Made of Magic | j. hale

04; Broaden Your Horizons

"What? No way! Catcher in the Rye is way better than Romeo and Juliet! Salinger isn't a creepy old dude writing about kids killing each other because they can't bang," Ana laughed loudly as she and Alice walked down the streets of Port Angeles, arms linked together. Ana had a single bag filled with new clothes in her hand, while Alice had three. The two had shopped for a couple of hours but decided that they should head home since it had gotten dark.

Alice giggled at Ana's comment. "Sure, but Romeo and Juliet is a classic. Give it points for that, at least," she reasoned with the girl. They had been debating for the last twenty minutes about the Shakespearian tragedy. It was one of Alice's favorites.

"Just because something's old, doesn't mean it's good," Ana said. "It's good for teaching freshmen how to read a play, but that's about it. I swear, Alice, you need to broaden your horizons. Shakespeare is so old school." They finally arrived at the black Volvo that Alice said she had borrowed from her dad. The two girls put their purchases in the back seat and climbed into the car.

"You know who else is old school?" Alice questioned, wiggling her eyebrows at Ana. "Jasper," she answered her own question before the girl sitting in the passenger seat could even get a word out.

Ana threw her head back in frustration. "Alice, it's never gonna happen. You saw the way he acted in history today, he's not interested," she explained. Ana remembered the feeling of sadness she felt when Jasper had declined the invitation to join the two girls, but she was glad now that he had. Ana needed a girl's day. Alice had been the perfect distraction.

"Oh, come on. Why wouldn't he be interested?" Alice asked. "You're smart, gorgeous, and funny. Not to mention, you're exactly his type."

Ana snorted. "Jasper's type is the average-looking, angsty, new girl that's the background character in every movie that's ever existed?" She questioned.

Alice looked over at her. There was a sort of sadness in her eyes, Alice could tell. The two girls were silent for a moment. When Alice finally spoke, her words had as much kindness laced into them as she could muster. "You're not average, Ana." A small smile formed on Alice's face. "You'll see."

--

Ana laid in bed that night, staring at the ceiling while Hozier played softly through her headphones. Alice had dropped her off at her house around nine that night, but Ana still hadn't fallen asleep. She had finished her English homework, showered, braided her still-wet hair, and made herself some tea. She had done everything she could think of to relax, but her mind was racing with thoughts. Thoughts of wolves, of vampires, thoughts of Jasper Hale.

She hadn't heard her mother come home, so when her bedroom door opened and light from the hallway poured in, it startled Ana.

She leaned up to see the familiar face and sighed with relief. "God, I thought you were a murderer or something," Ana said, holding her palm flat against her chest in an attempt to slow her racing heart.

Katie Rivers was a hard woman. She had become an anomaly for Ana in the past 3 months. Before things had gone south in their lives, Katie was an outgoing, motherly woman. She had been a support system for Ana, someone she could always turn to. Katie had given Ana a love of literature, in all of its forms.

When she was seven, a boy at school had called Ana names and made her come home with tears in her eyes. Her tears weren't those of sadness though, they were tears that had been a result of her white-hot anger. Katie had told her that same evening that little girls like Ana were made of magic; that they could change the world. She taught Ana that being angry was a part of life, but that it didn't have to eat her whole.

"Boys like that will never be sweet to you, baby. They will chew you up and spit you out and go on about their day like nothing happened. It's easy to get angry at them, I know it is." Katie took hold of her daughter's small hands and held them in her own. "But you, my love, you must continue to be sweet. To everyone you know, everyone you encounter. It's important to care about people because there are too many who won't."

"Why're you staring at me like that?" Katie asked her daughter, still standing in the doorway with a confused look on her face.

Ana shook her head and looked away. "I thought you were working tonight." Katie was always working. She had two jobs, one in a factory and the other at a lumber yard. She was never home, always off getting paid too little for doing too much. She couldn't handle the idea of sitting still.

"The line went down, so they sent us home," Katie explained. "How was your first day at school?"

"Second, actually. We started on Monday." Ana could feel the awkward tension in the room. "I went to Port Angeles with a friend today."

"Oh? Did you have fun?" Katie questioned. She was genuinely happy that her daughter was already making friends. Even though it didn't always seem like it anymore, she truly cared that Ana was comfortable here in Forks.

Ana nodded. "Yeah, for sure. I spent some of my tips on a new jacket." She couldn't help but wish her mother would leave the room. It was difficult to speak to her anymore. She wondered if she should give Katie the same speech about kindness, but decided against it. Ana understood that her mother had been through too much to be kind anymore.

"Good." Katie turned on her heels to walk out of her room. "Don't forget, you have a scan tomorrow with Dr. Cullen," she reminded. She shut the door and finally left Ana to her own devices. 

[a.n.]

Thank you guys so much for reading! This is the first story I've ever published here, and it's close to my heart so I hope you're enjoying it! The minute I hit 80 reads I told my bf because I was so excited, lol. Thank you!