Chapter Eight

"No, I refuse... " It was a little hard to get through, and I ate a couple of pieces of fruit that quickly wilted. "Who are they?" Bella asked suddenly, and I inclined my head to look as exquisitely beautiful boys and girls came through the door, each of them looking like church paintings coming out of the people, except the overly pale faces reminded me of plaster casts from art class and looked a little weird. "It's the Cullens." Angela and Jessica started talking about the Cullens left and right, and Bella listened carefully and intently, and I remembered the little cookies and pulled them out of my coat pocket and began to flavor click. "Ahem. " I suddenly saw the girl who had taken me shopping the other day. the cookie crumbs choked me, and I coughed. Bella rushed to hand me water. "Lacey, are you okay?" I waved my hand, suddenly remembering the fear of being, oh, her name was Alice, dominated by Alice. She seemed to notice me as well, winking playfully at me before walking over to the table and sitting down. The Cullen children all possessed outstanding looks and unique temperaments—an aura of being out of place. I didn't agree with Jessica's opinion of the Cullens, but at least I didn't think Alice was an eccentric girl; she was kind and welcoming, just, well, overly perky. Bella, on the other hand, was interested in Edward, and I noticed that she would always look at him. I bit into my cookie and secretly watched, with Jacob's silly boy's face in my mind. ... Could this be a story of him loving her and her loving him? I muttered inwardly that Jacob's guy didn't act on his love for Bella. What was he thinking—that he couldn't chase people? What a pristine teenager! I couldn't help but inhale. I glanced at Bella; in just three minutes, she had turned her head to look at him twice, each time for over a minute.

Should I remind Jacob? To repay him for reminding me to set the alarm yesterday. Okay, now think about what we're going to have for dinner tomorrow. oh yeah, I have to think about whether pasta with eggplant sauce or seafood bake would be better for tonight. Maybe lasagna would be a good choice too? I looked back at the rest of the bread on my dinner plate and wrinkled my nose, going to dump it out. Coincidentally, the Cullens were in front of me. I scanned it and was surprised to see that they'd hardly eaten at all. Did they dislike cafeteria lunches as much as I did? "Hey, we meet again." Alice pulled Jasper over, "Lacey, right?" She knew my name. "Yeah." I couldn't help but smile at the thought of the wide array of clothes in my closet. "Thanks so much for last time; I may never have to buy clothes again." "Right, this is for you." I handed her another bag of small, unopened biscuits Yu, "I made this myself; consider it a thank-you gift. "Oh~ For me? "She didn't seem to expect it, then was pleasantly surprised to accept it "Thank you, Lancy; it's the first time I've ever received a gift yet." There were a few words in the middle that I didn't catch, but I didn't care. "If you like it, I'll bring you some next time." If there was a future, I think I would open a small restaurant if I could. Maybe ask Beatrice if wishes can be deposited, and I hope that in the afterlife, I'll have the same wish as I do.

