Midnight Sun(101)

B-well, if a guy doesn't have the nerve to ask her out, she'd never ask him."
"You like shy girls," Emmett said, back to improvisation. Quiet girls. Girls like...hmm, I don't know.
Maybe Bella Swan?
I grinned at him. "Exactly." Then I returned to the performance. "Maybe Angela will get tired of waiting.
Maybe I'll ask her to the prom."
No, you won't, Ben thought, straightening up in his chair. So what if she's so much taller than me? If she
doesn't care, then neither do I. She's the nicest, smartest, prettiest girl in this school... and she wants
me.
I liked this Ben. He seemed bright and well-meaning. Maybe even worthy of a girl like Angela.
I gave Emmett a thumbs up under the desk as Mrs. Goff stood and greeted the class.
Okay, I'll admit it-that was sort of fun, Emmett thought.
I smiled to myself, pleased that I'd been able to shape one love story's happy ending. I was positive that
Ben would follow through, and Angela would receive my anonymous gift. My debt was repaid.
How silly humans were, to let a six inch height differential confound their happiness.
My success put me in a good mood. I smiled again as I settled into my chair and prepared to be
entertained. After all, as Bella had pointed out at lunch, I'd never seen her in action in her gym class
before.
Mike's thoughts were the easiest to pinpoint in the babble of voices that swarmed through the gym. His
mind had gotten far too familiar over the last few weeks. With a sigh, I resigned myself to listening
through him. At least I could be sure that he would be paying attention to Bella.
I was just in time to hear him offer to be her badminton partner; as he made the suggestion, other
partnerings ran through his mind. My smile faded, my teeth clenched together, and I had to remind
myself that murdering Mike Newton was not a permissible option.
"Thanks, Mike-you don't have to do this, you know."
"Don't worry, I'll keep out of your way."
They grinned at each other, and flashes of numerous accidents-always in some way connected to Bellaflashed
through Mike's head.
Mike played alone at first, while Bella hesitated on the back half of the court, holding her racket
gingerly, as if it was some kind of weapon. Then Coach Clapp ambled by and ordered Mike to let Bella
play.
Uh oh, Mike thought as Bella moved forward with a sigh, holding her racquet at an awkward angle.
Jennifer Ford served the birdie directly toward Bella with a smug twist to her thoughts. Mike saw Bella
lurch toward it, swinging the racket yards wide of her target, and he rushed in to try to save the volley.
I watched the trajectory of Bella's racquet with alarm. Sure enough, it hit the taut net and sprung back
at her, clipping her forehead before it spun out to strike Mike's arm with a resounding thwack.
Ow. Ow. Ungh. That's going to leave a bruise.
Bella was kneading her forehead. It was hard to stay in my seat where I belonged, knowing she was hurt.
But what could I do, if I were there? And it didn't seem to be serious... I hesitated, watching. If she
intended to continue to try to play, I was going to have to manufacture an excuse to pull her out of class.
The coach laughed. "Sorry, Newton." That girl's the worst jinx I've ever seen. Shouldn't inflict her on the#p#分页标题#e#
others...
He turned his back deliberately and moved to watch another game so that Bella could return to her
former spectator's role.
Ow, Mike thought again, massaging his arm. He turned to Bella. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, are you?" she asked sheepishly, blushing.
"I think I'll make it." Don't want to sound like a crybaby. But, man, that hurts!
Mike swung his arm in a circle, wincing.
"I'll just stay back here," Bella said, embarrassment and chagrin on her face rather than pain. Maybe
Mike had got the worst of it. I certainly hoped that was the case. At least she wasn't playing anymore.
She held her racquet so carefully behind her back, her eyes wide with remorse... I had to disguise my
laugh as coughing.
What's funny? Emmett wanted to know.
"Tell you later," I muttered.
Bella didn't venture into the game again. The coach ignored her and let Mike play alone.
I breezed through the quiz at the end of the hour, and Mrs. Goff let me go early. I was listening intently
to Mike as I walked across the campus. He'd decided to confront Bella about me.
Jessica swears they're dating. Why? Why did he have to pick her?
He didn't recognize the real phenomenon-that she'd picked me.
"So."
"So what?" she wondered.
"You and Cullen, huh?" You and the freak. I guess, if a rich guy is that important to you...
I gritted my teeth at his degrading assumption.
"That's none of your business, Mike."
Defensive. So it's true. Crap. "I don't like it."
"You don't have to," she snapped.
Why can't she see what a circus sideshow he is? Like they all are. The way he stares at her. It gives me