Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
For the rest of the school day I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't pay attention to what any of my teachers tried to teach me in any of my classes. I felt so out of place from the rest of the world, only going with the flow because of how my utter lack of observance from the outside world. I could only think about what I was told. The latter half of my school day had me in a total trance, only thinking about one thing.
I was so out of touch with my surroundings that I became even more clumsy than normal. I didn't think that was possible, but it happened; ask the kid I fell on at some point during the day. After tripping for what seemed like the hundredth time, I finally started to force myself to calm down and focus on at least not walking into anything before I really hurt someone or myself for that matter.
It's not that big of a deal, I only have detention, wait…it's not detention. Ms. Denali didn't say I had detention, only that she wanted to meet with me after class. So does that mean I don't have to go since it's only a meeting? If I don't go today, would she give me a detention for not showing up? I guess I should go; I don't want to risk giving her any reasons to give me a detention.
These thoughts took up so much space in my head that I couldn't think about, or pay attention to anything else. So when Matt said, or maybe asked, something about seeing a movie, I almost agreed with what he said. Luckily some dormant self-preservation instincts activated and I hastily told him no. It was after he walked away with both a hurt and confused expression did I realize I had actually called him Mike instead of Matt. Oh well, they're the same in my book.
When the final bell rang, releasing us from school, I grudgingly made my way to Ms. Denali's classroom. Even with dragging my feet the whole way, I found myself leaning against the wall next to her opened door no more than five minutes after the bell. I know she's in there and I know she knows I'm here. I just need a moment to gather myself before I go see what she wants.
I couldn't help but mentally scoff at myself and how pathetic I seem. I willingly gave myself over to a red eyed vampire that literally hunted me for my blood. I had spent nearly a year with a coven of vampires that, though they never acted out on it, (except once and I still feel it wasn't his fault and don't blame him at all) they all were still affected to a degree by my blood. I also hung out with a pack of young and sometimes very grumpy werewolves. Any of them, vampires or werewolves, could have lost control of themselves and hurt or even kill me. Yet here I am afraid to go into a classroom with one vegetarian vampire. Clearly she has to have some good control or she wouldn't be teaching by herself where if she slips no one could stop her.
"Are you going to come in; or would you prefer a more secluded place for us to get together?" Ms. Denali asked from inside the classroom.
My face went red from the not so clean thoughts that went through my head because of her words. Without further delay and because I can't think of any other distractions or excuses, I finally entered the classroom.
Ms. Denali, in her usual fashion, was sitting at her desk with her eyes glued to me. I immediately went to go sit in one of the seats of the empty classroom, but Ms. Denali had other plans and stopped me.
"I have a seat up here with me you will use. This way it will be easier for me to talk to you and to help you." Ms. Denali said while gesturing to a chair next to hers that wasn't in class before when I was here earlier.
I slowly took my seat, which was right next to her. As I sat down, I made sure I pulled the seat away from her so that she is in the middle of the desk and I am at the corner. There still isn't that much space between us, but it's better than both of us sitting in the middle. Which there's really no room for anyways.
"So um, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked when I was finally sitting.
There's no point in delaying this conversation with pointless conversation. I really want this talk over with and get on with what I wanted to do today: get a job. Or at least look for one.
"Are you in a hurry to leave me already?" Ms. Denali said with a pout.
The tone she used and the pout combined, actually made me regret what I said. She sounded so sad, like what I said really hurt her. In the back of my mind I registered the fact that I felt my heart ache a little at the thought of me making her sad, but it was easily ignored.
"Well, it's not that I want to leave per se, it's just I have plans to do stuff today that I wanted to get done. I didn't mean to come off as rude or anything; it's just –" I would have continued rambling off an apology, but her laughing cut me off. Now it was my turn to pout because of her laughing at me.
"Calm down Bella. I was just teasing you; although, it is good to know how flustered you get about leaving me. It's also nice to see your pout is almost as cute as your blush. It's good to know I have a very high chance of keeping you all to myself." Ms. Denali said, making me blush. "Now, the reason I wanted to speak with you is because of your homework or lack thereof actually. Why didn't you do your homework?" Ms. Denali asked.
Okay, so far this conversation is normal…except for her teasing me, but the actual topic is normal. Lots of teachers take their students aside and ask them why they don't do their homework. As far as Ms. Denali knows, I just didn't do it. So I guess she's giving me a chance to explain myself.
