Edward had missed biology class for a week, which irritated Lucinda even more. She had made up her decision to face Edward the next day, only to be disappointed when she realized his chair was empty. She'd had hope the day before, but as the days drew closer to the weekend, Lucinda's hopes of speaking with him dwindled.
Alice, on the other hand, fulfilled her word and brought Lucinda lunch on a daily basis. Alice even sat in the car with Lucinda while she ate, but anytime Luci asked where Edward was, Alice would change the subject to avoid answering the question.
When Monday rolled around, Lucinda had spent the previous night studying onions in order to be prepared for the test that was to be given that day. Edward had returned, and he was sitting quietly by the window, much to her astonishment.
Lucinda was perplexed, so she sat down in her usual seat, completely disregarding his presence next to her. Despite the fact that she felt the atmosphere between them had improved, she still thought he was wrong for acting the way he did.
"Hello" The girl was startled as a strong voice came from the seat next to her. She'd spent days wondering what he'd sound like but wouldn't admit it to anyone. His voice was gentle but compelling. As if it were a beautiful tune played on the cleanest instrument. She cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowed.
"My name is Edward Cullen," He continued softly as if the whole school didn't already murmur his name more than once on a daily basis, "I didn't have the chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Lucinda Enya." He didn't look ill, nor did he look flustered like last time. There wasn't a hint of pink on his pale cheekbones and those strangely colored eyes stared at her unwaveringly.
Lucinda was pondering whether or not to respond to him, knowing that he deserved it given the way he'd treated her the week before. Yet it was not in her nature to be snarky; she was cocky, but not snarky. "Please call me Luci." She reprimanded him, pulling out her notepad and laying the worksheet on top of it.
"Okay, Luci, your father works at the hospital, right?"He kept trying to strike up a conversation, seeing how he seemed really interested in learning whatever he could. She nodded and scribbled her name at the top of the worksheet.
"May I clarify as to what I did to you last week that caused you to act so hostile?" She felt the best thing to do was skip the small talk and go right to the point, which had been on her mind for the past week, and then turn her focus to him after she was finished writing.
"It wasn't meant to be a direct insult on you. I was having a pretty awful day," With a pen whirling between his fingers as he scrawled his own name at the very top, he explained calmly.
When Mr. Banner started detailing the day's task, their tiny talk was cut short. The slides in the package were out of order, so Lucinda and Edward had to work together as lab partners to sort the onion root tip cell slides into the various stages of mitosis and name them appropriately. Using their textbooks was prohibited and Mr. Banner would be coming around to see who had it right in twenty minutes or so.
"Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked playfully, giving her that charmingly crooked grin of his. She found it contagious, the corners of her own lips tipping upwards.
"Thank you very much, partner." Luci hummed back, snapping the first slide into position under the microscope and fine-tuning it to the 40X objective with decades of experience. "Prophase," she said after a brief examination. She was strutting her stuff a little.
"Would you mind if I took a look?" Edward inquired, seizing her hand in his as she began to remove the slide. Luci flinched a little, surprised by his curiously icy touch as well as the abrupt electric current coursing up her arm. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his face flushed once more as he went for the microscope and inspected the slide for even less time. "Prophase."
Edward agreed, scribbling it in exquisite cursive on their worksheet. She was captivated by him the entire time.
He quickly swapped the first slide for the second, briefly gazing into the microscope. "Anaphase," Edward muttered softly, scribbling it down as he spoke.
"Would you mind if I took a look?" Luci mirrored his previous remarks, gently tilting her head to enjoy the smile tugging at his lips. Lucinda smiled faintly as she glanced through the lens for a second after he moved it in her direction. "Anaphase." She mimicked him, adoring his adorable little grin.
"Next one?" Edward passed the slide to the other, taking care not to let their fingers come into contact.
"Interphase." Before he could ask, Lucinda handed him the microscope.
Before the cycle began again, Edward took a quick look and jotted it down. With that, they had completed their task with plenty of time to spare. Mike was comparing two slides with his lab partner over and over again, while another pair of girls had their textbook open under their table, Lucinda noticed. Everyone appeared to be in a state of flux.
