Scourge // Felix Volturi

Chapter 3: Invitation

The stores were packed with last minute shoppers, and Bella kept close to me. She even went so far as to loop a finger around one of my belt loops. Dad had given us some money and we already had one cart filled with new binders, college lined paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, and a whiteboard calendar.

We turned into another aisle and I pushed the cart to the side to allow another woman to pass. She had an infant strapped to her chest, a four year old sitting in the cart, and what looked to be a seven year old boy trotting behind her.

I watched them pass and grimaced when the older child stuck a finger up his nose. Kids were cute...sometimes, but they were nothing more than walking petri dishes that drained your bank account and a little bit of your soul everyday.

As soon as the woman walked past us, the four year old began screaming, which in turn caused the infant to wail. And in that moment, I had never been more thankful for my birth control.

I proceeded down the aisle and stopped. "Do you need any highlighters or index cards?" I asked, pointing to a large display.

"Highlighters would be nice," Bella nodded. She glanced at her options, then lowered her eyes. She was checking the prices.

"Don't worry about money," I said, reaching out and grabbing an assorted pack of highlighters.

"It's just," Bella pushed the hair from her face and sighed, "I don't know if I'm going to have enough money to cover everything."

The highlighters fell from my hand, and they landed in the cart, slipping into the groove between the binders and notebooks. My eyes widened and I frowned. "Bells, Dad and I are buying your supplies."

"No, you can't —"

"We can, and we are."

"But —"

"Come on," I pushed the cart further down the aisle, "we still have to get you some new shoes and clothes."

Before she could argue further, I made a beeline for the cash register. Bella quickly followed behind me and I immediately placed myself in front of the card reader.

"Mallory," Bella whined.

"Bella," I whined back, mimicking her woe-is-me tone.

The cashier, a pimple faced teenager with black hair and dark rimmed glasses, looked at the both of us, then shrugged. He rang the items and placed them in the bags, and every time he rang in a new item, I glanced down at the screen. Only half of the supplies had been scanned, and already, the total was over two hundred dollars.

I reached into my purse and grabbed my wallet. Dad had given me his card to use, and he told me to put everything on it, but I couldn't do that; Dad didn't make much, and what little he did make, he had to be mindful on how he spent it. I hadn't been in Forks long, but I had already given him a lecture on his eating out habits, and I had to explain how it was cheaper to make meals as opposed to going out and buying food.

The cashier rang the final items and he quickly bagged them. "Your total is four-hundred and eight-one dollars."

Bella paled and I opened my wallet. "I'd like to use these," I handed him a stack of coupons and he sighed.

Begrudgingly, he took the coupons and began scanning them. Bella watched with berated breath as money was slowly knocked off from the total, and I removed the debit cards from their slots.

"Your new total is three-hundred and ninety-eight dollars."

"Great," I nodded, "I'd like to do one-hundred on one card, and the rest on another."