Amazing - Chapter 1

AMAZING

Disclaimer: “Twilight” is owned by Stephenie Meyer. “Johnny Lingo and the Eight-Cow Wife” belongs to Patricia Mc Gerr.

A/N: This fan fic is a retelling of the short story “Johnny Lingo and the Eight-Cow Wife” by Patricia McGerr. (Not the movie, 'coz I only found out about it after I've written this fic.) The original story is in the first person point of view as narrated by a minor character, but this lil' fic of mine is written in Bella's point of view because I was always interested in what Sarita, the heroine, had to say about the matter. @_@

The setting is in Ford and Settle, fictional Pacific islands I made up by changing and omitting certain letters from the names of those places we are all too familiar with. Heh, pretty original, I know. LOL

Time period is contemporary, and the story may sound old-school but I imagine my islands are so small and remote that they are untouched by modernization and are not much different culturewise from what they were 40 years ago.

And just so you know, I was listening to “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars while writing this, which explains the cheesy, fluffy conversations. And the title. :)

Lots of thanks to my super cool betas from “Project Team Beta”, JulieToo and Klooqy. You guys warm my heart!

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CHAPTER 1

What do you do when someone tells you to believe in something you had never thought possible?

I was faced with this unusual question six months ago, last December.

The day started out normal enough. I woke up early and attended to my daily chores: filling the jars with water from the well; cooking our meals for the whole day; feeding the chickens; milking the cow; watering the plants; and so on. Father left at dawn for the fishing grounds, and I was finally alone in our tiny cottage.

I was washing clothes mid-morning when I saw Alice Whitlock and Rosalie McCarty, my two best friends. Alice had married my cousin Jasper almost a year ago, while Rose had become the wife of my other cousin Emmett last June.

They approached me quickly with excited smiles on their lovely faces.

“What has gotten you both so high this early?” I asked them.

“The summer festival tomorrow, of course,” Alice sang gaily. “This one's going to be epic! There will be lots of food, dancing, games, and this year we'll be having a guest of honour from Settle!”

Settle was the rich neighbour of our small island of Ford.

“His name is Edward Cullen. He's a really rich businessman, he owns this big mansion, and he's got all these shops...” Alice went on and on at top speed. I gave up trying to follow and went back to work.

It was a while later when I noticed that Alice had gone quiet. She and Rose were both looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I raised a brow.

“Alice asked you what time we're picking you up. We're going to the festival,” Rose explained.

I shrugged. “I'm not going.”

They both looked exasperated.

“But Bellaaa...” Alice whined, “... you should come with us! You'll miss all the fun!”

I shook my head. “Big gatherings are not that appealing to me.”

“This agoraphobia of yours is getting old.” Rosalie rolled her eyes. “It wouldn't hurt to show yourself to the public once in a while, cousin.”

“You know why I can't,” I said softly. Last season's festival had ended with me tripping on one of the potted ivies that adorned the room and crashing into the buffet table. I did not want a repeat performance.

Alice certainly knew what I was talking about because I saw her flinch before she forced her face to assume a neutral expression. “Come on, Bella. People have already forgotten that. Besides, I don't think they really mind. They kind of consider your clumsiness an endearing quality.”

I snorted, then decided to change tactics. “I don't have a dress for the festival.”

“Come to my house later. I have the perfect dress for you,” Alice said enthusiastically. She made beautiful dresses for the women of the village to augment her husband's modest income from farming.

I groaned. “It's no use, Alice. No matter how pretty that dress is, I’ll never do it justice. I'll probably end up fading into the background, like I always do!” And I hate being a charity case, I silently added. I was the poorest girl in town, and I always got embarrassed when people gave me things out of pity.

Alice looked like she was about to protest when Rose stopped her. “Okay Bella,” Rose began with a glint in her eye, “since you'll surely fade into the background and people won't even notice you, there's no reason for you to be uncomfortable about attending the party, correct?”

I could think of a million other reasons but I knew I’d never get anywhere with the two of them ganging up on me. I sighed in defeat. “What time?”

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A/N: A bit short, I know. It is what it is. From here onwards, chapters will be really short as I am terrible at writing long epic fics. @_@