Face Negotiation Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Face Negotiation Theory - Essay Example Facework refers to particular non-verbal as well as verbal messages that help in maintaining or re-building the loss of face. Different aspects of the Face-Negotiation Theories Anxiety and uncertainty can result in conflict that brings discomfort. According to Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory, it is mainly based on individualism and collectivism (Ting -Toomey, 2010). Harry Triandis states that three important distinctions between collectivistic and individualistic cultures include the different ways in which members perceive the concepts of goals, self, and duty. More than 60% of the world’s population is born to collectivist cultures such as those in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America; while the remainder, in nations such as Switzerland and Germany, live in individualist cultures (Ting -Toomey, 2010). For collectivist cultures such as that of Japan, it is presumed that even the decisions made by the citizens on an individual basis end up affecting th e community. This means that it is constructive for the accepted norms of the group to determine individual choices. The Japanese ‘We’ identity is comparable to the ‘I’ identity of the individualistic American society. In the use of meditation methods in the two types of cultures, the mediator encourages antagonists to deal directly with their differences and keeps the conversation focused on the possibility of a final agreement. Ting –Toomey states that in a culture, the citizens who make it up differ in terms of how much they identify with group solidarity or individualistic self-sufficiency. Timing-Toomey uses the terms ‘independent’ as well as ‘interdependent self’ to identify the extent to which a culture’s members view themselves as being autonomous or in relation to others around them. The psychologists Shinobu Kitayama and Hazel Markus refer to this concept as self-image or self-construal (Ting -Toomey, 2010). In seemingly individualistic cultures such as the American culture, there may be certain changes that are noted in different ethnic groups. There are ethnic immigrants, for instance, that still practice collectivist habits and bring up their children in a collectivist culture, and to be highly interdependent. These select immigrant populations also encourage their citizens to engage in self-values that are interdependent and that highlight relational connectedness. It is common for the Western world to regard the maintenance of ‘face’ to be a predominantly Asian preoccupation. However, it is more common in other cultures as well, as it can be said to be a different definition of the self-concept. The Max Plank Institute of Psycholinguistics’ Stephen Levinson and Penelope Brown have defined the concept of ‘face’ as being the public image of self that society’s members wish to claim as being their own (Ting -Toomey, 2010). Lin Yutang, a Taiwane se author, on the other hand, defined face as being a psychological image that can be lost, granted to an individual, and even struggled for (Ting -Toomey, 2010). For Ting-Toomey, the concept of face is simply descriptive of the projective image of an individual’s self in a relational setting. While people in individualistic societies struggle to preserve their own best ‘images’, those in collectivist cultures tend to focus on preserving the good ‘images’ of their fellow man.     

Finding something that will make it easier to plan your holiday Essay Example for Free

Finding something that will make it easier to plan your holiday Essay Finding something that will make it easier to plan your holiday It is not as easy as it looks to find a concept that you believe in and you think is going to make it easier or more convenient for people to travel. First I was trying too hard, finding something that would do amazing things, something that would be so new. Nothing came to my head, then I thought, why not just try something simple that I would like to have to help me planning my travels or for my friends. I had to stop trying to think something big as the small things are just as important when you are for example planning your trip. So after going through the thoughts that I was not going to find anything, something came into my head. Why not make a website that will help people travel around Iceland and maybe have an application that goes with it. I did some research before my presentation and found out what technology I could use. Then I went to class with the idea. Getting feedback and to work more with the concept After the presentation, the concept was more clear what it could have and what was needed to be done to get it going, as well as what more research needed. There were some new ideas from the class that in a way changed the purpose for the website and for the application. The research that had to been done was to look how many people could use it, maybe it would be a good idea to narrow it down in the beginning, so it would only be accessible for people that live in Iceland, to get the domestic tourism stronger, help people to travel in the own country before taking it further. So the concept was coming together and the next step was to do the research that had to be done to be sure that this would be possible for the travellers. Planning your dream holiday It is everyone’s dream to plan a dream holiday, it is not as easy as someone would think, there are so many information about different transport, activities, attractions, tours, accommodation and dinning. Putting all the information form each category into a database, each area would have its own database so it could work on its own as well as together. It is going to be a website as well as a application for I phone. The technology that Trip Sketch application is using with Green Traveller is similar as what is in this concept for the I phone, The focus going to be Iceland and not the USA or UK. For example for