CHAPTER 5. Blood Type

Summary

Shocked from her encounter with Edward, Bella is distracted until lunchtime. She sees the other four Cullen children at their table, but not Edward; Jessica then points out that Edward is at another table, staring at Bella. He calls Bella over and invites her to sit with him for lunch, and she agrees even as this move angers her friends. Bella asks if they're friends and Edward is evasive again; she says she's trying to figure out what he is and jokes that he's a superhero. Edward asks what if he's the bad guy and Bella sees he's dangerous but does not think he is bad; he tells her she is wrong.

When it's time to go to Biology, Edward says he's cutting class. She arrives late, but Mr. Banner was even later, bringing in blood sampling kits. Today their project was to get their blood types; Bella feels faint and Mr. Banner asks for someone to take her to the nurse. Mike volunteers to do so but on the way Edward meets them and easily carries Bella the rest of the way to the nurse in the main office. The nurse is unsurprised, as there is always somebody who faints during this experiment. Edward expresses his concern for her but also jokes about how Mike loathes him.

Mike soon enters the nurse's office with Lee Stephens, and Edward tells Bella to leave. She does so without asking and explains she smelled the blood on Lee; Edward says people can't smell blood but she contradicts that, saying it smells like rust and salt, which troubles him. Mike asks if Bella will be coming back to class but she says she cannot. He then asks if she's going to the beach on an outing he's been planning for that Saturday and which she already agreed to go; she says she's still in. Mike makes it clear without words that it was not an open invitation, then leaves saying he'll see her in Gym. Edward has other plans for her, however, and asks for permission from Ms. Cope the receptionist to drive Bella home early.

As they walk to his car, Bella tries to invite him to the Saturday beach outing Mike was planning; when he finds out it's at First Beach at La Push, he declines. Bella acts as if she'll drive home in her truck but Edward convinces her to ride in the Volvo, saying Alice will drop off the truck after school. In his car, Bella is surprised that the music playing is Debussy's "Clair de Lune", one of her favorite pieces of classical music. They talk a little about Bella's mother and why she married Phil, which remains a mystery to her but is accepting since it makes Renee happy. Edward asks Bella if Renee would do the same for her in accepting whoever makes her happy; Bella answers probably, as long as he's not too scary. Bella then asks Edward about his own family, his real parents - who died - and the kindness of the Cullens. When Edward drops her off at her house, he mentions he won't be in class the next day since he and Emmett will be hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness just south of Rainier. Edward warns her to be safe and not get into any accidents then drives away.

Notes

The main incident of this chapter is in keeping with the romance formula, almost to a parodic degree: the heroine swoons and the hero sweeps her off her feet. If anything, this is a minor variation of the major scene with the van accident. The shared love of a Debussy composition indicates a more refined sensibility for Bella and Edward, a maturity that goes beyond their seeming youthfulness.