《Twilight 暮光之城Ⅰ——暮色》 （中英文对照·完结）

阿汤哥

我一边穿过过道向老师介绍自己并让他在我的纸条上签名，一边偷偷瞄着他。在我经过他身边的时候，他忽然挺直身体，笔直地坐在座位上。他又一次盯着我看，脸上露出极其陌生的神情直视着我的眼睛——一种敌意的，狂暴的眼神。我赶快移开视线，大为震撼，而且又脸红了。路上我被一本书绊到，不得不抓住一张桌子来保持平衡。坐在那张桌子后的女孩吃吃地笑起来。

我注意到他的眼眸是黑色的——黑得像煤炭一样。

班纳老师在我的纸条上签了名，递给我一本书，没有半点让我自我介绍的意思。我敢说我们会相处得很好的。当然，他别无选择，只能让我坐到屋子中间那张唯一空着的座位上。在我坐下去的时候我一直低垂着眼，对他投来的充满敌意的眼神大为不解。

我把书放到桌上，坐了下来，在此过程中我一直没有抬头，但我用眼角注意到了他姿势的改变。他尽可能地倾斜身子远离我，坐到了他的凳子最尽头的一角。他的脸扭向一边，就像是闻到了什么难闻的味道。我尽量不引人注意地嗅了嗅我的头发，只闻到了草莓的味道，这是我最喜欢的洗发水的香味。

只有这种味道而已。我让头发从我的右肩垂下来，像一袭黑帘隔在我们之间，然后努力把注意力集中在老师身上。

不幸的是，这堂课讲的是细胞解剖学，我已经学过这部分内容了。但我还是仔细地做着笔记，一直埋着头。

我无法抑制自己，总是时不时地透过我的发帘偷瞄那个坐我旁边的奇怪男孩。整堂课，他都僵直地坐在凳子边缘，不曾放松，尽可能地坐得离我远一些。我可以看到他放在左腿上的手握紧成拳，苍白的肌肤上青筋暴起。他的手也不曾松开过。他的白衬衣的长袖管挽到了手肘以上，他的小臂结实得惊人，雪白的肌肤下全是肌肉。他一点儿也不像和他健壮的兄弟们坐在一起时看起来的那样纤细。

这堂课似乎比别的课都要漫长。也许是因为这一天即将结束，又或者是我一直在等他握紧的拳头松开？他始终没有松开他的拳头。他一直坐在那里，安静得好像根本没在呼吸。他到底是怎么回事？他平时都是这样的吗？我开始怀疑自己午饭时对杰西卡的尖酸刻薄的腔调的判断，也许她并不像我想的那样愤愤不平。

这不可能跟我有什么关系。前一天晚上他还不认识我呢。

我又一次偷瞄他，但立刻就后悔了。他再次用仇视的眼神瞪着我。他的黑眼睛里充满了极度的厌恶。

我畏缩地收回视线，在凳子上蜷成一团，那句名言“如果用眼神可以杀人”忽然闯入我的脑海。

就在这时，铃声响了起来，吓了我一跳，而爱德华?卡伦已经离开了他的座位。他很快地跳起来——他比我想象的还有高——背对着我，他消失在门外的时候别的人甚至还没站起来。

我呆呆地坐在座位上，茫然着盯着他的身影。他太过分了。这不公平。我开始慢慢地收拾自己的东西，试着抑制住满心愤怒，生怕眼泪夺眶而出。我生气时总忍不住哭起来，这是一种丢脸的倾向。

================================================

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab
table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In
fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I
recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single
open seat.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my
slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he
suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes
with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious. I
looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in
the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl
sitting there giggled.

I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about
introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had
no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room.
I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the
antagonistic stare he'd given me.

I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I
saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away
from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face
like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It
smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an
innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a
dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already
studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my
hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never
relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from
me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a
fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never
relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his
elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his
light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly
brother.

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the
day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight
fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like
he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal
behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch
today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.

It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.
I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down
at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from
him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly
ran through my mind.

At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen
was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd
thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was
out of their seat.

I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It
wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the
anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my
temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry,
a humiliating tendency.

阿汤哥

“你不是伊莎贝拉?史温吗？”一个男孩的声音问道。

我抬起头，看见一个可爱的，长着一张娃娃脸的男孩。他的浅**头发用发胶小心地固定成整齐的造型。他友好地向我微笑着。他显然不觉得我闻上去有异味。

“贝拉。”我微笑着，更正他。

“我是迈克。”

“你好，迈克。”

“需要帮忙找下一堂课的教室吗？”

“事实上，我要直奔体育馆。我想我能找到它。”

“我下堂课也是体育课。”他看上去很激动，尽管在这么小的学校里这不是什么大不了的巧合。

我们一起向体育馆走去，一路上他一直喋喋不休——大部分谈话都是他一个人在说，这对我来说轻松多了。他十岁以前住在加利福尼亚，所以他能明白我对阳光的感受。而且他跟我也是一个英语班的。

他是我今天见到的最友好的人了。

但在我们走进体育馆的时候，他问我：“嗯，你是不是用铅笔戳了爱德华?卡伦一下，还是别的什么？我从没见过他像今天这样。”

我怔了怔。原来我不是唯一一个注意到这件事的人。同样，显而易见，这也不是爱德华?卡伦一贯的作风。我决定装聋作哑。
“你是说生物课上坐我旁边的男孩吗？”我毫不做作地问。

