Broken Soul • Emmett Cullen

chapter four

As soon as Alaina pushed open the heavy school doors the next morning, she knew the day would be chaotic. The buzzing vibration of yesterday's gossip was swarming around Alaina as she pushed through the crowds of people to her locker and the squeaks of hundreds of wet sneakers echoed across the hallway. She tossed her soggy jacket into her locker, grabbed her books for her English class, and slammed the door behind her. The sharp clang of the metal door caused a few faces to dart her way, one of them being Bella.

"Alaina!" She said, relief apparent in her tired voice. Jessica was standing next to her, still trying to pepper her with questions regarding yesterday's incident. When she saw Alaina, Jessica's beratement momentarily ceased, and Alaina couldn't help but see a sense of annoyance flash before her eyes with the unwelcomed gossip interruption.

"Hi, Alaina! So Bella, back to what I was saying --" Jessica said quickly, but almost immediately turned her attention back to Bella.

Alaina gave a small wave in return and walked over to Bella and Jessica. Bella looked physically and mentally exhausted, no doubt brought on by Jessica's hyperactive questioning more so than the car accident yesterday. Her deep brown eyes were framed by dark circles and her skin look dull and tired.

"Mornin' guys," she said, making her way to her two friends. "Bella, I'm glad to see you're still alive."

"Let's be honest, we all had our doubts," Bella laughed, shifting her long brown hair from her eyes. Alaina could see Jessica's mouth begin to open with another question, but Alaina cut her off.

"Hey, Jess, we are going to be late for English. Let's go," she said, motioning for Jessica to follow her. Jessica hesitated, but then nodded moving towards her. "See ya, Bella."

Bella mouthed a 'thank you' and Alaina and Jess walked away towards their English class.

"I can't believe Bella is back in school already! If I was in a car accident I would take at least a few days off to rest and catch up on homework and everything else that I have to do..." Jessica trailed off. Alaina nodded and made noises of acknowledgment at all of the right times, but Alaina was barely paying attention to her. She liked Jess well enough, but she knew she would never be that close to her.

They made their way to the classroom and opened the door just in time to hear the bell ring shrilly in their ears. Their English teacher, Mrs. Crawford, clapped her hands excitedly, her ever-present scarf draped around her small frame. "Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats! We have a very exciting class today!"

Alaina couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She reminded Alaina of her art teacher in Detroit: loud, bizarre, and eccentric, but full of love and kindness nonetheless. "Let's go, let's go," Mrs. Crawford said quickly, gently pushing Alaina towards her seat.

"I'm going, I'm going," Alaina grinned, walking towards her seat. She sat down and put her books on her desk. Looking up, she saw that Jasper had been walking behind her. He took his seat as well and gave her a polite nod, his normally golden eyes a dangerous shade of black.

Mrs. Crawford's idea of a very exciting class was reading a dramatic interpretation of Wuthering Heights out loud. Luckily, Alaina wasn't chosen to participate, so she put her head on her desk and tried to follow along but he quickly found her mind wandering to Emmett. She couldn't stop thinking of the encounter that they had the day before in gym, and Alaina's heart gave an uncomfortable jerk, filling her body with dread. She knew she would have to face him again in only a few hours, and her mind filled with anxiety.

She could feel a pair of eyes watching her, and she knew who they belonged to. For once, she wished Jasper wasn't there... Because if Jasper was in school, Emmett would be in school, and she wanted to avoid him at all costs. Alaina turned to Jasper and locked eyes with him, and she felt uneasy looking into his black eyes. Normally, she felt relaxed, even happy around him, but today she felt almost scared. He looked dangerous. She found herself being grateful that he didn't make his usual small talk. The class finished and Jasper was once again the first out of the classroom, but Alaina was quickly behind him to try to avoid Jessica who was nipping on her heels.