Both Of You, Dance Like You Want To Win!
All right, let's not put it off any longer.
I must confess, I've been running from this project, but the time has come, and I have to accept that the experience of reading Twilight for the first time must eventually come to an end. Yes, I will be able to reread later, but it will never have quite the same feeling of magic and wonder it does on this first journey. That's just something I will have to accept, in the same way that I've had to come to terms with the knowledge that I can never have as obviously perfect a love as Edward and Bella surely will by the end of this most enchanting tome.
NO SPOILERS PLZ.
08. Port Angeles:
Bella and her friends arrive in the eponymous Port Angeles, and set about finding the perfect dresses for the upcoming social event, all the while talking on about the kind of boys they like, though some are more forthcoming than others, obviously, (Jessica, LOL!) Bella amazes everyone by revealing that she's never been to a dance before! Not once! No one ever asked her back in Phoenix, because she's really just an average everyday girl, like you or me, and us Plain Janes don't get asked to dances!
Angela points out that there is an exception, since Tyler is taking Bella to the prom... which is the first Bella has heard about it! It seems Tyler has been telling a few tall tales, and what's more, some people even believe him! This explains why Lauren was being so horrible, because she actually likes Tyler, so she was being jealous of Bella for something that totally wasn't her fault! Such a tragic misunderstanding! They could have been friends but for this! Bella wonders aloud if running him over with Übertruck will make him finally get over the guilt he feels for almost killing her (LOL!) but Jessica doesn't think he's doing it for the guilt!
So the girls get on with choosing their dresses, and to Bella's surprise, it doesn't take very long, especially compared to similar trips with Renée! Oh, Renée is Bella's mother, but Bella calls her Renée because she's grown-up and sophisticated. While Angela tries on some shoes, Bella finally works up the courage to ask about how the Cullens seem to miss a lot of school, and Angela explains that they like to go backpacking a lot, which no one seems to think is a pretty flimsy excuse for missing school. They're probably too in thrall to the family's ethereal beauty. I know I am. *sigh* After they're done with the clothes shopping, Bella decides to go and find a bookshop, and ends up going off on her own! Even though she's a girl, and they're in the city! Is she mad?! I was so worried during this part!
OK, it's not too bad, she finds a shop without difficulty, but then she decides it looks too new-agey and tries to find a more normal one! Worse, she isn't paying attention like she should be, too wrapped up in despair is she! Despair over her inability to stop thinking about Edward, and her hopes for what might come on Saturday; she even thinks she's seen the Silver Volvo at one point! So distracted is she that she accidentally wanders into the bad part of town! Oh no! And then the worst happens, a group of men arrives! Men! In the bad part of town! Worse still, they take a fancy to her, and a chase ensues, where Bella is at a disadvantage because there's only one of her and she doesn't know the area like them!
Bella knows how to fight, but she lacks experience, and it seems as though all is lost, when suddenly a car, the car, the Silver Volvo, pulls up next to her, and Edward drives her to safety! Thank goodness he was there, I shudder to think what might have happened otherwise! Naturally, Bella is relieved, and feels so much safer, though because it's Edward, she probably would have felt that even if those creeps hadn't been chasing her. Even though she feels all safe and happy now, Edward looks really angry, like really angry, and he has to ask Bella to distract him so he can calm down.
Fortunately Bella knows just what to do and starts joking about running over Tyler again! Edward smiles a little (he'd heard the rumours about prom too!), but it doesn't help very much, because he's just that angry. In fact, he's so angry that he has to make a conscious effort not to go back and hunt down those guys who were going to hurt Bella, and can you blame him? What a bunch of creeps! Bella tries to take his mind off it some more by asking him to take her to where she was meant to meet Jessica and Angela, and he does so in brooding silence. Strangely, he seems to know where they are without her actually telling him, and once they arrive he tells her to go and stop them wandering off unaccompanied like she did, lest he have to track them down too.
