Twilight

At school the next day, the jokes about Bella fainting during biology class are extremely annoying. But even worse, Jessica pesters Bella about her lunchtime conversation with Edward yesterday. During lunch, Bella watches the remaining Cullens talk while Mike chatters about the beach trip tomorrow. Lauren keeps shooting Bella dirty looks—and on the way out of the cafeteria, Bella hears Lauren ask why Bella doesn’t just sit with the Cullens.

On Saturday morning, Bella is surprised to wake up to sunshine. She drives to Mike’s parents’ store and joins the group of kids in the parking lot, where Lauren gives her a dirty look again. Though Bella agrees to ride with Mike in the Suburban, she lets Jessica sit next to him. She stares out the window during the drive and takes in the breathtaking sight of First Beach when they arrive. First Beach is a pebble beach, and it’s cool and windy. Mike leads everyone down to a circle of driftwood logs and starts a fire.

Bella accompanies some boys to the tidepools rather than staying at the campfire with Lauren. She hikes carefully and then sits on the rocks so that she doesn’t fall and embarrass herself. Eventually, she heads back to the beach with the boys. The group has expanded since they left—Quileute teenagers from the reservation have joined the group from Forks. Bella accepts a sandwich and sits next to Angela, who fortunately isn’t talkative. As the afternoon wears on, the group splits up again for various activities.

Bella stays at the campfire and after a bit, a boy named Jacob comes over. He introduces himself and says that Bella has his dad’s old truck; he’s Billy Black’s son. Bella doesn’t remember Jacob from her childhood summers in Forks, but she remembers his older twin sisters. They talk about the truck, and Jacob shares that he builds cars. When Jacob flashes a huge smile at Bella, Lauren notices and asks how they know each other. Then, she remarks that nobody thought to invite the Cullens. The tall, older Quileute boy says that the Cullens don’t come here in a tone that ends the conversation. Bella is a bit taken aback.

As Jacob asks Bella how she likes Forks, Bella has an idea—hopefully Jacob is too young and inexperienced to see through her pitiful flirting attempts. She invites him to walk on the beach with her, tells him he looks much older than 15, and then asks what the older boy meant about the Cullens not coming here. Jacob explains that the Cullens aren’t allowed on the reservation. He’s not supposed to say why, but he then asks Bella if she likes scary stories. They take a seat on a log and Jacob says that supposedly, the Quileutes are descended from wolves. There are also old legends about “the cold ones.” Jacob gives Bella a look that conveys he doesn’t put much stock in this.

Jacob explains that his great-grandfather made a treaty with the Cullens to stay off Quileute land, since the cold ones and the werewolves are natural enemies. The Cullens, though, weren’t like other cold ones and supposedly weren’t dangerous. The deal was that the Cullens would stay off Quileute land, and in return, the Quileutes wouldn’t expose the cold ones to white people. Bella doesn’t get it; she asks why they made the treaty if the Cullens weren’t dangerous. Jacob says that the cold ones are always dangerous for humans, even if, like the Cullens, they’re “civilized” and hunt animals instead of humans. Then, Jacob says the Cullens of today aren’t descended from the cold ones his great-grandfather met—they’re the same Cullens.

Bella is floored, which seems to spur Jacob on. She asks what the cold ones actually are, and Jacob says they’re vampires. Jacob is thrilled that Bella has goosebumps and says it’s no wonder Billy doesn’t want them talking about it. But then, worried, Jacob begs Bella to not tell Charlie about the story—Charlie was incensed when he learned that some Quileutes weren’t going to go to the county hospital after Dr. Cullen got his job there.

Just then, Mike and Jessica appear. Mike is relieved to have found Bella, and Jacob picks up on Mike’s obvious crush. Bella assures Jacob that Mike isn’t her boyfriend and invites Jacob to come visit her in Forks, once he has his license. Mike says that everyone’s getting ready to go, so Bella follows him back to the parking lot.