Aiyanna
I had biology.
I sighed internally, as I walked slowly to one of the class I dreaded the most. I wasn't good at it, nor did I want to be. It should be an option, seriously. Why did I have to learn a subject I wasn't going to use later in life ? I understood that it helped with our common knowledge, but still. And to think that there were actually people who chose advanced biology as an option, and that they had to have biology three times a week. I would've felt pity for them, but if they chose that, it meant that they liked it.
As I walked in the classroom, I saw Edward already being seated on a chair near the windows. I guessed we both liked staring into the void in the middle of the class, since I've never seen him sit anywhere else but beside windows.
I actually had a moment of hesitation. Was I bold enough to sit beside him or should I sit in between Angela and Mike who were waving in my direction as I looked around the classroom. No matter how much I wanted to avoid Mike, I didn't want to be clingy with Edward when all we did was have a simple conversation.
That was how I found myself walking towards Mike, to sit beside him.
"Hey, Aiyanna. Haven't seen you yet. How are you ?" Mike said with a smile on his face.
"Now that I realize I'm in a biology class, I don't feel that good." I answered.
Mike laughed at me and lightly tapped my shoulder. "I heard we are going to do an experiment today. It's going to be fun."
Experiments were actually fun, compared to listening to one person talk about neutrons or cells or whatsoever for a whole hour.
"I hope so." I said, a little bit more convinced.
...
Wrong.
It wasn't fun.
How, out of all people in this class, could this happen to me ?
We had to partner up with the person beside us. Mike, being on my right, was my partner. We were doing an experiment that required boiling water first, and I was glad it was only water, because it spilled on my hand as Mike mishandled the boiling flask while I was putting on my gloves.
More than me, I felt like Mike was the one who panicked the most. At first, I thought it wouldn't hurt that bad. However, that was before I noticed how my hand was shaking.
The teacher made me rinse my hand with cold water in the sink, while all eyes were on me. How embarassing.
" I'm so sorry Aiyanna. Are you okay ? Oh my God, I should've been more careful. Does it hurt a lot ?" Mike started rumbling.
"It's not that bad. I'll be okay. Right ?" I answered while looking up at Mr Banner, our teacher.
"It shouldn't be that bad, but I'm sending you off to the infirmary. Any volunteer ?"
I wasn't even sure that Mr Banner had finished his sentence, when Edward volunteered. He was already standing up, and walking up to us.
"Thank you, Edward." The teacher told him before he looked at me. "Do you think you can handle it until you get there ?"
I stopped the water from running for a few seconds minutes and waited to see how I felt without feeling the cold water hit my skin. There weren't any visible marks on my skin yet, but my hand was still shaking. The water fell on my fourth and my fifth finger, the back of my hand and my wrist.
I let the water run on my hand again, when I felt the burning sensation come back. "I think if we make it quickly to the infirmary, I'll be okay." I answered.
"Wouldn't it be best if Edward calls the nurse to come here, instead of you going anywhere ?" He suggested.
The last thing I wanted was to be circled by worried students, watching me being taken care of for the rest of the class. It was already embarassing to be in this situation.
"No, it's okay. I'll go there." I reassured the teacher as I turned the water off and looked at Edward. "Let's go." I told him, as I walked out quickly.
As we walked out of the building, I let Edward guide me to the nurse office since I didn't remember where it was.
"Are you okay ?" He asked me as we pratically jogged on our way there.
"It hurts so bad." I allowed myself to vocalise my pain, once I was away from Mike's guilty expressions.
If it hurt that bad, I wondered how people who had to go through worse cases, handled the pain. It made me shiver, just by thinking about how painful it must be.
We made it to the nurse's office and Edward told the nurse everything, almost as if he had been standing beside Mike and I and watched the scene happen in front of his eyes.
She took a look at my hand, and let me put it in a bucket of cold water, after I begged her to let me cool the burning sensation with it. She also gave me a painkiller that I was more than happy to take.
More than the back of my hand, my wrist hurt the most. I guessed the skin was thinner in this part. I threw a glance at Edward who stood near the door, as rigid as a statue. His face looked composed while he stared at the bucket that hid my hand. My attention was quickly brought on the nurse when she walked towards me with an ointment.
