Chapter 22: Best Friends
A few weeks passed and the Volturi did not bother us again. Daisy had been going to school every day, and seemed to be enjoying it as much as her first day. Today, after three weeks of school, parents were invited to come in and speak to the teachers to see how their children had settled in.
Our appointment was at the end of the school day, and all of the kindergarten class were in the playground with the classroom helper, whilst Miss Murphy sat inside the classroom with the parents. She opened the door and a couple walked out, thanking her and going off to collect their son or daughter. Miss Murphy smiled at us, "Mr and Mrs Cullen?"
It felt weird being called that. My maiden name was Miss Brandon, and when I married Jasper I became Mrs Whitlock. Of course, we couldn't go by those names. In Forks, we'd been Miss Cullen and Mr Hale, living under the pretence that we weren't married. Now, we were Mr and Mrs Cullen, but I'd always associated those names with Carlisle and Esme, and it felt weird to be called them now.
We followed Miss Murphy into the classroom and sat down on chairs opposite her. "So, this meeting is basically for me to let you know how Daisy's getting on, and answer any questions you might have, but I like to start by asking you a question. How do you think Daisy is doing at school?"
"She's really enjoying it." Jasper said, "It's all we hear about at home!"
Miss Murphy smiled, "Yes, she's very enthusiastic. She's also very bright. Do you teach her at home?"
We couldn't give too much away here, about how Daisy was so bright because her mind grew faster than she did. I glance at Jasper, "We've always read to her, and she kind of caught on. She can read quite well on her own now. She's always been curious, asking us what words mean and how things work."
"Our father is a doctor, and he's a very clever man. She's forever asking him questions that he's more than willing to answer." Jasper continued.
"She learns a lot from her cousin too; she's in the 8th grade." I added.
"That's Renesmee, right?" Miss Murphy asked. I nodded, "Yes, Daisy talks about her a lot, they seem close."
"They've grown up living together, so they're more like sisters than cousins." I explained.
Miss Murphy smiled. It was a kind of Isn't-That-Nice smile. "Well, like I say Daisy is very intelligent for her age. She's also an incredible artist."
I smile tightly, wondering if sending Daisy to school was going to blow our secret. Maybe she was simply too intelligent and too young to hide it.
Jasper's smile is more easy, natural, "We're very proud of her."
Which is, of course, true. Before having Daisy I hadn't even known I could feel so much pride. The littlest things she did would have me smiling with awe at my child's ability. When she learnt to tie her own shoelaces, when she drew a remarkably accurate drawing of Emmett, when she helped Esme bake a cake. I didn't think anything could parallel the pride I felt in Daisy.
When the meeting was over, we went out into the school yard to find Daisy. The school day had just finished, and we were allowed to take her home. She ran over to us, a pretty blonde haired girl running next to her. "This is Ellie, she's my best friend."
"Hi Ellie." I greet the little girl with a smile.
"Can Ellie come over for dinner tonight so we can play? I want to show her my castle!" Daisy asked.
Jasper and I shared a look, both of us knowing it was a bad idea, "It's a little short notice, honey, I'm not sure Ellie's Mom would agree."
"She's right here!" Ellie said as a tall woman came to stand next to us, "Mommy, can I go round to Daisy's house for dinner?"
The woman looked at Jasper and I, "If that's okay with her parents...you're Daisy's Mom and Dad?"
"Aunt and Uncle, really. We adopted her." I explain, "I'm Alice."
"Jasper." Jasper introduced himself.
"I'm Megan." Ellie's Mom said, "I'm fine with Ellie going to your place, if you're okay with that."
"Can she Mama?" Daisy asked me. She obviously saw me wavering, because she turned to Jasper and let her bottom lip hang out, "Pleeeease, Jazz?"
Jasper looked at me and I rolled my eyes, but nodded, "I'm sure we can arrange that." Jasper said, scooping Daisy into his arms.
She squealed and hugged him, before jumping back to the ground. "Come on Ellie, you'll love my Mama's car!"
"We can drop her back if you like." Jasper said, and Megan smiled.
"That would be great! I've got another little one at home, and I'd rather not drag her out." Megan said. She gave Jasper the address.
"What time would you like her back?" I asked.
"Her bed time is at eight, any time before then is fine." Megan said.
I call Esme on the way to the car, letting her know we're bringing a human home so that she can prepare. I was a little worried about the idea of bringing a six year old human into a house of vampires, but it was too late now.
"Your car is soo cool, Mrs Cullen!" Ellie says, staring at the canary yellow car.
"Thank you, Ellie." I say with a smile. Complimenting my car was a sure way to get me to like you.
We drove home at a human speed, which annoyed me a little but was unavoidable. Esme was in the kitchen when we got back. Daisy raced to hug her, "Ellie, this is my Grandma. Grandma, this is my best friend Ellie."
"Nice to meet you Ellie, you can call me Esme." Esme's warm smile was enough to get anyone's instant trust. "What would you girls like for dinner?"