the website the customer will first have the opportunity to choose for how long the holiday is going to last and then what area of Iceland is interested for the customer. With that out of the way the customer can have the choice between the categories that were mention before, click on accommodation and there will be all the places in that area and if the customers click on for example a hotel they will get information about the hotel, where it is, how to get there, website, opening times and other important information. The customer can also save that hotel in his folder and later on compare different accommodations before booking the right one. This goes for all the things in the database. The application for the I phone is more for the customer on the road, following the technology as mention before with the opportunity to plan a day out. This is going to focus on domestic traveller at the beginning, if that is successful then it will be look at taking futher. What this concept idea will consist of The need to be able to make our own holiday in the comfort of your home is an increasing demand, this concept will help travellers build the dream holiday by going on a website, which will have multi choice questions so the person will answer questions related to what that the person would like to do on that holiday. It will look like questioners for the consumer and in the end the person will have all the information to plan and book the dream holiday. This site will only be available in Iceland for the start, if that goes well, then by time it will be open for international tourist that have Iceland on the list and there will be the opportunity to open a site for other countries if there is interest for it. The welcome page will consist of basic information about Iceland as well as safety tips for travelling in the country. There will be a demonstration on how the site works, similar to what is done on the website Just-Eat (Just-Eat 2010). On the page will be a sign in part, where the consumer will sign in and fill out basic information, like contact, age, gender, address and interests, this will create a username that will allow the consumer to log in anytime and will also store the searches that are conducted. There will be a â€Å"start your trip button† on the page that will take the consumer to the start of the exclusions process, the consumer will then be taken to a page where there will be a start of point choices. Like Region: the different region of the country – West, South, East, North and the West fjords. Adventure: for example; horseback riding, river rafting, hiking, sailing and more. Time: how long the trip can last, couple of hours, half a day, a day, week, month. Attractions: Culture and history: where the Icelandic culture and history are, like art galleries, museum, heritage centres, festivals for the arts and more. Based on the choice made, the consumer is taken to another page where there will be sub options to choose from, with the addition of accommodation. This process continues until the consumer presses finish and is presented with the result from the search that was undertaken. That would be called the travel plan and would give the consumer the insight of what kind of a holiday would be on offer. The opportunity is then available to book any aspect of the holiday right from the website. Like Travel option: booking a car rental, bus tickets or airplane tickets. Accommodation: hotels, country hotels, farmhouses, cottages, camping sites. Restaurants: would be able to make reservations for all the meals the consumer is thinking of having on the trip. Trips: the consumer would be able to book all the trips that would be on the travel plan. Tickets: to museums, festivals, shows and more. The flow chart below demonstrates the concept process of elimination to find the ideal holiday for the consumer. Figure 1.1 Flowchart for design concept The companies that want to take part in the website will need to create a retailer login, where the company will have to fill in an application form with all required information, such as Company name Type of activates: selected from a drop down menu. Location: where the company is based. Activities locations: where the activities are taking place. Dates: fill in a calendar with the upcoming activities. Prices: Range of package prices as well as prices for individual activities. Contact details: phone numbers, homepage, e-mails and contact person. Each company or business will have to fill out predetermined templates for each activity and these will then be available on the website instantly, the responsibility lies with each company to give accurate details. The templates are used so the website information is uniform for display to the consumer. A fixed charge will be taken for each booking that is made on the website, so the company will only pay if it gets business from the website. The website has two main objectives Assist the consumer in finding the ideal holiday. Assist local retailers in finding customers for the holiday activities. This is done by designing the website so that it only requires the input from consumers and retailers to function. Consumer input: search entries, holiday review, holiday request. Retailer input: holiday details, prices, dates. References: Just-Eat. (2010, November 17). Retrieved November 17, 2010, from Just-Eat: http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ What technology will support the concept and how Developing the concept will involve building up a web site that will take all the information that is needed and put it in the right places. Building up the website will go through several stages, taking the storyboard that is the foundation of the site (Sweeney 2008) and getting all the ideas on it is the first step, this gives the layout for the site at the beginning with the opportunity to improve further on. The second stage will be to get the information into the database that will be behind the web site as the storyboard