery bag on her bedside table.
"Let me guess. From that Yorkie's shop again?!" she managed to sit up and give me a good scrutinizing look-disregarding her flaming red nose.
"Yes," I sighed on the edge of my bed. "Wait a minute, how did you know?"
"You hate the mall because it reminds you of shopping-which you despise above all else. And only Yorkie's shop brings these weird but cool Asian stuffs to Costabeca."
Costabeca is the littlest town in Ohio where Hatheswood stands hidden. It's so small, you cannot even find it in the map and records say very little of it.
"See? You even admit to that!" I teased.
"Huh!" Alice smiled slyly and threw the lemon tea box at my direction. "Next thing you know, my best demon pal is speaking Chinese!"
emmett's pov
"Cos-costa-beca?!"
"Emmett, that was beautiful," Jasper pretended to wipe the tears off his eyes.
After what seemed to me like an eternity, longer than the never ending battle between good and evil, the 'G' dude and Luke-or you can call them God and Lucifer, I found the sign that said 'Welcome to Costabeca, Ohio'. Finally! I was too tired of Jasper's mockery about my reading. Easy for him to say. He grew too accustomed to it. He embraced this like a whole new cultural experience. He even got a job at Burger King! But I have no right to blame him for this new obsession. The human ways are indeed very interesting, their ways of living day-to-day, it's entirely foreign but at the same time, fascinating.
"What time is it already?" Edward asked from the back seat.
"A quarter to 9. We should be there 15 minutes from now," Carlisle answered.
"May I borrow the brochure, Ems?" Jasper asked.
I handed it to him stubbornly and looked away to the peaceful little town outside my window.
"You look horrible. An overgrown grown-up man crossing his arms like a little girl who was refused of a Barbie doll," he continued to tease.
"Shut up, dude!" I snapped.
"Whoah whoah, chill Ems," Edward said and leaned forward.
I sighed. "I know. I'm cool. I'm the angel of love, gratitude, and tolerance. I am in full control."
"Where'd you learn that from?" Jasper asked-amused.
"Chanting really does help, doesn't it? I read it from a self-help book I picked up in NY. Gave it to Emmett, though," Carlisle chuckled.
"I'm impressed!" Jasper quipped.
"You should be," I said smugly.
Jasper rounded up a corner. His mood was obviously way beyond my limit. He was singing along the songs in the radio and made Carlisle sing with him, too. Lucky for Edward, he had his Ipod on. Hatheswood Academy was exactly how the brochure described it. It was surrounded by big trees and some of them towered the towers of the school. There was a rectangular marble that was labeled 'Hatheswood Academy' in a simple silver lettering. More trees lined as we drove straight to the 13th century building. We reached to the clearing and Jasper parked not far from the entrance to the main building.
"Some party," Edward shut the car's door and eyed on the headless golden male statue that stood in the fountain.
"Did the demons do that?" I wondered.
Jasper whistled in awe and locked all the doors.
"I'm sure they didn't," Carlisle mumbled and led us to the entrance.
"Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Philip Dwyer, head janitor here-if there is such a thing," the fat old man with a heavy white mustache laughed at his own joke. "May I help you?"
"Yes. I'm Carlisle Cullen and these are my nephews Emmett McCarty, Jasper Whitlock, and Edward Masen," Carlisle replied and shook the man's hand.
He transferred his mop to his other hand in his haste.
"Hello there lads. New students this year?"
"Yep," I returned his pleasantries. "My uncle is a new teacher here also."
Jasper and Edward winced at the term but tried to keep a straight face after that.
"Well then, good to have you all here. Welcome to Hatheswood Academy. I thought I would never see new faces ever again in here."
"Really? How come?" Carlisle was good at concealing his true motives.
"Well, er-," Philip scratched the back of his neck. "Things were very very bad last year."
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Sure but I hope I won't be scaring you too much," he chuckled.
"Nah. I'm just worried about the boys," Carlisle mused. "You three should get your baggages from the trunk."
Edward nodded once and strode off to lead us back to the car.
"Man, I wanted to hear the story!" I complained.
He just laughed at me and Jasper joined him.
"You can get our keys and eavesdrop a little bit," he suggested.
"Sure."