Because she couldn't think of anything else to do, Lucinda returned her gaze to Edward, who was already staring at her. As those magnificent eyes — gold, weird ocher darker than butterscotch, scanned her face for something she couldn't identify, his brow furrowed ever so slightly, his lips pursed in thinking.
"Do you wear contacts?" Lucinda inquired, leaning on the table, her cheek resting on her fist.
He blinked at her, likely puzzled by her sudden question. "No," Edward murmured.
Despite the panicked look returning to his face, Lucinda hummed, appreciating the color of his eyes for a little longer. "They're quite lovely." She couldn't help herself and said honestly. The previous flat black had been startling, standing out against his pale complexion and the shock of his bronze hair, but this new shade was just as seductive. She was only curious as to what had caused the shift.
Edward bowed his head, mumbled a gentle "Thank you," and curled up slightly, his hands quivering as he drew them closer to him. When Lucinda realized she'd made him uncomfortable again, she bit the inside of her cheek.
Before the twenty minutes were over, Mr. Banner came over to their table, most likely to see why they weren't working. After inspecting their completed lab, he collected their worksheet and double-checked the answers written on the paper in Edward's exquisite handwriting. "So, Edward," Mr. Banner began, a look of anger on his face as he looked over at the younger male, "didn't you think Lucinda should get a shot with the microscope?"
"Luci." Edward corrected automatically before she could and she hid her smile behind a loose fist, "And, actually, she identified them all."
The Biology teacher next looked at her, his doubtful expression not dimming her delight in the least. "Have you ever done a lab like this before?" He inquired.
"Nope just studied," Luci admitted, hooking her thumb under her chin and resting her knuckles under her lips.
"Well," the teacher said after a brief pause, "I guess it's a good thing you two are lab partners then," As he went away, he whispered something under his breath that she couldn't quite understand. It was best for Luci not to dwell in it.
"It's too awful about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked her again. He inquired in a casual manner. He was clearly trying to make a small chat, so Luci decided to humor him.
"Not at all," Luci replied, her ring on her index finger jingling. "It was lovely, but I don't want to get involved in Mike Newton's snowball fights." She gave a gentle chuckle.
"You enjoy the cold." It wasn't so much a question as an observation.
"You have no idea."
"And the rain," she said, nodding her head and tucking a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear.
"You must enjoy Forks a lot." Edward pondered.
Mr. Banner then called for class order, bursting their tiny bubble of peace. Mr. Banner used the overhead projector to show what they'd observed via the microscope, and Luci pretended to be paying attention. All she could think about was how endearingly odd the Cullen family was.
But she decided she'd teased him enough for one day, so when the Luci rang, Luci rose from her seat and gave him a small nod before leaving the classroom with the same swiftness as last Monday. Mike skipped to her side and offered to carry her books with the eagerness of a puppy.
。∙∶⋆∶∙˚
When Luci arrived in the parking lot, the rain had turned into a hazy drizzle. She slid her bag into the rear of her car after unlocking it. Luci raised her eyes to see if anyone was nearby. Edward Cullen was having a serious chat with his shortest sister exactly three cars down, standing next to his gleaming Volvo.
Alice shifted her gaze away from him, smiled brightly, and waving to Luci like she always did. Edward followed her gaze, his wide eyes and parted lips giving him the appearance of a deer caught in headlights. Luci grinned and waved her fingers at them, amused. He looked down, almost uncomfortably flustered, as he growled something at Alice to get her to stop waving, his sister cackling the whole while.
Alice dashes over to Rosalie and whispers something into her ear. Whatever Alice said drew Rosalie's attention away from Alice and toward Lucinda. The next thing Alice knows, she's dragging Rosalie over to Lucinda's stands.
"Hello, Luci." Alice jumps in front of the girl, with her hands in from of her, "I'll like you to meet my sister Rosalie."
Rosalie nods her head at Luci, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
Alice looks at both the girls with her signature smile, "We would like to ask if you'll like to go shopping with us on Wednesday?"
"Oh, I don't know." Lucinda shakes her head while saying. She did enjoy shopping every once in and while, but she wasn't sure her father will let her.
"Oh, come on we'll like to get to know you." Rosalie puts her hand on Luci's clothed shoulder, she makes eye contact with Lucinda. Feeling compelled by Rosalie's alluring voice, Lucinda agrees with a nod of her head.