"Twilight - 03 - Eclipse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Meyer Stephanie)

I was sure he was right.

УWeТll see about that,Ф I bluffed anyway. УHeТs still my friend.Ф

I could feel JacobТs note in my pocket, like it suddenly weighed ten pounds. I could hear the words in his voice, and he seemed to be agreeing with Edward Ч something that would never happen in reality.

DoesnТt change anything. Sorry.

а

2. EVASION

IFELT ODDLY BUOYANT AS I WALKED FROM SPANISHtoward the cafeteria, and it wasnТt just because I was holding hands with the most perfect person on the planet, though that was certainly part of it.

Maybe it was the knowledge that my sentence was served and I was a free woman again.

Or maybe it wasnТt anything to do with me specifically. Maybe it was the atmosphere of freedom that hung over the entire campus. School was winding down, and, for the senior class especially, there was a perceptible thrill in the air.

Freedom was so close it was touchable, taste-able. Signs of it were everywhere. Posters crowded together on the cafeteria walls, and the trashcans wore a colorful skirt of spilled-over fliers: reminders to buy yearbooks, class rings, and announcements; deadlines to order graduation gowns, hats, and tassels; neon-bright sales pitches Ч the juniors campaigning for class office; ominous, rose-wreathed advertisements for this yearТs prom. The big dance was this coming weekend, but I had an ironclad promise from Edward that I would not be subjected to that again. After all, IТd already hadthat human experience.

No, it must be my personal freedom that lightened me today. The ending of the school year did not give me the pleasure it seemed to give the other students. Actually, I felt nervous to the point of nausea whenever I thought of it. I tried tonot think of it.

But it was hard to escape such an omnipresent topic as graduation.

УHave you sent your announcements, yet?Ф Angela asked when Edward and I sat down at our table. She had her light brown hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail instead of her usual smooth hairdo, and there was a slightly frantic look about her eyes.

Alice and Ben were already there, too, on either side of Angela. Ben was intent over a comic book, his glasses sliding down his narrow nose. Alice was scrutinizing my boring jeans-and-a-t-shirt outfit in a way that made me self-conscious. Probably plotting another makeover. I sighed. My indifferent attitude to fashion was a constant thorn in her side. If IТd allow it, sheТd love to dress me every day Ч perhaps several times a day Ч like some oversized three-dimensional paper doll.

УNo,Ф I answered Angela. УThereТs no point, really. Renщe knows when IТm graduating. Who else is there?Ф

УHow about you, Alice?Ф

Alice smiled. УAll done.Ф

УLucky you.Ф Angela sighed. УMy mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address one to everybody. IТm going to get carpal tunnel. I canТt put it off any longer and IТm just dreading it.Ф

УIТll help you,Ф I volunteered. УIf you donТt mind my awful handwriting.Ф

Charlie would like that. From the corner of my eye, I saw Edward smile. He must like that, too Ч me fulfilling CharlieТs conditions without involving werewolves.

Angela looked relieved. УThatТs so nice of you. IТll come over any time you want.Ф

УActually, IТd rather go to your house if thatТs okay Ч IТm sick of mine. Charlie un-grounded me last night.Ф I grinned as I announced my good news.

УReally?Ф Angela asked, mild excitement lighting her always-gentle brown eyes. УI thought you said you were in for life.Ф

УIТm more surprised than you are. I was sure I would at least have finished high school before he set me free.Ф

УWell, this is great, Bella! WeТll have to go out to celebrate.Ф