Silence Is a Virtue

I wandered into my first lesson, French, and looked around. With a peculiar burst of relief and disappointment, I saw that Edward Cullen was not in this lesson. I sat at the back next to Alice's empty seat. Mike, in the row infront of me, turned around.

"Hey Bella." he grinned, dimples appearing in his round cheeks.

"Hi, Mike." I muttered, pulling my books out of my bag without looking at him.

"Where's Alice?" he asked, enthusiasm practically dripping from his boyish voice.

"Ill." I replied, pretending to be incredibly interested in the writing on the side of my pen.

"Shame. So, I saw you and the new kid yesterday." he said, and I could hear that he was trying very hard to sound like he didn't care.

"Oh?" I glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised. He nodded, shrugging one shoulder.

"Yeah, do you know him or something?" he asked. I inhaled through my teeth very slowly.

"No better than anyone else." I mumbled. The teacher waltzed in, an overwhelming stench of herbs flooding over me.

"Good morning, class!" she called.

"Good morning Mrs Weber." we grumbled in unison. Mike grinned at me apologetically and turned around. I grimaced at the back of his blonde spikey head. He hadn't made a secret of the fact that he had a crush on me, and he invited me to dinner with him at least once a fortnight. It was indescribeably annoying.

The lesson dragged, and Mrs Weber called on me at one point. I scowled at her and mumbled the answer in my tragic French accent. She smiled dreamily and called on someone else as if she had already forgotten I was there. Other than that one short moment, I spent my time trying to figure out why Alice was so worried. She hadn't even met Edward, what could she know about him that I didn't?

The bell rang after what seemed like hours, and I leapt up and darted out of the room before Mike could catch me. I ran into Jasper outside, quite literally, almost knocking him over. He laughed.

"What's got you in such a rush?" he smirked, not needing an answer as he saw Mike stumble out of the room behind me. We walked together to find Emmett and Rosalie, who had both just shared an English lesson.

"You didn't have that lesson with Cullen." Emmett smirked. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"How do you know?" I grumbled. Jasper snickered at my side and I shoved him weakly.

"I can tell. You're so easy to read, Bella." he laughed, gently tugging my hair. I slapped his hand away and led the way to the cafeteria.

I didn't see Edward in the teeming cafeteria, to my disappointment, and it was evident on my face as I slouched to our table. Rosalie made a sympathetic noise as we sat down beside eachother and put her arm around my shoulders. Playing along and not really caring what my stupid brother thought, I rested my head on her shoulder, and she rubbed my arm.

"Maybe he'll be in your next lesson. There's still time to betray Alice." she said lightly. A giggle escaped me, although I didn't like the way she phrased it. I wasn't betraying Alice, was I?

Emmett threw an apple at me and I floundered a little, catching it finally and scowling as he laughed at me.

"You need to eat something - the absence of your lover boy is making you waste away." he grabbed my hand and wrapped his long fingers around my wrist, shaking it dramatically.

"I've always been skinny compared to you, get lost." I grumbled. He laughed again, turning back to Rose. I let my mind wander.

What if Edward wasn't in school today? Of course it would prevent me from upsetting Alice, but it was the one thing that got me out of bed this morning. My heart sank at the thought of not seeing his face today. I ate the rest of my apple in a grumpy silence, ignoring Emmett when he teased me and allowing Rosalie to baby me as much as she liked. The bell rang and I shuffled off to Art, which was right at the top of the tallest building in the school. Just my luck.

I sat down heavily at my usual desk and pulled out my sketchbook. I was vaguely aware of my teacher rambling behind me, but without Alice encouraging me to pay attention, I tuned her out with ease. I doodled on a blank page, lost in my thoughts. Lately it was so easy for me to just block everyone out and daydream. Maybe it was because the subject of my daydreams had changed.

I was snapped from my thoughts when my teacher slammed a pile of sketchbooks down on the table beside me. I jumped, looking up at her to scowl, then looking down at my book. I had sketched several pairs of glittering eyes, staring up at me from the page. I pushed my lips to the side and gently traced the outline of one of the eyes with my fingers, sighing wistfully. If I didn't see him today, I decided, I wouldn't talk to anyone. Ever again.

As I thought that, I cringed. That wouldn't be the smartest thing to say, even if I didn't mean it. I was grateful for a second that Edward wasn't with me, and that he couldn't read minds. If he'd heard that, it would have offended him.

The teacher assigned us some work which unluckily only occupied my hands, not my mind. I did the work without thinking, my fingers deftly weaving between the strips of fabric to create a rag-rugging piece, as my mind happily decided to focus on Edward.

By the end of the lesson, I was in a rotten mood. I hadn't seem him all day and it was changing my personality entirely. I was becoming monosyllabic. I slowly walked to the cafeteria, my head down, clutching my books to my chest. I bought a coffee and sat down at my usual table, waiting for the others. For one second, I thought I saw a mess of bronze hair and a flash of green eyes, but I lost them as soon as I saw them.

I groaned to myself and my head fell to the table with a bump. Rosalie's tinkling laugh informed me of my friends' arrival, but I didn't acknowledge their presence. I was far too busy feeling sorry for myself. I was slowly becoming obsessed with Edward Cullen.

I didn't say a word all lunchtime, though I worked my way through at least four cups of coffee. I had come up with a vaguely comforting thought - I had English next, and I knew for sure that I had that lesson with Edward. If he was in school today, I would see him in that lesson, and we would sit together and spend the whole hour deep in conversation with one another. The thought inflated another dangerously hopeful bubble in my chest.

Lunchtime came to an end, thankfully along with my brother's tormenting comments, and I grabbed my bag and left the cafeteria. I was in a rush to reach my assigned room, though I was trying to stop myself from getting too hopeful. I was setting myself up for bitter disappointment.

He might not be there, I thought to myself. He probably won't be there. Don't get your hopes up.

It didn't work. I burst into the room before anyone else had reached there, and my eyes scanned the empty room hopefully. He wasn't there, but there was still hope. I took my seat and placed my bag on the desk, resting my head on top of it. I carefully angled my head so that I could see the door and everyone who entered through it, but anyone looking at me would have merely assumed I was tired.

I waited with baited breath.