"Well, I did do it. I was just in a hurry to leave this morning and forgot to put in my backpack both last night and this morning. Hence, I don't have it now." I answered.
"Hmm, so if I have you do yesterday's homework right now, you would be able to without a problem? Since you did it yesterday it should be somewhat fresh in your memory right?" Ms. Denali said.
She wants me to work on my math homework in front of her? Ya, no. I hate math, well not really hate as much as I'm not good at it and it annoys me because of that. I don't want to have to do any more math homework (really just homework in general) than I really have to.
"Can I just turn it in tomorrow?" I asked, mentally crossing my fingers.
"Do you know the purpose of homework?" Ms. Denali asked, not bothering to answer me.
"To make sure we know the material." I said with a sigh in a monotone voice.
I have had several teachers in the past that have lectured the importance of doing homework. I really hope she doesn't give me a speech about it.
"Exactly, so who's to say that you really didn't do the homework and you simply needed more time to do it? So I just want you to finish the homework from yesterday to make sure you understand it."
Her reasoning seems perfectly fine for a teacher. I'm sure teachers do this all the time with their students. Again, she's just acting like a normal teacher that wants to help her students, not singling me out from everyone else. If she wanted to single me out, she would have brought this up in front of the whole class. So why do I have a feeling that she has an ulterior motive that I can't see?
"I guess I can, it's just I actually had plans for today. I'm afraid this might take too long." I said.
This is my last attempt to get out of this. She technically didn't say this is a detention, so I really don't have to stay if I don't want to. I already talked to her about the homework like she wanted, so there's no reason for me to stay.
"Oh? Well, I don't want to hold you from your plans." Ms. Denali said as her eyes darkened a little, like she was mad that I had plans. "I want to make sure you understand this so you can get a good grade. I promise not to keep you from whom ever you have plans with for too long." Ms. Denali practically growled the last part.
If I didn't know better, I would say she's jealous about me hanging out with someone else. Is that why she looks like she's a little mad? But that's not right…right? I mean, she's my teacher, granted a vampire teacher, but still, teachers don't care about who their students see or don't see.
"Actually, I don't have places with anyone. I was going to try and find a job."
I don't know why I felt the need to her that. But something told me to tell her that. When I did, her eyes were once again a bright gold. So I guess I made her happy, which somehow made me happy. Why would I care if she's happy or not though? I don't want to sound like a jerk, but she's a stranger to me, just a teacher. I shouldn't care.
Edward used to say I'm always perceptive and am able to read between the lines to figure things out quickly. But with what's happening between Ms. Denali and I, and I'm sure something is happening, I'm choosing ignorance for once.
"Well, it that's all you have to do I can help your search, that way you won't have to worry about staying here with me for too long." Ms. Denali said.
"How so?" I asked, genuinely curious as to what she means.
"My sister, Kate, owns a little bookstore. It's doing absolutely horrible, but she keeps it open to give her something to take up her time. I can call her and have her hire you." Ms. Denali offered, seemingly really happy with her idea.
"I-I don't think teachers are allowed to get their students jobs." I said.
Fate seems really determined to keep vampires in my life. It's almost like its' setting me up for heart ache. All I want is to forget all about the Cullen's. I know never will since I love them; they are…or were my family. I want to move on from and forget about Edward before finding a new boyfriend. If I don't, I know I will always compare any potential boyfriend to Edward. What human can compare to a vampire? None, absolutely none.
So I need to not have a constant reminder of him and his family so I can move on. Having a vampire teacher is bad enough; I don't want to work for one also.
"Those are human laws, none of which I have to follow. I would be the one to get in trouble from the school anyways, not you. Plus with today's economy and this being a small town, how likely do you think it is that you'll find a job?" Ms. Denali reasoned with me.
She did make some good points. But I will don't want to spend any more time with vampires that I already am.
"What if you do get in trouble? Shouldn't you care about that?" I asked.
The smirk Ms. Denali always wears grew a little bigger when I asked her my question.
"You care if I get in trouble?" Ms. Denali asked with an emotion I can't place.
"Well, I wouldn't say that, I just don't want to be the reason you get in trouble." I said quickly.
I saw her grin falter just a little, but it was back in place so quickly that I'm not sure if I really saw it fall in the first place or not.
"Well, to ease your concern of me, I really don't care what happens. The only laws I care about are the vampire laws and I have never and will never break those." Ms. Denali said confidently.
