Chapter 17
I always feel like somebody's watching me.
And I have no privacy.
Woh, I always feel like somebody's watching me.
Tell me is it just a dream?
~Somebody's Watching Me- Rockwell ft. Michael Jackson
Bella's sandwich fell from her hands and landed on the plate below. Most of the sandwich stayed together, but some of the shredded lettuce scattered off of the plate where it lay harmlessly on her desk. "Say that again?" Surprise coloring her tone. It was Monday afternoon and her lunch break was being held in her classroom. Demetri and Alice had joined her and were sitting in front of her desk in some of her students seats.
Demetri couldn't help the grin stretching across his face. "He kissed me!"
"How did that happen?" Alice asked confused. "I thought Max was straight."
"Well, after we left, I took Max to my place because he was extremely drunk and I didn't remember where he lived. When we got there, I had to practically carry him upstairs, he was so drunk." Demetri flexed his muscles and winked at the women. "It wasn't hard for me, as you can tell. But that's beside the point. I laid him on my couch and for most of the ride home he had been asleep. But when I put him on my couch, he woke and we talked a little."
"What were you talking about?" Alice asked, completely entranced by the story.
"I don't want to disclose too much. But he just seemed sad about his dating life. So I told him that any woman would be happy to date him, as he was attractive. Then he gave me a funny look and slumped forward and kissed me."
Alice squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Your first kiss with Max. Maybe they'll be many more."
"I don't know." Bella interjected. "He was drunk. Who knows if he's even going to remember the kiss."
Alice held up a finger at Bella, silencing her. "They say that anything you do drunk, you would do sober. Being drunk doesn't make magic feelings or thoughts happen."
Bella sighed and readjusted her sandwich so that the contents were no longer spilling out. "I'm not trying to be discouraging, I just don't want you to get your hopes up for nothing." Bella told Demetri honestly. "You seem like a really nice guy, and I don't want you to get hurt." Bella took a large bite of her sandwich, ending her speech.
"I'm not going to look too much into it." Demetri admitted honestly. "Even though he was drunk, it was a nice kiss." Demetri stuck a fork in his pasta and looked at Alice. "But you, tell us more about your date."
Alice swooned heavily and leaned back against her chair. "He is perfect. I think I'm in love."
"Alice! Those are big words coming from you." Bella commented, polishing off half of her sandwich. "What's got you in this love tizzy?"
Alice placed a hand over her fast beating heart and smiled sweetly at her friends. "He is just so wonderful. He makes me laugh, and I love that he's interested in hearing what I have to say." Alice paused, looking down at her shoes. "He even remembers what I say. It's such a nice feeling to have someone actually listening to you and not just letting it all go in one ear and out the other."
Bella nodded in agreement. "It is nice. So I take it you're going to see him again?"
Alice's smile fell slightly. "I want to see him again. But he's really busy." She began to frown and pushed away her half eaten lunch. "Well maybe he's not perfect. But he's everything I could ever want in a man and then some."
"Where does he work? He must work in an office if he's so busy all the time." Demetri commented after sipping his Pepsi.
"That's the funny thing. Jazz doesn't like talking about his work. He just tells me it keeps him very busy. But whenever I ask where it is, or what exactly he does, he just skirts around the subject." Alice made a face of confusion. "It's the only thing he's secretive about. Should I be worried?"
Bella didn't want to say yes, but she got a feeling in her gut that something was off about this Jazz character. "Well, if he's cheating on you or something, we will beat him up. Because that's what friends are for." Bella offered, half-joking.
"I don't want to think about something like that. It's too early in our relationship. We're not even together-together." Alice sighed dramatically. "Let's talk about something else."
"Oh!" Bella turned her attention to Demetri. "Your puppies!"
"Puppies?" Demetri looked at Bella as though she had sprouted two heads. "I don't have puppies. I'm actually more of a cat man."
"What?" Bella giggled softly. "No, I'm sorry. I meant your neighbor. They have puppies right?"
Demetri's face fell into one of disdain. "Oh, yeah. Those puppies. Why?"
"Well, Renesmee's birthday is on Saturday and I'm throwing her a puppy themed birthday party. But we only have one puppy and I would like a small batch for all the kids to play with." Bella sent Demetri a hopeful stare. "Do you think your neighbor would lend you the puppies for a couple hours? You can tell them I just want them for the party."
"Sure Bella." Demetri replied. "I'll see what I can do."
The rest of the week passed by slowly for Bella. She was excited for the party on Saturday and it mainly consumed her thoughts. She had fine tuned many details and even secured the puppies from Demetri's neighbor. It seemed like the party would be going down without a hitch, and for that she was pleased. With Edward pushed from her thoughts, the only problem Bella seemed to be having was the constant fatigue befalling her body. She chalked it up to not having enough sleep and made empty promises to herself to go to bed at a decent time. It never seemed to happen and by the time Friday rolled around, she was extremely lethargic.
During the week, she had noticed that one of her particular students had taken an interest in her. Jane, one of her top students who always turned in assignments on time, never disrupted the class and sat in the back corner often gazing out of the window with an unreadable expression on her face, had been staring at her all week. At first Bella thought it was all in her mind, as when she caught Jane starring, the girl would look away casually. Then Bella thought that it wasn't unusual as she was a teacher and it was important that her students paid attention to her. But what caused her to feel unsettled was the times she wasn't lecturing but sitting behind her desk, grading papers and she would scan the class, making sure everyone was doing their work and she would see her. Brown eyes would lock onto sharp grays and Bella would feel a cold run through her, forcing herself to turn away.