"Edward, what did you find out?" Carlisle was the eldest of the Cullens; he had to answer for the whole family. "I hear very little; sometimes I can hear," Edward thought carefully. "She complains about school lunches, Alice being gracious and kind, and her mental list of recipes, Edward said roughly, "and nothing else. Alice's eyes lit up when she heard her name. "I'm still thinking about food, for the most part." Emmett clapped his hands and laughed. "It looks like just a regular guy." Jasper spoke up, and after a moment's thought, he added, "She has a hard time saying no to Alice without me influencing her." It's hard to meet a human who can stay with Alice the entire time she's shopping, Jasper said, giving the details of what he had observed. "Really? Gosh, I didn't notice she was tired at all," Alice exclaimed, covering her lips as her voice weakened. "I forgot she was human at that point," as it was just too happy. "So she must really like Alice." Esme said with a smirk. Edward decided not to go to school for a while; he needed time to calm down. The self-control he used to be so proud of had all but collapsed in front of that girl just because she was his songstress. There was no way he could fight the thirst for her blood; he loathed the instinct to do so. He was afraid of her, afraid that by tainting himself with her he would turn into a greedy demon, into what he hated most. All he could do was avoid her—such cowardice, such helplessness. "Hey Lacey, how was your first day of school?" I didn't expect to see Jacob as soon as I got home; he was waiting at my door, crouching there like a big dog. Okay, I shouldn't have thought of my friend that way, but human associations are irrational, and I can't be blamed for that. "Well, to be honest, it's not quite what I expected." I grimaced and shook my head while holding the door open. "What's wrong? Is someone bullying you? Or can't keep up with your classes?" Jacob asked with concern as he entered the room, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"What's wrong? Is someone bullying you? Or can't you keep up with your classes?" Jacob asked with concern as he entered the room, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Oh, by the way, this is the fried fish Harry asked me to bring." He handed me the paper bag he was holding, and I took it to the kitchen to plate it. "Lacey, you have to tell me what's going on. " Jacob raised his voice. "Although it's not very nice to say so," I paused in my movements, "I think that it might be hard for me to make friends at school-." Both Mike's flirtatiousness and Jessica's meanness make me uncomfortable. "But that's not necessarily true; it's only the first day." I shrugged my shoulders and brought the fried fish to the table. "And the lunch in the cafeteria was awful; I decided to prepare my own lunch. "So, Jacob, you're here specifically to care about me today?" I squeeze my eyes at him as I sit down. "Ahem, just checking in." Jacob grabs a fried fish, buries his head in it, and cracks it open. "By the way, have you seen Bella? How is she?" "Bella's so pretty and gets a lot of attention; she's especially popular, but she doesn't seem to be adjusting well to all the enthusiasm from what I can see." That was true; there was something about that girl that seemed to wish she could hide herself away, but she was a pretty girl, and as soon as she entered the school, she was on the radar of those guys. My eyes rolled and burned as I leaned in close to ask, "Jacob, do you have a special, super, huge crush on Bella? Hey, don't just blush; speak up, huh? Are you choking?" I swear, I was asking him seriously, but how was I supposed to know that this kid was going to choke? I quickly poured a cup of lemonade for him. While helping him smooth out his breath, he chanted in an aria, "Oh, poor Jacob hears the name of his favorite girl and is shyly choking ja~ choking la~ uhh!" He's such a guy that he stuffed fried fish in my mouth to gag me. "Jacob, you're done." I wiped the oil off my mouth, moved slowly, and grunted, "You're not getting any of the next little dessert!"

"What about next time?" He asked on purpose, or at least I thought it was on purpose. The corner of my mouth twitched and I raised my hand to punch him, The fork was defeated in his bright eyes. Okay, I admit it was because my hand hurt from the last time I whacked it up, and Jacob didn't know what he grew up on; he was covered in solid, tight muscles. "Yes!" "Lacey, the question you just asked," he said, looking at me with his black and white eyes, and for a split second, I drifted off, not remembering what the question was. "I really like Bella." He said seriously, his pupils dark in the light, and it was as if he was swearing an oath, and I thought of the ancient oaths of alliance that were cast to the bottom of the water—that kind of determination. "Special, super, very." "Don't you say that to me; I feel weird." I scratched the back of my head, deliberately stirring up the inexplicable atmosphere. "Lancy!" "Hahahahaha, don't get mad, Jacob; just think of it as practice. [Dear Lacey: I've been thinking about my afterlife lately when I don't realize it; in fact, I never thought that the one in the afterlife would be me. I would think of her as another person, someone who is similar to me, not a continuation of me; my memories, my desires, my feelings—none of them have anything to do with her; she will have a life of her own. I can't think deeply about this, or I'll get a headache. I'm a conflicted person at times, but that's not surprising because I will always have expectations, but in the end, I must make a choice. None of us have a choice.

"What about next time?" He asked on purpose, or at least I thought it was on purpose. The corner of my mouth twitched and I raised my hand to punch him, The fork was defeated in his bright eyes. Okay, I admit it was because my hand hurt from the last time I whacked it up, and Jacob didn't know what he grew up on; he was covered in solid, tight muscles. "Yes!" "Lacey, the question you just asked," he said, looking at me with his black and white eyes, and for a split second, I drifted off, not remembering what the question was. "I really like Bella." He said seriously, his pupils dark in the light, and it was as if he was swearing an oath, and I thought of the ancient oaths of alliance that were cast to the bottom of the water—that kind of determination. "Special, super, very." "Don't you say that to me; I feel weird." I scratched the back of my head, deliberately stirring up the inexplicable atmosphere. "Lacey!" "Hahahahaha, don't get mad, Jacob; just think of it as practice. [Dear Lacey: I've been thinking about my afterlife lately when I don't realize it; in fact, I never thought that the one in the afterlife would be me. I would think of her as another person, someone who is similar to me, not a continuation of me; my memories, my desires, my feelings—none of them have anything to do with her; she will have a life of her own. I can't think deeply about this, or I'll get a headache. I'm a conflicted person at times, but that's not surprising because I will always have expectations, but in the end, I must make a choice. None of us have a choice.