new moon(暮光之城-新月英文版)-第2部分

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I　slammed　the　door　of　my　'53　Chevy　truck—a　shower　of　rust　specks　fluttered　
down　to　the　wet　
blacktop—and　walked　slowly　toward　where　they　waited。　Alice　skipped　forward　to　
meet　me；　her　pixie　
face　glowing　under　her　spiky　black　hair。　
〃Happy　birthday；　Bella！〃　
〃Shh！〃　I　hissed；　glancing　around　the　lot　to　make　sure　no　one　had　heard　her。　
The　last　thing　I　wanted　was　
some　kind　of　celebration　of　the　black　event。　
She　ignored　me。　〃Do　you　want　to　open　your　present　now　or　later？〃　she　asked　
eagerly　as　we　made　our　
way　to　where　Edward　still　waited。　
〃No　presents；〃　I　protested　in　a　mumble。　
She　finally　seemed　to　process　my　mood。　〃Okay　later；　then。　Did　you　like　the　
scrapbook　your　mom　sent　
you？　And　the　camera　from　Charlie？〃　
I　sighed。　Of　course　she　would　know　what　my　birthday　presents　were。　Edward　
wasn't　the　only　member　
of　his　family　with　unusual　skills。　Alice　would　have　〃seen〃　what　my　parents　
were　planning　as　soon　as　they'd　
decided　that　themselves。　
〃Yeah。　They're　great。〃　
〃I　think　it's　a　nice　idea。　You're　only　a　senior　once。　Might　as　well　document　
the　experience。〃　
〃How　many　times　have　you　been　a　senior？〃　
〃That's　different。〃　
We　reached　Edward　then；　and　he　held　out　his　hand　for　mine。　I　took　it　eagerly；　
forgetting；　for　a　moment；　
my　glum　mood。　His　skin　was；　as　always；　smooth；　hard；　and　very　cold。　He　gave　my　
fingers　a　gentle　
squeeze。　I　looked　into　his　liquid　topa2　eyes；　and　my　heart　gave　a　not…quite…
so…gentle　squeeze　of　its　own。　
Hearing　the　stutter　in　my　heartbeats；　he　smiled　again。　
He　lifted　his　free　hand　and　traced　one　cool　fingertip　around　the　outside　of　my　
lips　as　he　spoke。　〃So；　as　
discussed；　I　am　not　allowed　to　wish　you　a　happy　birthday；　is　that　correct？〃　
〃Yes。　That　is　correct。〃　I　could　never　quite　mimic　the　flow　of　his　perfect；　
formal　articulation。　It　was　
something　that　could　only　be　picked　up　in　an　earlier　century。　
〃Just　checking。〃　He　ran　his　hand　through　his　tousled　bronze　hair。　〃You　might　
have　changed　your　mind。　
Most　people　seem　to　enjoy　things　like　birthdays　and　gifts。〃　
Alice　laughed；　and　the　sound　was　all　silver；　a　wind　chime。　〃Of　course　you'll　
enjoy　it。　Everyone　is　
supposed　to　be　nice　to　you　today　and　give　you　your　way；　Bella。　What's　the　
worst　that　could　happen？〃　
She　meant　it　as　a　rhetorical　question。　
〃Getting　older；〃　I　answered　anyway；　and　my　voice　was　not　as　steady　as　I　wanted　
it　to　be。　
Beside　me；　Edward's　smile　tightened　into　a　hard　line。　
〃Eighteen　isn't　very　old；〃　Alice　said。　〃Don't　women　usually　wait　till　they're　
twenty…nine　to　get　upset　over　
birthdays？〃　
〃It's　older　than　Edward；〃　I　mumbled。　
He　sighed。　
〃Technically；〃　she　said；　keeping　her　tone　light。　〃Just　by　one　little　year；　
though。〃　
And　I　supposed　if　I　could　be　sure　of　the　future　I　wanted；　sure　that　I　would　
get　to　spend　forever　with　
Edward；　and　Alice　and　the　rest　of　the　Cullens　（preferably　not　as　a　wrinkled　
little　old　lady）　then　a　year　
or　two　one　direction　or　the　other　wouldn't　matter　to　me　so　much。　But　Edward　
was　dead　set　against　any　
future　that　changed　me。　Any　future　that　made　me　like　him—that　made　me　
immortal；　too。　
An　impasse；　he　called　it。　
I　couldn't　really　see　Edward's　point；　to　be　honest。　What　was　so　great　about　
mortality？　Being　a　vampire　
didn't　look　like　such　a　terrible　thing—not　the　way　the　Cullens　did　it；　
anyway。　