“是的，”他说。“他看上去像在忍受某种痛苦还是别的什么。”

“我不知道，”我回答道。“我还没跟他说过话。”

“他是个古怪的家伙。”迈克磨磨蹭蹭地不肯进更衣室，继续和我说着话。“如果我有幸坐在你旁边，我一定会和你说话的。”

我对他微笑，然后走进女生更衣室门里。他很友好，而且明显是在赞美我，但这依然不能减轻我的怒气。

体育课老师克拉普教练给我找了件运动服，但没让我在这堂课就换上。在我家那边，只需要上两年体育课，但在这里，体育课四年里都是必修课。福克斯根本就是我的地狱。

我看着四场排球赛同时进行着，回忆起我曾经承受了多少伤痛——同时也造成了不少——打排球，我感到有些恶心。

当我走进温暖的办公室时，我几乎要立刻转过身冲出去。

=========================================

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.

I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully
gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously
didn't think I smelled bad.

"Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that
big of a coincidence in a school this small.

We walked to class together; he was a chatterer — he supplied most of the
conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he
was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my
English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.

But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward
Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."
I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently,
that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.

"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the
dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked
to you."

I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He
was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my
irritation.

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress
down for today's class. At home, only two years of RE. were required.
Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal
hell on Earth.

I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how
many injuries I had sustained — and inflicted — playing volleyball, I
felt faintly nauseated.

The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my
**work. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and
colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.

When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked
back out.

阿汤哥

爱德华?卡伦在我前面倚着办公桌站着。我认出了他凌乱的红发。他似乎没有听到我开门进来的声音。我强迫自己背靠着墙站着，等着接待员空闲下来。

他正用富有磁性的声音和她低声争论着什么。我很快抓住了他们争论的要点。他试图把第六节的生物课改到别的时间——任何别的时间都行。

我只是不能相信这和我有关。一定是因为别的事，在我进生物教室以前发生的事。他脸上的神情看起来像是被什么事彻底地激怒了。这个陌生人，不可能如此突然地、强烈地厌恶着我。

门又开了，一阵冷风突如其来地涌进房间，把桌子上的纸张吹得沙沙作响，我的头发不停地拂着我的脸。刚进来的女孩只是走近办公桌，把一张纸条放到铁丝筐里，然后又走出去了。但爱德华?卡伦整个背部都僵住了，他慢慢转过身来，盯着我——他的脸英俊得不可思议——用洞悉一切，充满厌恶的眼神，注视着我。那一瞬间，我感到一阵颤栗，一种真正的恐惧，我手臂上的细毛都竖起来了。他的凝视只持续了一秒钟，但它给我带来的寒意远胜于刚刚吹过的冷风。他转身面向那位接待员。

“好吧，没关系，”他很快地说道，声音听起来像天鹅绒。“我看得出这是不可能的。谢谢你的帮助。”然后他转身离去，再也不看我，消失在门外。

我温顺地走向桌子，脸色立刻由红变白。我把签了字的纸条递给她。

“第一天过得怎样，亲爱的？”接待员像母亲一样温柔问道。

“很好。”我撒谎道，声音虚弱。她看上去并不相信。

当我回到车上时，停车场上几乎就剩下我这辆车了。它简直像个天堂。对我来说它是在这个潮湿的绿穴里最接近家的地方了。我在驾驶室里坐了一会儿，只是茫然地盯着挡风玻璃看。但很快我就冷得不行，需要打开暖气。于是我拧动钥匙，引擎轰鸣起来。我径直开回查理的家，一路上努力不让眼泪掉下来。

====================================

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that
tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance.
I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be
free.

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up
the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology
to another time — any other time.

I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something
else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look
on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was
impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike
to me.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the
room, rustling the **s on the desk, swirling my hair around my face.

The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the
wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened,
and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome —
with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of
genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second,
but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the
receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see
that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on
his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and
handed her the signed slip.

"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.
"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.

When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed
like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green
hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly.

But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and
the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting
tears the whole way there.



第一章END

阿汤哥

嚯嚯，顶个，有空看看英文！

大爱英语啊！

阿汤哥

第二章 开卷

第二天要好些，也更糟糕。

更好些是因为它不再下雨了，但云层依然又厚又密。这一天要容易些，因为我知道这一天都有什么可期待。迈克英语课上和我坐在一起，然后陪我去下一堂课，一路上说个不停，而“象棋俱乐部”埃里克始终瞪着他。人们不再像昨天那样老盯着我看了。午餐时我和一大群人坐在一起，包括迈克，埃里克，杰西卡，还有一些别的名字和面孔我都不记得的人。我开始感到像是踏在了水面上，而不是被水淹没。

更糟糕是因为我很疲倦。夜里风声在屋里回荡，我一直无法入睡。更糟糕是因为瓦尔纳老师在三角课上叫我起来回答问题，而那时我并没有举手，而且我还答错了。这是悲惨的一天，因为我不得不开始打排球，而且有一次我没能从球的来路中躲开，而把它打到了我队友的头上。这一天更糟糕，是因为爱德华?卡伦没有来学校。

