New Moon

For months, Bella has had the same dream: She’s in a dark forest, searching and searching until she realizes there never was anything to search for and never will be. She wakes up screaming. Long used to it, Charlie no longer checks on her when he hears the screams.

Driving around after her work shift, trying to avoid going home, where the nightmares recur, she decides that Edward’s promise that she’ll forget him is broken and that she’s entitled to break her promise not to do anything foolish.

Outside a house, Bella notices two old motorcycles for sale. She knocks, and a kid answers and tells her the bikes are free for the taking. He helps her load them into her truck. She plans to take them to Jacob Black at the reservation because he knows how to repair vehicles.

She calls her dad, gets phone directions, drives to La Push on the coast, and finds Jacob’s house. He’s delighted to see her; she’s surprised to feel the same way about him. He’s now 16 and has grown tall, well beyond six feet, his face more mature, his muscles more fleshed out. They go inside briefly, and she greets Billy, her dad’s best friend; then, they walk to the garage, where he shows off the VW Rabbit he’s rebuilt. His dad bought it for him after Jacob gave her Billy’s message warning her to stay away from Edward.

Bella asks if he can rebuild a motorcycle and teach her to ride it. She offers the second bike as payment; Jacob is only too glad to do it for free, but he accepts.

They move the bikes into Jacob’s garage, where he starts repairing them. Jacob’s friends Quil and Embry drop by; they meet Bella and quietly kid Jacob about her while he works. After promising to return the next day, she gets up to go home and cook dinner for her dad. As she walks away, she hears the visitors cry, “Wooooo!” followed by the sounds of a brief, good-natured scuffle.

Back at home, feeling much lighter, Bella feeds her dad, does homework, and goes to bed, where she braces herself for the nightly anguish. Instead, she sleeps steadily and wakes refreshed.

She returns to Jacob’s. She’s upbeat but decides it’s because Jacob is “perpetually happy,” and it simply resonates in her. They go shopping for parts at a junkyard and then at an auto parts store two hours south. Jacob notices a hole in the dashboard of her truck where the stereo had been. Bella tore it out after Edward left her; she lies and says it broke.

As they drive, Bella enjoys listening to Jacob as he talks about recent events in his life. They return to his house, where he begins organizing the parts. Bella enjoys herself, even laughing now and then.

As it gets dark, Charlie shows up with Harry Clearwater; Charlie and Bella are invited to dinner. Jacob takes her hand and guides her across the darkened lot to the house. Harry and his wife Sue have brought their lovely daughter, Leah, and son Seth, 14, who idolizes Jacob. Bella remembers them from visits years earlier. There are too many people for the dining table, so everyone eats outside, sitting on chairs and balancing paper plates of spaghetti. The talk is lively; Bella loves it.

She drives her father back home, where she catches up with her mom via email. Fearing the return of the nightmare, she does extra homework. Finally, she sleeps, and the bad dream returns. This time, while she searches the forest, Sam Uley appears: He’s stern and offers no help. Again, she awakes screaming.

At school, for the first time in months, she pays attention to the people around her. She realizes she’s become invisible, even to the teachers. Jessica gives her the cold shoulder; her old friends ignore her at lunch. She listens in on their conversations and tries to catch up.

Angela says she and her boyfriend, Ben, went hiking and saw a black animal, not a bear but something big. Lauren scoffs: “Tyler tried to sell me that one last week” (155). Bella suddenly pipes up, saying she and Mike heard the same story at the sporting goods store. Everyone turns and stares at Bella. Mike, stunned that Bella is talking again, agrees that they heard about a strange creature.

Mike asks Bella what she did over the weekend; she outlines the trip to Port Angeles with Jessica and her two days with Jacob. Jessica pointedly says Bella was too scared of the zombie movie to see it through; Bella pretends she really was afraid.

As the kids clear their trays, Angela thanks Bella for standing up for her. She asks if Bella is ok; Bella says not entirely but improving. Lauren walks past; cruelly, she says, “Oh, joy. Bella’s back.” Angela looks at Bella and mutters, “Nothing’s changed much” (158). Bella agrees: It’s been exactly one year since she came to Forks High; today, it seems like she’s starting all over again.

On her way to Jacob’s, Bella drives up the long road to the old Cullen place. She hopes that, somehow, being there will bring back Edward’s voice in her head. The grounds are overgrown with ferns; the house feels empty and barren—forgotten, like her. She hurries back to her truck and drives to Jacob’s.

Seeing him gives her a feeling of relief. Her motorcycle is standing up, largely repaired. She wonders aloud if her visits are a bother, but he confesses his worry that when the bike is repaired, she won’t come over anymore. They agree to meet twice a week to do homework together.

At the end of her work shift on Tuesday, Mike invites her to a Friday movie. It reminds her of a year ago when Mike tried to date her. She says she has a study session that night, but maybe the following week, as long as it’s just as friends. Mike’s a bit disappointed, but he agrees to it.

On Wednesday, she studies with Jacob, and he stays for dinner; Friday, they’re at Jacob’s garage; Saturday, they study again. At night, the nightmare recurs, but now she’s wandering in a sea of ferns. On Sunday, Jacob calls to report that the motorcycle repairs are finished. Bella hurries over; they load the bikes into her truck and head south through the woods.