"Oh, oh!" I say, putting my hand up.
"Alice, I was talking to Daisy and Ellie." Esme said with a laugh.
"But I have an idea!" I say with a grin, "Let's have a make your own pizza party!"
"Yes!" Daisy cried, turning to her friend, "It's so much fun! We get to roll out the dough ourselves and them put on whatever we want! You do like pizza, don't you Ellie?"
"I love pizza." Ellie confirmed.
"I suppose we can do that." Esme said with a smile.
"Did I hear pizza?" Renesmee asked, ducking her head around the door.
"Ellie, this is my cousin Renesmee. Nessie, this is my best friend Ellie." Daisy said. I smiled at the way that Daisy always introduced Ellie as her best friend.
"Hey Ellie." Renesmee said, "So...pizza?"
"Make your own pizza party!" I confirmed. Renesmee wooped, and the three girls got started making pizzas, with Esme's help. Whilst they were in the oven, Daisy took Ellie outside to show her the castle play house. By the time they came back in, the rest of the family were home, and Daisy introduced everyone.
"This is my Uncle Edward and Aunty Bella - they're Nessie's Mom and Dad. And this is Grandpa Carlisle, and this is Uncle Emmett. Everyone, this is my best friend Ellie."
"I thought I was your best friend." Emmett accused with a pout.
"No, Emmy, you're too old to be my best friend." Daisy said pointedly, "And you're a boy."
"You insult me, Daisy." Emmett told her, sticking his chin up, "If I'm not your best friend, maybe I won't give you the present I got you."
"What present?! What present?!" Daisy asked, bouncing around.
"This one!" Emmett said, before he began tickling her relentlessly. Ellie watched, bemused by the entire scene.
We'd planned to take Ellie home after dinner, but the girls kept begging for "Just another thirty minutes", so we ended up arriving at her house at five minutes to eight.
"Was she any trouble?" Megan asked.
"She was a delight." I said with a smile, "She's welcome back any time."
"We'll have to have Daisy round here sometime." Megan said, matching my smile.
We drove home, listening to Daisy chatter about the new secret club that she and Ellie were planning to create. When we got home, we tucked Daisy into bed, "Did you like Ellie?"
"Of course we did." I told her, "She was lovely."
"I know." Daisy said, "She's really cool."
"Just remember, Daisy, you mustn't say anything to her about vampires, okay?" Jasper said.
"Okay." Daisy said with a sleepy smile. She yawned and stuck her thumb into her mouth, something she almost always did as she slept.
"Goodnight, baby girl." I said, kissing her forehead. Jasper did the same, and we left the room, closing the door quietly behind us.
We went downstairs and I saw that Jasper was frowning. I knew what it was about. "Do you think we sent her to school too early?"
"Maybe." I said. Nessie hadn't gone to school until she was ten. By that point she was old enough and responsible enough to keep the secret and hide her advanced intelligence.
"It's great that she's making friends, but it's also a risk." Jasper continued, "And her teacher could become suspicious."
"For a human, it's a pretty big leap from 'intelligent for her age' to 'must be a vampire'." I pointed out, "And as for friends...I guess we have to hope that Daisy's smart enough not to say anything. We can't pull her out of school now, she loves it so much."
"I know." Jasper said, "You know that in a few years we'll have to move again. We can't keep pretending to be her adoptive parents but never age."
He was right, but I hadn't thought about it before, "She'll have to leave all her friends."
"She'll make new ones." Jasper reasoned.
"It isn't fair, though." I said. Already, she seemed so attached to Ellie.
"But it's unavoidable." Jasper said.
"I know." I said. At least we'd have a couple of years before we had to worry about that. I closed my eyes and smiled, wondering what our lives would be like in a couple of years. What Daisy would be like, how she would have grown; both physically and mentally. I could look into her future - though it was usually uncertain - but right now I didn't want to. I just wanted to enjoy Daisy now, no matter what the future might bring.
A/N: So my exams are FINALLY over (YAAAAYY) and I'm out of school for summer now! :D :D Hope you like this chapter...thanks for all the reviews on the last chap...this story hit 200 reviews! I know these are all kinda fillers but I hope they're good anyway. Next I'll probably do one or two chapters when Daisy is 9 years old and then skip to 13 years old. I was thinking of doing one 13 year old chapter in Alice POV, and then switching to Daisy POV for the rest of the story. Thoughts?
The story is really going to start picking up when she turns 13, so chapters should be a little more exciting ;)
In other news, I've completely lost my voice :( Sucks for me but it might mean there are a few updates in the next few days because I can't really DO anything else as I can't speak...
Anyway, please review and anyone who does will get a sneak peak of the next chapter before I update!
In reply to Razzbury 17's review, if you want to get the sneak peaks via PM you need to create a fanfiction account so I can send them. Or if you like you could leave your email address in a review and I'll send them to that instead. :)