I was glad to leave campus, so I would be free to pout andmope before I went out tonight with Jessica and company. Butright after I walked in the door of Charlie's house, Jessica calledto cancel our plans. I tried to be happy that Mike had asked her out to dinner — I really wasrelieved that he finally seemed to be catching on — but my enthusiasm sounded false in my ownears. She rescheduled our shopping trip for tomorrow night. Which left me with little in the way of distractions. I had fish marinating for dinner, with a salad andbread left over from the night before, so there was nothing to do there. I spent a focused halfhour on homework, but then I was through with that, too. I checked my e-mail, reading thebacklog of letters from my mother, getting snippier as they progressed to the present. I sighedand typed a quick response. Mom, Sorry. I've been out. I went to the beach with some friends. And I had to write a paper. Myexcuses were fairly pathetic, so I gave up on that. It's sunny outside today - I know, I'm shocked, too - so I'm going to go outside and soak up asmuch vitamin D as I can. I love you, Bella. I decided to kill an hour with non-school-related reading. I had a small collection of books that camewith me to Forks, the shabbiest volume being a compilation of the works of Jane Austen. I selectedthat one and headed to the backyard, grabbing a ragged old quilt from the linen cupboard at thetop of the stairs on my way down. Outside in Charlie's small, square yard, I folded the quilt in half and laid it out of the reach of thetrees' shadows on the thick lawn that would always be slightly wet, no matter how long the sunshone. I lay on my stomach, crossing my ankles in the air, flipping through the different novels inthe book, trying to decide which would occupy my mind the most thoroughly. My favorites werePride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. I'd read the first most recently, so I started intoSense and Sensibility, only to remember after I began three that the hero of the story happenedto be named Edward. Angrily, I turned to Mansfield Park, but the hero of that piece was namedEdmund, and that was just too close. Weren't there any other names available in the lateeighteenth century? I snapped the book shut, annoyed, and rolled over onto my back. I pushedmy sleeves up as high as they would go, and closed my eyes. I would think of nothing but thewarmth on my skin, I told myself severely. The breeze was still light, but it blew tendrils of my hairaround my face, and that tickled a bit. I pulled all my hair over my head, letting it fan out on thequilt above me, and focused again on the heat that touched my eyelids, my cheekbones, mynose, my lips, my forearms, my neck, soaked through my light shirt… The next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of thedriveway. I sat up in surprise, realizing the light was gone, behind the trees, and I had fallen asleep.I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone. "Charlie?" I asked. But I could hear his door slamming in front of the house. I jumped up, foolishly edgy, gathering the now-damp quilt and my book. I ran inside to get someoil heating on the stove, realizing that dinner would be late. Charlie was hanging up his gun belt andstepping out of his boots when I came in. "Sorry, Dad, dinner's not ready yet — I fell asleep outside." I stifled a yawn. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I wanted to catch the score on the game, anyway." I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. There wasn't anything on I wanted towatch, but he knew I didn't like baseball, so he turned it to some mindless sitcom that neither of usenjoyed. He seemed happy, though, to be doing something together. And it felt good, despite mydepression, to make him happy. "Dad," I said during a commercial, "Jessica and Angela are going to look at dresses for the dancetomorrow night in Port Angeles, and they wanted me to help them choose… do you mind if I gowith them?" "Jessica Stanley?" he asked. "And Angela Weber." I sighed as I gave him the details. He was confused. "But you're not going to the dance, right?" "No, Dad, but I'm helping them find dresses — you know, giving them constructive criticism." Iwouldn't have to explain this to a woman. "Well, okay." He seemed to realize that he was out of his depth with the girlie stuff. "It's a schoolnight, though." "We'll leave right after school, so we can get back early. You'll be okay for dinner, right?" "Bells, I fed myself for seventeen years before you got here," he reminded me. "I don't know how you survived," I muttered, then added more clearly, "I'll leave some things forcold-cut sandwiches in the fridge, okay? Right on top." It was sunny again in the morning. I awakened with renewed hope that I grimly tried to suppress. Idressed for the warmer weather in a deep blue V-neck blouse — something I'd worn in the dead ofwinter in Phoenix. I had planned my arrival at school so that I barely had time to make it to class. With a sinkingheart, I circled the full lot looking for a space, while also searching for the silver Volvo that wasclearly not there. I parked in the last row and hurried to English, arriving breathless, but subdued,before the final bell. It was the same as yesterday — I just couldn't keep little sprouts of hope from budding in mymind, only to have them squashed painfully as I searched the lunchroom in vain and sat at myempty Biology table. The Port Angeles scheme was back on again for tonight and made all the more attractive by thefact that Lauren had other obligations. I was anxious to get out of town so I could stop glancingover my shoulder, hoping to see him appearing out of the blue the way he always did. I vowed tomyself that I would be in a good mood tonight and not ruin Angela's or Jessica's enjoyment in thedress hunting. Maybe I could do a little clothes shopping as well. I refused to think that I might beshopping alone in Seattle this weekend, no longer interested in the earlier arrangement. Surely hewouldn't cancel without at least telling me. After school, Jessica followed me home in her old white Mercury so that I could ditch my booksand truck. I brushed through my hair quickly when I was inside, feeling a slight lift of excitement asI contemplated getting out of Forks. I left a note for Charlie on the table, explaining again where tofind