Part 10

at the hotel, i share a room with Rosalie and Alice. a new member joins our room shortly after we have unpacked.

"OHMYGOSH BELLA! YOU ARE SO NOT HERE!" Alice shrieks so loud my ears hurt.

Bella smirks. wait...Bella? who is Bel...oh i remember. Edward's girlfriend.

Bella enters the room with Edward close behind. "hey Alice. oh hey are you Joy? Edward told me you'd be here." she pauses to throw a soppy, slavish look at Edward. my stomach churns. Edward returns the look and i nearly hurl in the hotel safe. "Bella was skiing with Charlie so i invited her here. apparently, Chief Swan doesn't enjoy all this snow. he's leaving tonight for Forks. Bella is staying with us."

Jasper knocks and enters. "hey. since there's some time till lunch, want to go sight-seeing?" Alice shrieks again. "SHOPPING! lets go!" she grabs her purse and herds us out of the hotel.

i cannot stand the cold. even with my horribly pink jacket, my lips are blue and im shivering. having never experienced temperatures below 17 degrees C (in Genting), Alaska's low temperatures are freezing to me.

Alice gives me a shocked look. "Joy your lips are blue! are you sick?" "N-n-no. its c-co-cold. i-im DYING." the Cullens are shocked by the abrupt colour change of my face (purplish-blue against a would-be-tan-but-blood-drained face)and hastily wrap me in their jackets. when their through with me, i resemble a large marshmallow on legs. but at least im warm.

"thank you! im warmer n.....OW!" i trip over Emmett's jacket, which trails past my ankles.

we continue to window shop till my feet hurt. the sun starts to set. "guys? im tired. when do we eat? can we eat now? and i think i'll pass on the Alaskan native cuisine. i want fish and chips!"

Bella backs me up. all of us trail into the nearest decent Fish and Chips shop. Bella and i eat and the Cullens stare.

then we go back to the hotel. i drop on the bed and fall asleep.

-*-*-

i blink my eyes open. a pair of brown eyes stare back. "boo."

i jump and scream. "oh my GOSH. JASPER! don't...don't DO that!" i am breathing hard but my heartbeat starts to decelerate (or according to Mr Lin the Physics teacher, RETARD in speed). Jasper laughs. "just seeing what Edward finds so amusing about humans sleeping. personally, i find it deathly boring. by the way, you snore." "liar. i know i do not. its called BREATHING." "whatever. hey get dressed. we're going skating today!"

im ecstatic. skating will keep me warm. i hurry to the bathroom to change and scoop my hair into a hasty ponytail.

Carlisle drives us to a secluded frozen pond. we alight the car and pull our skates on. mine are rented from the hotel shop. no matter. i test them on the ice and find them satisfactory. Esme pulls some hockey skates from the car boot and we split into teams for ice hockey. i am slightly nervous because i know i cannot be trusted with a stick. i am on the same team as Jasper, Alice and Rosalie. Carlisle and Esme are referees.

once the game starts, i know im doomed. the vampires are skating so fast, leaving me and Bella standing around looking stupid. suddenly, when im least expecting it, Rosalie whacks the puck towards me. "JOY! get it!" i spring to life and start hitting the puck towards what i hope is not my own goal.

just a bit more! im going to score a goal! i raise my stick ready to whack the puck home, when something whacks into me. i am bowled over by what feels like a slab of rock. i struggle to get up but i feel something slash my cheek.

as soon as i stop sliding on the ice, i put a shaking finger to my cheek. its wet and sticky. the Cullens have gathered around. "oh man! im sorry! i didn't mean it!" Emmett moans. seeing his blood-tinged skates, i figure it was his skate that cut me. Carlisle helps me up. "hmmm, doesn't look that deep. here, just put some antiseptic on that and you'll be ok," he reassures me soothingly. Jasper sniff the air, his eyes turning black. "Joy clean up your face a little faster please." he licks his lips. i see the rest of the Cullens (except for Bella and Carlisle) have black eyes as well (as sign of blood thirst) so i hastily clean my offending wound. i quickly rub the stinging ointment on my sore cheek. "sorry. im okay. lets just...not play hockey any more."

we spend the rest of the day skating. Alice tries to teach me to skate on one leg, resulting in many more bruises on my part. but at the end of the day, at least i can skate reasonably well one-legged!

THE END! for now! yippee!