〃What　time　will　you　be　at　the　house？〃　Alice　continued；　changing　the　subject。　
From　her　expression；　she　
was　up　to　exactly　the　kind　of　thing　I'd　been　hoping　to　avoid。　
〃I　didn't　know　I　had　plans　to　be　there。〃　
〃Oh；　be　fair；　Bella！〃　she　plained。　〃You　aren't　going　to　ruin　all　our　fun　
like　that；　are　you？〃　
〃I　thought　my　birthday　was　about　what　I　want。〃　
〃I'll　get　her　from　Charlie's　right　after　school；〃　Edward　told　her；　ignoring　me　
altogether。　
〃I　have　to　work；〃　I　protested。　
〃You　don't；　actually；〃　Alice　told　me　smugly。　〃I　already　spoke　to　Mrs。　Newton　
about　it。　She's　trading　your　
shifts。　She　said　to　tell　you　'Happy　Birthday。'〃　
〃I—I　still　can't　e　over；〃　I　stammered；　scrambling　for　an　excuse。　〃I；　well；　
I　haven't　watched　Romeo　
and　Juliet　yet　for　English。〃　
Alice　snorted。　〃You　have　Romeo　and　Juliet　memorized。〃　
〃But　Mr。　Berty　said　we　needed　to　see　it　performed　to　fully　appreciate　it—
that's　how　Shakespeare　
intended　it　to　be　presented。〃　
Edward　rolled　his　eyes。　
〃You've　already　seen　the　movie；〃　Alice　accused。　
〃But　not　the　nineteen…sixties　version。　Mr。　Berty　said　it　was　the　best。〃　
Finally；　Alice　lost　the　smug　smile　and　glared　at　me。　〃This　can　be　easy；　or　
this　can　be　hard；　Bella；　but　one　
way　or　the　other—〃　
Edward　interrupted　her　threat。　〃Relax；　Alice。　If　Bella　wants　to　watch　a　movie；　
then　she　can。　It's　her　
birthday。〃　
〃So　there；〃　I　added。　
〃I'll　bring　her　over　around　seven；〃　he　continued。　〃That　will　give　you　more　
time　to　set　up。〃　
Alice's　laughter　chimed　again。　〃Sounds　good。　See　you　tonight；　Bella！　It'll　be　
fun；　you'll　see。〃　She　
grinned—the　wide　smile　exposed　all　her　perfect；　glistening　teeth—then　pecked　
me　on　the　cheek　and　
danced　off　toward　her　first　class　before　I　could　respond。　
〃Edward；　please—〃　I　started　to　beg；　but　he　pressed　one　cool　finger　to　my　
lips。　
〃Let's　discuss　it　later。　We're　going　to　be　late　for　class。〃　
No　one　bothered　to　stare　at　us　as　we　took　our　usual　seats　in　the　back　of　the　
classroom　（we　had　almost　
every　class　together　now—it　was　amazing　the　favors　Edward　could　get　the　
female　administrators　to　do　
for　him）。　Edward　and　I　had　been　together　too　long　now　to　be　an　object　of　
gossip　anymore。　Even　Mike　
Newton　didn't　bother　to　give　me　the　glum　stare　that　used　to　make　me　feel　a　
little　guilty。　He　smiled　now　
instead；　and　I　was　glad　he　seemed　to　have　accepted　that　we　could　only　be　
friends。　Mike　had　changed　
over　the　summer—his　face　had　lost　some　of　the　roundness；　making　his　
cheekbones　more　prominent；　and　
he　was　wearing　his　pale　blond　hair　a　new　way；　instead　of　bristly；　it　was　
longer　and　gelled　into　a　carefully　
casual　disarray。　It　was　easy　to　see　where　his　inspiration　came　from—but　
Edward's　look　wasn't　
something　that　could　be　achieved　through　imitation。　
As　the　day　progressed；　I　considered　ways　to　get　out　of　whatever　was　going　down　
at　the　Cullen　house　
tonight。　It　would　be　bad　enough　to　have　to　celebrate　when　I　was　in　the　mood　to　
mourn。　But；　worse　than　
that；　this　was　sure　to　involve　attention　and　gifts。　
Attention　is　never　a　good　thing；　as　any　other　accident…prone　klutz　would　
agree。　No　one　wants　a　spotlight　
when　they're　likely　to　fall　on　their　face。　
And　I'd　very　pointedly　asked—well；　ordered　really—that　no　one　give　me　any　
presents　this　year。　It　
looked　like　Charlie　and　Renee　weren't　the　only　ones　who　had　decided　to　
overlook　that。　
I'd　never　had　much　money；　and　that　had　never　bothered　me。　Renee　had　raised　me　
on　a　kindergarten　
