"So you like him, then?"
I was rigid again.
Bella didn't look at Jessica. "Yes."
"I mean, do you really like him?"
"Yes."
Look at that blush!
I was.
Bella groaned.
"How much do you like him?" Jessica demanded.
The English room could have gone up in flames and I wouldn't have noticed.
Bella's face was bright red now - I could almost feel the heat from the mental picture.
"Too much," she whispered. "More than he likes me. But I don't see how I can help that."
"Do you really think you like him more?" Jacob questioned.
"I think I like him more than he's showed me that he has likes me," Bella said, completely confusing Jacob. Bella sighed and then said, "Obviously, I know that Edward loves me after hearing what he thought... but in the book... there is no way that I realize that. In the book, I must be convinced that... I don't know what I'm thinking in the book actually."
Shoot! What did Mr. Varner just ask? "Um - which number, Mr. Varner?"
It was good that Jessica could no longer quiz Bella. I needed a minute.
What on earth was that girl thinking now? More than he likes me? How did she come up with that? But I don't see how I can help that? What was that supposed to mean? I couldn't fit a rational explanation to the words. They were practically senseless.
It seemed I couldn't take anything for granted. Obvious things, things that made perfect sense, somehow got twisted up and turned backwards in that bizarre brain of hers.
Bella hissed as she read this. Was it her that twisted everything! He was the one who never seemed to be able to settle with one thought. Always having to think twenty different things at once.
More than he likes me? Maybe I shouldn't rule out the institution just yet.
I glared at the clock, gritting my teeth. How could mere minutes feel so impossibly long to an immortal? Where was my perspective?
My jaw was tight throughout Mr. Varner's entire trigonometry lesson. I heard more of that than the lecture in my own class. Bella and Jessica didn't speak again, but Jessica peeked at Bella several times, and once her face was brilliant scarlet again for no apparent reason.
Lunch couldn't come fast enough.
I wasn't sure if Jessica would get some of the answers I was waiting for when the class was over, but Bella was quicker than she was.
As soon as the bell sounded, Bella turned to Jessica.
"In English, Mike asked me if you said anything about Monday night," Bella said, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. I understood this for what is was - offense as the best defense.
"Good one, Bells," Jacob chuckled.
"Yeah," Bella said smugly, though she was still upset that he kept thinking she was crazy.
Mike asked about me? Joy made Jessica's mind suddenly unguarded, softer, without its usual snide edge. "You're kidding! What did you say?"
"I told him you said you had a lot of fun - and he looked pleased."
"Tell me exactly what he said, and your exact answer!"
That was all I was going to get from Jessica today, clearly. Bella was smiling like she was thinking the same thing. Like she'd won the round.
"Well, obviously she did," Jacob chuckled.
Well, lunch would be another story. I would have better success with getting answers out of her than Jessica, I would make sure of that.
I could hardly bear to check in occasionally with Jessica through the fourth hour.
I had no patience for her obsessive thoughts of Mike Newton. I'd had more than enough of him in the last two weeks. He was lucky to be alive.
I moved apathetically through gym class with Alice, the way we always moved when it came to physical activity with humans. She was my teammate, naturally. It was the first day of badminton.
"Badminton!" Bella repeated in a whisper... she didn't like the sounds of having a racket in her hand.
Of course, all this exclamation did was cause Jacob to chuckle at her reaction.
I sighed with boredom, swinging the racket in slow motion to tap the birdie back to the other side. Lauren Mallory was on the other team; she missed.
Alice was twirling her racket like a baton, staring at the ceiling.
We all hated gym, Emmett especially. Throwing games was an affront to his personal philosophy. Gym seemed worse today than usual - I felt just as irritated as Emmett always did.
Before my head could explode with impatience, Coach Clapp called the games and sent us out early. I was ridiculously grateful that he'd skipped breakfast - a fresh attempt to diet - and the consequent hunger had him in a hurry to leave campus to find a greasy lunch somewhere. He promised himself he would start over tomorrow...
"Yeah, right... I believe him," Jacob rolled his eyes.
This gave me enough time to get to the math building before Bella's class ended.
Enjoy yourself, Alice thought as she headed off to meet Jasper. Just a few days more to be patient. I suppose you won't say hi to Bella for me, will you?