impish。　When　I　did；　he　winked　at　me。　〃Hi；　there。〃

〃Quil；　Embry—this　is　my　friend；　Bella。〃

Quil　and　Embry；　I　still　didn't　know　which　was　which；　exchanged　a　loaded　look。

〃Charlie's　kid；　right？〃　the　brawny　boy　asked　me；　holding　out　his　hand。

〃That's　right；〃　I　confirmed；　shaking　hands　with　him。　His　grasp　was　firm；　it

looked　like　he　was　flexing　his

bicep。

〃I'm　Quil　Ateara；〃　he　announced　grandly　before　releasing　my　hand。

〃Nice　to　meet　you；　Quil。〃

〃Hey；　Bella。　I'm　Embry；　Embry　Call—you　probably　already　figured　that　out；

though。〃　Embry　smiled　a　shy

smile　and　waved　with　one　hand；　which　he　then　shoved　in　the　pocket　of　his

jeans。

I　nodded。　〃Nice　to　meet　you；　too。〃

〃So　what　are　you　guys　doing？〃　Quil　asked；　still　looking　at　me。

〃Bella　and　I　are　going　to　fix　up　these　bikes；〃　Jacob　explained　inaccurately。

But　bikes　seemed　to　be　the

magic　word。　Both　boys　went　to　examine　Jacob's　project；　drilling　him　with

educated　questions。　Many　of

the　words　they　used　were　unfamiliar　to　me；　and　I　figured　I'd　have　to　have　a　Y

chromosome　to　really

understand　the　excitement。

They　were　still　immersed　in　talk　of　parts　and　pieces　when　I　decided　that　I

needed　to　head　back　home

before　Charlie　showed　up　here。　With　a　sigh；　I　slid　out　of　the　Rabbit。

Jacob　looked　up；　apologetic。　〃We're　boring　you；　aren't　we？〃

〃Naw。〃　And　it　wasn't　a　lie。　I　was　enjoying　myself—how　strange。　〃I　just　have

to　go　cook　dinner　for

Charlie。〃

〃Oh　well；　I'll　finish　taking　these　apart　tonight　and　figure　out　what　more

we'll　need　to　get　started

rebuilding　them。　When　do　you　want　to　work　on　them　again？〃

〃Could　I　e　back　tomo