They drive near the ocean cliffs and see four guys, clad only in shorts, standing at the top. One jumps off the edge; Bella panics, but Jacob explains that they’re diving into the sea. It’s a 100-foot drop to the icy water. One of them is Sam Uley. Jacob has done it, but from farther down the cliff. Suddenly, Bella wants to do it, too. Jacob says, “Sometimes you’re a little strange, Bella” (172).

Jacob says the divers are part of the “La Push gang” (173), a group led by Sam that keeps an eye out for scofflaws like drug dealers and expel them from the reservation. He explains, “They’re all about our land, and tribe pride,” call themselves “protectors,” and have the ear of the Quileute council (173). Jacob doesn’t like them; he thinks they’re self-important.

Bella feels puzzled by Jacob’s animosity. They arrive at the spot for practicing and pull the bikes off the truck. She asks why he’s so angry; he says Sam keeps treating him like he’s going to join their group someday. He adds that other boys, once friendly to him, were pestered by Sam, would disappear for a couple of weeks, then return “freaked out” and wouldn’t talk to him anymore. Then they’d join Sam’s gang. Jacob’s afraid the same thing will happen to him. His dad told him not to worry about it, but he wouldn’t explain further.

Instinctively, Bella hugs him. She says they’ll figure out a solution.

Jacob teaches Bella about the motorcycle’s pedals and handles. With the engine idling, Bella puts it in gear and, her adrenaline pumping, gently lets out the clutch. Suddenly Edward’s voice rings angrily in her ears: “This is reckless and childish and idiotic.” Surprised, she lets go of the clutch, and the bike lurches forward, stalls, and tips over. The voice says, “I told you so” (184).

If fear brings back Edward’s voice, then Bella wants to try again. She gets back up, restarts the engine, and—ignoring Edward’s warning voice—slowly lets out the clutch and flies forward, wind in her hair. Up ahead is a turn; she doesn’t know what to do and crashes. Lying there, she says, “Wow.”

Jacob catches up. He’s alarmed because she has a bloody gash on her forehead. He gives her his shirt to press against the wound. She talks him into driving her to her home, where she can clean up. At home, breathing through her mouth—Bella can smell blood, and it nauseates her—she cleans up the blood and dirt. They drive to the ER, she in fresh clothes, he shirtless. Bella finds herself admiring his muscles and the beautiful red-brown of his skin.

The doctor stitches up Bella’s forehead. Back at home, Charlie, by now used to her clumsy accidents, buys Bella’s story that she tripped and hit her head against a hammer in Jacob’s garage. That night, the bad dream returns, but she’s impatient to get it over with so she can wake up and continue her new projects.

The following Wednesday, she brakes too hard, sails off the motorcycle, hits a tree, and is back in the ER with a possible concussion. Charlie expresses skepticism about her explanation of a hiking accident since she never hikes.

She and Jacob decide to avoid motorcycles for a while. Wishing to find someplace that might trigger good memories of Edward, Bella decides on the meadow she and Edward visited on the day of their first kiss. She tells Jacob about this beautiful meadow she once saw while hiking; he agrees to help her find it again.

On Saturday, they drive to the starting spot Bella remembers and hike into the forest. They can’t locate the meadow, but Jacob’s map reading is flawless, and they find their way back to the truck. They decide to try again the next day.

Edward’s voice fades from her head as she gets good at motorcycle riding. She focuses on the meadow search. One day, Jacob presents her with a gift of candy, and she realizes it’s Valentine’s Day. Embarrassed, she agrees to be his valentine but sees that she needs to redraw the confused boundaries between her and Jacob.

She decides to get a crowd of friends together for a Friday night movie, partly to fulfill her promise to Mike, but she also invites Jacob and his friend Quil, hoping to put some distance between her and all the boys. Jessica and Lauren turn her down—and they get a couple of the boys to bow out, too—so all she can muster is Angela and Ben, plus Mike and Jacob.

Jacob shows up proudly in his VW Rabbit, out on its first ride after repairs. Mike shows up, but Ben calls, saying Angela is sick and they both must bail. Suddenly, Bella’s stuck on a date with two competing boys. They drive in the VW; Mike, sullen, sits in the back.

The film is a gore fest—Bella didn’t want a romance—and Mike endures it while Jacob and Bella laugh at the story’s absurdities. Midway through, Mike moans, then gets up and hurries to the bathroom. They follow him out and wait for him on a bench. Jacob admits he wants to be Bella’s boyfriend but understands she’s still wrapped up in Edward. She admits she likes being with him but doesn’t want to go further.

Mike emerges from the bathroom, still nauseated. He says it happened before the film. They grab an empty popcorn bucket and drive back; Mike throws up into the bucket. They get him to his house, then go back to hers. Jacob says he should return home; he’s feeling “strange.” His forehead is hot. He says that, no matter what, she can count on him and that he’ll never hurt her. Bella says she appreciates his friendship. Privately, though, she feels guilty about using him as a crutch.

He agrees to call when he gets home, but he doesn’t. Bella calls his house, and Billy answers, saying Jacob’s sick. Bella offers to help—Billy’s wheelchair-bound—but Billy gruffly tells her to stay away.

Late that night, Bella wakes nauseous and hurries to the bathroom, where she throws up. She spends the next 16 hours there, sleeping and vomiting, then wakes in her own bed at dawn Sunday—Charlie must have carried her there—and feels much better. She calls Jacob, who’s also sick, but it’s something different. He says he’ll call her when he’s better, but he insists she stay away: “Wait for me to call” (224).