Chapter Twenty-Two (You're Not Dead, Are You?)

“Okay!” Alice said, spreading lined paper, pens and pencils around the library table. 1

“Sssssh!” the librarian hissed. 2

“Okay!” Alice said in a lower voice. “I’ll teach you how to write. You just can’t use a computer and laptop for the rest of your life, can you?” 3

I looked out the window then looked back. “No, I guess not,” I responded. 4

“Okay, then, sit here.” 5

Alice sat in a chair next to me, explaining what I should do. 6

“It’s pretty simple, really. Try it,” she said. “Try to…write your full name. Dylan…Montgomery.” 7

At first, it was a retarded scrawl. I mashed it up into a wrinkly ball and threw it into the trashcan. The second and third times I tried it, it was a little better. I scrunched those up too. 8

Then finally the fourth time I tried it, it was great. I mean, great. 9

Alice hugged me. “Good job, Dylan!” 10

“SSSSSSH!” the librarian jeered again. “If I have to kick you two out of this school library, I will!” 11

“Sorry,” Alice and I said in unison. 12

“Okay,” Alice said. “Shoes.” 13

She put her foot in front of her on the chair and showed me her shoes. 14

“Show me your shoe,” she said, untying hers. “Remember to untie them.” 15

I untied my shoe quickly, almost tangling the laces together. 16

“Okay. Grip the laces,” Alice instructed quietly. “Okay, good. Now tie them like THIS. All right, you’ve got it so far. Now make THIS one a LOOP. Okay, okay, try that again. Okay, here we go. Take the not-looped one and tie it with the loop. Okay, ready? Pull tightly.” 17

I screwed up five times and only once I got close but failed at the last second. Then the last time I actually got it. I sighed with relief. “Finally.” I shook my head. 18

“Okay! Now that we’ve got it!” Alice said, picking up paper and pens. “Let’s go!” 19

“For God’s sake, SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!” the librarian hissed. 20

Alice and I quickly scurried to our lockers. She had said we’d meet in the school parking lot. I was rocking back and forth on my feet when she found me by my car. 21

“Ready to go see the house?” she asked cheerfully. 22

“Yeah, I…guess…” I said, handing her my keys. 23

I got into the passenger seat and waited for her to finish zipping up her backpack. I sighed as she got in. 24

“Are you feeling all right?” she asked, backing out of the lot. 25

“I feel fine, why?” I asked. 26

“You seem worried or something. Well, it’s a long drive back to the house. Do you have any other abilities?” 27

“Well… I have super speed, move things with my mind, and have awesome strength.” 28

Alice sighed, turning. “Another half an hour.” 29

I quickly turned on the CD player, and my band came on. 30

“Oh, wow! Who are these people?” Alice asked when I started to sing. 31

“Sarah, Gina, Edwin, Jamie, Colleen, Janet’s and my band,” I said. 32

“Who’s singing? She’s got a pretty voice.” 33

“I am.” 34

“No kidding, huh. What’s this song called?” 35

“ ‘At Midnight’. It’s supposed to be about this teenage girl who sneaks out almost every night to see her boyfriend. I swear, Janet comes up with the strangest names…” 36

*Sometimes you’ve gotta run away… Just run away. Don’t think about anything else. Don’t worry, Mama will be just fine. Little sis will be good from now on; she’ll be happy, she’ll be glad. Just run away at midnight*37

“You’ve got a really pretty voice. Can I let the family hear it? I know Esmè will love it!” Alice said.38

“Um…sure, sure, I don’t mind,” I responded. 39

“You sound nervous… What’s wrong?” 40

“HOUSE OF VAMPIRES.” 41

“You’re a vampire t…” 42

“I’m HALF a vampire, Alice. HALF. And did you speed up or something, because we’re in a FOREST.” 43

“Yes, I did. A couple more minutes and we’ll be there. We’re there!” She laughed a little. 44

Okay, wow, I thought, taking off my seatbelt. 45

“Holy…crap…” I said when I climbed out, looking at the house. 46

“But, Esmè!” we heard Rosalie cry from inside the house. “You’re kidding me!” 47

“What’s with Rosalie?” I asked. “She’s acting really mean about me.” 48

“She doesn’t like new people joining our family. Don’t worry. She’ll get better with it, don’t worry,” Alice reassured. “Now! Shall we go in and meet my adoptive mother? Let’s go!” 49

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the big house. I almost dropped my backpack, which held my CDs, school stuff, and pictures. 50

“Esmè!” Alice called with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Esmè! I’ve got Dylan with me!” 51

Just then, a woman about twenty-two, twenty-three came walking in, smiling. “Hello,” she sing songed. “I’m Esmè Cullen, but you can call me Esmè, okay? It’s nice to meet you, Dylan!” 52

“Nice to meet you too,” I said, smiling back. 53

“I’m sorry about Rosalie. Jasper, Emmett and Alice tell me she hasn’t been very nice to you.” 54

“Oh. Uh… That’s okay. I’m used to it.” 55

“Don’t worry about her, all right? She doesn’t like new people.” Esmè cleared her throat. “So, they also tell me you’re half a vampire.” 56

“How does that, like, happen anyways?” Rosalie asked, coming in with the rest of the family. “Seriously, it DOESN’T make any SENSE.” 57

My lips twitched. “Well… When the vampire bit me, he didn’t release all the venom, therefore, it only took half a day transformation, but still,” I said, breathing hard, “it hurt LIKE CRAZY.” 58

