Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Rabbit Meets The Magic Stick

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 09:

Aunt Molly clapped her hands together as they entered the mall. “Okay! Where to first?” she chortled excitedly.

The three kids frowned as they took in the sight of the crowded mall. Everyone looked so weird.

Jake started coughing. “Gross! Those people are smoking. What the hell?”

“Oh, ew! Don’t these people know about the dangers of secondhand smoke? Why are they allowed to smoke inside?” Paul added.

“Um, guys. This is the eighties. It was like the dark ages then. They didn’t know about the dangers of smoking. In fact, they thought the sun was good for them, and that they could eat all the white bread they wanted to,” Bella pointed out.

“What’s wrong with white bread and the sun?” Helen asked.

“White bread, pasta-all that stuff turns to sugar in your bloodstream, causing a spike in blood sugar. Sugar is really bad for you-white bread, soda, candy, all that stuff should be eaten in moderation. Instead, you should focus on whole grains,” Jake explained.

“And the sun isn’t bad for you, but the UV rays in it are really harmful. It causes premature aging and skin cancer. You always need to wear sunscreen, preferably with a SPF rating of 35 or higher, when you go out,” Bella added.

“Tanning beds are okay, though, right?”

“No. Tanning beds are just as harmful. Spray tanning is much safer.”

“Spray tanning? What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s when they spray a chemical called DHA on your body so that it reacts with your skin to make it tan.”

“How the hell do you know this, Bella?” Paul asked.

“Duh, cause I used to get spray tans all the time in Arizona. Do you know how ridiculous a pale cheerleader looks?”

“The future seems like a horrible place,” Molly said. “No sun and no white bread! The cigarettes I can understand, but not the other stuff.” She sighed. “Now, I’m going to have to cancel my appointment at the tanning salon. I don’t want to age prematurely!”

“Oh, I agree. I’m going to do the same. Now, let’s go shopping.”

“Uh, really, we don’t need much,” Bella commented. “Maybe a pair of jeans or something? In fact, we can just wash mine and make do.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your jeans look out of fashion; the denim isn’t even acid washed. Besides, you’ll need some skirts, too.”

“Skirts? No, I don’t do skirts.”

“Yes, you do!” her grandmother snapped and grabbed her arm. “Now, you listen to me young lady, I won’t have my granddaughter walking around town dressed like some sort of strung out, drug addict!”

“That’s right! You tell her, Helen! No Swan should ever be seen in public dressed like her!”

“Drug addict? I’ve never even touched drugs! Where are you getting drug addict from?”

“Dark, old-fashioned jeans, wrinkled black t-shirt, and that hooded zip-front sweatshirt with grease stains. Oh, I have no idea why you dress that way! Where did your parents go wrong?”

“All the kids dress this way,” Bella informed her. “

“And I’m sure they’re all on drugs now, too! Oh, I’m so disgusted. I’ll be having words with your mother in the future!”

“But… but… I was helping Jake at the junkyard right before we were sent here.”

“You work at the junkyard?”

“No, I was just helping Jake. Mr. Hinkley gave us parts for our cars in exchange for loading tires onto a truck.”

“Oh, well, that was nice of him. What do you drive?”

“A beat up 1953 truck. My dad gave it to me when I moved back to Forks. It keeps breaking down.”

“A 1953 truck? That truck is already thirty-four years old now in 1987! Is Charlie out of his goddamned mind? What a selfish, cheapskate, putting his only daughter into a truck from 1953? I have never been so disappointed in my son in my entire life! Ugh! And that boy drives a brand new Jeep!” She shivered dramatically then asked Bella, “Did you say ‘when you moved back to Forks?’ Why? Do you move away?”

“Um…”

“Bella!” Paul warned.

“I can’t say.”