"I'm going to apply this on you. It's probably going to hurt like hell, but it's normal. It'll ease the pain in a few hours." She told me before she looked at Edward who still hadn't moved. "You can return to class, Edward."
"I was told to stay by her side until she's able to go back to class." He lied.
I didn't take it personally. I guessed it was an escape for him. Rather be here than in class.
The nurse nodded as she patted my wet hand with a clean towel, before she applied the ointment where I got burned. It was cooling at first, but then, I felt like wanting to put my hand in a bucket full of iced water.
"Oh !" I exclaimed as I tried to take my hand back, but she didn't let me.
"I know. It'll cool down. Just hold it in." She told me.
I was breathing quickly, while having the urgent need to blow on my hand to make it cool faster. She applied it generously on my wrist and my entire hand just in case other parts had been in contact with the boiling water.
"The painkiller you took doesn't take long to be effective. The pain will be gone soon, don't worry. It's only a first degree burn. Your skin is probably going to be red tomorrow, and the burnt parts will peel off with time. It'll go back to normal in a week or so. You can find this ointment in any drug store. Apply it every six hours for a week, and don't hesitate to take painkillers if it still hurts, okay sweetie ?" She explained to me.
"Yes. Thank you." I nodded while wincing in pain.
"I will write you guys a note to attest that you stayed here for the rest of the hour."
"Thank you." Edward reacted for the second time.
She went back to the office, probably to do as she said, and left us. I was sitting on one of the two beds available while the bucket of water was at my feet. I kept eyeing it, wondering if it wouldn't be less painful if I just put my hand in there.
However, before I could act on my thoughts, Edward proceeded to put it away.
"How do you feel ?" He asked me as he sat on the chair in front of me, which was the one the nurse was sitting on earlier.
"Stupid question." I answered as I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled. "Right."
"It's really hot and tingly. My wrist is in the most pain." I tried to explain as best as I could.
"As the nurse said, it's not that bad."
"I hope so." I pouted.
The thought of putting my hand back in the water was so tempting. Why was it more painful than the actual burn ?
"I might have something to help you cool the burning sensation." Edward suggested quite shyly. As if, as he was talking, he was also hesitating at the same time.
" I'm open to all suggestions."
His eyes went from my eyes to my hand, and approached his until it covered mine. His skin...was so cold that my eyes widened. It wasn't freezing, but it wasn't a common cold hand.
"Are you unwell ?" I blurted out, without even thinking.
"Sorry, I didn't want to..." he started to say as he tried taking his hand back, but I grabbed it with my left hand and put it back on mine.
"No, keep it there." I interrupted him abruptly. "Please ?"
He nodded, even though I could see his frown on his forehead as he contemplated our hands.
"Sorry if I offended you."
Edward shook his hand. "You didn't."
"But seriously, how is your hand so cold ? Are you sure you're not the one who should be lying down right now ? Are you okay ?" I asked him, worried at how cold his hand was.
"Oh..." I heard a voice from my right, which came from the nurse who came out of her office with a note in her hand.
Her eyes went from Edward to me and to my hands sandwiching Edward's cold one. If his hand wouldn't have been part of the reason why the burning sensation on my hand felt less painful, I most definitely would've pushed it away out of embarassment. But right now, I was too selfish for that. The cold felt so good right now.
The nurse looked at us with a smile on her face, which hid an obvious thought.
"Here's the note to give Mr Banner when you go back to class. You guys can stay here for the rest of the hour. I'll be in my office, call me if you need anything." She told us.
"Thank you." I thanked her again.
Although she was interpreting the situation the wrong way which would've made me blush if my complexion had been brighter, she was a kind woman. She didn't panic and explained everything well, which appeased me in a way. Well, until she applied that ointment coming from hell.
She left us again, and this time I let go of Edward's hand but he was the one who didn't move it, which I was thankful for.
"How long have you guys been in Forks ?" I asked him out of nowhere. "You and your family ?"
"It's been three years." He answered which made me nod slowly.
"Has it always been like this ?" I asked which made him frown in confusion. "Have people always been avoiding you ?" I continued while trying to be careful with my words. "I couldn't help but notice how you always stayed together. At first, I thought it was only you guys trying to distance yourselves from people but I also noticed that others were kinda scared to go talk to you."
