perennial - rosalie hale of twilight

Chapter 6

[OCTOBER 2004]

Things at school were back to normal after a couple of weeks. Edythe has settled and adjusted, and Lily hasn't said anything to anyone, according to the mind-readers.

   I sat in the back row in English, Jasper beside me. Emmett and I liked sitting next to each other, but we couldn't take risks with Jasper sitting so close to a human in such a closed space. Sometimes they get too embarrassed, too charmed, or too distracted by our presence that they'd blush, play with their hair too much, pick their skin, or bite their nails. We can't have Jasper too close to any of those. Jasper is very much annoyed with us and our precautionary measures but we're just trying to help, and he knew that.

   Emmett sat just in front of Jasper, keeping close to him. I hear the guy in the seat next to Emmett gulp nervously every few minutes. Mr. Berty lectured about Romeo and Juliet. A story I've heard a hundred times before.

   To be honest, I've found it silly. Romeo decides to kill himself upon concluding Juliet had died without making sure he wasn't making the wrong assumptions. It just didn't make sense to me.

   It hurt me to just even think about it, but if I had somehow thought Emmett was gone, I'd do everything in my power to make sure it was real before doing anything rash. The agony of losing my soulmate for all eternity was unimaginable. If I had decided to take my own life, thinking Emmett was gone for good . . . what if it was all a big misunderstanding like in Romeo and Juliet? I couldn't even finish the thought. Emmett would be devastated if he found out I was gone. I would never want to cause him that pain, and I couldn't imagine a world without Emmett even if I weren't in it.

   At the usual lunch table, Alice was more enthusiastic than ever about something. Edward and Edythe exchanged a slightly nervous look as Alice sat down, a piece of paper in hand.

   "Alice, don't," Edward muttered.

   "Hush, Edward," she said, giving him a warning look.

   Edward sighed and put his earphones on.

   Alice grinned, placing the paper on the table. "We're going to a party next week," she announced, excited.

   "What party?" I asked.

   "A Halloween party, of course," she declared.

   "We were invited?" Jasper asked, eyebrows raised.

   We were considered the most popular group in school, but no one bothered to approach us since we came here, so we couldn't have been directly invited by someone. Everyone was too intimidated and thought we were too good for them.

   "It's an open party," Alice replied.

   Of course.

   "We're all going."

   "No, we're not, Alice" said Edward, without looking up, scrolling through his iPod.

   "Fine. Mr. Crabby here isn't," Alice said, crossing her arms. "But the rest of us are. It'll be fun!" She clapped her hands together. "I have the costumes all planned out."

   I wasn't sure if I wanted to party with a bunch of mediocre humans, but this would be a great excuse to dress up.

   Everyone at school talked about the much-awaited Halloween party. I tried my best to listen to almost every conversation about the costumes everyone would be wearing. I preferred not to show up in the same costume as anyone, so I asked Edythe for help. She continuously scanned the minds of those attending the party.

   Alice suggested I went as Princess Aurora, but I didn't want to go as a specific character. I was thinking of dressing up in 1930s Hollywood fashion. Growing up, I was always told I looked like a movie star. And as a teenager in the 1930s, I remembered daydreaming about attending exclusive Hollywood parties, rubbing elbows with important people, wearing dresses even more expensive than the already fancy ones my parents bought me.