I read Twilight so you don't have to // CHAPTER 2: OPEN BOOK
Summary: Edward is absent for a few days, which gives Bella some relief, though she worries she caused his disappearance. Meanwhile, she settles into life with Charlie by taking over cooking duties, and at school, she navigates the unwanted attention from boys like Mike and Eric. When Edward finally returns, his demeanor has completely changed. Instead of looking harsh and unfriendly, he's polite in Biology class. During their lab, she notices his icy cold touch when they accidentally make contact.
Thoughts:
Bella spends the next night worrying and obsessing over the fact that Edward Cullen didn’t seem to like her very much. “Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was,” (pg. 30). I really can’t wrap my head around how much importance Bella places on his opinion, especially considering his hostile attitude came without any apparent provocation or prior interaction.
Lucky for her, Edward and his “siblings” don’t show up to school that day, and she can’t help but wonder if she’s the reason he’s not at school (pg. 31). She admits that this is ridiculous and egotistical (which it is) but she just has a feeling that it’s true.
Agh. Again, Bella assumes that people react and behave all in response to her. And she’s only become self-aware in this one instance, but what about all those other times, eh, Bella?
She gets through the day hanging with her friends at lunch (including her “golden retriever, Mike”, bleh), and when she gets home, decides to take on cooking duty, since Charlie only seems able to make bacon and eggs. How this grown-adult man has survived this long is beyond me.
Bella does the grocery shopping—which is another section that describes every step of the journey, and suprisingly, it was actually nice to read about Bella driving out in the rain and going to the grocery store, I don’t know, it was relaxing to read—and she makes steak and potatoes for dinner. Then, she decides to read Wuthering Heights, “again”, and “for the fun of it” (pg. 34). Only the classics for Bella.
As she and Charlie sit down to dinner, Charlie gives her some more unprompted Cullen Exposition: Dr. Cullen is a surgeon in town, has a beautiful wife and some “well-behaved kids”. So far, we haven’t met any of the Cullens, yet. Everything’s been word-of-mouth.
For the rest of the week, Edward Cullen doesn’t come back to school (but Bella does have a pop quiz in English: Wuthering Heights. Lucky her!) She spends every page wondering where the Cullens are (again, you’ve never met these people, Bella) while Mike continues to “follow her around” carry her books to classes.
And then, mercifully, Edward shows up to Biology class again. And, surprisingly, he politely engages in conversation with her.
Huh. I guess everything in this town does revolve around Bella. My mistake.
Edward and Bella chat while he stares at her with “unblinking eyes” and “penetrating gazes,” and he keeps clenching his hands into fists out of nowhere, which makes me laugh every time it crops up.
Then Edwards asks the question we’ve all been dying to know: what made Bella exile herself to Forks if she hates it so much?
And…the answer actually confirms what we suspected. Bella's mother remarried, and Bella felt she was intruding on their new life together, so she removed herself from the situation. Notably, whenever Edward tries to dig deeper into her reasoning with follow-up questions, Bella responds defensively. Her self-sacrificing decision appears to stem from a martyr-like mentality that she presents as noble, though it seems very unnecessary given the circumstances. She literally did not have to do this, but whatever.
And that’s pretty much the chapter. They have a big conversation during Biology, Edward grips the table like a weirdo, and she drives home in the sleet, watching Edward stand beside his Volvo, eyes laughing at her (?).
Really, I wish there was more to say, but so far things have been pretty uneventful in Forks. We’ll have to content ourselves with peeking through our lashes up at the Cullens during lunch period and pray they don’t see us staring.
See you next Tuesday!*