A small smile found its way on Edward face. "It's a mix of both."
It was my time to frown. I was dying to ask the most important question which was "Why ?", but as he seemed to be thinking about what to say next, I waited.
"People instinctively stay away from us. They're scared." Edward continued.
"Why would they be scared ? You're human like the rest of us."
I didn't know which part of my sentence was funny but Edward laughed at me. Even his laugh was attractive. How ? When I laughed, there was 90% chances of me choking.
"I assume you're not scared then ?" He asked me once he calmed down. I answered by shaking my head. "There's always a brave one."
"You haven't met other brave ones when you moved in ?"
"I did, more than my siblings. Most of them were women, trying to ask me out." Edward answered while looking up from our hands contrasting with each other, to find my eyes.
I found myself hoping he didn't misunderstand my intentions. I couldn't say he wasn't attractive. It'd be a lie. But I barely knew the guy. He could actually be a pretty face but also a trash as a man.
"And you rejected all of them." I remembered out loud, more to myself than to him. "Girls must hate you here."
He smirked. "They still like me."
"Huh ?!" I exclaimed at this sudden boost of confidence. My eyes widened, and so did my mouth as I looked at him with frowned eyebrows.
Edward showed me his white and healthy teeth to me as he laughed.
"So you're playing hard to get. Didn't think you'd be like that." I chuckled as I pinched my nose.
"What did you think me as, then ?" Edward asked as he calmed down.
"Mhm..." I started while contemplating the ceiling as if it was going to give me the answer. I didn't really think about what I thought about him. Today was literally the first day we actually talked to each other. Before that, all I could do was stare at him here and there. "I didn't really have an opinion on you, since I don't know much about you except what I've been told which I prefer not to believe too much. You never know what people are really thinking."
"It's actually not that hard to read people's mind." He smirked.
"Well, I haven't mastered that talent yet." I shrugged. "So, Don Juan. How does it feel having all girls fall for you ?" I asked him, not wanting to let the silence take place in this conversation.
It actually distracted me from the pain that I thought would stop earlier than I thought.
"Says the one who's been in every guy's mind ever since day 1."
"Have I been in yours ?" I answered while brushing my braids over my shoulder.
This fake confidence didn't suit me. It felt less embarassing because I knew I was joking, but the urgent need to slap my own face was still lingering in my mind. When I saw him freeze for a moment, I wanted to hide myself.
"I was joking. Don't take it seriously." I sighed while I looked down.
"If you say so." He mumbled as he shrugged. "Should we head back to class to at least, take our stuff. It's almost time for next period. Or do you want to stay here ?"
"No. Let's go."
We both stood up, and Edward let go of my hand.
"How is it now ?" He asked me.
"Still a little tingly but I'll survive. Thanks for your cold hand that still worries me by the way. Are you okay ?"
He held the door for me as we exited the nurse's office. Contrarily to earlier, we walked slowly to class. The breeze outside was smoothing. I allowed myself to breathe in deeply, and closed my eyes for a moment after looking at the grey sky above us.
"I am fine." Edward reassured me.
His voice made me open my eyes, and meet his. I smiled at him and nodded before diverting my gaze.
"Are you ?" he asked me back.
I knew that the moment I'd be back in class, I would be submerged by that same question from the others. I sighed at the thought of it.
" I'll be fine." I answered, but then I face palmed myself. "Do you remember what's the ointment she applied on me ? I forgot the name."
Edward reminded me of the name again which I made sure to repeat it in my head, until I found a piece of paper to write it down.
"Do you know where's the closest drug store ?"
"It's a little downtown. Would you like me to give you a ride ? I will drop you back home afterwards."
Although all of our house furniture came last week, I still didn't have my new car. I suspected it to be my birthday gift from my parents, which I didn't mind.
"What about your siblings ?" I asked him, as I reminded myself that they always came to school together.
"They are using Emmett's Jeep." Edward answered.
"Oh. Okay, then. Thanks."
The thought of me, being alone in a car with Edward made my heart flutter in a way that made me feel ridiculous. I wanted to slap my face. Again.
Somehow, I couldn't help but think that despite going through this bad experience, not only did I manage to have a conversation with Edward which made me appreciate him more, but I also managed to avoid biology.