整个早上我都在惧怕着午餐，害怕他异乎寻常的怒视。我的一部分想要对抗他，要求知道他的问题所在。当我无法入睡，只能躺在床上时，我甚至想象着我该怎么说。但我太了解我自己了，我不认为我有这个胆量去做这件事。我让胆小的狮子看起来像个终结者。

当我和杰西卡一起走进自助餐厅的时候，我努力不让自己偷瞄他所在的地方，但没有成功——我看见他的四个风格迥异的兄弟姐妹一起坐在昨天的那张桌子旁，但他不在那里。

迈克拦住我们，要我们坐到他那张桌子去。杰西卡看上去很乐意得到他的注意，她的朋友们也很快就加入了我们。但在我努力去听他们轻松的谈话的同时，我仍然不安地等待着他进来的那个让人提心吊胆的时刻。我希望他进来时不会注意到我，以证明我的多疑是错误的。

他没有进来，而随着时间的推移，我越来越紧张不安。

========================================

2. OPEN BOOK

The next day was better… and worse.

It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense
and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike
came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess
Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was nattering. People didn't
look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at
lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose
names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading
water, instead of drowning in it.

It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind
echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in
Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was
miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't
cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it.
And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.

All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me
wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I
was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I
knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I
made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.

But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica — trying to keep my
eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely — I saw that
his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and
he was not with them.

Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by
the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to
listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting
nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply
ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.

He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.

阿汤哥

午餐时间结束时，他依然没有出现，因此我更加充满信心地去上生物课。迈克表现出了金毛寻回犬的优良品质，忠实地陪着我去教室。在门边上我屏住了呼吸，但爱德华?卡伦也不在那里。我松了一口气，向我的位置走去。迈克一路跟着我，谈论着一次即将到来的沙滩之旅。他一直待在我的桌子旁直到铃声响起。然后他满怀希望地向我笑了笑，回去坐到一个戴着牙套，烫着可怕的波浪发的女孩旁边。看来我得对迈克做点什么了，但这不太容易。在这样一个小镇里，每个人都对别人了如指掌，因而采取一些策略是十分必要的。我不会做得很老练；关于应付过分热情的男孩我没有任何经验。

我很高兴我能一个人占据整张桌子，因为爱德华不在。我一而再再而三地这样告诉自己。但我无法逃避这样的疑虑：他不在这里是因为我。认为我能够这样强烈地影响某人，这种想法实在太过荒谬，也太过自负了。这是不可能的。但我还是无法停止担心，担心这是真的。

这一天的课程都结束以后，我一直等到脸上被排球打到的擦伤不那么红时，才迅速换上我的牛仔裤和海军蓝色的毛衣。我快步走出女生更衣室，愉快地发现我终于成功地暂时甩开了我的寻回犬朋友。我迅速走到停车场，现在这里挤满了急于离开的学生。我钻进卡车里，检查了一下书包以确认没有落下什么东西。

昨天晚上我终于发现查理除了煎蛋和熏肉什么也不会做。所以我要求在我住在这里的这段时间里由我接管厨房。他相当乐意地交出了打理三餐的权力。我也发现他家里已经没有食物了。所以我列了一张购物清单，从橱柜里标着“伙食费”的罐头里拿了钱，现在只需直奔平价超市。

我踩下油门，发动了轰隆隆的引擎，无视一堆向我方向转过头来的脑袋，小心翼翼地把车倒进等着离开停车场的车队长龙中。当我在队伍里等着，假装那个震耳欲聋的轰鸣是别人的车发出的时候，我看到卡伦两兄妹和黑尔双胞胎钻进了他们的车里。是那辆闪闪发光的沃尔沃。当然，也只能是他们的。我之前没有注意到他们的衣着——我太着迷于他们的面孔了。现在我看到，很显然他们的穿着出奇地好；式样简洁，但明显是出自设计师之手。有这样出众的外形，这样优雅的姿态，他们就算穿着破抹布也能出人头地。居然能够同时拥有美貌与财富，他们好得有些过分了。但就我所能告诉你的，生活大多数时候都是公平的。看起来他们拥有的一切并没能让他们在这里得到认同。

不，我并不完全坚信这一点。似乎是他们自己把自己隔离起来了；我不能想象对于这样优秀的人生活中会有哪扇门推不开。

===============================

I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he
still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden
retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the
door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my
seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He
lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully
and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I
was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In
a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy
was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice
dealing with overly friendly boys.

I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I
told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging
suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and
egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was
impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.

When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my
cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans
and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to
find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I
walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing
students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had
what I needed.

Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried
eggs and bacon. So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the
duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the
banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had
my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD
MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.

I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in
my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that
were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that
the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two
Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new
Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before — I'd been too
mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they
were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly
hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style
with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and
pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money.
But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It
didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.

No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I
couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of
beauty.