I pretended not to see Carlisle and Philip talking in the corner in hushed tones. I walked as slowly as I could and tried to catch some words. All I got was 'Joanne' and 'elevator' and it made no sense. Carlisle shot me a look and I hurried to the sleepy corner. There were office windows on either sides and I hurried to the one labelled 'Information'.
I asked the odd-looking man where I could get the keys to my room and Edward's and Jasper's. He said I could get it in the guard house which was in the other side of the hallway.
"Hey there, guard!" I greeted.
A cheery chubby-looking fellow grinned widely. "Hello son. I'm Charlie. New here?"
"Yes. Hey, I was wondering if I could get my room key here?"
"I do need some valid ID," he said and made a face.
"No problem. One sec," I told him and dug under my pocket.
"Rosalie Hale," a girl's breezy voice said next to me.
I looked up and saw the most beautiful blonde girl I've ever seen. For a human, she was so pretty that she encompassed the beauties of the angels in Heaven. And believe me, I've seen them all.
"Hey. I'm Emmett," I greeted her.
She turned her head to my direction, nodded a little and then looked away swiftly.
"Here you go, Miss Hale," the guard said and handed her the key.
Room G24. Got to remember that one.
She gave me one last look and walked away.
"I'll uh ... see you later then!" I waved awkwardly.
rosalie's pov
I wonder what that boy was looking at.
He was new.
Didn't see him last year.
Let me think, curly brown hair, hot body, adorable face-no, he doesn't ring a bell.
This cold is really killing me. I must've caught whatever Alice has. Flu, I think? The combination of cough and cold and some more strange human sickness like stomachache and headache and dizziness and fever. How very inconvenient.
"Rosalie Hale," a woman breathed behind me.
I turned to find my petite brunette teacher smiling widely at me.
"Good morning, dear," she said and her voice didn't sound like a breath anymore. Just a normal, very deceiving late 20's woman's voice.
"Good morning, Esme," I replied casually.
She followed me up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
"I still prefer Esmecell, though. If only I could've used that," she grimaced. "I mean, not everyone studies Demonology here, anyway. It would make no difference."
"Should I call you Madame Esmecell, then? Just as I did for the past millenium?"
"No. I suppose Miss Platt should do. And Esme if I'm in a good mood."
There's this thing about living with mortals. You make up a new name. We chose names closest to the ones we had already. I picked Rosalie-which is closest to Roshalbriri. Alicrihim picked Alice and Bella didn't even need to change hers. Not fair. Hale, Brandon, and Swan came in a little later.
I allowed a soft laugh.
"How are you feeling? Is the cold getting any better?"
"I'm running down a flu, I think," I frowned.
"Oh. I'm very sorry about that. I did warn you about all this," she reminded lightly.
"Yeah, you did."
She sighed.
"Hey, Esme. There's a new kid in school. Didn't expect anyone new this year."
"Really?" she asked-amazed. "I didn't, too. That's why I applied as a teacher!"
"No way!" I squealed.
"Yes way!"
"So that's why you mentioned a family name. Flat? Fat? What was that again?"
"It's Platt. Miss Platt," she sniffed. "I'll see you later, Roshalbriri."
"See you, Madame Esmecell," and I watched her go.
I inserted the key through Room 24's knob and it seemed to me like Bella was already inside. Or Alice could just be talking to herself again.
"Guys? It's me," I called.
There came a sound of a sprint and Bella smiled at me, "Hey Rosalie."
"Hey. Listen, did you get-"
My nose itched and I unintentionally sneezed in front of Bella.
"Oops."
"Don't sweat it, Rose. I made hot tea for Alice. You can have mine. I'll make another one," she said and wrinkled her nose jokingly.
"Thanks."
I waited for Bella to come back inside the room from the bathroom where the electric heater was and then I asked them all to be seated on their beds. Alice sat up from hers and Bella's back faced the window. I sat on my bed nearest to the door with the cup of lemon tea on my hand.
"What is it, Rose?" Alice asked with her nose stuffed under a tissue paper.
"There's a new student in the campus," I tried to shrug but it came out as if I let out something that's been bothering me badly.
"Wow," Bella sighed.
"Yeah, I know."
"How did he or she look like?" Alice asked again and sipped from her cup.
"A he. Well-" if I hadn't held on to my tongue, I would've blurted out how cute the new kid was. Stupid mortal emotions. "-you know. Normal. As human as can be."