is only the structure of the site but has no full information on it. The layout will have similarity to what TripSketch uses for the application Green traveller for the iphone . Using multi questions templates to plan a domestic holiday. It would be possible to take the website and turn it into an application for iphones or smart phones, which would then have to be in an area where there would be internet connection to be able to interact on the application and get the result straight into your phone. The concept is based around the use of a website as the interface for both the consumer and the retailer. This requires the development of a website interface that is linked to a database in which data is input or output to the interface. The consumers interface in one where the database is searched based on the input from the consumer is taken through a process of elimination. The consumer interface can be set up in many ways such as Search engine interface Single page multiple choice Multi page multiple choice The search engine interface allows the user to input any number of search terms and the n the database is searched and the results displayed. The pros of using this type is that it will make it easier for the consumer to find the activity that is on offer, however the user might not use the right words for the activity that will then resolve in not finding what is on offer. Single page multiple choice allows the user to input all choices on the same page and go straight to result page. This can be convenient if there are few choices in the form and holidays are mostly similar, the more the variety the more inconclusive the result will be. Multi page multiple choices allows the user to eliminate at each page before going to the next set of choices, this then only presents choices to the consumer based on its previous selections. Doing this the consumer will come to concentrated results and from there the user can select the ideal holiday. The retailer interface could have any numbers of styles to bring the data into the database as out of it, such as The website has employee that would take all the data that comes from the retailer and process them into the database that will then be available to the consumer through the website. The retailer would take all the data and put it into the database through the retailer interface on the website. That would then not require a special employee from the website and would then be more cost effective to the website. The site would be able to charge the consumers directly as bookings are made online, using online credit card facilities and possibly Paypal. In doing so the website can update the retailers account with the payment made and show the deducted amount to the website. The retailer is then paid on regular bases. The website could have a review interface for the consumer for a specific holiday that the consumer has undertaken. This would be an option for the user to do, as signed into the website and already gone on the trip, which would go into the database and be linked to the trip that the retailer has on offer as well as linked to the retailer. It would also be a possibility to have an comment box for the website that would give the consumer an opportunity to give comments on what could be improved data wise on the site as well as what has been done well and not so well. This data would then be send to the administrator for further improvement on the site The technology used for the website is widely used and thus easily implemented for this type of website. References: Bibliography Buhalis, D. (2003). eTourism Information technology for strategic tourism management. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Chris Cooper, J. F. (2008). Tourism; principles and practice. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Just-Eat. (2010, November 17). Retrieved November 17, 2010, from Just-Eat: http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ Nokia. (2010, November 15). Ovi daily app . Retrieved November 15, 2010, from Ovi store: http://blog.ovi.com/dailyapp/global/2010/08/travel-plans-in-your-future-try-tripsketch-green-traveler-for-nokia/ Page, S. J. (2009). Tourism management man; managing for change. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Sweeney, S. (2008). 101 Ways ti Promote Your Tourism Business Web Site. Jim Hoskins. Sweeney, S. (2009). 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site. Jim Hoskins.

Product Strategy And Management Jet Airways

Product Strategy And Management Jet Airways On a bright sunny morning of May 2011, Naresh Goyal, the founder chairman of Jet Airways was going through the financial reports for the year ended March 2011 while having his regular cup of coffee. Jet Airways had posted losses for the quarter ended March 11 while it had posted a meager profit of 9.69 crores for the FY11 after three years of consecutive losses. The company was thinking of ways to bring the airlines back into consistent profit-making ways. The company currently offered three brands of airline services: the premium service- Jet and the low cost models- JetLite and JetKonnect. The companys main competitor in the premium space was Air India and Kingfisher while it had a lot of competitors in the low cost carrier segment. JetLite had contributed 75% to the groups domestic revenue in the June quarter but a lot of questions were raised about the logic behind operating two low cost models at the same time when such intense competition was there in the segment. Naresh Goyal had to take a decision soon about the future that his company should take in relation to these low cost models. Indian Airlines Industry Pre-liberalization Era At the time of independence in India, there were eight companies were in service within and outside the country namely Tata Airlines (renamed as Air India), Indian National Airways, Air service of India, Deccan Airways, Ambica Airways, Bharat Airways and Mistry Airways. In 1953, the government nationalized the