The Spaniard's Mate // Eleazar Denali

Chapter 3: Green Eyes

"And then he tried getting out of Biology!" Bella said, slicing through the carrot. "Can you believe it! I mean, how rude can someone be?"

"And you're sure you didn't say anything that he could have misconstrued?"

"I didn't even talk to him!" Bella put down the knife and tossed the thing of carrots into the pot. "He glared at me throughout class, and he looked like he was going to throw up." She grabbed some hair and held it out. "Do I smell?"

"Yeah, like strawberries and teenage rage."

"That's not funny!" Bella whined. "Who doesn't like strawberries? You'd have to be crazy to not — What if he's allergic to strawberries? I mean, if you came in here smelling like pineapple I know I wouldn't be happy."

"Or he could just be an asshole." I replied, adding the cream to the simmering pot.

Bella waved off my comment and darted out of the room and towards the door. I put down the container of cream and called out to her. "Where are you going?"

"The store, I need new shampoo!"

The door opened and a second later slammed shut. From the kitchen I could hear the truck roar to life, and I couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Bella to make an impromptu run to the store to change her shampoo all because a boy didn't like the smell of it.

While the stew cooked, I went through the lesson plan that I had made. Every three days we would go over different topics, such as light, proportions, shading, and so on, and I would give them a project to work on that focused on those themes. They could use any medium they wanted, and if they wanted to try something new, like how Rosalie wanted to, I would help them. The only issue would be teaching them just enough for them to get started, especially where most of the students had no prior experience.

"How was your first day?" Dad asked.

"Jesus!" I jumped from my seat and dropped my pencil. "It's not cool to sneak up on people, Dad."

"Sorry," he mumbled, "thought you heard me come in."

Dad grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down across from me. "How was it? Did the students give you a hard time?"

"They were great." I replied. "But they haven't been taught anything. Apparently Mr Fuller didn't bother teaching; he let them run amok and do whatever they wanted to."

"Not surprised," Dad hummed. "That man had a few screws loose. But you'll get it. Do you know where Bella went?"

"To the store," I chuckled. "Apparently her crush wasn't too fond of her shampoo."

"Crush?" Dad asked, nearly choking on his beer. "Who? When? — "

"Some guy named Edward Cullen. And don't worry, they haven't talked yet. You're not going to find them in bed together anytime soon."

"Margot," Dad groaned, "I wasn't going anywhere near that."

"But you were thinking it, weren't you?"

Silence. Dad took another sip of beer and looked away from me. That's what I thought. I decided to check on the stew, and while stirring it, I glanced back at my father.

"So, what's the Cullen family like? Should I be keeping an eye on him while I'm at school?"

There was pause, then Dad shook his head. "They're newcomers, and some people around here thinks that makes them prime targets for gossip and rumors. All of which are false. The family's been nothing but nice ever since they moved here."

"What's the family like?"

"The parents are nice folks, the father is a doctor at the hospital, and their mother is an interior designer of some sorts. They have five kids: Edward, Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie. The only blood siblings among the group are Jasper and Rosalie. Irish twins, or something like that."