“Fine, I’ll figure it out myself,” her grandmother replied, narrowing her eyes at them. “Anyway, let’s go shopping. Come on, kids. You all need help. From what I heard, Paul here showed up naked.” She turned to Bella and Paul and wagged her finger in front of them. “I don’t know what kind of hanky panky you two were involved in, but from now on you do it dressed! None of this teen sex business; otherwise, you’ll end up knocked up like that nice Sarah Wilde. I know that Billy Black must have been very persuasive because she isn’t fast like that Sue Uley girl who became pregnant by that Clearwater boy.”

“Of course, the Clearwater boy is another crafty one,” Aunt Molly added.

“Oh, yes,” Helen agreed. “The boy is a sex maniac.”

“That whole family is bad news. The kids are all delinquents-constantly wreaking havoc on the entire reservation.”

Jake and Paul were both grinning at this new information that the elders were not as righteous as they made themselves out to be. From what they’d heard so far, the elders were nothing but a bunch of wild teenagers.

Their first stop was at a store named Merry-Go-Round. The moms gathered up a whole slew of trendy clothes and urged the kids into fitting rooms. To Bella’s horror, her grandmother and aunt joined her in the room. “Go on. Get undressed so you can try these clothes on.”

“May I have some privacy, please?” a nonplussed Bella asked.

“No, we want to see how everything looks,” Aunt Molly said. “I don’t see what the problem is. I’m your great aunt and this is your grandmother. We’ll be changing your diapers in the future because, clearly, Charlie marries someone unqualified to raise you.”

Bella groaned as she took her clothes off. Her grandmother gasped at the sight of her naked. “Are you… are you… why are you so skinny? I can see your ribs. Haven’t you been eating?”

“Eating? Um… well, I haven’t really been hungry.” It was the truth. She hadn’t been taking good care of herself. She had been depressed about Edward… and… and… and with that, Bella burst into tears. She told her grandmother and aunt all about what happened with Nick, and more recently, with Edward Cullen. She told them about the nightmares and how she couldn’t even bring herself to eat and how her father really didn’t know what to do with her.

There was urgent knocking on the fitting room door. “Bella? Are you okay?” Paul asked.

“I’m fine. I was just purging my feelings.”

“Oh, well, good. Purging your feelings is good. I’m here if you need me.”

“Thanks, Paul.”

“I’m here for you, too, Bells,” Jake added.

“I know. Thanks, Jakey.”

“Oh, my poor grandbaby-treated horribly by unsavory boys. Well, it’s good to know you have such sweet friends like Paul and Jake. Now, starting tonight, I’m going to fatten you up since it’s clear your parents don’t take care of you like they should.”

Bella did feel better after purging her feelings. She felt free and fabulous. She decided to try on a few new outfits to make her aunt and grandma happy. Of course, it wasn’t long before she started protesting. “There is no way that I’m wearing this stuff! I look like a rainbow colored mushroom!”

“Honey, you need some color in your life. You look so drab.”

“Can’t we check out some other stores?”

“Honey, this is one of the more popular stores for teens.”

“Oh, but please? I really don’t like any of this stuff.”

Her grandmother stared at her in horror. “What kind of apathetic teenager has Charlie raised? What kind of teen doesn’t like shopping with her aunty and grandma?”

“I don’t think it’s Charlie she takes after. It has to be the girl’s mother. My nephew is very fashionable.”

“Seriously? My dad wears jeans, flannel shirts, and swills beer. Fashionable-he is not.”

Bella smirked at the two women who were staring at her in complete and utter shock. She shrugged her shoulders and decided on one outfit, which wasn’t too outrageous. Jake and Paul had a couple of outfits each with them.

After Helen and Molly cashed out. They roamed the mall for more clothes. The women insisted the boys shop at a store called Chess King. Bella thought the clothes looked hideous, but the guys were a lot more cooperative than she was. She finally found some clothes she could stand at a department store called The Bon Marche.

Later, they were taken to Kinney Shoes where Bella pitched another fit. “Heels? I can’t wear heels! Who the heck wears high heels to school?”

“All the girls do.”

“Excuse me? It rains two hundred eleven days on average per year in Forks! That kind of weather calls for practical shoes.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why are you wearing Converse? They’re made out of cloth and can get soaked through in the rain. How practical are those in Forks, huh? Answer me, girl!” her grandmother demanded.

