The Life of Emery Paige

Charlie Likes The Cullen's

When we walked into the warm office, after the last period we saw Edward Cullen standing at the desk. He didn't appear to notice the sound of our entrance. Bella pulled me back so we stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free. He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time. I thought Bella had Biology that hour so I looked at her with the question in my eyes and she simply nodded. The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, and swirling our hair around our faces. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at us. His face was absurdly handsome, with piercing, hate-filled eyes. The look only lasted a second, but it pissed me off more than anything ever had and I glared right back at him. He seemed startled that anyone would dare and turned back to the receptionist."Never mind, then, I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at us and disappeared out the door. We went to the desk and handed her the signed slips. she said, "How did your first day go, dears?" Bella and I said "Fine," in unison but hers was clearly a lie and the receptionist didn't look convinced either. When separated at our cars and I think I left before her because I got home five minutes before she did.

I rode with Bella this morning and after school, we went to the store. It was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. We did the shopping at home, and we fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly. When we got home, we unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever we could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, while Bella covered a steak in some marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge. When we were finished with that, we took our book bags upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry shorts and a tank top, pulled my damp hair up with a claw clip, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages. 

Em, 

Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your drive was. Is it raining? I miss you and Bella already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi.

-Mom. 

Em, 

Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for? 

-Mom.

Emery Paige, 

If I haven't heard from you or your sister by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.

-Mom

I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well-known for jumping the gun. I began to compose my email

Mom, 

Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash. 

Em. 

Mom, 

Everything is great. Of course, it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sat by me in English and Biology. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up Friday. I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.

-Emery

I laid in my bed and I guess I fell asleep because Bella said "Em, come on." I got up and we hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in the oven to broil. Charlie came in "Bella? Em?" Bella said "Hey, Dad, welcome home." he said "Thanks." and hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as Bella bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When we came here as children, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered us old enough now not to shoot ourselves by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot ourselves on purpose. he said "What's for dinner?" he seemed wary which is understandable because my mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I said "Steak and potatoes," he looked relieved at my answer. He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV. Bella made a salad while the steaks cooked, and I set the table. Bella called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room."Smells good, girls." we said "Thanks." We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. None of us were bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.

He said "So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" Bella answered first "Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. Isit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." he said "That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid, a nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here." Bella said, "Do you know the Cullen family?" Charlie said "Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man." Bella began "They... the kids... are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."Charlie surprised me by looking angry."People in this town, Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, and make ten times the salary he gets here, We're lucky to have him, lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well-behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature, I haven't had one speck of trouble with any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should... camping trips every other weekend... Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk." 

It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying. I jumped in to save her. "They seemed nice enough to me I sit next to Alice in English and in front of Alice and Jasper in Biology. I mean Alice is a little too hyper for it being a school but she is so sweet." Bella said "Yeah I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," Charlie laughed "You should see the doctor, It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around." We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while Bella started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.