阿汤哥

在我开车经过他们车旁时，他们和别人一样，都扭过头来看着我这辆隆隆作响的卡车。我坚持着直视前方，直到逃出校园以后，才终于感觉到得救了。
平价超市离学校不远，只隔着几条马路，紧挨着高速公路。呆在超市里是件很惬意的事：这里感觉正常多了。在家时我负责购物，所以我很高兴能投入到同样的工作中。超市里很大，呆在这里我听不到打在屋顶上噼啪作响的雨声，可以忘记身在何处。

回到家后，我把买回来的东西从车上搬下来，塞满了我能找到的每一块空间。我希望查理不会介意。我把马铃薯裹上锡箔，塞进烤箱里，给一块牛排浇上酱汁，搁在冰箱里的鸡蛋盒上。

做完这些以后，我拿起书包走上楼。在开始写作业以前，我先换了一件干爽的毛衣，把湿漉漉的头发扎成马尾，然后去检查电子邮件。我有三封邮件。

“贝拉，”是我妈发来的。

“你一到那边就发邮件给我。告诉我你一路飞得是否顺利。下雨了吗？我已经开始想念你了。我刚刚打包好去加利福尼亚的行李，但我找不到我那件粉色外套了。你知道我放哪儿了吗？菲尔向你问好。妈妈。“

我叹了口气，翻到下一封邮件。这封邮件和上一封邮件隔了八个小时。

“贝拉，”她写到。

“为什么你还没有发邮件给我？你在等什么？妈妈。”

最后一封是今天早上收到的。

“伊莎贝拉，

如果今晚五点半我还没收到你的消息，我就要打电话给查理了。”

我看了看钟。还有一个小时，但我妈爱抢跑是出了名的。

“妈妈，

冷静点。我现在就写。别冲动。

"贝拉。”

我发出这封邮件，然后开始写下一封。

“妈妈，

一切都很好。当然这里一直在下雨。我只是在等有什么可写的。学校不算太糟，只是有点单调。我认识了一些不错的孩子，他们午餐时和我坐在一起。

你的外套在干洗店——你应该周五去把它取回来。

查理给我买了辆卡车，你信不信？我喜欢这辆车。它有些年头了，但相当坚固，你知道，这对我来说再好不过了。

我也很想你。我很快会再写邮件给你的，但我不可能每五分钟检查一次邮件。

放轻松，深呼吸，我爱你。

贝拉。”

============================

They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else.
I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free
of the school grounds.

The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off
the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I
did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar
task gladly. The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the
tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.

When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever
I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped
potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in
marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.

When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before
starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp
hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had
three messages.

"Bella," my mom wrote…


Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it
raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but
I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi.
Mom.


I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.

"Bella," she wrote…


Why haven't you e-mailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom.


The last was from this morning.


Isabella,

If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.

I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for
jumping the gun.


Mom,

Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.

Bella.

I sent that, and began again.

Mom,

Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something
to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some
nice kids who sit by me at lunch.

Your blouse is at the dry cleaners - you were supposed to pick it up
Friday.

Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but
really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.

I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my
e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.

Bella.

阿汤哥

我开始看《呼啸山庄》——我们的英语课正在学这部小说——再看一遍纯粹是为了消遣。我正在看书的时候，查理回来了。我看得太入神，以至于忘了时间。我冲下楼，把马铃薯拿出来，开始烤牛排。

“是贝拉吗？”爸爸听到我下楼的声音，问道。

还能有谁？我暗自想着。

“嗨，爸爸，欢迎回家。”

“谢谢。”他把枪挂在墙上。趁我还在厨房里忙活，他把靴子换了下来。就我所知，他还不曾在执行公务的时候开过枪。但他总是时刻准备着。当我还小，来这里住着的时候，他总是一进门就把子弹给卸下来了。我猜他是觉得我够大了，不会因为枪走火而伤着自己，也没有沮丧到要饮弹自杀尽。

“晚饭吃什么？”他警惕地问。我的母亲是个富有创意的厨子，但她的试验品通常都难以下咽。我既惊异，又难过：他居然到现在还记着这件事。

“牛排和马铃薯。”我回答道。他看起来松了一口气。

我忙着的时候，他似乎觉得在厨房里干站着太傻，就笨拙地走到起居室里看电视去了。那样我们都会更轻松些。趁牛排还在锅里烤着，我做了份沙拉，摆好餐具。

等晚饭准备好后，我喊他过来吃饭。他走进屋子时，满意地嗅着。

“闻着不错，贝拉。”

“谢谢。”

我们静静地吃了一会儿。这种感觉很自在。我们都不会因为沉默而难受。在某种意义上来说，我们很适合住在一起。

“嗯，你觉得学校怎样？有没有交到什么新朋友？”又过了一会儿，他问道。.

“嗯，我和一个叫杰西卡的女孩一起上了几节课。午餐时我和她的朋友们坐在一起。还有一个叫迈克的男孩，人很不错。大家都很友好。”除了某位人物。

“那一定是迈克?牛顿。不错的孩子——家境也不错。他爸爸在离镇上不远的地方开了家运动装备商店。他在路过这里的徒步旅行者身上赚了不少钱。”

“你知道卡伦一家吗？”我迟疑地问。

“卡伦医生一家？当然。卡伦医生是个好人。”

“他们……那些孩子……有些不太一样。他们似乎不太适应这里的学校。”

查理气愤的表情把我吓到了。

===================================

I had decided to read Wuthering Heights — the novel we were currently
studying in English — yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was
doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried
downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.

"Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.

Who else? I thought to myself.

"Hey, Dad, welcome home."

"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I
bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun
on the job. But he kept it ready. When I came here as a child, he would
always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he
considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not
depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.

"What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook,
and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that
he seemed to remember that far back.

"Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.

He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he
lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both
more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and
set the table.

I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as
he walked into the room.

"Smells good, Bell."

"Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of

us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for
living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he
was taking seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her
friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly.
Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the
sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all
the backpackers who come through here."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very
well at school."

Charlie surprised me by looking angry.

阿汤哥

“镇上这些人！”他喃喃地说。“卡伦医生是一位出色的外科医师，他在世界上任何别的医院工作都能挣到十倍于这儿的工资，”他越说越响。“能得到他是我们走运——因为他太太喜欢住在小镇上。他是这个社区的财富。他的孩子们个个都行为端正，礼貌得体。他们刚搬来时我也曾对这些这个年纪被收养的孩子产生过疑虑。但他们都很懂事——他们从没给我惹过哪怕一丁点的麻烦。而有些世世代代住在镇上的家伙，他们的孩子我简直没法说。而且他们确实像一家人那样团结——每两周就去一次露营……只不过因为他们是新来的，人们就对他们说长道短。”

这是我听过的查理一口气说出的最长的话。他一定是对人们的流言蜚语气愤得不得了。

我改口说道：“他们似乎对我还算不错。我只是注意到他们总是独来独往。他们都很引人注目。”我补充道，努力想要表现得更赞赏些。

“你应该见见那个医生，”查理大笑着说。“他婚姻美满实在是件好事。当他在附近时，医院里的很多护士都很难集中注意力工作。”
我们吃过饭后，再度陷入了沉默。我开始洗盘子时，他动手收拾桌子，然后回去看电视。我洗完盘子后——用手洗，因为没有洗碗机——不太情愿地上楼去写数学作业。我可以感觉到某种一成不变的生活模式正在形成。

这天夜里很安静，我感到精疲力竭，很快就睡着了。

这一周就这样平静地过去了。我开始习惯每天例行公事的课表。周五的时候我几乎已经认得全校的学生了，只是还叫不全名字。体育课上，我的队友已经吸取教训，不再传球给我了。如果别的队试图利用我这个弱点，他们会尽快地冲到我前面。我很高兴地给他们让开路。

爱德华?卡伦还是没有来学校。

每一天，我都不安地看着门口，直到那群卡伦家的孩子走进自助餐厅，不包括他。这时我才会安下心来，加入到午餐时间的谈话中。通常这些对话都只围绕着迈克组织的，两周后的拉普什海洋公园之旅开展。我也被邀请了，我也同意了，更多是出于礼貌而非自愿。海滩应该是既炎热又干爽的。

星期五的时候我怡然自得地走进生物课教室，不再担心爱德华会在那里。就我所知，他已经退学了。我试着不去想他，但我还是按捺不住自己的忧虑：我也许是造成他持续缺勤的罪魁祸首。但这似乎太荒谬了。

==============================

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon
who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the
salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have
him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset
to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I
had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted
teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're
all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them.
That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived
in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family
should — camping trips every other weekend… Just because they're
newcomers, people have to talk."

It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel
strongly about whatever people were saying.

I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept
to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more
complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing
he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard
time concentrating on their work with him around."

We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table
while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I
finished washing the dishes by hand — no dishwasher — I went upstairs
unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the
making.

That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my
classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the
students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me
the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to
take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.

Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.

Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the
cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime
conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park
in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had
agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot
and dry.

By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no
longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped
out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally
suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence,
ridiculous as it seemed.

阿汤哥

我在福克斯的第一个周末无惊无险地过去了。查理还是老样子，不愿意呆在空荡荡的屋子里消磨时间，把周末都耗在了工作上。而我打扫了房子，顺利完成了家庭作业，给我妈又写了几封假装快活的邮件。周六我有开车去图书馆，但那里的藏书少得可怜，我也懒得办借书证了。或许最近我该去趟奥林匹亚或者西雅图，找家不错的书店。我懒洋洋地想着这辆卡车开过去每英里得耗多少油——然后不寒而栗。

周末时雨变得小多了，安安静静的，所以我睡得很好。

星期一早上，停车场里的人都向我打招呼。我还不知道他们所有人的名字，但我还是向每个人微笑着招手致意。今天早上气温又降了，但我很高兴没有下雨。英语课上，迈克照旧坐在我旁边。我们简单地聊了一下《呼啸山庄》，既坦然又轻松。

最重要的是，这样的相处比我所想过的还要更自在。在这里我过得比我期望过的还有自在。

当我们走出教室时，天空里落下了无数打着旋儿的小白点。我能听到人们兴奋地大喊着。风拍打着我的脸，我的鼻子。

“哇，”迈克说。“下雪了。”

我看着这些小小的棉絮逐渐堆积在人行道上，时不时打着旋儿掠过我的脸。

“呃。”雪。我的好日子一去不返了。

他看上去很吃惊。“你不喜欢雪吗？”

“不喜欢。这意味着冷得都不能下雨了。”显而易见。“还有，我觉得雪应该是一片一片地飘落下来——你知道，每一片都是独一无二的，所有的雪都是这样。这些雪看起来像棉花棒上的小棉球。”

“你之前没见过下雪吗？”他怀疑地问道。

“当然有，”我顿了顿。“在电视上。”

迈克大笑起来。然后，一个巨大的、松软的雪球不偏不倚地砸在了他后脑勺上。我们都回过头去看是谁干的。我怀疑是埃里克，他正背对着我们走开——但不是向他下一堂课的方向。迈克显然也这样认为。他弯下腰，团起一堆白色的雪泥。

“我们午餐时见，好吗？”我一边说着一边走开。“人们一开始打雪仗，我就跑进去。”

他只是点点头，紧盯着埃里克后退的身影。

整个上午，每个人都在兴奋着谈论着这场雪。显然这是新的一年里下的第一场雪。我一直抿紧双唇。当然，这比下雨要干燥些——直到它在你靴子里融化开来。

======================================

My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to
spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I
cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more
bogusly cheerful e-mail. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was
so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to
make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I
wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got… and shuddered at
the thought.

