The boat house was peaceful that afternoon. But that was Old Bill's opinion. To the others who did not call the boat house their sanctuary, it was rather lonely and deserted. Bill Harding loves the stillness of the river, feeling the boat he relaxes on bobbing up and down, or the sudden water splashes by fishes catching insects floating on the surface of the water. It doesn't matter if the weather was gloomy. As long as no one disturbs him in the boat house, he is happy. After fighting in the Vietnam War and awarded with a Purple Heart, Old Bill wants nothing but being in peace on his favorite boat.

That also includes today. Today, Old Bill decides to give the Psalms a chance. Reverend John has long suggested to him, since he has a passion for poetry, to have some time with the Psalms. But he always prefers real poetry, written by the likes of Wordsworth, Robert Frost and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. But never Shakespeare, his works were always too deep and there were rumors that he was in fact gay!

"It's just some lousy lines from a king to his God!" he said.

"From a great king to his great God." Defended rev. John. "Give it a try, Old Bill. Trust me, you'll like it."

So, right now, Old Bill took Rev. John's advice. He lay back on his book and took out the Bible from his bag. He flipped to Psalms 78 and began to read.

Give ear, O my people, to my law

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Hmm…not bad.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old:

Which we have heard and known,

And our fathers have told us.

A sudden movement caught the corner of Old Bill's quick eye. He twisted his head around.

"Who's there?" silenced.

Another movement to his left. This time, he got up.

"Show yourself I tell you!"

He felt a shadow passed behind him and he jerk around.

"You're not scaring me!"

Then, a man appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He caught Old Bill by surprise and he fall backwards. The man's hair was blonde, long, tied back to the a pony-tail. He sneered at him.

"Hello, Old Bill."

Then two others showed up like he did, sudden and swift. It was a woman with red-hair and makeup so heavy that Old Bill might mistaken her for a whore. The other one was a black man with a look that made him shiver for a bit.

"What do you want?" demanded him.

"Yes…that's what they always ask us." The blonde replied.

"If you want money, it's all in the drawer inside. Help yourself."

The woman gave a loud cackle. "Why do they always think we want money? Look at us, old dog; do we look like we need money?"

Old Bill remained silenced.

"We are hungry, Old Bill." The blonde man said.

"Then help yourself in the kitchen."

"No. We want something else. Something you have in your veins."

Old Bill gulped. He was afraid now. The blonde man glanced down and saw the Holy Bible.

"Do you believe it God, Old Bill?"

"Ye…yes."

"Then it's time to meet your creator." Then lunge forward at his neck.

Old Bill felt a sharp pain then he was at peace.

Bella pushed the door open. She saw Mike waving at her and she waved back. Beside her seat, Edward was writing something on a book.

"Hey."

"Hey back to yourself."

She smiled. "What's that?"

"Oh…just something I like to do during my free time."

Bella peered over the scrap book. It was poetry.

"Wow…you write poetry. You never told me you can write poetry."

"Everyone can write poetry. It just depends whether it's good or not."

"Is yours good?"

Edward paused before answering. "I dunno. Would you like to be the judge of it?"

Bella took the book. "It's my pleasure."

Yvonne was the pulse of Carl's life,

He found the woman very pretty,

Until the day she became his wife,

Absence makes the heart grow Lily.

Bella let out a small laugh.

Edward grinned. "Why…? You don't like it?"

"No….it's good. It's just so funny."

"Funny? I thought it was rather sad. For Yvonne, I mean."

"Yeah…Carl was mean." She looked at him. He has the most amazing smile.

"So what do you think for the first stanza?"

"Hmm….very good. Did you learn this by yourself?"

He shook his head. "No, I learn a lot from Old Bill."

"Bill Harding? The boatman?"

He chuckled. "Is that what you call him?"

"No…it's just what the others call him."

Edward wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful today but Mrs. Brown came in and had already begin lesson.

Leah lay down her plan while Mr. Hanson, her literature teacher was explaining about William Shakespeare. She knows everything about the great man, from his last work down to his favorite food. She was fairly excited. It will be the first time she draws attention to herself even though that was exactly what her mentor told her not to. But whatever Alex had done, it was inexcusable. So when the bell rang for the last period, Leah quickly got up and tried to talk to him before he could walk out of the class.

"Hey…Alex!" she called out.

Alex turned around. "Yeah?"

"I…err…I need some help with Shakespeare."

"Oh…Leah, actually I don't know anything about that man, except that he writes poetry."

"But Mr. Hanson said that if I need any help, I'd ask you." she wanted to get to the point when everyone left the class. Ugh! Why isn't Edward leaving?!

"Then he must have said the wrong person's name because I definitely am the last person you wanna ask about Shakespeare. Hey…try asking Angela, okay. I gotta go."

"Wait…Alex, I…err…could you just tell me the assignment given by Mr. Hanson? I didn't paid full attention during the class, so…" finally Edward walk out of the class and she changed to her original motive. "Alright, I'll cut the crap. You're cheating on Anne, aren't you?" her voice was deeper and definitely colder.

"Whoa…Leah. Chill girl." Alex said, obviously surprised by her change of personality.

"Aren't you?"

"Look Leah, you're new here. So there may be some things you don't get, ok? So I suggest you just try not to look for trouble."

"I get that if you're making out with another girl automatically means that you're cheating on Anne."

"What's your problem?" Alex demanded. He was clearly trying not to be intimidated by the new girl.

"It's wrong. That's my problem!"

"Leah…don't stick your pretty nose into other people's business." And he turned around. But that wasn't Leah's plan. He wasn't going to get away that easily.

Outside the class, Edward was wondering what Leah was going to talk to Alex about. He tried not to listen to their conversation. He doesn't want to have anything to do with Leah. He already couldn't read Bella's mind, which was bad enough. Now the last thing he wants to do is to get involve with another strange girl. Besides, she's holding something back, something Edward doesn't want to know. But at the end, curiosity overwhelmed him.

"I'll expose you." Just three words were enough to make Alex stopped at his tracks.

"Don't you dare, you little bitch!"

Leah was not even slightly disturbed by his vulgar remarks. She looked straight into his eyes and whisper loudly enough for him to hear.

"Watch me."

The next thing Edward did was running back into the class because he knew Alex was going to hurt Leah.

Alex couldn't control his anger. He will not be taunted by a mere whim of a girl. Not to mention someone new. He was going to teach her a lesson, a lesson she will not forget. He leapt forward to strike her. But someone grabbed his arm before it could touch Leah's cheek.

"Edward!" he yelled out in pain because not only did Edward grab his arm but he also gave it a twist.

"Yes. That's my name." he replied coolly. And he let go of him.

"This is none of your business!" Alex shot back at him, massaging his sprained wrist.

"Unfortunately for you, Leah is my friend, so it IS my bussiness. Now just back off!"

Alex decided to lay back. It's not usual that any Cullen make a scene. Who knows how far Edward could go if he continues to fight back. So he bolted out of the class.

Edward wanted to turn towards Leah to ask her how is she but when he looked back, she was gone.