At lunch, she sits with Angela; Jessica and Eric and Lauren sit at the same table but mostly talk to each other, and Mike is nowhere to be seen.
Bella is just about on time to gym, thanks to an overnight icing that means she has to pick her way with extreme care across the slippery grass or the slick sidewalks. The second time she falls down, she gives up on attempting any dignity at all, and, cradling her thwacked elbow, scoots the rest of the way to the gym on her rear. This leaves her with damp jeans but no further injuries, and they were a little damp anyway from the falls.
She doesn't have time to do more than smile and wave at Alice on her way to get her mat and get out of the way of careening balls. She spends the class doing the subset of her safe activities that won't stress her elbow.
"Sure," he says cheerfully.
Bella handles caramel. She stubs her toe once, and her hands are covered with caramel; if a coin appears, Alice can't see where.
He does notice the toe-stubbing, and spends a brief moment wondering if she managed to make any coins out of it. There aren't that many places one might have appeared. Maybe she didn't. Or maybe it went to a place that is conducive to creating more coins and wow he is stopping that train of thought right there. Luckily, he has cake-lifting to distract him.
Frost frost frost. Ice ice ice. Hum hum hum. If Bella's new coin exists and is making her uncomfortable, this doesn't show on her face.
Bella isn't very good at icing rosettes like those that go on the outside of this cake - it's not a task friendly to slippery hands or shaky arms - so she lets Hilary do that, but she watches the technique carefully.
"Mm," Bella says. "Is this for after dinner?"
"Me!" says Alice.
"Is spaghetti a multi-person job?" Bella asks. "I'm happy to help, especially if this is fancy Hilary-the-cake-goddess spaghetti, but I'm not sure how extra hands would be useful."
"By help she mostly means get in her way and learn things," Alice translates.
"That too."
"Ooh, learning things," says Bella. She has her notebook in her pocket. She removes it from her pocket.
"Because he is kind of an asshole?" suggests Alice.
"No comment." She puts the book in the book-holding contraption.
"You're not allowed to cook when he's home?" Bella asks. She peers at the recipe. Huh, fennel seeds.
Alice shrugs. "Maybe he thinks I like it for the wrong reasons."
She just sighs an exasperated sigh and hopes there's a hex in the stash.
At last, it's all done and ready to eat.
"Laney, would you go grab your mother for me? Bella, help me carry everything to the table?"
"Sure," says Alice, and departs.
By the time they're finished, Alice is back with his mother in tow.
She takes her accustomed seat, as does Alice. Hilary sits beside Mrs. Hammond.
Bella places the last fork and sits down. She splashed a little sauce on her hand during the cooking process - earning her a triangle and an early taste - and she knows exactly how nice this is going to be.