“We all know the feeling. You wanted to die, right?” Emmett asked. 59

I nodded quickly and held my backpack close. I sighed. 60

“Dylan, are you all right?” Jasper asked. 61

“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just that I can hear what you guys are thinking, not on purpose, of course.” I puffed from my puffer. 62

“She has other abilities too!” Alice announced. “What were they again…?” 63

“Speed, strength, see the future and read minds. DEAD or ALIVE. It’s only because I’m half a vampire I have more abilities. How strange things work.” I smiled. 64

Idiot, I heard Rosalie think. Trying to get attention with her oh-so fabulous half-vampire abilities. 65

“I heard that,” I said to her. “And I’m not an idiot. I’m quite smart.” 66

“You called her an idiot again?” Edward asked. 67

“It’s better than the time I called her bit—” Rosalie started but Esmè cut her off. 68

“Okay!” Esmè said, laughing a little and glaring at Rosalie. “Jasper, why don’t you show Dylan the rest of the house?” 69

“Sure,” Jasper said, grabbing my wrist and making me walk behind him. 70

“She seems nice enough,” Emmett said. 71

“That’s why Jasper likes her,” Dr. Cullen said, coming down the stairs. 72

“I know another reason why,” Rosalie said cruelly. “Look at this entry in her diary.” 73

“Rose-all-e!” Edward exclaimed. 74

“No, I’m serious. Listen to this. It’s dated back a few years ago.” She started reading the typed-up entry aloud. 75

Dear Diary, 76

I’ve finally figured out why I feel so weird eating meat. Nobody told me meat was from animals. In fact, I didn’t think anything was from animals. I just thought animals were meant to be…pets and pets only. When I lost my white pet tiger, Ice Cream, I asked Minnie where she went. Minnie said that Ice Cream went to China for an “adventure”. Then I soon found out my “caring” parents sold Ice Cream to some Chinese people so that Ice Cream would be made into food for the Chinese people. I will *never* forgive them. I think it’s about time I do some research on what other meat comes from what animals. 77

I’m so sad now. I just got off the Internet and it said that meat comes from all sorts of animals: cows, sheep, lambs… You name it! I know what I have to do. Starting right now I will be a vegetarian for the rest of my life. 78

Only because I was home-schooled, nobody bothered to tell me where meat came from, even though I asked. And then came along Bitsy, my parents’ toffee-nosed friend, and her husband, Charles. Bitsy told me straight: “Stephanie, darling, meat is not fake. It comes from animals.” I got so mad at the people who slaughter poor, innocent animals. 79

-S.D.- 80

“What the heck?” Rosalie asked after dropping my diary on the floor. “I thought her name was Dylan Montgomery, not Stephanie something. She’s not telling the truth. Esmè, Carlisle, I think we should ask her what THIS is all about before she gives us an answer. Whether it’s yes or no, who cares?” 81

Esmè and Dr. Cullen looked at each other. 82

“This is Alice’s room, Edward’s room—I know, it’s big and shiny—Carlisle and Esmè's room, Rosalie and Emmett’s room,” Jasper said, pointing to each door as we passed them. “And then Carlisle’s office. And here’s my room.” He opened a black oak door. The walls were almost like a peachy-beige colour. The room wasn’t as messy as Jamie’s or Edwin’s back home in Phoenix. Jasper has got to be the cleanest boy I’ve ever met, aside from James, of course. 83

“Oh, my God, you listen to Insane Clown Posse? But I thought you didn’t swear…” I said, picking up a CD case that said Riddle Box on it. 84

“I don’t. That’s why I got the ‘beeped’ out version of it,” Jasper explained. 85

“Oh.” I put the case down. “Cool.” 86

I gasped. “Rosalie just read my diary out to everyone. And, oh, my God, it’s about me becoming a vegetarian. Shoot, the one with my real first name. What should I say?” 87

“I haven’t lied. Ever.” 88

“I know. I’ll say that’s what they called be because they didn’t give a flying batootie what my real name was! Yeah, that’s it! Sorry, but I can’t let…”89

“Dylan, if you want to be apart of my family, you have GOT to be honest. Carlisle works best with this kind of thing. I’ll go get him.” 90

“Uuuuuhhhhh… Okay.” 91

In five minutes, Jasper came in and grabbed my hand. “Carlisle, wants to talk with you in his office,” he said, stopping in front of Dr. Cullen’s office. He opened the door and gave me a little push to get in. 92

Dr. Cullen and I were in there for forty minutes. Esmè, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and Edward were all standing outside the door, waiting for us to come out. Several times they heard my cell phones go off. 93

Just as Rosalie was about to walk away, Dr. Cullen and I walked out. My face wasn’t red. Jasper knew immediately that I hadn’t cried or anything. 94

“Thank you for being honest, Dylan,” Dr. Cullen said. 95

“You’re welcome,” I responded, holding my backpack close again. 96

“So…?” Rosalie said after an uncanny silence. 97

“Dylan?” Dr. Cullen asked. 98

“Look. I know you read my diary—again—and it said ‘Stephanie’ instead of Dylan. Yeah, well, Stephanie Duggan is my real name. Not Dylan Montgomery,” I said. 99

“Wait. You’re from France,” Rosalie said. “So how is your last name, like, Irish or Scottish or something like that?” 100

“Let me think for a minute… Oh! I’m sixty percent French, ten percent Irish, ten percent Scottish, ten percent British and…ten percent Welsh.” 101

Emmett whistled. “That’s a lot of French.” 102

“You’re not dead, are you?” Jasper asked as we went back to look at his room. 103

I shook my head. “Uh-uh.” 104

I had said yes to them adopting me. Now all I had to do was tell James.105