Twilight 3 - Eclipse | Page 6

grunted at him, and then stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He was taking the idea
of parental supervision to extremes lately.
“I brought another set of applications,” Edward told me then, holding up a stuffed manila envelope. He
was wearing a roll of stamps like a ring around his littlest finger.
I groaned. How were there any colleges left that he hadn’t forced me to apply to already? And how did
he keep finding these loophole openings? It was so late in the year.
He smiled as if hecould read my thoughts; they must have been very obvious on my face. “There are still
a few open deadlines. And a few places willing to make exceptions.”
I could just imagine the motivations behind such exceptions. And the dollar amounts involved.
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Edward laughed at my expression.
“Shall we?” he asked, towing me toward the kitchen table.
Charlie huffed and followed behind, though he could hardly complain about the activity on tonight’s
agenda. He’d been pestering me to make a decision about college on a daily basis.
I cleared the table quickly while Edward organized an intimidating stack of forms. When I moved
Wuthering Heights to the counter, Edward raised one eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking, but
Charlie interrupted before Edward could comment.
“Speaking of college applications, Edward,” Charlie said, his tone even more sullen — he tried to avoid
addressing Edward directly, and when he had to, it exacerbated his bad mood. “Bella and I were just
talking about next year. Have you decided where you’re going to school?”
Edward smiled up at Charlie and his voice was friendly. “Not yet. I’ve received a few acceptance
letters, but I’m still weighing my options.”
“Where have you been accepted?” Charlie pressed.
“Syracuse . . . Harvard . . . Dartmouth . . . and I just got accepted to the University of Alaska Southeast
today.” Edward turned his face slightly to the side so that he could wink at me. I stifled a giggle.
“Harvard? Dartmouth?” Charlie mumbled, unable to conceal his awe. “Well that’s pretty . . . that’s
something. Yeah, but the University of Alaska . . . you wouldn’t really consider that when you could go
Ivy League. I mean, your father would want you to . . .”
“Carlisle’s always fine with whatever I choose to do,” Edward told him serenely.
“Hmph.”
“Guess what, Edward?” I asked in a bright voice, playing along.
“What, Bella?”
I pointed to the thick envelope on the counter. “I just gotmy acceptance to the University of Alaska!”
“Congratulations!” He grinned. “What a coincidence.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed and he glared back and forth between the two of us. “Fine,” he muttered after
a minute. “I’m going to go watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty.”
That was his usual parting command.
“Er, Dad? Remember the very recent discussion about my freedom . . . ?”
He sighed. “Right. Okay,ten -thirty. You still have a curfew on school nights.”
“Bella’s no longer grounded?” Edward asked. Though I knew he wasn’t really surprised, I couldn’t
detect any false note to the sudden excitement in his voice.
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“Conditionally,” Charlie corrected through his teeth. “What’s it to you?”
I frowned at my dad, but he didn’t see.
“It’s just good to know,” Edward said. “Alice has been itching for a shopping partner, and I’m sure
Bella would love to see some city lights.” He smiled at me.
But Charlie growled, “No!” and his face flushed purple.
“Dad! What’s the problem?”
He made an effort to unclench his teeth. “I don’t want you going to Seattle right now.”
“Huh?”
“I told you about that story in the paper — there’s some kind of gang on a killing spree in Seattle and I
want you to steer clear, okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, there’s a better chance that I’ll get struck by lightning than that the one day I’m
in Seattle —”
“No, that’s fine, Charlie,” Edward said, interrupting me. “I didn’t mean Seattle. I was thinking Portland,
actually. I wouldn’t have Bella in Seattle, either. Of course not.”
I looked at him in disbelief, but he had Charlie’s newspaper in his hands and he was reading the front
page intently.
He must have been trying to appease my father. The idea of being in danger from even the most deadly
of humans while I was with Alice or Edward was downright hilarious.
It worked. Charlie stared at Edward for one second more, and then shrugged. “Fine.” He stalked off
toward the living room, in a bit of a hurry now — maybe he didn’t want to miss tip-off.
I waited till the TV was on, so that Charlie wouldn’t be able to hear me.
“What —,” I started to ask.
“Hold on,” Edward said without