Naturally, Jessica and Angela are very relieved to see Bella after she missed their meet-up, and surprised to see Edward's with her. Without mentioning the guys who attacked her, they explain that Bella got lost, and then happened to run into to Edward, who offers to drive her home after they've eaten, so that Jessica and Angela don't have to wait (they already ate while waiting for her before). Everyone agrees to this, of course, because Edward knows best, and who could find a reason to question him once he's taken charge so effectively? Well, Bella does, actually, insisting, after the others have gone, that she really isn't that hungry! She's so silly sometimes! Fortunately, Edward knows better than to take no for an answer, and so they go into the restaurant without any further escapades.
Once inside, the host, a woman who's taller than Bella, pays noticeably more attention to Edward, and, worse still, has hair that's obviously been dyed blonde, giving her even more of an advantage! What a bitch! Fortunately, Edward isn't drawn by such fakery, and instead makes sure that they get a secluded booth by discreetly passing her a tip like in an old movie! He's so cool! Bella actually tells him off for this; even though he was dazzling a rival, she still doesn't approve of him taking advantage of people. Bella is true and pure of heart, you see.
Their server arrives, and is just as bad as the host, though not blonde. She smiles at them, but with unnecessary warmth, which I suppose could just be something that people in the service industry have to do all the time as a matter of course, but we know better; she just wants Edward. What a whore! Of course, Edward isn't affected by such cheap tricks, so she just goes about her business and takes their orders. For some reason, Bella only orders a coke, even though Edward clearly indicated that she needed something to eat! I guess she just likes being contrary.
The cold drink makes her feel cold, and so Edward offers her his jacket, and for the first time, she actually notices what he's been wearing the whole time. Underneath his beige leather jacket is an ivory turtle-neck, emphasising both his muscular frame, and the awesome bad boy that he clearly is. All of the bad boys wear turtle-necks; it's practically genetic. Edward continues to insist that she eat, contending that she's probably going into shock after what happened, but she insists that she isn't, and then completely wrong-foots him by mentioning how his mood is normally more light-hearted when his eyes are as light a shade of brown as they currently are.
He manages not to be drawn, however, and simply lets her expound on her latest theory about why he is weird in the specific way that he is, interrupted only by their server returning with Bella's food and trying to get Edward to buy an actual meal of some sort. Again, Bella is sure that this is because she's desperately trying to score with him, and she must be right, since the idea that it could just be her doing her job seems unlikely. She doesn't succeed either way, and leaves them to continue their discussion of Edward's weirdness.
Bella asks him a few more questions, and as always, Edward is evasive, though she seems to be getting closer to the truth, and Edward seems to know better than try to hide it from her. Instead they sort through a series of "hypotheticals" about "Joe" and "Jane" and how Joe managed to be in the right place at thee right time to save Jane, and how Jane managed to somehow be in the worst possible place at the wrong time, potentially screwing over Port Angeles's crimes statistics for years to come, thanks to her remarkable ability to attract trouble. Trouble that, of course, includes Joe himself, for, like Edward, he is totally the Bad Boy. They both wear a leather jacket and everything!
Bella thanks Edward for saving her again, while he simply asks her not to make it three times. Then he admits that he actually followed her to Port Angeles so that he could protect her! OMG his love is showing itself already! There is literally no other way you could interpret that! This is how he found her of course; he can't read her mind, but everyone else in Port Angeles is an open book, and once he noticed that Jessica didn't know where she was, he started looking elsewhere, and then, once he saw her face in the mind of one of her attackers, well, let's just say they were lucky to be left alive!
The conversation kind of dies off after this, and it's not long after that they return to The Volvo, and get ready to drive back to Forks. Just when it seems as though everything has quietened down though, suddenly Edward tells Bella that it's "[her] turn", presumably meaning that she has to outline her theory about what it is that's strange about him! That's for next chapter however. I can hardly wait!
I would offer some analysis here, but what is there to analyse? This chapter was awesome, like they always are! So awesome, in fact, that it gets a tanka instead of the usual haiku:
Enthusiasm,
It comes easily when it's
Genuine, but is much more
Difficult to maintain when
It's April Fools' Day.