The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.

People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all
their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this
morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed
seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was
straightforward, very easy.

All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I
would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to
feel here.

When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white.
I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my
cheeks, my nose.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the
sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.

"Ew." Snow. There went my good day.

He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought
it was supposed to come down in flakes — you know, each one unique and
all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."

Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into
the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my
suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us — in the
wrong direction for his next class. Mike appatently had the same notion.
He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people
start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.

Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow;
apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth
shut. Sure, it was drier than rain — until it melted in your socks.

阿汤哥

下了西班牙语课，我和杰西卡走向自助餐厅，一路上保持着警惕的姿势。雪球到处飞来飞去。我手里拿着一个文件夹，预备着必要时拿来当挡箭牌。杰西卡觉得我很恶搞，但看见了我的表情以后，她放弃了向我扔个雪球的打算。

我们刚进门，迈克就追上了我们。他大笑着，头发上沾满了融化的冰渣。当我们排队买食物的时候，他和杰西卡兴致勃勃地谈论着刚刚那场雪仗。我出于习惯，瞥了一眼角落里的那张桌子。然后，我僵在了那里。那张桌子旁坐着五个人。
杰西卡拉住我的手。

“喂？贝拉？你想吃点什么？”

我低下头，耳朵都发热了。我没有必要这样自觉，我提醒自己。我又没有做错什么。

“贝拉怎么了？”迈克问杰西卡。

“没事，”我答道。“我今天喝苏打水就可以了。”我跟上队伍的尾巴。

“你不饿吗？”杰西卡问。

“是的，我有点不舒服。”我说，眼睛依然盯着地面。

我等着他们去取他们的食物，然后跟着他们走到一张桌子旁坐下，眼睛自始至终都盯着自己的鞋。

我小口小口地喝着苏打水，胃里一阵阵翻腾着。迈克两次问起我，带着我个人觉得很不必要的担心。
我告诉他我没事。但我在想着是否应该表现得更夸张一些，然后逃到医务室把下一堂给翘掉。

荒谬。我根本没有必要逃走。

我决定允许自己瞄一眼卡伦一家那张桌子。如果他还瞪着我看，我就翘掉生物课，当个懦夫。

======================================

I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls
were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a
shield if necessary. Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my
expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.

Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice
melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly
about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that
table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There
were five people at the table.

Jessica pulled on my arm.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious,
I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the
end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.

I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table,
my eyes on my feet.

I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with
unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.

I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and
escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.

Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.

I decided to permit myself one glance at the Cullen family's table. If he
was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.

I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were
looking this way. I lifted my head a little.

阿汤哥

他们都在哈哈大笑。爱德华，贾斯帕，还有艾密特，头发都湿透了，沾满了融化的雪。爱丽丝和罗莎莉都倚到一边去，因为艾密特在向她们甩着自己的头发。他们像别人一样，享受着下雪天的乐趣。只是和我们相比，他们看上去更像是电影里的某个镜头。

但是，除了欢笑和嬉闹，还有些许不同之处。但我无法确切地说出到底有何不同。我更仔细地打量着爱德华。他的肤色不那么苍白了，我觉得——大概是一场雪仗带来的红晕——他眼睛下的黑眼圈也不那么明显了。但还不止这些。我反复思考着，看着，试图找出变化的地方。

“贝拉，你在看什么？”杰西卡插进来，她的眼睛随着我的视线望去。

就在那一刻，他的眼睛转过来，对上了我的双眼。

我垂下头，让头发落下来遮住我的脸。但是，我能确定，在我们目光交汇的那一瞬，他看上去并没有我上次见到的那样严厉和不友好。他看上去只是有些好奇，还有某种程度的不满足。

“爱德华?卡伦盯着你看呢。”杰西卡在我耳边咯咯地笑着。

“他看上去不太生气，对吧？”我不禁问道。

“不，”她说，听起来对我的问题深感困惑。“他应该生气吗？”

“我不认为他喜欢我。”我坦言道。我还是有点想吐，于是把头靠在手臂上。

“卡伦一家不喜欢任何人……嗯，他们甚至不去注意任何人，更别提喜欢了。可是，他还在盯着你看。”

“不要再看他了。”我嘘声道。

她窃笑着，但还是看向了别处。我稍稍抬起头，以确认她没在看，否则我就要采取暴力来阻止她了。

====================================

They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair
entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away
as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the
snowy day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene
from a movie than the rest of us.

But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something
different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I
examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided —
flushed from the snow fight maybe — the circles under his eyes much less
noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to
isolate the change.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my
stare.

At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.

I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure,
though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or
unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious
again, unsatisfied in some way.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.

"No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my
head down on my arm.

"The Cullens don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough
to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him," I hissed.

She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure
that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.

