Chapter Two

AN: Here's the next one. Enjoy!

"But isn't the ending inevitable?" Jack dared the class.

We all contemplated our Norton Anthologies. No one said anything.

"Are we surprised at the conclusion of the story? Did anyone think that the doctor would fail? That the girl would win in the end? That she'd keep her secret?"

I scanned through the words of William Carlos William's "The Use of Force" to find any hint of inevitability. A boy named Steven raised his hand, and Jack pointed to him. "I don't know. I didn't really think she was gonna get away with it. I mean, it's a weird thing I guess, because it really is for her own good, so I wanted the doctor to see her throat, you know?" The story told of a doctor prying open a little girl's mouth to check her throat for disease.

A girl named Sam said, "But he is way too physical with her, which makes me sympathize more with the little girl. I mean—she's got balls, you know? She's a stubborn little thing."

"Yes," Jack says, smiling. "But in the end, she has to give in. Were you satisfied with that?"

Silence.

"Was anyone left feeling disturbed in any way by the story?"

Small nods all around.

"Why?"

After a moment of blank stares around the room, I put my hand up. "I feel like there's something really disturbing about the way the doctor regards the little girl. It doesn't sound like a professional handling a child."

"Interesting," Jack said. "Why not?"

"He keeps remarking about her beauty, and it sort of seems like he's enjoying hurting her a little bit," I said.

"Ah," Jack said, nodding. "So then how does our shift in sympathy to the little girl affect the suspense of the story? How does it make you think she may prevail?"

A quiet boy in the corner whispered, "We want her to win, so we convince ourselves that it could happen."

"Good, Aaron," Jack encouraged. "Give me more."

"We want to believe that people who haven't done anything wrong will come out on top in the end, but usually it's the other way around."

"Nice guys finish last, right?" Jack nodded. My mouth tightened at that. I didn't like that proposition. "Well, we're almost out of time. Keep thinking about this stuff for Friday. I want to talk more about inevitability. What has to happen in a story? See you then."

At first, Charlie had not been overly thrilled that I was majoring in English, seeing as it left very few specific career opportunities, but by now he was just happy that I was enjoying myself. I would worry about the job market when it was time. In the back of my mind, I knew I would most likely end up getting my certification in teaching after graduation.

"Oh!" Jack pointed to me before I had an opportunity to leave the room. "Bella, could you hang out for a second? I need to talk to you."

"Sure," I said and shrugged. As the class filed out, Jack walked over to me. He was one of the younger professors I'd had. He wore a white button-down shirt with a brown blazer and jeans.

"So, I was wondering if you could do me a little favor," he said.

"Oh, okay."

"There's a perspective student coming in tomorrow. He's a really bright kid. Straight A's all through high school, and nice, too. I spoke with him on the phone."

"Great," I said, confused about what this had to do with me.

"Yeah. So, sometimes we let perspective students sort of shadow students as they go to class, to help them get a feel for the campus, etc."

"You want me to show him around?"

"Well, I wouldn't ask. Normally, people volunteer for things like this, but he says he knows you. He, sort of, requested you. You went to the same high school apparently."

"Oh," I said, surprised. "That's cool. I went to a really small high school. What's his name?"

"Edward," Jack said with perfect precision. "Edward Cullen." He stared. "Does that sound familiar?"

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