I must confess, I've been running from this project, but the time has come, and I have to accept that the experience of reading Twilight for the first time must eventually come to an end. Yes, I will be able to reread later, but it will never have quite the same feeling of magic and wonder it does on this first journey. That's just something I will have to accept, in the same way that I've had to come to terms with the knowledge that I can never have as obviously perfect a love as Edward and Bella surely will by the end of this most enchanting tome.
NO SPOILERS PLZ.
08. Port Angeles:
Bella and her friends arrive in the eponymous Port Angeles, and set about finding the perfect dresses for the upcoming social event, all the while talking on about the kind of boys they like, though some are more forthcoming than others, obviously, (Jessica, LOL!) Bella amazes everyone by revealing that she's never been to a dance before! Not once! No one ever asked her back in Phoenix, because she's really just an average everyday girl, like you or me, and us Plain Janes don't get asked to dances!
Angela points out that there is an exception, since Tyler is taking Bella to the prom... which is the first Bella has heard about it! It seems Tyler has been telling a few tall tales, and what's more, some people even believe him! This explains why Lauren was being so horrible, because she actually likes Tyler, so she was being jealous of Bella for something that totally wasn't her fault! Such a tragic misunderstanding! They could have been friends but for this! Bella wonders aloud if running him over with Übertruck will make him finally get over the guilt he feels for almost killing her (LOL!) but Jessica doesn't think he's doing it for the guilt!
So the girls get on with choosing their dresses, and to Bella's surprise, it doesn't take very long, especially compared to similar trips with Renée! Oh, Renée is Bella's mother, but Bella calls her Renée because she's grown-up and sophisticated. While Angela tries on some shoes, Bella finally works up the courage to ask about how the Cullens seem to miss a lot of school, and Angela explains that they like to go backpacking a lot, which no one seems to think is a pretty flimsy excuse for missing school. They're probably too in thrall to the family's ethereal beauty. I know I am. *sigh* After they're done with the clothes shopping, Bella decides to go and find a bookshop, and ends up going off on her own! Even though she's a girl, and they're in the city! Is she mad?! I was so worried during this part!
OK, it's not too bad, she finds a shop without difficulty, but then she decides it looks too new-agey and tries to find a more normal one! Worse, she isn't paying attention like she should be, too wrapped up in despair is she! Despair over her inability to stop thinking about Edward, and her hopes for what might come on Saturday; she even thinks she's seen the Silver Volvo at one point! So distracted is she that she accidentally wanders into the bad part of town! Oh no! And then the worst happens, a group of men arrives! Men! In the bad part of town! Worse still, they take a fancy to her, and a chase ensues, where Bella is at a disadvantage because there's only one of her and she doesn't know the area like them!
Bella knows how to fight, but she lacks experience, and it seems as though all is lost, when suddenly a car, the car, the Silver Volvo, pulls up next to her, and Edward drives her to safety! Thank goodness he was there, I shudder to think what might have happened otherwise! Naturally, Bella is relieved, and feels so much safer, though because it's Edward, she probably would have felt that even if those creeps hadn't been chasing her. Even though she feels all safe and happy now, Edward looks really angry, like really angry, and he has to ask Bella to distract him so he can calm down.
Fortunately Bella knows just what to do and starts joking about running over Tyler again! Edward smiles a little (he'd heard the rumours about prom too!), but it doesn't help very much, because he's just that angry. In fact, he's so angry that he has to make a conscious effort not to go back and hunt down those guys who were going to hurt Bella, and can you blame him? What a bunch of creeps! Bella tries to take his mind off it some more by asking him to take her to where she was meant to meet Jessica and Angela, and he does so in brooding silence. Strangely, he seems to know where they are without her actually telling him, and once they arrive he tells her to go and stop them wandering off unaccompanied like she did, lest he have to track them down too.