Jane happened to be in Bella's final class, so on Friday afternoon when the bell rang to dismiss the class and end the school day, Bella couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped through her lips. She would forget about Jane as she was going to have a full weekend. As her students were collecting their things and racing for the door leading to their freedom, Bella began to put away her papers that wouldn't be graded until Sunday at the earliest. She was starting to become swamped with work and she contemplated throwing out all the assignments and just giving everyone an A. When her desk was neat and tidy, she looked up and found all of her students gone, except for one. Jane stood in front of her desk quietly, staring at her peculiarly.
Bella couldn't help feeling startled but managed to not show that her student had scared her. Instead she returned the stare with a questioning one of her own. "Is there something I can help you with Jane?" A mild tension was beginning to build and Bella felt her arms starting to erupt with goosebumps.
Jane looked down at Bella then slowly averted her gaze until it rested on the books in her hands. "You look familiar." She told Bella softly. Her voice was like a secret on a breeze. Bella figured it was because the girl rarely spoke, and she began to wonder if Jane talked at home or was just as silent.
"Well I am your teacher." Bella responded, not really sure where Jane was going with this conversation.
The girl flinched as though Bella's words had stuck her. "That's not what I mean." She spoke with a bite to her words and Bella realized that Jane thought she was insulting her.
"How do I look familiar? I don't understand."
Jane returned her gaze to Bella and her forehead crinkled as she thought about something. "Have you ever been on TV?"
Bella laughed at the thought. "It is not my dream, nor will it ever, to be on TV." Bella stood from her desk and felt her head whirl with lightheadedness. She had to brace her hands against her desk to keep from falling and managed to steady herself within a few moments.
"Are you ok Mrs. Black?" Jane asked, voice taking on that of someone who is amused.
"I'm fine Jane." Bella looked at her student strangely. "But if you have no questions pertaining to the class, I think we should be about our way." Bella smiled to soften her words. "It's Friday after all. I'm sure you have some fun weekend plans."
Jane turned her head away from her teacher and her pale brown hair whipped through the air. "No, I don't." She pushed some strands of hair behind her ear and without another word, exited the classroom.
Bella didn't know what to think of the encounter but pushed it to the back burner of her thoughts. Jane might not have had plans for the weekend, but Bella did and she was eager for the weekend to start.
The English teacher grabbed her things and left her classroom, making sure to turn off the light. On her way to Alice's classroom, she ran into Demetri who was looking melancholy. "Hey, what's wrong?" Bella couldn't keep the concern from her voice and if her hands weren't full, she would've patted Demetri on the back or given him a hug.
"It's Max." The tall man responded, shoulders sagging with his words. "He's been avoiding me all week."
"Are you sure?"
Demetri nodded, eyes downcast. "I usually see him in the mornings but whenever we come into contact, he avoids eye contact or walks the other way. Obviously he hates me."
They had reached Alice's classroom and the short woman had heard the tail end of the conversation. "I don't think he hates you." She chimed upon their entry. "He might just be embarrassed he kissed you."
"Really?" Demetri seemed to like this idea. "I was starting to think that he figured out I'm gay and hates me now."
Alice and Bella exchanged amused glances. "I don't even know how you could come up with that conclusion." Alice told him seriously. "There's no way he knows you like men. He kissed you remember."
"That's true." Demetri seemed pacified by her words and even managed to turn his frown into a smile. "If anything, he probably thinks that I think he's gay!"
"Yeah that's a possibility." Alice couldn't help snickering at the idea as the opposite was true. "Just give it time. He can't avoid you forever."
"We could always do something again and invite him. He seems to enjoy our outings." Bella suggested hopefully. If she were being honest with herself, it was she who enjoyed doing things with her coworkers. After finding out that Demetri didn't in fact like her more than a friend, she felt more comfortable around the man and it seemed to solidify their friendship. Also Jacob was back and she enjoyed bringing him to things involving her coworkers as he seemed to hit it off with Max right from the start.
"Seems like a good idea." Demetri pondered the idea while Alice finished gathering her things.
Bella always liked Alice's classroom as it was very colorful and always smelled like paint and silicone. Students artwork hung throughout the room and the floor was stained with various paints. A permanent reminder that this was in fact an art room. The art room seemed to be the only room in the entire building with proper ventilation and more than two windows. Bella sometimes wondered if she had become the wrong teacher. Art teachers always looked like they were having the most fun. But Bella found that she wasn't that creative and found an affinity for books that Alice did not have. While Alice didn't have to regularly test her students, most of the kids taking art classes didn't take it seriously, leaving Alice extremely frustrated as she was very passionate about her assignments. Everyone knew that the worst students took art classes and were the most rowdy and hard to control. Whenever Bella thought about this, it gave her comfort in being a English teacher.
"Renesmee's party is tomorrow." Bella told Alice and Demetri as they walked into the dry parking lot. It was a rare sight to not see everything covered in a layer of water. But true to the weatherman's report, it had not rained for a few days and the sun had even made an appearance, allowing most of the residents of Forks to break out the shorts and flip flops.
"I will bring the puppies around one." Demetri told Bella. "The owner wants them back by 7. I hope that's enough time."
Bella nodded gratefully. "That's plenty of time."
"Cool. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Demetri waved goodbye to his friends then walked off to find his car parked at the other end of the lot.
"So many kids." Alice shuddered at the thought then unlocked her car so they could get inside. "Kids are annoying."
Bella bumped Alice playfully with her shoulder. "Hey, one day you might have kids. You'll change your tune."
Alice made a face. "I don't think so Bella." She suddenly turned to Bella and looked hopeful.
Bella sighed, understanding Alice's wordless look. "Yes I will bring you leftovers."
A/N: So this chapter was pretty tame. Which means the next chapter most likely won't be. Stay tuned to find out why!