In the end, Bella was forced to capitulate. She ended up with one pair of heels, a pair of high top aerobic sneakers (because apparently no one wore low cuts in the eighties), and a pair of ankle boots. The boys, also, ended up with three pairs of shoes as well.

They stopped at the mall food court to eat before finally loading up the station wagon with their purchases and heading home.

“Well, that was fun!” Aunt Molly commented when they got back into the station wagon.

“Um, excuse me, ma’am,” Paul said.

“Oh, please don’t call me, ma’am. It makes me feel old. You’re Adam’s boy. Call me Aunt Molly.”

“Um, Aunt Molly.” He turned to Bella’s grandmother. “Mrs. Swan.”

“Oh, no, no. It’s Aunt Helen for you, son. None of this Mrs. Swan business.”

“Sorry. I just wanted to thank you for the clothes. No one has ever… I’ve never had new clothes before,” Paul stated.

“Yeah, neither have I. Most of my stuff are hand-me-downs from other tribal members or from the tribal clothing bank,” Jake admitted.

“Yeah, me too.”

Helen and Molly turned sympathetic eyes on the two boys; meanwhile, Bella burst into tears for the second time in a day.

“What’s the matter, Bells?”

“I never realized how lucky and spoiled I was. I’ve never really been without clothing, food, or shelter. My parents have always provided for me.” She turned to her aunt and grandmother. “I’m sorry about throwing my temper tantrum in the mall.”

“Oh, honey, you behaved in a perfectly normal way. You should see your father at the mall. He’s pickier than hell about his clothes. I’m more concerned about why Jake and Paul have had to do without. They both come from good families. Now, I know what you’re going to say about the future being affected. I want to hear why you boys grew up in poverty.”

“Helen!” Molly chastised.

“I don’t care, Molly. I want to know because they shouldn’t be this way. Their families have money. I know for a fact that Gene and Glenda have great jobs with the Forks School District and great retirement plans. They wouldn’t let their grandson grow up this way. Then there’s the Black Family. They all have good jobs-even Billy Junior makes a hefty sum in the family lumber business. Now, I want to know what happened!”

Paul and Bella kept their mouths shut, but Jake, on the other hand, blurted out, “Paul’s dad became an alcoholic after his wife left him and he had no one to help him. Everyone knows Adam Lahote as the tribal drunk. Paul has to fend for himself and I’ve seen him at the food bank picking up groceries for him and his dad. I’ve also seen him doing odd jobs around the reservation so that he could earn some money. As for my family, there is no family lumber business because most of the industry goes bust because of tree hugging, conservationists! My dad is wheelchair bound due to complications from diabetes. He never listened to my mom when she was alive about watching what he ate, and I have to do everything for him because my sisters abandoned us!”

“Oh, great, Jake! Thanks a lot! Now, we’re probably not even going to be born!” Paul commented.

“That’s not all! Bella’s dad ignores her and so does her mom. Sure they make sure she has the basics, but they don’t pay attention to her. I mean she moved back to Forks last year so her mom could travel with her new husband. And Charlie? Well, all he does is work, fish, and drink beer. The last two he does with my dad. So don’t listen to her BS about her being spoiled because she’s not! She works thirty hours a week at Newton’s and goes to school!”

“Thirty hours a week in high school? That’s ridiculous! Why do you need to work so hard?”

“Well, I want to go to college. I’m hoping to eventually be able to go somewhere inCaliforniato study.”

“Aren’t your parents going to help you pay for it?”

“I’m not sure. It… it has never really come up.”

“Why that little turd son of mine! I swear when I get my hands on that brat! Ugh! He makes me so angry sometimes!”

“I’m sorry. I have to ask. Is Quil… is my grandson okay?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s fine. In fact, he’s probably the most fine out of all of us,” Jake replied.

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Molly said.

Of course, Jake didn’t have the heart to tell her that she wouldn’t survive to see her grandson because she would be dying in a car accident soon.