That didn't ease my concern at all though. One of the main reasons Rosalie hated me is because I'm human and I know their secret. She never said what the law actually is, none of them ever did, but I know it is a really bad idea to tell a human their secret and let them live. Shouldn't Ms. Denali and her…family or coven…be worried about me knowing?
"Since you now have a guaranteed job, you can stay here with me and work on your homework without worrying about the time." Ms. Denali said.
Any complaints I came up with about not getting a job on my own, about my teacher giving me a job with her sister and about just not wanting to re-do my homework fell on deaf ears. In Ms. Denali's defense, I didn't really put up much of a fight because well, she is a teacher and you can't argue with a teacher unless you want a detention. Which I really don't want, so I didn't try that hard.
Halfway through the homework I found myself silently thanking Ms. Denali for her help. Just because I had done the homework it did not mean, at all, that I really understood what I was doing. I would never tell her that, but I still felt it.
Whenever I got stuck on a problem, Ms. Denali would explain it to me without me asking her to. I guess she could tell when I needed help, which was nice since I never had to ask. With her help, I was able to understand the homework a little better.
It was also halfway through the work that I realized how close the two of us managed to get. Our chairs were so close to each other that they were practically almost touching. The chairs weren't the only ones almost touching. I'm partially hunched over my paper because of all the concentration I was giving it. Ms. Denali was leaning in slightly over the desk as well to look over my work as I did it. She has one of her arms draped over the back of my chair and was holding onto it; almost like she was keeping the chair in place. We're so close that the cold from her body is causing my body to get goose bumps.
We've been here doing this for about an hour, I personally think that's more than enough time to stay after school while not in detention or some other random after school club. Maybe she'll agree and finally let me leave?
I leaned back in my chair, forgetting her arm is there so I ended up leaving against it, and put my pencil down. She didn't move her arm or say anything about it, so I just stayed leaning against as I sat straight in the chair. I purposefully pulled out my phone to check the time, even though the clock for the classroom was directly in front of me on the opposite wall. I was a little shocked to see I had a text. I'll have to look at it later, right now I want to get out of this classroom.
"So, I think I've finally got this." I said, trying to sound non-chalant about the comment.
"Maybe, but doing a few more exercises with me won't hurt; practice makes perfect." Ms. Denali said, once again sending my mind to the gutter and making me blush.
I couldn't help the heavy, somewhat defeated, sigh that left my mouth. I don't think Ms. Denali will ever let me leave. She was so intent on getting me to stay; I doubt she would let me go after barely an hour. I guess she picked up on what I was thinking because before I could respond to her, she started talking again.
"But it has been an hour, which is about how long a detention is anyways. I suppose I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Just let me give you my sister's phone number so you can call her later. When you do call her asking for a job, I guarantee she'll give you one." Ms. Denali said.
"Finally!" I said as I collapsed onto my bed at home.
Once Ms. Denali had told me I could go, it took me all of five minutes to leave. It only took that long because Ms. Denali took her time writing down her sister's number for me. She also made me promise to call for the job.
At first I really didn't want to. I only made the promise while telling myself I never said when I would call and what exactly about the job I would ask about. I was fully intent on calling a few weeks later and only asking what the job entailed and doing or asking nothing else. That way I kept my promise and didn't have to work with Ms. Denali's sister.
But I changed my mind as soon as I found how hard getting a job really would be. After I left the school I stopped at a couple places I thought would hire someone at least for part time. I went to a grocery store, a couple clothing stores and even an electronics store, but not one of them was hiring. And none of them could tell me when they would be.
So almost two hours after school let out, I'm finally home. But because it is two hours later than normal and I still have to do my homework, do something that resembles a chore and also make some non-fast food dinner, any chance of sitting and being lazy is out of the question. Instead I get to go straight to work so I don't have to stay up that late and get no sleep.
I guess I should get used to that though for when I get a job at Ms. Denali's sisters' book store. It's the only job I can find, so I'll have to take it if I want to start saving to be able to afford to save my truck from its eventual death.
I'll do homework first since I can at least sit down someplace or lay on the floor to do so. But before I start, I should read the text I got earlier when I was still at school. I'm surprised I forgot about it until now because I'm really curious as to who it is and what they want. Not that many people know my phone number and even less have used it. I haven't gotten a text or call from anyone since I left Forks.
I fished my phone from my pocket, sat up on my bed and leaned against its headboard. I opened my phone and read the text.
-I've got some awesome news, call me when you can
-JB