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Sunbreak 1. Departure. Nessie.
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Jacob and I stood by the boarding gate of the airport, gate six. My heavy duffel bag was slung awkwardly over my shoulder, weighing me down a little. Neither of us wanted to be the first to say good-bye. Jacob shuffled his weight from foot to foot, eyebrows mashed together in one black line, eyes cast in shadow. He grimaced at his shoes, and I had time to think this over again.
Jacob and I had always been best friends. I remember him when I was an infant. He held me all the time and even sang to me when no one was listening. We would race together in the woods surrounding my grandparents' house when I was a toddler. When I was ten he'd willingly play dolls with me for hours. When I was a teenager we'd discuss music and give each other CD's (This was something we disagreed on immensely; he liked the Native American bands, while I preferred the softer, piano played classics.). Now I was sixteen (well, physically. In real years, I was only six.) and our once carefree friendship had become a lot more complex. We would linger too long in hugs. Our hands would accidentally brush together but neither one of us would flinch away. It didn't seem to bother Jacob, but it bothered me. I kept my troubles to myself, putting on a good show. I fooled everyone. If Jacob wanted to be more than friends...I wasn't sure if that was OK yet. I'd have to think, but I was around Jacob all the time, and it wasn't helping much. I had been born with a natural curiousity and a strong desire to learn. Whenever I wasn't busy, I went up to Grandpa's study to read all of his thick, old books, carefully storing away the knowledge. I wanted to learn it all. I would stay up late to just ask questions about history, philosophy, and religions. I practiced different accents and learned languages. Grandpa didn't have EVERY subject I desired to learn about, however, and this unquenchable thirst for learning combined with my confusing life with Jacob led me to make a drastic descision. I was shipping myself off to a boarding school in Delaware. Maybe I was overreacting a bit (I got that from Dad, or so everyone tells me), but I felt I had made the right choice, though it hurt to go. "Flight six to Delaware is boarding!" said the ticket-seller. "Please take all of your belongings and..." I tuned out her voice. A group of sitting passengers got up and started to board the plane. Jacob's frown grew more pronounced. "Wow, I haven't seen you this upset since you lost to Seth in armwrestling, Jake," I said, chuckling nervously at the memory, desperately trying to cheer him up. He'd been so peeved... "You're leaving," he said, and for a second his expression was one of such depression that I almost turned away from the plane and went back to Forks with him. But I had my ticket, my bag was packed, and I was enrolled in the school...there was no turning back now. "I know," I whispered. "I want to, though. Nobody's forcing me." "I am," he whispered back. Pain shot across my face like I'd just been burned. "No, you aren't!" I cried, forcing his chin up to look at me. "I just want some time by myself for a while. To think, to plan my life." I felt so awful that he'd figured it out, but I was a good liar so I held my breath as my words sunk in. I could tell he didn't believe me completely. "I'll have no one to play with," he pouted. He looked like such a child, even for a twenty-two year old (physically he was probably thirty-something, and he wasn't really twenty-two, he was frozen at about sixteen because he still phased.) and I had to laugh. "Play with Uncle Emmett and Aunt Alice," I suggested. He adored Aunt Alice and her little quirks and sarcastic remarks about him ruining her future, since their lives usually mingled together. And Uncle Emmett was his beloved, adopted big brother, no doubt about it. They played baseball, arm-wrestled, and agreed on almost everything. Jacob half-smiled, trying not to make me depressed before I got to school. "Alright," he said, giving in. "Last call for flight six to Delaware!" I sighed, then stood on my tiptoes to wrap by arms around his neck. "Bye, Jake," I said. He squeezed tightly around my waist for a moment, then released me and stepped back, his eyes dead. "Bye, Ness." I looked into his eyes for a moment, then picked up my duffel bag from where it had slid of my shoulder onto the floor. Then I stepped through the gate and the doors closed behind me. And I was gone I shoved my duffel under my feet in the plane seat and looked out the window, feeling like the scum of the earth. Well that had been painful. I never thought that Jacob would blame himself for my absense, but he obviously had, and felt terrible about it. The hug we'd just shared had lasted much shorter than the ones I was used to. The plane began to roll down the flight path, and I waved to Jacob's forlorn face at the airport window. He waved once, then shrugged on his raincoat and turned away, shoulders hunched. When we were a good ten thousand feet in the air, I pulled out the brochure that was filled with information about my new school. The school was pretty fancy and very expensive; Dad had insisted that I be educated at only the best. I was going to Brenton Academy. They had the highest education quality in the United States. My duffel was filled almost to bursting. In fact, I was almost sure it would explode, thanks to Aunt Alice. We had gone on a shopping trip a few days ago and had come back with enough purchases to clothe a small nation! She insisted that all of it had to go with me, and she had crammed and shoved everything neatly into the small duffel bag as only a vampire was able to do. I had sat on it to get it zipped shut. None of the clothes were my style. It was all dressy skirts and blouses, verses the stone-washed blue jeans and pretty, casual tops I wore on a daily basis. I tucked the brochure back in the duffel bag pocket, loosing interrest in the desire to read it. It wasn't like I was bitter about going to Brenton. It sounded exciting. Brenton boardered the Atlantic ocean and there was a breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet every day, featuring lobster. Though it was fancy, there were still plenty of activities to join and keep busy with. Piano lessons, the dance team, and various committees all caught my interest, not that they would give me much pleasure once I joined. I already knew many old, long classical pieces of music that I could play by heart and with my eyes closed. I always danced with Alice or Jacob or Emmett, whoever felt like it. Emmett wasn't really for dancing, but once you challenged or betted on who was better, he gave in. I stared out the window of the rising plane, looking at the fluffy white clouds. Every passing cloud brought me closer to Brenton, only I didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. |
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