teacher's　salary。　Charlie　wasn't　getting　rich　at　his　job；　either—he　was　the　
police　chief　here　in　the　tiny　town　
of　Forks。　My　only　personal　ine　came　from　the　three　days　a　week　I　worked　at　
the　local　sporting　
goods　store。　In　a　town　this　small；　I　was　lucky　to　have　a　job。　Every　penny　I　
made　went　into　my　
microscopic　college　fund。　（College　was　Plan　B。　I　was　still　hoping　for　Plan　A；　
but　Edward　was　just　so　
stubborn　about　leaving　me　human）　
Edward　had　a　lot　of　money—I　didn't　even　want　to　think　about　how　much。　Money　
meant　next　to　nothing　
to　Edward　or　the　rest　of　the　Cullens。　It　was　just　something　that　accumulated　
when　you　had　unlimited　time　
on　your　hands　and　a　sister　who　had　an　uncanny　ability　to　predict　trends　in　the　
stock　market。　Edward　
didn't　seem　to　understand　why　I　objected　to　him　spending　money　on　me—why　it　
made　me　
unfortable　if　he　took　me　to　an　expensive　restaurant　in　Seattle；　why　he　
wasn't　allowed　to　buy　me　a　car　
that　could　reach　speeds　over　fifty…five　miles　an　hour；　or　why　I　wouldn't　let　
him　pay　my　college　tuition　（he　
was　ridiculously　enthusiastic　about　Plan　B）。　Edward　thought　I　was　being　
unnecessarily　difficult。　
But　how　could　I　let　him　give　me　things　when　I　had　nothing　to　reciprocate　with？　
He；　for　some　
unfathomable　reason；　wanted　to　be　with　me。　Anything　he　gave　me　on　top　of　that　
just　threw　us　more　out　
of　balance。　
As　the　day　went　on；　neither　Edward　nor　Alice　brought　my　birthday　up　again；　and　
I　began　to　relax　a　little。　
We　sat　at　our　usual　table　for　lunch。　
A　strange　kind　of　truce　existed　at　that　table。　The　three　of　us—Edward；　Alice；　
and　I—sat　on　the　extreme　
southern　end　of　the　table。　Now　that　the　〃older〃　and　somewhat　scarier　（in　
Emmett's　case；　certainly）　Cullen　
siblings　had　graduated；　Alice　and　Edward　did　not　seem　quite　so　intimidating；　
and　we　did　not　sit　here　
alone。　My　other　friends；　Mike　and　Jessica　（who　were　in　the　awkward　post…
breakup　friendship　phase）；　
Angela　and　Ben　（whose　relationship　had　survived　the　summer）；　Eric；　Conner；　
Tyler；　and　Lauren　（though　
that　last　one　didn't　really　count　in　the　friend　category）　all　sat　at　the　same　
table；　on　the　other　side　of　an　
invisible　line。　That　line　dissolved　on　sunny　days　when　Edward　and　Alice　always　
skipped　school；　and　then　
the　conversation　would　swell　out　effortlessly　to　include　me。　
Edward　and　Alice　didn't　find　this　minor　ostracism　odd　or　hurtful　the　way　I　
would　have。　They　barely　
noticed　it。　People　always　felt　strangely　ill　at　ease　with　the　Cullens；　almost　
afraid　for　some　reason　they　
couldn't　explain　to　themselves。　I　was　a　rare　exception　to　that　rule。　Sometimes　
it　bothered　Edward　how　
very　fortable　I　was　with　being　close　to　him。　He　thought　he　was　hazardous　to　
my　health—an　opinion　I　
rejected　vehemently　whenever　he　voiced　it。　
The　afternoon　passed　quickly。　School　ended；　and　Edward　walked　me　to　my　truck　
as　he　usually　did。　But　
this　time；　he　held　the　passenger　door　open　for　me。　Alice　must　have　been　taking　
his　car　home　so　that　he　
could　keep　me　from　making　a　run　for　it。　
I　folded　my　arms　and　made　no　move　to　get　out　of　the　rain。　〃It's　my　birthday；　
don't　I　get　to　drive？〃　
〃I'm　pretending　it's　not　your　birthday；　just　as　you　wished。〃　
〃If　it's　not　my　birthday；　then　I　don't　have　to　go　to　your　house　tonight〃　
〃All　right。〃　He　shut　the　passenger　door　and　walked　past　me　to　open　the　
driver's　side。　〃Happy　birthday。〃　
〃Shh；〃　I　shushed　him　halfheartedly。　I　cli