阿汤哥

随后，迈克打断了我们。他计划放学后在停车场来一场史诗般的暴风雪式雪仗，想让我们加入。杰西

卡满腔热情地响应了他的号召。瞧她看着迈克的样子，毫无疑问，无论迈克让她干什么她都会同意的

。我保持沉默。看样子在停车场没人以前我都得躲在体育馆里了。
剩下的午餐时间里我小心翼翼地让自己的视线一直停留在我自己的桌子上。我决定尊重心底的天人交

战的结果。既然他看上去没在生气，我就去上生物课。一想到要再次坐在他旁边，我的胃就可怕地抽

动几下。

我不太想和平时一样跟迈克一起去教室——他似乎是个极受欢迎的雪球狙击手们的移动靶子。但当我

们走到门外的时候，我身旁的每个人都不约而同地唉声叹气起来。下雨了，雨水把积雪冲刷得干干净

净，在人行道留下一道道冰痕。我窃喜着套上兜帽：下了体育课我可以直接回家了。

去四号楼的路上，迈克一直在抱怨着。

一进教室，我很宽慰地看到我的桌子依然是空的。班纳老师在教室里走来走去，给每张桌子发一台显

微镜和一盒玻片。还有一会儿才开始上课，屋子里全是窃窃私语的嗡嗡声。我不再看门外，无所事事

地在我的笔记本封面上涂鸦。

当我旁边的椅子被移动的时候，我听得异常清楚，但我还是专注地看着我刚刚画的图案。

“你好。”一个平静的，宛如天籁的声音说道。

我抬起头，有些眩晕地发现他是在和我说话。他坐在桌子所能允许的尽可能远离我的地方，但他的凳

子的一角向着我。他的头发湿漉漉的，还滴着水，凌乱不堪——尽管如此，他看上去就像刚刚拍完一

个洗发水广告。他美得惊人的脸显得既亲切又坦率，一抹淡淡的微笑浮现在他完美无瑕的唇上。但他

的眼神有些小心翼翼。

“我是爱德华?卡伦，”他继续说道。“上周我没来得及向你作自我介绍。你一定是贝拉?史温吧。”

我的脑子里一片混乱。难道整件事是我自己虚构出来的吗？他现在礼貌得无懈可击。我必须说点什么

：他在等着。但我想不出什么值得一说的内容。

“你……你是怎么知道我的名字的？”我结结巴巴地说。

他温柔地笑起来，但显得有些迷惑。

“噢，我想每个人都知道你的名字。整个小镇都在等待你的到来。”
=============================================

Mike interrupted us then — he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard
in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed
enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she
would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to
hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.

For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own
table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he
didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened
little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again.

I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual — he seemed to
be a popular target for the snowball snipers — but when we went to the
door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all
traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the
walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go
straight home after Gym.

Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.

Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still
empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one
microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few
minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from
the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed
carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.

I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far
away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His
hair was dripping wet, disheveled — even so, he looked like he'd just
finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was
friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were
careful.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to
introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He
was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't
think of anything conventional to say.

"H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.

He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for
you to arrive."

阿汤哥

我不由得露出苦相。我就知道是这样。

“不，”我愚蠢地坚持着。“我的意思是，为什么你叫我贝拉？”

他看上去很困惑。“你更喜欢别人叫你伊莎贝拉？”

“不，我喜欢贝拉这个名字。”我说。“但我想查理——我是说我爸爸——一定在背后叫我伊莎贝拉

——所以这里的每个人似乎都只知道我叫伊莎贝拉。”我试图解释，感觉自己像是个彻头彻尾的笨

“哦。”他不再纠缠于这个问题。我笨拙地移开视线。

谢天谢地，就在这时，班纳老师开始上课了。我努力把注意力集中在他对我们今天要做的实验的讲解

上。盒子里的玻片的次序已经被打乱了。我们要两人一组地进行实验，找出每个洋葱鳞茎表皮细胞玻

片所代表的细胞分裂周期，并贴上相应的标签。在此过程中不允许我们翻看书本。二十分钟以后，他

会来回巡视，看谁做得正确。

“开始。”他下令道。
女士优先，伙计？”爱德华问道。我抬头看着他。他微笑着，弯起的嘴角是那么的迷人，以至于我只

能像个白痴一样盯着他看。

“或者我先来，如果你愿意的话。”笑容有些僵硬，他显然在怀疑着我的智力能否胜任。

“不，”我说，满脸绯红。“我先来。”

我是在卖弄，但不算过火。我做过这个实验，我知道我该找什么。这很简单。我“啪”地一下把第一

张玻片放到显微镜下，敏捷地调到40倍镜，然后简单地看了一下玻片。

我很有把握地下了结论。“前期。”

“让我看一眼好吗？”我正要移开玻片，他问道。与此同时，他抓住我的手，让我停下来。他的手指

冰冷，就好像上课前他一直把手埋在雪堆里一样。但这不是我飞快地挣开手的缘故。当他触到我的时

候，他的触碰灼痛了我的手，仿佛有一股电流刹那间从我们身上流过。

“对不起。”他低声说道，立刻收回了手。但是，他仍旧伸手拿过了显微镜。我有些动摇地看着他，

他检视玻片的时间比我还短。

“前期。”他表示赞同，工整地写到我们的实验报告的第一栏空白处。他动作熟练地换上第二张玻片

，粗略地看了一眼。

“后期。”他一边低语着，一边写下来。

我尽量让自己的声音显得漠不关心。“可以让我看一下吗？”

