Eclipse (Twilight #3)(89)

She droned on and on, and I was sure the sudden return of our friendship was due to graduation nostalgia and gratitude for the party invite, not that I'd had anything to do with that. I paid attention as well as I could while I shrugged into my robe. And I found that I was glad that things could end on a good note with Jessica. Because it was an ending, no matter what Eric, the valedictorian, had to say about commencement meaning "beginning" and all the rest of the trite nonsense. Maybe more for me than for the rest, but we were all leaving something behind us today.

It went so quickly. I felt like I'd hit the fast forward button. Were we supposed to march quite that fast? And then Eric was speed talking in his nervousness, the words and phrases running together so they didn't make sense anymore. Principal Greene started calling names, one after the other without a long enough pause between; the front row in the gymnasium was rushing to catch up. Poor Ms. Cope was all thumbs as she tried to give the principal the right diploma to hand to the right student.

I watched as Alice, suddenly appearing, danced across the stage to take hers, a look of deep concentration on her face. Edward followed behind, his expression confused, but not upset. Only the two of them could carry off the hideous yellow and still look the way they did. They stood out from the rest of the crowd, their beauty and grace otherworldly. I wondered how I'd ever fallen for their human farce. A couple of angels, standing there with wings intact, would be less conspicuous.

I heard Mr. Greene call my name and I rose from my chair, waiting for the line in front of me to move. I was conscious of cheering in the back of the gym, and I looked around to see Jacob pulling Charlie to his feet, both of them hooting in encouragement. I could just make out the top of Billy's head beside Jake's elbow. I managed to throw them an approximation of a smile.

Mr. Greene finished with the list of names, and then continued to hand out diplomas with a sheepish grin as we filed past.

"Congratulations, Miss Stanley," he mumbled as Jess took hers.

"Congratulations, Miss Swan," he mumbled to me, pressing the diploma into my good hand.

"Thanks," I murmured.

And that was it.

I went to stand next to Jessica with the assembled graduates. Jess was all red around the eyes, and she kept blotting her face with the sleeve of her robe. It took me a second to understand that she was crying.

Mr. Greene said something I didn't hear, and everyone around me shouted and screamed. Yellow hats rained down. I pulled mine off, too late, and just let it fall to the ground.

"Oh, Bella!" Jess blubbered over the sudden roar of conversation. "I can't believe we're done."

"I can't believe it's all over," I mumbled.

She threw her arms around my neck. "You have to promise we won't lose touch."

I hugged her back, feeling a little awkward as I dodged her request. "I'm so glad I know you, Jessica. It was a good two years."

"It was," she sighed, and sniffed. Then she dropped her arms. "Lauren!" she squealed, waving over her head and pushing through the massed yellow gowns. Families were beginning to converge, pressing us tighter together.

I caught sight of Angela and Ben, but they were surrounded by their families. I would congratulate them later.

I craned my head, looking for Alice.

"Congratulations," Edward whispered in my ear, his arms winding around my waist. His voice was subdued; he'd been in no hurry for me to reach this particular milestone.

"Um, thanks."

"You don't look like you're over the nerves yet," he noted.

"Not quite yet."

"What's left to worry about? The party? It won't be that horrible."

"You're probably right."

"Who are you looking for?"

My searching wasn't quite as subtle as I'd thought. "Alice - where is she?"

"She ran out as soon as she had her diploma."

His voice took on a new tone. I looked up to see his confused expression as he stared toward the back door of the gym, and I made an impulse decision - the kind I really should think twice about, but rarely did.

"Worrying about Alice?" I asked.

"Er . . ." He didn't want to answer that.

"What was she thinking about, anyway? To keep you out, I mean."

His eyes flashed down to my face, and narrowed in suspicion. "She was translating the Battle Hymn of the Republic into Arabic, actually. When she finished that, she moved on to Korean sign language."

I laughed nervously. "I suppose that would keep her head busy enough."

"You know what she's hiding from me," he accused.

"Sure." I smiled a weak smile. "I'm the one who came up with it."

He waited, confused.

I looked around. Charlie would be on his way through the crowd now.

"Knowing Alice," I whispered in a rush, "she'll probably try to keep this from you until after the party. But since I'm all for the party being canceled - well, don't go berserk, regardless, okay? It's always better to know as much as possible. It has to help somehow."

"What are you talking about?"

I saw Charlie's head bob up over the other heads as he searched for me. He spotted me and waved.

"Just stay calm, okay?"