I continued to look around the cafeteria as we moved through the lunch line, and it was easy to see that most everyone was watching the table that now held Bella and Edward. Our normal table had Mike looking constipated as he watched the two talk. Tyler was trying to get Lauren's attention back on him and eventually succeeded. Jessica was looking at Mike like she was trying to muster up some courage.
I reached the cashier and paid for mine and Edyth's food over her objection. She didn't stop until I whispered that I only got about half my normal amount and would eat hers, so it didn't go to waste. She finally nodded, but I expected to have this conversation often. I knew that to her, money meant less than water. But I still have my pride, and I needed to feel that I wasn't only taking from her. I knew that every relationship had to be an exchange for it to be healthy.
When I sat down at the Cullen table, I had Edythe on my right and Alice on my left. The main talk around the table was the planned 'Camping' trip for tomorrow. Emmett was excited at the prospect of the bears coming out of hibernation. Jasper was just happy to spend a couple of days away from the temptation of human blood that was school for him.
Edythe was pushing the food on her plate around with her fork when she suddenly stiffened, and I saw the metal fork bend in half in her fingers. She turned to look at the table I usually sat at with a very unfriendly look in her eyes.
"That child is seriously pushing it." She muttered.
Rosalie looked at Edythe questioningly. It was amazing how Rosalie could convey her thoughts with just an expression on her gorgeous face.
"She is planning to make up stories to instigate bad blood between the boys. I don't think anyone would try anything like picking a fight, but the idea she wants it to happen..." She let the sentence fade off.
I tried to calm her down a bit, "No worries, Sunshine. She will get over it. She is far too shallow for deep thinking, so we will see it coming a mile away. But just in case, I will make a few comments over the next couple of days to get her in line. Jessica seems to have a good hold on her, she usually stops it from going too far."
I swapped out lunch trays with Edythe and then looked over my shoulder at Ben and Angela. I wanted to make sure they were not getting caught in the crosshairs. Angela was looking at her math book, probably trying to get the assignment done early, and Ben caught my look and gave me a not-so-subtle thumbs up and a smile.
Edythe smiled at my friend's antics and said, "Those two will make a wonderful couple. I will have to keep an eye on them and see if they have interests that lie in one of our company's goals. It's a little early to start scouting them, but they have great potential."
I smiled at the thought. It made me happy that Edythe liked people who were genuinely good. I reminded myself to ask her later if she intentionally helped people she took a liking to.
Alice stood up, "I'm going to go introduce myself to Bella, it's about time she meets me, and I need to remind Edward of something."
That sparked a thought, wasn't there something I needed to do during lunch? The bell rang and I shrugged it off as unimportant.
Gym class was nothing special. We had moved from volleyball to Badminton, and I was having trouble staying on my side of the court. The impulse to chase the birdie down every time was real. No way I was telling anyone about my impulse control issues, though. My life would be filled with cat toy presents until the end of my days if they ever found out.
As I was walking to my last class, I ran into Edythe. I knew her class was nowhere near here, so she must want to tell me something important.
When I got close, she smiled and said, "Bella had to be taken home for nearly fainting in Biology class. Edward was nearby and decided to take her home to make sure she was safe. She left her key in her truck so you could drive it home."
I laughed a little, "I forgot to tell her about the blood typing in Biology during lunch. I knew I was overlooking something. Oh well, it gives her and Edward more time to talk. It sucks that I won't be riding with you after school though. Will I see you before your trip tomorrow?"
She shook her head, looking a little sad, "I think me and Edward will push to leave tonight so we can get back earlier. I want to be ready to take you to a nice spot after you get out of school on Wednesday. I need to keep my promise and show you how I look under the sun."
"Then I will wait until then. Text me if you get in service range."
After we separated, I went to Spanish class and told Ms. Geoff about Edward's absence. She shrugged it off because she knew that his Spanish was superior to her own. In fact, me Edward and Emmett could test out of the class any time we wanted.
After class, I walked to Bella's truck and started it before walking over to Edythe's car. She parked close, and I had plenty of time for the truck to warm up. I watched as Edward's shiny Volvo entered the parking lot and picked up Emmett and Rosalie. Jasper and Alice, though, appeared to prefer riding with Edythe. I walked over with every intention of giving Edythe a goodbye kiss, but under the stares of her family and her own dark eyes, my courage faltered. I settled for a hug and a kiss on her cheek before retreating to Bella's truck.
Having seen that Bella didn't eat lunch and also hearing of her near fainting spell, I decided to stop for ingredients for her favorite meal. Goulash was different for every family, but ours used a mix of spicy tomato juice, Snappy Tom's if they had it, or spicy V8 if they didn't. Other than that, it was basically just spaghetti with elbow noodles instead of spaghetti noodles. This was a dish that was guaranteed to make her eat two bowls and complain about how full she was the rest of the night.
When I pulled her truck into its normal spot, I was happy to see Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. {Come to think of it, have we ever had this meal with Charlie?} I grabbed the groceries and my backpack and made my way through the drizzle that was falling. When I walked into the kitchen, Bella came over and started to go through the bags I set on the counter, "I got dinner tonight sis, don't want you fainting while cooking, now do we?"
She glared at me and kicked my shin as Charlie caught our words, "What's this now?"
Bella was quick to answer to keep me from exaggerating the situation. "They were doing blood typing in Biology today, and I got a little queasy. You know how I am around blood."
"Oh yeah, guess that makes sense. You kids have anything going tonight? We could hit the Blockbuster and pick out a movie to watch."
We both answered that we had no plans, so I recommended they go and choose a movie while I got dinner started. I had changed into my comfy house clothes and just started adding the browned hamburger to the Snappy Tom sauce and can of tomatoes when they got back. Bella was holding the movie in her hand and flashed the title at me, 'Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl'. That was an odd pick for Bella, but she answered my questioning look with, "Dad has never seen it. I thought we could all use a laugh, so it was an easy choice."
What followed was a normal, happy family night with Charlie enjoying a new movie and later filled with a bit of homework. That night, I was woken up by bad dreams a couple of times and slept rather restlessly when I forced myself back into bed.