dinner, switched my scruffy wallet from my school bag to a purse I rarely used, and ran out tojoin Jessica. We went to Angela's house next, and she was waiting for us. My excitement increasedexponentially as we actually drove out of the town limits. By dint of much elbow grease, I was able to get both windows in the truck almost completely rolleddown. I was one of the first ones to school; I hadn't even checked the clock in my hurry to getoutside. I parked and headed toward the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of thecafeteria. The benches were still a little damp, so I sat on my jacket, glad to have a use for it. Myhomework was done — the product of a slow social life — but there were a few Trig problems Iwasn't sure I had right. I took out my book industriously, but halfway through rechecking the firstproblem I was daydreaming, watching the sunlight play on the red-barked trees. I sketchedinattentively along the margins of my homework. After a few minutes, I suddenly realized I'd drawnfive pairs of dark eyes staring out of the page at me. I scrubbed them out with the eraser. "Bella!" I heard someone call, and it sounded like Mike. I looked around to realize that the school had become populated while I'd been sitting there,absentminded. Everyone was in t-shirts, some even in shorts though the temperature couldn't beover sixty. Mike was coming toward me in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving. "Hey, Mike," I called, waving back, unable to be halfhearted on a morning like this. He came to sit by me, the tidy spikes of his hair shining golden in the light, his grin stretchingacross his face. He was so delighted to see me, I couldn't help but feel gratified. "I never noticed before — your hair has red in it," he commented, catching between his fingers astrand that was fluttering in the light breeze. "Only in the sun." I became just a little uncomfortable as he tucked the lock behind my ear. "Great day, isn't it?" "My kind of day," I agreed. "What did you do yesterday?" His tone was just a bit too proprietary. "I mostly worked on my essay." I didn't add that I was finished with it — no need to sound smug. He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah — that's due Thursday, right?" "Um, Wednesday, I think." "Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good… What are you writing yours on?" "Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic." He stared at me like I'd just spoken in pig Latin. "I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he said, deflated. "I was going to ask if youwanted to go out." "Oh." I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymorewithout it getting awkward? "Well, we could go to dinner or something… and I could work on it later." He smiled at mehopefully. "Mike…" I hated being put on the spot. "I don't think that would be the best idea." His face fell. "Why?" he asked, his eyes guarded. My thoughts flickered to Edward, wondering ifthat's where his thoughts were as well. "I think… and if you ever repeat what I'm saying right now I will cheerfully beat you to death," Ithreatened, "but I think that would hurt Jessica's feelings." He was bewildered, obviously not thinking in that direction at all. "Jessica?" "Really, Mike, are you blind?" "Oh," he exhaled — clearly dazed. I took advantage of that to make my escape. "It's time for class, and I can't be late again." I gathered my books up and stuffed them in my bag. We walked in silence to building three, and his expression was distracted. I hoped whateverthoughts he was immersed in were leading him in the right direction. When I saw Jessica in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Angela, and Lauren were goingto Port Angeles tonight to go dress shopping for the dance, and she wanted me to come, too,even though I didn't need one. I was indecisive. It would be nice to get out of town with somegirlfriends, but Lauren would be there. And who knew what I could be doing tonight… But that wasdefinitely the wrong path to let my mind wander down. Of course I was happy about the sunlight.But that wasn't completely responsible for the euphoric mood I was in, not even close. So I gave her a maybe, telling her I'd have to talk with Charlie first. She talked of nothing but the dance on the way to Spanish, continuing as if without aninterruption when class finally ended, five minutes late, and we were on our way to lunch. I was fartoo lost in my own frenzy of anticipation to notice much of what she said. I was painfully eager tosee not just him but all the Cullens — to compare them with the new suspicions that plagued mymind. As I crossed the threshold of the cafeteria, I felt the first true tingle of fear slither down myspine and settle in my stomach. Would they be able to know what I was thinking? And then adifferent feeling jolted through me — would Edward be waiting to sit with me again? As was my routine, I glanced first toward the Cullens' table. A shiver of panic trembled in mystomach as I realized it was empty. With dwindling hope, my eyes scoured the rest of the cafeteria,hoping to find him alone, waiting for me. The place was nearly filled — Spanish had made us late —but there was no sign of Edward or any of his family. Desolation hit me with crippling strength. I shambled along behind Jessica, not bothering to pretend to listen anymore. We were late enough that everyone was already at our table. I avoided the empty chair next toMike in favor of one by Angela. I vaguely noticed that Mike held the chair out politely for Jessica,and that her face lit up in response. Angela asked a few quiet questions about the Macbeth paper, which I answered as naturally as Icould while spiraling downward in misery. She, too, invited me to go with them tonight, and Iagreed now, grasping at anything to distract myself. I realized I'd been holding on to a last shred of hope when I entered Biology, saw his empty seat,and felt a new wave of disappointment. The rest of the day passed slowly, dismally. In Gym, we had a lecture on the rules of badminton,the next torture they had lined up for me. But at least it meant I got to sit and listen instead ofstumbling around on the court. The best part was the coach didn't finish, so I got another day offtomorrow. Never mind that the day after they would arm me with a racket before unleashing meon the rest of the class.