Naturally, Jessica and Angela are very relieved to see Bella after she missed their meet-up, and surprised to see Edward's with her. Without mentioning the guys who attacked her, they explain that Bella got lost, and then happened to run into to Edward, who offers to drive her home after they've eaten, so that Jessica and Angela don't have to wait (they already ate while waiting for her before). Everyone agrees to this, of course, because Edward knows best, and who could find a reason to question him once he's taken charge so effectively? Well, Bella does, actually, insisting, after the others have gone, that she really isn't that hungry! She's so silly sometimes! Fortunately, Edward knows better than to take no for an answer, and so they go into the restaurant without any further escapades.
Once inside, the host, a woman who's taller than Bella, pays noticeably more attention to Edward, and, worse still, has hair that's obviously been dyed blonde, giving her even more of an advantage! What a bitch! Fortunately, Edward isn't drawn by such fakery, and instead makes sure that they get a secluded booth by discreetly passing her a tip like in an old movie! He's so cool! Bella actually tells him off for this; even though he was dazzling a rival, she still doesn't approve of him taking advantage of people. Bella is true and pure of heart, you see.
Their server arrives, and is just as bad as the host, though not blonde. She smiles at them, but with unnecessary warmth, which I suppose could just be something that people in the service industry have to do all the time as a matter of course, but we know better; she just wants Edward. What a whore! Of course, Edward isn't affected by such cheap tricks, so she just goes about her business and takes their orders. For some reason, Bella only orders a coke, even though Edward clearly indicated that she needed something to eat! I guess she just likes being contrary.
The cold drink makes her feel cold, and so Edward offers her his jacket, and for the first time, she actually notices what he's been wearing the whole time. Underneath his beige leather jacket is an ivory turtle-neck, emphasising both his muscular frame, and the awesome bad boy that he clearly is. All of the bad boys wear turtle-necks; it's practically genetic. Edward continues to insist that she eat, contending that she's probably going into shock after what happened, but she insists that she isn't, and then completely wrong-foots him by mentioning how his mood is normally more light-hearted when his eyes are as light a shade of brown as they currently are.
He manages not to be drawn, however, and simply lets her expound on her latest theory about why he is weird in the specific way that he is, interrupted only by their server returning with Bella's food and trying to get Edward to buy an actual meal of some sort. Again, Bella is sure that this is because she's desperately trying to score with him, and she must be right, since the idea that it could just be her doing her job seems unlikely. She doesn't succeed either way, and leaves them to continue their discussion of Edward's weirdness.
Bella asks him a few more questions, and as always, Edward is evasive, though she seems to be getting closer to the truth, and Edward seems to know better than try to hide it from her. Instead they sort through a series of "hypotheticals" about "Joe" and "Jane" and how Joe managed to be in the right place at thee right time to save Jane, and how Jane managed to somehow be in the worst possible place at the wrong time, potentially screwing over Port Angeles's crimes statistics for years to come, thanks to her remarkable ability to attract trouble. Trouble that, of course, includes Joe himself, for, like Edward, he is totally the Bad Boy. They both wear a leather jacket and everything!
Bella thanks Edward for saving her again, while he simply asks her not to make it three times. Then he admits that he actually followed her to Port Angeles so that he could protect her! OMG his love is showing itself already! There is literally no other way you could interpret that! This is how he found her of course; he can't read her mind, but everyone else in Port Angeles is an open book, and once he noticed that Jessica didn't know where she was, he started looking elsewhere, and then, once he saw her face in the mind of one of her attackers, well, let's just say they were lucky to be left alive!
The conversation kind of dies off after this, and it's not long after that they return to The Volvo, and get ready to drive back to Forks. Just when it seems as though everything has quietened down though, suddenly Edward tells Bella that it's "[her] turn", presumably meaning that she has to outline her theory about what it is that's strange about him! That's for next chapter however. I can hardly wait!
I would offer some analysis here, but what is there to analyse? This chapter was awesome, like they always are! So awesome, in fact, that it gets a tanka instead of the usual haiku:
Enthusiasm,
It comes easily when it's
Genuine, but is much more
Difficult to maintain when
It's April Fools' Day.