The Life Of A Teenage Half-Vampire

The Life Of A Teenage Half-Vampire Part 47

My next stop was a novelty store. It was extremely small, but amazingly well-stocked. I remembered a conversation I had with mom just a few days ago, when she caught Isabelle juggling two rocks...

"I think she's into tricks and gags, Ness," mom explained when I had blown up over learning that Isabelle was juggling rocks.

"So? Why the hell did you let her juggle rocks?!" I had shouted back at her. "I mean, couldn't you have given her some tennis balls? She's been doing odd things lately..."

"I took the rocks off of her, Renesmee," mom said, frowning at my ignorance. "You should get her some tricks and things for her birthday."

"Tricks? For a one year old? Mom, she already acts well beyond her age. She's so mature... it makes me wonder what she's gonna be like in a year, given that this year has flown by."

"Ness, it's what she likes. And she has so many toys... but I'm sure you'll find something..."

"I wanna get her something special, too. But... I haven't decided yet."

"Oh, how come?"

"I don't want her to see herself opening it in the future! I'm gonna spontaneously get her something so that she doesn't see it. I do want her to have some surprises in life, considering she's likely to see everything that's gonna happen to her."

"I know... it's a little depressing for her, isn't it?"

"I hate the fact that she will be an immortal, but so many bad things can happen to her."

"She can't die, Nessie. You know that."

"She can get emotionally hurt... physically hurt... she just won't die. Mom, she self-heals! I found that out the other day. She's unique... and that scares me! It scares me a lot."

"Yes... it scares us all..."

"Tricks and gags? Really?"

"Yep. She loves them."

"I have a teddy I want to get her, too."

"You have a lifetime of gifts to get her, you know."

"Yes. But it's her first birthday. I want it to be special."

On that note, I had ultimately decided on a few ideas for gifts for Isabelle's birthday. It was hard, however, to know that we would not be around in Forks for her first birthday. I spent a lot of money in the novelty store, finding a lot of interesting and odd things that Isabelle would either play with lovingly or destroy harshly.

Isabelle loved to destroy things, after all.

After getting bored in Port Angeles, I walked to the car park, choosing to head to Seattle to so some shopping. This would be eventful; Seattle had many shops, and there was only so much time in the day.

But, as I made my way to my car, I noticed a group of girls hanging around it. Very familiar girls...

Clare was easy to detect in the group. She was pregnant, and her brightly-coloured baby bump took up a lot of real estate. Another girl from La Push, Maddeleine, was leaning against my car. Maddeleine was always friendly to me, but had a bitter attitude about her own heritage. Most Quileutes were proud to be who they were, but Maddeleine felt that it held her back. Her long, wavy black hair and dark complexion made her beauty even more flawless, but she felt that she would have been more beautiful if she were purely American.

How anybody could not want to be her, I never understood. She had always envied me... the only white girl in our Senior class! I was paler than a normal human... but as far as everyone was concerned, I was human.

Except Clare. She knew my little secret, and she never held it against me. Her face lit up as I made my way over to the large group of Quileute girls; I was the odd one out.

"Nessie! I thought this was your car!" Clare shreiked. "Oh, I haven't seen you much!"

"Hey, Clare Bear!" I squealed back excitedly. Maddeleine eyed me jealously.

"You remember Maddy, don't you?" Clare asked.

I nodded and held out my hand in a friendly manner.

"Hello, Maddeleine," I smiled. "Nice to see you again."

Maddeleine looked at my outstretched hand. She hesitated for a second, but then took it.

"Hello, Renesmee," she whispered, giving me a weak smile.

"Okay, Ness!" Clare yelled. "We are going shopping! Wanna come?"

"Umm... sure, I'd love to," I grinned.

I had already spent the last two hours shopping, but a chance to hang out with my best friend Clare whilst I still had a chance wasn't something I was going to give up. I hardly knew these other girls; when we all went to school together, it would be just Clare and I, and occasionally Maddeleine. She tended to hang alone, though. I never understood why, until I learnt that she had been diagnosed with depression at age fifteen, and had spent a great deal of time planning to committ suicide. After counselling, however, she became a lot happier.

Her brother had died overseas, and Maddeleine had regretted that her last words to him were "go to hell!". She had finally started to come out of her dperessed bubble when I left to go to Forks High. I hadn't really gotten to know Maddeleine that well... she wasn't one for sharing.

I had to ask Clare what the names were of the other five girls with us. Abbey Sinkley was the La Push gossip girl. If she found out something, chances were you would know about it by the end of the day. Sky Walters, Kristi Newland, Rhiannon Baker and Miley Harrison were the other girls with us. They were all Quileute, or part Quileute. My daughter fitted in with them more than I would have done myself.

I followed the girls around all the shops in Port Angeles. I ended up finding a beautiful gold bracelet that I thought Isabelle would like. It was engraved with her full name, something I was happy to pay extra for. I also bought myself some new dresses. Maddeleine looked stunned as I pulled out a credit card... and even more stunned when she learnt it was in my name.

There was a cause for some odd attention!