Chapter Nine

At lunchtime, I took the lead and pulled Bella to sit at another table. She looked back at me quizzically and asked, "Lacey?" I raised my hand to my lips and coughed twice. "Bella, I think it would be better if you declined Mike's invitation as soon as possible." There was going to be a spring dance shortly after school started, and Bella's good looks naturally drew a lot of attention, including Mike, of course. Jessica's IQ seemed to be cleared out whenever she was in Mike's business, and her words would always be directed at Bella, intentionally or unintentionally. And I really don't want to listen to those squeezes. Bella froze; it took her a while to react. She nodded; she should have figured it out. Now it was finally much clearer; only I didn't realize that I had just sat down. Alice pulled Jasper to sit across from me as well. "Vegetable West, thank you for the little cookies yesterday; my siblings and I love them; it's very, very much, Lancy; you don't know; you've brought us a huge surprise!" I could feel Alice's excitement; I even suspected that she would hug me the next second. But, what was this for? Just because of a bag of skittles? She said her siblings... I turned my head to look at Karen's table and realized that Rosalie and Emmett were really looking this way, and the big, tall Emmett was grinning at me I always thought that grin looked like that of a shark that smelled blood, and I turned my head in a hurry to look at Alice in bewilderment, and I guess I had a face with an expression that must have been stupid. "It's good that you guys like it." I blinked and spoke tentatively after looking at the anticipation lurking in Alice's eyes. "Uh, do you guys want to try the chicken and mushroom stew? That's the only thing I'm preparing for today." As a matter of fact, when I really went into the kitchen and started to do it, I realized that my favorite and best thing was still Chinese food. Maybe it was because I had spent the most time in China before. "We can taste it too. Really? Lacey, you're too kind! "Alice took my hands in hers, and I suddenly felt a little bit of pressure as Jasper beside her was looking at me with glowing eyes. Hand-held by Alice. "No, it's okay; I'm quite prepared anyway." I had prepared Bella's share; after all, the mushrooms, or Jacob, had taken me to pick them, and Bella is Jacob's favorite person. Grams hottest fairy home slippers to wear. I'm in favor of

I asked a direct question, and Bella seemed to draw closer to me over the meal. Surely food is a bridge to friendship? All she said and I understood was, "Lancy, Charlie only knows bacon and fried fish. Charlie ah, my stomach hurts just hearing it, Bella Fork is the girl who knows what she's doing; of course she won't ask anything of her old single father, She's not good at cooking herself, so vegetable salad is her best bet I look at her sympathetically and say, "It's not easy for you either." I thought about preparing lunch later and getting Bella's portion along with it; there wasn't much difference between making it for one and two. But I'll have to ask Bella what she wants to do as well. I can see that she's not a girl who'd bother anyone; maybe she won't agree even if I offer. "Lacey~" Alice rested her hands on her cheeks, and the way the hair around her ears was sticking up made her look more and more playful and cute. "What's wrong?" It took me a moment to see that her plate was empty; the few chicken bones I selectively ignored—I just couldn't connect the chicken bones with the pixie-like Alice Liz. She looked at me eagerly and said, "Lancy, would you like to come over to my house this weekend? that "Huh?" I didn't realize that was what she was going to say. I scratched my head and asked, "May I?" I had heard that Karen's address was very mysterious and that no one had even been to their house. Of course! "Alice's eyes lit up, as if a little spark of anticipation danced in them. We could make lunch together!" Okay, okay, I probably know the reason why Alice invited me to the Cullen's house. I was crying and laughing at this.

I've never really thought of my cooking as some super tasty delicacy either; it's all just sparse stuff. I just love to eat, so I put my hands on it and studied it a bit, willing to put thought and effort into it, and of course it wasn't that bad. Jacob and Billy complimented me on how good my cooking was, and I didn't take it to heart much. For one thing, I think my handiwork really isn't considered unpalatable; from neighbor to neighbor, it's normal for them to praise it. Secondly, I have been working on new and exquisite snacks, to the extent of tasting a fresh one, let alone being picky. It's just that I only gave Alice a small packet of cookies yesterday, and today's lunch was just a plain meal. How did it get to the point where she extended an invitation to me? None of the Karen children lacked money; what kind of delicious food hadn't they eaten? Although I didn't figure it out, I didn't refuse Alice's invitation. Who could refuse Alice? I am most impatient to listen to the classical literature class. I always suspect that the clock in this class is broken; otherwise, how could it be so long and so difficult to endure? I couldn't remember the beautifully ornate sentences, let alone memorize them, and I blamed it on the deteriorating memory of a brain tumor patient. In any case, there was no way I was ever going to admit that I was stupid, and maybe the fact that all of my talent was ordered in the kitchen meant that God was still fair. "Lacey, how come you like food so much? " Bella bumped into me after class as I was shoveling prunes into my mouth with a bag of skittles in my hand. She must have thought about sharing my lunch with Alice and the others at noon and had a guilty look on her face. "Did you not get enough for lunch?" "No, no," I waved my hands repeatedly, just in case she misunderstood, "I just like to eat, but when I eat, I feel especially satisfied and at ease. Maybe it's because I used to be able to only crave and watch others eat. Since I've been a human being, I've had to eat a little snack every day, and when I don't have anything to eat, I get panicky. Maybe it's because of the time constraints. I always want to eat more, wishing I had a hundred stomachs to fill with all the good food. I took a bag of cookies from the locker and shoved it into her hand. ''I baked them myself; don't mind. One~-

Billy and Charlie are friends, and it's not uncommon for them to carry beer to watch a game with Charlie, but Jacob must have gone to see Bella. It seemed to have suddenly quieted down, and the dim light was so shadowy that it looked lonely. I'm not used to it; it's like I've gone back a long, long time ago, and my memories of that time are fuzzy, and the first day will be covered by a new day, and if it's a day of nothing, then there's no trace of it. If it's a day of chatting, there's even less trace of it. I said a long, long time ago, in fact, is a feeling, but I really should not think too much. As a brain tumor patient, the remaining space in the head is originally much less; it is even more important not to think of moving to think of the West. I didn't realize that I had eaten too much. I patted my round stomach and nestled into the sofa with an insatiable face. That said, I always feel like I'm forgetting something. I tried to think of something, but crap! My homework! [Dear Lacey: I was hit without a shred of defense, and it all came so suddenly. When I wrote this, do you think something happened to me? Actually, it was quite an encounter. It was the biggest crisis I've ever faced as a human being! I recognize that homework is good for solidifying a student's foundation, but I don't think I'm cut out for it, and while there are ways for people to live, would that be asking a little too much of a soul? At least, I think it is. Dear, I have to declare first that I did listen to the class properly; I only occasionally lost my mind, but since I am a human being, time always passes so fast when I come back to my senses When I come back to my senses, I can't understand what the teacher is saying. Of course, I still enjoyed school, and I was still enthusiastic about it. I liked the physics and chemistry classes, which were interesting, and the biology classes, which were not bad, but the rest of the classes... I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to graduate. I'm starting to worry that it's more my fault than yours that I won't graduate. I'm frantically catching up on my homework right now. May you be well.