airlines via the Air Corporations Act, 1953, which gave birth to Indian Airlines and Air India. Indian Airlines came into being with the merger of eight domestic airlines to operate domestic services, while Air India International was to operate the overseas services. Furthermore, the Act gave monopoly power to Indian Airlines to operate on domestic scheduled services ruling out any other operator. Air India became the single Indian carrier to operate on international itinerary excluding some routes to the neighboring countries which were given to Indian Airlines. Liberalization and Private Players Entry The services offered by the two state-owned airlines were not up to the mark. So, in the early 1990s, Indian government initiated liberalisation of Indian airlines industry and relaxation in rules and regulations for private players to operate in this industry. As a consequence to this the Air Corporations Act was repealed in 1994 and private players were allowed to operate scheduled services. In 1995, Air Sahara, Jet Airways, Damania Airways, East West Airlines, Modiluft and NEPC Airways were granted scheduled carrier status. But only four operators- Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Jagsons and Spicejet (previously operated as Modiluft) started operations by 1997 and continued to operate. Eventually, by 1998, at least six private airlines, East- West, Modi-Luft, NEPC, Damania, Gujarat Airways and Span Air were closed. The arrival of private players in the aviation industry improved the services offered by the players as competition created an incentive to improve services offered. By 2003, only two private carriers survived to see the sunrise of the new century, i.e. Jet and Sahara. The survival of Jet Airways could be attributed to its sound financial planning and extraordinary management team since its inception. Arrival of Low Cost Carriers In 2003, a major breakthrough happened in the airlines industry when Air Deccan started its operations as Indias first Low Cost Career (LCC). The arrival of Air Deccan gave competition to the extant duopoly of Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines. It also changed the fare structure in the industry from two-way economy and business class fares into multiple options of including check fares, web fares, APEX fares, internet auctions, Special discounts, corporate plans, last day fares, promotional fares etc. Since the entry of Air Deccan, the passenger traffic in the airlines industry has grown tremendously. In the next two years, Kingfisher, Spice Jet, Indigo, Go Air and Paramount also started as LCCs in India. The consolidation phase in the Indian Airlines Industry In 2007, Jet acquired Sahara, Kingfisher acquired Air Deccan and Indian Airlines and Air India were merged to form a single entity named Air India. A comparative account of aircraft movements, passenger count and freight in the first quarter of 2011-12 over that of the previous year is given in Exhibit 1. Company History Jet Airways Company founder Naresh Goyal completed his graduation in Commerce in 1967 and joined the travel business at the age of 18 as a general sales agent (GSA) for the Lebanese International Airlines. From 1967 to 1974 he learnt the intricacies of the travel business through his association with several foreign airlines. In May 1974, he formed his own company, Jetair (Private) Limited, to market other foreign airlines in India. When the Indian government reopened the domestic aviation market to private carriers, it provided an opportunity to Goyal who established Jet Airways (India) Private Limited in 1991. On April 1, 1992, Jet Airways was incorporated as an air-taxi operator in India. It started out its domestic operations on 5th May 1993. With an initial fleet comprising of 4 leased Boeing 737 aeroplanes, Jetairways soon expanded to include international operations with its maiden international flight from Chennai to Colombo. Jet presently connects 52 domestic destinations. Jet strengthened its position as the airline for the business community considerably during 90s. 80%of its passengers were business class passengers who chose its services because of its punctuality and excellent service. 95% of its passengers rated the airline as good or excellent. In March 2004, Jet Airways acquired license to fly over international routes and it presently connects 24 international destinations. Formation of JetLite and JetKonnect On 12 April 2007, Jet acquired Air Sahara for USD 340 million. Air Sahara was renamed as JetLite and was positioned to serve the segment that was emerging to be new customers of airline services offered at low prices. During the recession of 2008, Jet was facing falling revenues. Hence it decided to allocate some of its aircraft from Jet Airways to cater to the LCC segment as purchasing power of people was low at that time. There were regulatory delays in transferring aircrafts from Jet Airways to JetLite as these two had different operator codes. On 8 May 2009, Jet Airways launched a new low-cost brand called Jet Konnect to operate on sectors that had less than 50% or less load factor. Competitive Landscape In the phase from 2003-2006, the entry of Air Deccan marked a new point in Indian aviation: India had its first low cost/no frills airline. By matching aircraft fares with upper class railway fares, this was an era where passenger traffic went up and intense competition among the players started. Spurred by the success of Air Deccan, other LCCs such as Spicejet, Indigo, GoAir began operations. Air Deccan was acquired by Kingfisher airlines and became the LCC called Kingfisher Red. Some of the major players providing competition to Jet today are Indigo and SpiceJet. Kingfisher, which once used to be a tough competitor in the non-LCC segment is now a very weak competitor. Indigo Currently, this LCC is the market leader and the only profitable airline service in India. Their main focus is on on-time performance and service which are main consumer needs. