Nessie's Life

Chapter 10: School

The ride to school wasn't that long. I have to admit I really enjoyed the solitude that my car provided. I tried to think of another time where I was completely alone and couldn't come up with one. Once I reached the school I parked I sat in my car for a while not wanting disrupt my solitude and I still had about 20 minutes before class. Once the music on the radio finally started to play it was pretty interesting so I turned it up and pulled out my copy of Pride and Prejudice from my bag. After reading only a few pages there was a knock on my window. It was Jeremy.

    "Want to come in?" I asked after rolling the window down.

    "Sure." I unlocked the door and rolled the window back up as he sat down. I turned the radio down. "Where's the rest of your family?"

    "They all went on a camping trip with my dad, my mom and I stayed behind. I wasn't in the mood for family bonding, plus I'm grounded." I thought that might add a more realistic touch.

    "Do you go camping often?"

    "When the weather is nice like today. Although I prefer dark, gloomy days."

    "You're just like my sister," he laughed. "How long are you grounded for?"

    "Two weeks."

    "Well when you're not grounded, maybe you can come over sometime. I can even teach you about the greatest game in the world, basketball."

    "That actually sounds like a lot of fun. I'd invite you over to my house, but it can be kind of intimidating sometimes."

    "Is it always that way?"

    "No, we actually have a lot of fun. There's just been a lot of tension with the break up. You and my Uncle Emmet would actually get along really well; he's a sports guy too. Every once in a while he makes us all play baseball. It can get pretty competitive."

    We each spent time swapping stories about how competitive our families would get playing sports and board games. We even exchanged phone numbers. When we looked at the clock we realized we were already 10 minutes late to class so we had to hurry through the halls with a promise to catch up during lunch.

    Not having the others at school was nice. I was going to enjoy having the next few days to myself. I just had to remind myself that it was temporary and that once they returned I would have to go back to behaving. But they couldn't really keep me from having friends could they? I mean my dad and Alice all hung out with my mom and her friends while she was still human. I shouldn't have thought about that. After 4 years here, I'm going to have to move on somewhere else, unless I can manage looking like a college student. I made a mental note to ask Alice later if there is a way to make me look older with clothes and makeup. That way I can at least be friends with Katie and Jeremy for a while.

    During lunch I sat next to Katie. Jeremy was at the table with two other guys from the basketball team along with Lena and Julian. Jeremy kept sneaking glances my way.

    "I know it's Luke, but he always has the best Halloween parties." One of Jeremy's friends whose name I found out later was Dean, said.

    "Halloween is a month away," Lena chimed in.

    "I know, but I have to have an amazing costume to outdo Jack from last year."

    "I don't think anyone can top Jack," Katie said, "Jack's dad got him an Iron Man costume an exact replica from the first movie," she explained to me.

    "I can top it. I can!" Dean stood up to declare, "I shall be a knight in shining armor, and Jeremy you can by my white horse. I don't have a dad who can just buy me one." Everyone laughed.

    "What are you going to be, Nessie?" Jeremy asked.

    "I'm not sure."

    "Not everyone plans their costumes ahead of time like you, Dean," Julian added.

    The rest of the day went well and I dreaded having to go home, I really just wanted to drive around for a while but I knew that would only get me into more trouble. When I pulled up to the house I was expecting to see my dad waiting by the door, but he wasn't. Once I parked in the garage I took a few deep breaths before I finally got the courage to go inside. I told myself it's just another typical day.

    When I walked in my grandpa was the only one in sight. "Hi grandpa, where is everyone?"

    "Your parents and Esme are out hunting, and you know Alice and Jasper are gone."

    "Oh, yeah that's right. I guess I was just expecting the Calvary when I arrived."

    "I convinced your dad to go and I would make sure you were alright. How was school today without the others?"

    "This is probably going to sound mean, but I enjoyed it very much. I finally got to feel normal for once. No one knows what I am, or what we all are and we talked about Halloween costumes."

    "I know you don't want to hear this, but as normal as you feel you have to remember who you are. What makes you different is what makes you special. We all love you even if you aren't always normal. Your dad is just trying to do what is best for you; he doesn't want to see you get hurt."

    "I know." I felt bad because I know my dad is doing what he thinks is right, but why doesn't he just talk to me about it instead of getting defensive and mad. I took my books out of my bag and sat down in the living room to start on my homework. My parents came home about an hour after I did and avoided asking questions about school waiting for me to say something. My dad and Esme were playing a game of chess while my mom sat on the couch next to me reading a book. Rosalie and Emmet came over and I heard Rosalie mention to Carlisle that she couldn't take Jacob's sulking anymore. I pretended not to hear and continued to work on my homework. I felt my phone vibrate and everyone else in the house heard it too. It was a text message from Jeremy. Before I was able to read the message there was a blur and my phone was now in Emmet's hands across the room.

    "Now who is texting our Nessie?" he asked almost as if someone texting me was a scandal.

    "Give it back!" I demanded trying to get it back from him. Why did he have to be so tall?

    "Hey Ness, how's it going?" Emmet read from the phone. "Sounds like he's in love already." He joked.

    "Stop it, it's not like that. He's just my friend." I said still jumping to try and get my phone. Although I did have to admit that Emmet joking around with me made it feel almost as if everything was going back to normal.

    "Let me respond for you, Hi Jeremy. I can't stop thinking about you, I can't wait to see you tomorrow to tell you how much I love you."

    "Don't you dare send that." Everyone in the room was laughing, even my dad who hardly laughs especially considering that they are joking about a boy liking me.

    "I swear, Jeremy is just a friend." Suddenly the room got silent and Emmet slowly gave my phone back while looking across the room. I knew why. If I turned around I would see Jacob, and I was right.

    "Don't mind me, I was just grabbing some food. But I'll just go out and pick something up." He said as he turned and headed out the door. I thought about going after him to explain things, then realized that I didn't have to. He lied to me and now we are both paying the consequences. The mood in the room had changed and all that could be heard was the noise from the TV in the background so I just took my phone and sat back down on the couch then texted Jeremy back. I was not going to let Jacob ruin my evening. Once everyone saw that I was fine, they went back to doing what they were doing. Emmett even took the seat next to me to occasionally read a text and tell me just how I should pour my heart out to Jeremy. Things were starting to go back to normal, and I liked it.