Friday, April 16, 2010

Chapter Seventeen: Alice in Bellaland

The mysterious vampire in Bella's house is none other than lovable sister Alice! This is like winning first prize in the Cullen Lotto, just one number off from hitting the Edward Sparklepire Jackpot. Bella completely loses it, with the crying and the falling and the babbling. Even Alice is embarrassed for her. Well, embarrassed, and on the verge of eating her -- she hasn't hunted in a while.

It seems there's been a little mix-up. Alice might have really clear visions, but she doesn't get the director's commentary track. So when she saw Bella jump off a gigantic cliff, she didn't assume Bella had taken up a new sport. No, she thought Bella was trying to kill herself. In a sense, this is true; pretty much everything Bella does seems to have a fair chance of ending in death, but it's not really intentional.

Alice also didn't see Jacob pull her out of the water, which is why she rushed back to Forks, even though she assumed she'd be too late. At least she could hang out with Charlie for a while, and reminisce about the good old days when Bella was only mostly dead. But she's happy to find Bella alive...if a little perplexed about why she couldn't see her get saved, or why she smells so bad.

Bella provides an answer that could conceivably answer both questions: Jacob is a werewolf. This revelation sends Alice into a bit of a fit. See, if you hadn't caught on yet, vampires and werewolves aren't close. Turns out that vampires see werewolves as dangerous, especially young ones who haven't learned to control their tempers yet. Bella knows this is ridiculous; after all, she knows five werewolves, and only one of them has a mutilated fiancee! And yet, Alice is still skeptical.

Bella makes sure they the werewolves at least get credit for keeping her alive, though. She tells Alice the whole story of Laurent and Victoria, pissing her vampire friend off more and more with every detail. Alice apologizes for coming, saying she acted too impulsively. Which is exactly when Bella begs her to stick around for a while, because she's been an absolute mess without any Cullens in her life to tell her exactly what to do with every waking moment. Alice may not be as controlling as Edward the Sparkle God, but at least she's something.

Oh, and then Jacob calls, just to make sure Bella's alive. When she starts to explain, he says he just wanted to make sure, and hangs up. Never change, wolf boy!

Bella convinces Alice to stay for the night, and gets so excited that she gives the bloodthirsty vampire a mouthwatering human hug. At least Alice has some smarts, and excuses herself to go hunt for an hour or so -- about the maximum amount of time she feels comfortable that Bella can keep herself alive without supernatural supervision.

When Alice gets back, Charlie isn't far behind, just home from helping to make arrangements for Harry (remember? The guy who just died? No, you don't, stop pretending). He's cool with Alice staying, since he still owes her for bathing his daughter the last time she was nearly killed by a vampire. As excited as she is to have Alice around, Bella's still a little tired from almost drowning today, so she falls asleep...and when she wakes up later, she hears Alice and Charlie having a conversation.

About her, of course. Charlie had no idea what to do with Bella when she was in her constant state of moping, and then in her zombie phase. But he doesn't blame Alice, and he's noticed the improvement Bella's shown ever since she started hanging out with Jacob. He kind of wants them to hook up, even though he can still tell she's not the same anymore -- it's like someone died, and she hasn't gotten over it. And then Bella has the following thought:

It was like someone had died -- like I had died. Because it had been more than just losing the truest of true loves, as if that were not enough to kill someone. It was also losing a whole future, a whole family -- the whole life that I'd chosen...
Yes, that truest of true loves, the kind that develops over the course of a few months between a teenage girl and her 108-year-old vampire boyfriend, complete with stalking and near-death experiences. Romeo and Juliet have nothing on them.

But despite this, Charlie's just not sure it's in Bella's nature to get over stuff, and is afraid that even Alice's visit might not be good for her in the long run. Charlie also asks about Edward, who is apparently in South America somewhere. Charlie sarcastically says that he hopes Edward is enjoying himself, and Alice implies that he's not. After all, there can't possibly be anything on the beaches in Rio that could compare to the greatness that is Bella Swan. So clumsy, so idiotic, so mopey...who could ever forget her?

Charlie heads off to help make funeral arrangements, while Alice and Bella talk about what the Cullens are up to. They've moved to upstate New York, hanging around Ithaca and going to Cornell. Ivy League vampires, they're moving up in the world! Bella spends the next night sleeping on the couch with Alice again, instantly launching a million fanfics.

The next morning, Charlie heads off to the funeral, while Bella and Alice chat and do housework. Suddenly, someone is at the door -- someone Alice can't see. It must be Jacob, which confirms her suspicions that she can't see werewolves in her visions. Mystified as to why the werewolves were given such strong plot armor, Alice excuses herself so she won't have to be in the same room as Jacob when he comes in. Can't we all just get along, even if we're ancient enemies who were designed to kill each other?

No comments:

Post a Comment