Chapter 4
A disturbing text from Phil greeted me the next morning. He might have found a way to get information on the Cullens.
An old friend of his knew of another coven, similar to the Cullens, living in Alaska. Phil believed two covens so alike, in both size and dietary habits, would have to know of each other. It wasn't a sure thing, and would take time, but he was working on helping me.
I did not like that. He was risking too much. These covens were bound to have friends themselves. Even if he didn't go directly to them, asking around about them was risky.
I texted him back, telling him I could handle things on this end. And warning him to lay off. He needed to protect Renee, and this was not the way to do it.
I just hoped he listened.
I planned to avoid Edward. He had some issue with me, no matter what it was or what caused it, he'd already noticed me. That was bad, I needed them to ignore me as thoroughly as they did everyone else.
I looked for him as I entered the parking lot, and through my first five classes. So far, so good.
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I made my way to the lunch room, taking note of the path I used to get there since it had been vampire sighting free.
Paying for lunch, I carefully looked toward the vampires as I carried my lunch tray to Angela's table. Surprisingly, there were only four inhuman beauties sitting at their table, and they were all staring at me.
Edward wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Does that mean he skipped today?
I tried to think of reasons to have my biology class transferred, as I made my way to Angela's table and sat in the only open seat-right next to Mike Newton. The second I got comfortable in my seat he reached over, and grabbed my shoulder.
Uncomfortable with his touch, I flinched away. Turning to face him, I subtly shifted positions so I wasn't within easy reach. Mike was delighted to have my attention, smiling seductively before he launched into an interrogation.
He wanted to know why a deaf girl had a cell phone, how I knew things like when the doorbell was ringing, and a dozen other questions.
I explained as best I could, but he still seemed amazed that a non-hearing person could do almost everything a hearing person could with just a little help. I think he expected me to be utterly dependent on other people.
I gleefully told him that was not the case. I explained that my cell phone had a program that translated what the caller said, into text that I read. Then I simply spoke to them and they heard my voice, like a normal phone call.
I explained that in each room of the house there were special lights attached to the walls. Those lights reacted to auditory cues, and cast a red, blue or green glow depending on what sensor had been activated. Red for the doorbell, blue for the phone, and green for everything else, like the oven timer or the microwave.
Mike was a bigger idiot than I'd originally thought. Once I'd satisfied his curiosity he started trying to impress me with stories of his athletic prowess.
As he talked, I thought of funny ways to tell him how ignorant I thought he was.
Do you ever wonder what life would be like, if you had gotten enough oxygen at birth?
Are your parents siblings?
Did you just wake up one morning and decide to be a douche?
I had no intention of saying them, but thinking about what I would say distracted me. The sad thing was that I didn't care. He sat there spewing lies, that definitely didn't impress me, and I was content to tune in every few minutes and nod. He talked, I ignored him and was content, as long as I didn't have to speak to him.
I've had a problem with speaking ever since I lost my hearing, but never like this. When talking to Mike I had to force every word past my lips. Like I was physically incapable of stringing more than two words together without the help of three thousand cc's of Thorazine.
Mike, however, was extremely talkative so I was spared that torment. As long as I gazed in his general direction he was happy. I ate my lunch and stared at the wall beside his head.
Every once in awhile, I would glance toward the Cullen table, only to see that Edward never made an appearance.
When lunch was over, Mike stalked me to my next class, chatting away. He didn't seem to remember that I was deaf and had to be directly facing him to know what he was saying.
I didn't remind him of it either. I was content to let him talk. At least that way I didn't have to pretend an interest in the nonsense that came out of him mouth.
When we reached the biology classroom, Mike followed me inside.
I winced slightly, it was too late for him to intend to hang around in order to talk some more. That meant he was supposed to be here.
I hadn't even known we shared a class. The discovery did not make me happy. I consciously acknowledged the fact that I really didn't have a reason to dislike him so much. Well, other than the fact that he was annoying.
And yet, I can't help but picture him unconscious.
Still ignoring Mike, I held my breath as I looked toward my lab table expecting to see 'him' sitting there like yesterday.
He wasn't.
I sighed, relieved, as I sat down. Thankfully, Mr. Banner was just beginning his lecture, which meant Mike left and sat at his own table.
Digging out my translator, I placed it on the table, wondering if I was responsible for Edward's absence. Was his reaction to me, the reason he wasn't here? Was that the reason his entire family stared at me today? Regardless, the plan remains the same. Edward's weird behavior is nothing more than a possible complication.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I forced myself to focus on Mr. Banner's lesson.
The instant class was over Mike appeared at my table, and I discovered that we also had gym together.
I squelched the rising irritation, determined not to lose my patience despite another unpleasant surprise, courtesy of Mike Newton.
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After that my days settled into something of a normal routine. I went to school, always dreading seeing Edward again. I would make it to lunch, see that he wasn't there and relax. I even got used to the weird food, though I was never brave enough to eat any of it.
The other vampires never looked in my direction again. And, after a few days, I got used to avoiding them the few times I crossed their paths on the way to class. I relaxed, no longer afraid I'd be attacked and forced to defend myself. And by doing so, endanger my family.
Mike always walked me from the cafeteria to biology and then from biology to gym. My feelings for Mike went from annoyance, to extreme dislike ,and then disgust. I never allowed my thoughts to show, I was careful to tolerate his presence with a polite expression.
After school was over, I went home, cooked dinner for Charlie, and went to bed.
Forks once more deviated from Phoenix in a way that unsettled me. I had a lot of free time. In Phoenix there was always something to keep me busy, the schoolwork was more time consuming, I took care of mom, and I even had a part time job. Here, I had nothing.
I'd even stooped to asking Charlie about a job. He swore everything was already taken, but offered to pay me out of his pocket for the house work I did. I'd felt guilty for asking after that and let the subject drop.
So I was stuck. Once school was over it rarely took thirty minutes to complete the assigned homework, and I was left with more free time than I knew how to handle. I usually found myself reading, calling Renee or hanging out with Jake. I spent a lot of time irritating Jake. Pretty soon they were going to ban me from stepping foot on the reservation.
I was also forbidden from exercising my telekinesis. Phil had banned me from using it in Forks, because of the vampire infestation. I had to make a special trip out of town and find someplace very secluded to practice.
If I wanted to stay under the radar here, I had to act as if I was being watched, every second of every day. No matter where I was, or so Phil said. Personally, I thought that was a little extreme. But the alternative was enough to convince me that it was better to be safe than sorry.