3 eclipse月食-第4部分

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interrupted　before　Edward　could　ment。　
“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　got　my　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。　Nihirty。”　
That　was　his　usual　parting　mand。　
“Er；　Dad？　Remember　the　very　recent　discussion　about　my　freedom　。　。　。　？”　
He　sighed。　“Right。　Okay；　tenthirty。　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。　
“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　tipoff。　
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　looking　up　from　the　paper。　His　eyes　stayed　focused　on　the　page　as　he　
pushed　the　first　application　toward　me　across　the　table。　“I　think　you　can　recycle　your　essays　for　this　one。　
Same　questions。”　
Charlie　must　still　be　listening。　I　sighed　and　started　to　fill　out　the　repetitive　information：　name；　address；　
social。　。　。　。　After　a　few　minutes　I　glanced　up；　but　Edward　was　now　staring　pensively　out　the　window。　As　I　bent　
my　head　back　to　my　work；　I　noticed　for　the　first　time　the　name　of　the　school。　
I　snorted　and　shoved　the　papers　aside。　
“Bella？”　
“Be　serious；　Edward。　Dartmouth？”　
Edward　lifted　the　discarded　application　and　laid　it　gently　in　front　of　me　again。　“I　think　you’d　like　New　
Hampshire；”　he　said。　“There’s　a　full　plement　of　night　courses　for　me；　and　the　forests　are　very　conveniently　
located　for　the　avid　hiker。　Plentiful　wildlife。”　He　pulled　out　the　crooked　smile　he　knew　I　couldn’t　resist。　
I　took　a　deep　breath　through　my　nose。　
“I’ll　let　you　pay　me　back；　if　that　makes　you　happy；”　he　promised。　“If　you　want；　I　can　charge　you　interest。”　
“Like　I　could　even　get　in　without　some　enormous　bribe。　Or　was　that　part　of　the　loan？　The　new　Cullen　
wing　of　the　library？　Ugh。　Why　are　we　having　this　discussion　again？”　

“Will　you　just　fill　out　the　application；　please；　Bella？　It　won’t　hurt　you　to　apply。”　
My　jaw　flexed。　“You　know　what？　I　don’t　think　I　will。”　
I　reached　for　the　papers；　planning　to　crumple　them　into　a　suitable　shape　for　lobbing　at　the　trashcan；　but　
they　were　already　gone。　I　stared　at　the　empty　table　for　a　moment；　and　then　at　Edward。　He　didn’t　appear　to　
have　moved；　but　the　application　was　probably　already　tucked　away　in　his　jacket。　
“What　are　you　doing？”　I　demanded。　
“I　sign　your　name　better　than　you　do　yourself。　You’ve　already　written　the　essays。”　
“You’re　going　way　overboard　with　this；　you　know。”　I　whispered　on　the　off　chance　that　Charlie　wasn’t　
pletely　lost　in　his　game。　“I　really　don’t　need　to　apply　anywhere　else。　I’ve　been　accepted　in　Alaska。　I　can　
almost　afford　the　first　semester’s　tuition。　It’s　as　good　an　alibi　as　any。　There’s　no　need　to　throw　away　a　bunch　
of　money；　no　matter　whose　it　is。”　
A　pained　looked　tightened　his　face。　“Bella　—”　
“Don’t　start。　I　agree　that　I　need　to　go　through　the　motions　for　Charlie’s　sake；　but　we　both　know　I’m　not　
going　to　be　in　any　condition　to　go　to　school　next　fall。　To　be　anywhere　near　people。”　
My　knowledge　of　those　first　few　years　as　a　new　vampire　was　sketchy。　Edward　had　never　gone　into　details　
—　it　wasn’t　his　favorite　subject　—　but　I　knew　it　wasn’t　pretty。　Selfcontrol　was　apparently　an　acquired　skill。　
Anything　more　than　correspondence　school　was　out　of　the　question。　
“I　thought　the　timing　was　still　undecided；”　Edward　reminded　me　softly。　“You　might　enjoy　a　semester　or　
two　of　college。　There　are　a　lot　of　human　experiences　you’ve　never　had。”　
“I’ll　get　to　those　afterward。”　
“They　won’t　be　human　experiences　afterward。　You　don’t　get　a　second　chance　at　humanity；　Bella。”　
I　sighed。　“You’ve　got　to　be　reasonable　about　the　timing；　Edward。　It’s　just　too　dangerous　to　mess　around　
with。”　
“There’s　no　danger　yet；”　he　insisted。　
I　glared　at　him。　No　danger？　Sure。　I　only　had　a　sadistic　vampire　trying　to　avenge　her　mate’s　death　with　my　
own；　preferably　through　some　slow　and　torturous　method。　Who　was　worried　about　Victoria？　And；　oh　yeah；　
the　Volturi　—　the　vampire　royal　family　with　their　small　army　of　vampire　warriors　—　who　insisted　that　my　heart　
stop　beating　one　way　or　another　in　the　near　future；　because　humans　weren’t　allowed　to　know　they　existed。　
Right。　No　reason　at　all　to　panic。　
Even　with　Alice　keeping　watch　—　Edward　was　relying　on　her　uncannily　accurate　visions　of　the　future　to　
give　us　advance　warning　—　it　was　insane　to　take　chances。　
Besides；　I’d　already　won　this　argument。　The　date　for　my　transformation　was　tentatively　set　for　shortly　after　
my　graduation　from　high　school；　only　a　handful　of　weeks　away。　
A　sharp　jolt　of　unease　pierced　my　stomach　as　I　realized　how　short　the　time　really　was。　Of　course　this　
change　was　necessary　—　and　the　key　to　what　I　wanted　more　than　everything　else　in　the　world　put　together　—　
but　I　was　deeply　conscious　of　Charlie　sitting　in　the　other　room　enjoying　his　game；　just　like　every　other　night。　
And　my　mother；　Renée；　far　away　in　sunny　Florida；　still　pleading　with　me　to　spend　the　summer　on　the　beach　
with　her　and　her　new　husband。　And　Jacob；　who；　unlike　my　parents；　would　know　exactly　what　was　going　on　
when　I　disappeared　to　some　distant　school。　Even　if　my　parents　didn’t　grow　suspicious　for　a　long　time；　even　if　I　
could　put　off　visits　with　excuses　about　travel　expenses　or　study　loads　or　illnesses；　Jacob　would　kno