他撇嘴坏笑，把显微镜推给我。

我急切地透过接目镜看进去，却失望了。该死，他是对的。

“第三张玻片？”我伸出手，却不看他。

他把玻片递给我。他似乎小心翼翼地避免着再次和我有肌肤上的接触。（其实我很想翻译成肌肤相亲

来着。。。一亲芳泽也可以。。。）

我用我能做到的最快速度看了看玻片。

“间期。”在他开口以前，我把显微镜递给了他。他飞快地瞄了一眼，然后写下来。在他看的时候我

本可以写下来的，但他清秀雅致的笔迹把我镇住了。我不想用我笨拙潦草的字体毁掉这张纸。

我们早早地完成了实验，把别人都甩在了后头。我可以看到迈克和他的搭档在一遍又一遍地对比着两

张玻片，而另一组则在桌子底下翻开了书。

===============================

I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.

"No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"

He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"

"No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie — I mean my dad — must
call me Isabella behind my back — that's what everyone here seems to know
me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.

"Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.

Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to
concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides
in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate
the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they
represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our
books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it
right.

"Get started," he commanded.

"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a
crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.

"Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously
wondering if I was mentally competent.

"No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."

I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew
what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into
place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective.
I studied the slide briefly.

My assessment was confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His
hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold,
like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't
why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my
hand as if an electric current had passed through us.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he
continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as
he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.

"Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our
worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and
then glanced at it cursorily.

"Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.

I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"

He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.

I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it,
he was right.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.

He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my
skin again.

I took the most fleeting look I could manage.

"Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He
took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while
he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to
spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.

We were finished before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his
partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their
book open under the table.

阿汤哥

我实在无事可做，只能尽量不让自己看他。但没有成功。我看过去，他正在盯着我看，眼里有着令人

费解的挫败感。电光火石间，我发现了他容貌上的极细微的不同之处。

“你戴了隐形眼睛吗？”我不假思索地脱口而出。

他似乎对我出人意料的提问感到很困惑。“没有。”

“哦，”我咕哝着说。“我觉得你的眼睛有些不太一样。”

他耸耸肩，看向别处。

事实上，我确定他的眼睛有些不太一样。我对他那双纯黑的眸子记忆犹新——上次他曾那样地瞪着我

——那种眸色在他的苍白肌肤和红色头发的映衬下越发醒目。今天，他的眼睛是另一种完全不同的颜

色：一种奇怪的黄褐色，比奶油糖的颜色略深一些，但同样是金黄的色调。我无法理解这种事情，除

非是他出于某种原因在隐形眼镜的事情上说了谎。又或者是福克斯让我疯狂地脱离了对世界的正常感

知。

我向下看，他的双手又一次收紧握成拳头。

班纳老师走到我们的桌子旁，想看看为什么我们停下来不做了。他越过我们的肩膀看到已经完成了的

实验，于是更加专注地检查起答案来。

“那么，爱德华，你不认为伊莎贝拉应该拥有使用显微镜的机会吗？”班纳老师问道。

“贝拉，”爱德华下意识地更正道。“事实上，她找出了五个之中的三个。”

现在班纳老师看着我，表情很是怀疑。

“你以前做过这个实验吗？”他问道。

我羞涩地一笑：“但不是用洋葱鳞茎。”

“是用白鱼囊胚？”

“没错。”

班纳老师点点头。“你在凤凰城上过大学先修课程吗？”

“是的。”

“很好，”他停顿了一会儿，说道，“我想你们两个在同一个实验小组是件好事。”当他走开的时候

，嘴里还咕哝着什么。等他走了，我又开始在笔记本上涂涂画画。

“这雪太可惜了，不是吗？”爱德华问。我有一种感觉，他在强迫自己和我闲聊。我又开始犯妄想症

了。这简直像是他听到了午餐时我和杰西卡的对话，正努力想要证明我是错误的。

“一点儿也不。”我老实答道，而不是假装和大家一样寻常。我仍在努力把愚蠢的多疑的念头从脑海

里驱逐出去，没法集中注意力。

“你不喜欢寒冷。”这不是一个疑问句。

“还有潮湿。”

“福克斯对你来说一定是个不适宜居住的地方。”他若有所思地说。

“你根本想象不到。”我阴郁地低声含糊道。
他看上去对我所说的很着迷，但我想象不出是什么原因。他的脸让我分神，我只能在不失礼貌地前提

下尽可能不去看他。

“那么，你为什么会来这里呢？”

从来没有人问过我这个问题——至少，不像他这样直白。

=======================================
Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him…
unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same
inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that
subtle difference in his face.

"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.

He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."

"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your
eyes."

He shrugged, and looked away.

In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered

the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me — the
color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn
hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher,
darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't
understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about
the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of
the word.

I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.

Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He
looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared
more intently to check the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the
microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three
of the five."

Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

"Yes."

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab
partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I
began doodling on my notebook again.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. I had the feeling
that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept
over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at
lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.

"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal
like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of
suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.

"You have no idea," I muttered darkly.

He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine.
His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more
than courtesy absolutely demanded.

"Why did you come here, then?"

No one had asked me that — not straight out like he did, demanding.