"It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. I
suspected that Jessica enjoyed my inexplicable popularity more than my
actual company.

"You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.

The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self
in Trig and Spanish. She was silent as she walked by my side between
classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned her down, I
was the last person she would want to tell.

My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike
as possible, chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.

Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on
his face a bad sign. But he didn't broach the subject until I was in my

seat and he was perched on my desk. As always, I was electrically aware
of Edward sitting close enough to touch, as distant as if he were merely
an invention of my imagination.

"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring
dance."

"That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a
lot of fun with Jessica."

"Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my
response. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was
relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.

His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.

"I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."

I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me.
But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in
my direction.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.

"Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes
flickered in his direction?

"No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" Mike demanded.

I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, so I
quickly made new plans.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. I needed to get out of
town anyway — it was suddenly the perfect time to go.

"Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer — it's
rude."

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to
his seat. I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying
to push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner began talking.
I sighed and opened my eyes.

邀请（3）

    "真的会很好玩儿的。"她半心半意地劝我。我怀疑杰西卡喜欢跟我在一起，更多的是喜欢我那莫名其妙的人气，而不是喜欢我这个人。

    "你跟迈克去好好玩儿吧，"我鼓励道。

    第二天，我惊讶地发现杰西卡上三角和西班牙语课时不像平时那样滔滔不绝了。她课间走在我旁边的时候一声没吭，我也没敢问她原因。要是迈克拒绝了她，她告诉谁也不会告诉我的。

    我的担心进一步加剧了，因为吃午饭的时候，杰西卡尽可能地坐得离迈克远远的，跟埃里克聊得起劲得很。迈克非同寻常的安静。

    跟我一起去上课的路上，迈克依旧沉默寡言，他脸上不自在的表情可不是个好兆头。不过，直到我坐在了座位上，他坐在我的课桌上之前，他都只字未提那件事情。同往常一样，就像通了电似的，我知道爱德华就坐在伸手可及的地方，却又远得好像他只不过是我想象出来的一个人而已。

    "嗯，"迈克眼睛看着地板说道，"杰西卡邀请我参加春季舞会了。"

    "那是大好事儿呀。"我用喜气洋洋而又充满热情的声音说道，"你跟杰西卡在一起会很开心的。"

    "唔……"他一边仔细地审度着我的微笑，一边支吾道。显而易见，他对我的反应不是很高兴，"我告诉她我得想一想。"

    "你干吗要那样呢？"我流露出了不悦，虽然他没有完全回绝她，令我舒了一口气。

    他又垂下了头，脸涨得通红。同情之心动摇了我的决心。

    "我在想……嗯，在想你会不会打算邀请我。"

    我愣了一会儿，恨自己刚才那一刹那的愧疚。不过，从眼角的余光中，我看到爱德华的头本能地朝我这边偏了偏。

    "迈克，我认为你应该答应她的邀请，"我说。

    "你是不是已经邀请谁了？"不知道爱德华有没有注意到迈克的眼神向他坐的方向闪了闪。

    "没有，"我给了他一颗定心丸，"我根本就没打算参加那个舞会。"

    "干吗不呢？"迈克问。

    我不想陷入舞会惹来的安全风险，于是很快有了新的打算。

    "那个周六我要去西雅图，"我解释说。我反正得出一趟城——这一下子成了我出城的最佳时机。

    "你不能在别的周末去吗？"

    "对不起，不能，"我说，"所以你不应该让杰西卡再等了——很不礼貌的。"

    "好的，你说得对，"他咕哝了一句，然后沮丧地转身回到自己的座位上去了。我闭上双眼，用指头按了按太阳穴，想把愧疚与同情从脑袋中挤出去。班纳先生开始说话了，我叹了口气，睁开了眼睛。