Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all Twilight characters.

Bella

"What are prime numbers?" I asked.

Several hands shot up in the air and the enthusiasm of the kids lifted my spirits. I pointed at a raised hand in random. A little girl with a head full of brown hair spoke up.

"They are numbers that can be divided only by itself and one."

"Well done Natalie. See, how far you have come along from Day 1?"

The little girl smiled shyly and nodded.

"Now shall I give you some homework for the weekend?" I asked, already knowing what their answer would be.

All of them shook their heads in unison and a few brave ones even shouted out "No!" in bored voices.

"Sorry, I have to give you some otherwise you'll forget everything that I've taught you today. Now, tell me Jackson, can you be a pilot if you don't learn math?" I asked the little pale-looking boy.

"What? I can't be a pilot if I don't learn this stuff?" he asked, horrified.

I shook my head.

"Man! Then I guess you could give us some work to do. Besides I get bored too on weekends," he mumbled half-heartedly.

I smiled. These kids had become a major part of my life now and I couldn't even imagine my life without them anymore.

After class was over, Sister Charlotte instructed me to use one of the empty class-rooms for practicing for the concert. She said Emmett had been practicing there too. This intensive had been taken so that the teachers spend time together and get to know each other well.

I pushed the door of the class-room open, flicked on the lights and heaved a sigh. As far as I was concerned, I would like to get to know only one teacher and God Knows the person in question has no intention of getting to know me. May be this is why he backed out from performing at the concert. He probably knew he would have to spend practice sessions with me, Emmett and Rosalie, and being the unsocial person that he is, he simply refused to play the violin. Seriously, the man was so full of himself, I thought to myself as I placed my iPod on a desk and connected the speakers with it. I took out the lyrics sheet, turned on the iPod and started singing along the song.

"Imagine me and you, I do, to think about you day and night, it's only right

To think about the girl you love, and hold her tight, so happy together."

"A fan of the oldies, are we?" A loud booming voice said.

Emmett McCarty walked into the room with a huge smirk on his face and a case shaped like a guitar hanging from his massive shoulder.

"Hi, Emmett. Good to see you. I was just practicing for the concert…" I trailed off.

"Then don't let me interrupt you," he said, seeming horror-struck at this and raising his hands in defence. I laughed out loud.

"Oh no, you didn't. Are you here for practice too?" I asked gesturing at his guitar.

"No, I was sent here to dance along with your song," he said before laughing out really loudly at his own joke.

I immediately decided that I was going to like this person.

I practiced my song for about an hour, while Emmett sat there listening, and once in a while fixing a string or two on his guitar. After that I figured that I should let him practice.

"There, I am done for today," I said, packing up my things.

"What? You are not going to listen to me playing?" he asked with a pout on his face and I instantly agreed.

Emmett was really good in playing. At first he started off with an unknown melody. The song began slowly, picking up its pace as it continued. At the end, the tune got so complex, yet so unbelievably beautiful that it was hard to believe that I was hearing someone play right in front of me.

I was thinking of applauding when it ended, but then I heard someone else clapping.

I whipped my head around to see Edward standing at the doorway, wearing a white striped shirt, a black coat and black pants. He probably just got back from work. It's funny, I had not wondered until that moment about what he did for a living.

"Emmett, that was truly wonderful. The children are going to love that," Edward said.

Emmett showed his teeth, obviously pleased with himself and said, "Thanks man for letting me do this. I would do anything to make the kids happy."

At that moment, Edward noticed me sitting next to Emmett.

"Hello Miss Swan. Your practice sessions are going on well, I gather?" he asked.

"Please, call me Bella, Mr. Cullen. Yes, I was just practicing my song a while ago."

"It's Edward. I really appreciate what you are doing for the kids too, Bella."

As usual, my ever intelligent mind could not form a single reply to that so I just nodded.

"By the way, how's that wound of yours?" he asked.

At this, Emmett looked at me questioningly with his eyebrows raised and I started hoping that Edward hadn't seen his reaction.

"Oh it's so much better. Thank you."

"Well, I just came to inform you two that the concert will be held on two weeks from now, on a Saturday. Are both of you going to be free?"

"Yes, definitely," I replied.

"Sure thing," Emmett said.

The next moment, I knew Edward would be leaving so I took the opportunity.

"Um, Edward? Why don't you sit here and listen to Emmett play some more of his songs?"

There. I had just gone and proved in front of the entire world, okay just in front of two people, how much desperate I am. Seriously, how much more pathetic could I be? I realised that I badly needed some therapy. However I wondered what a shrink could possibly do to help me keep my mouth shut.

"Mmm," he checked his watch and said, "Yeah, I think I will." And then he went to the corner of the room, grabbed a chair and settled right between Emmett and me.

Emmett started strumming a new song, and as much talented as he was, I couldn't pay attention to his song, when Edward was sitting so close to me. Fortunately, both Edward and Emmett were in the same line of my vision, so even if I ogled at him, it would appear as if I was watching Emmett play. Edward had some dark circles under his eyes and I immediately started wondering what could have kept him up at night. With the now familiar feeling of jealousy I realised it could have been a woman. However I quickly dismissed that idea because, truthfully my blood boiled at imagining him with another woman. May be he worked late. Yes, that must be it. His eyes look tired and he seemed kind of exhausted. Having him this close and looking so vulnerable made my heart ache and I longed to do something to lessen his burden, or whatever it was that kept him so busy.

I was brought back to reality when I heard Edward clapping again. I quickly followed his lead, applauding enthusiastically and pretending that I had attentively listened to the entire song and was not drooling over the person next to me.

"Emmett, that was absolutely brilliant! The children will be thrilled!" I squealed eagerly.

"That's nice of you Bella. To tell the truth, you have got some major talent inside you as well," he blinked mischievously.

I blushed scarlet at this and I went an even deeper shade of red when I saw Edward looking at me.

"Then I will be looking forward to hear you sing too," Edward said, with a small smile hanging from the corner of his lips.

And my heart exploded into a million little pieces, like fireworks on a Guy Fawke's night. It also did a little happy dance.

"Shoot!" Emmett jumped off from his chair. "I have to prepare dinner for the kids. Thank you for listening to my songs. You both are awesome! See you later." With that, he disappeared in a gush of wind.

That left me and Edward standing in the room, alone, all by ourselves. Talk about things being awkward.

We sat on our respective chairs for a few minutes after Emmett left. When I feel really uncomfortable, I start to fumble with whatever object I held in my hands. This time, it was the buckle of my hand bag.

Along with my fumbling actions I was also tapping my foot lightly on the floor out of nervousness and after a while I started fidgeting in my seat a little. With all of these activities going on, I suddenly lost control of my handbag and it slid from my lap on to the floor with a light thud. Oh, trust me to make a complete fool of myself whenever I am within a 3 metre radius of this person.

I quickly bent down to retrieve my bag, but like a lightning, Edward's long pale hands snatched it even before my knees even touched the ground. Still crouching on the floor, I looked up at him while he knelt in front of me, our faces a few inches apart, while I kept breathing heavily.

His enchanting green eyes were looking at me and for the first time, I didn't hesitate looking back at them. His dark circles seemed clearer from such a short distance, his hair a little ruffled and unlike me he was breathing steadily. He had that same serious look on his face, and a few seconds later he dropped his eyes at the floor and his expression changed.

"You read Brönte?" he asked, picking up the book that had slid out of my bag.

"Yes, she's one of my favourites." I said, gesturing the copy of 'Wuthering Heights' in his hand.

He looked up at me curiously.

"But, if I had to choose, I would pick Austen every time," I said.

Suddenly, he smiled.

It was so beautiful. We were still kneeling before each other with little distance between us, and at that moment Edward smiled at something I said. I made him smile. Oh, I needed a few seconds alone to perform a happy dance myself.

His entire gloomy features shifted to reveal this completely new face of him. His full pink lips stretched out and I could spot some really tiny dimples on either cheek of his. He closed his eyes for second and when he reopened them he started shaking his head.

"Have I said something funny?" I croaked out when I was able to find my voice.

"No I think it's a bit strange for a person working at a fashion magazine to read classic novels, that's all," he replied.

"And why is that?" I inquired.

"Gosh, I was under the influence that women these days read magazines like, Glamour or Cosmopolitan instead of age-old novels, at least those who work in fashion magazines," he said with a now serious face. He was no longer smiling. He seemed a bit surprised.

"Oh, the reason I am working there is not because I am obsessed with fashion or something. I enjoy both reading and writing which is why I took a job at a magazine, before I finished my post graduate's degree."

"What subject are you mastering on?" he asked.

"Applied Chemistry. So you see, I am working there just for the time being so that I can apply for a better job after I have graduated" I replied.

"But you still could a decent enough job with an under-grad degree, isn't it?"

"Yes, I could but I wanted to start working when I am qualified enough for a certain job and the ones that could be handled with a bachelor's degree don't tempt me much. I know I must sound like a snob but I like to dream big," I said with a smile.

He stared at me long enough to start make me wonder if there was something stuck on my face. I was on the verge of asking him this when he spoke again.

"I didn't mean to intrude in your personal life with all these questions. Please pardon me if I have made you uncomfortable," he looked genuinely embarrassed.

"Oh no, not at all. As a matter of fact I was wondering if it would be okay for me to ask what you do," I said hesitantly.

"I work at an Advertising Agency and have been working there since the last seven years. My boss is an extremely nice person who treats me as his son. I really enjoy working there," he said.

After a few seconds I realised that our entire conversation had taken place while we were still kneeling on the ground. I was so engrossed in our talk that I hadn't notice the slight pain on my knees until that moment. At that moment, I took a look at my watch and immediately stood up. It was almost eight o'clock and my parents were probably worrying about my whereabouts. After I was stood on the floor, I started bending my knees in and out to relieve that pain.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry I have to leave right now."

And without another word, I flew out of the room.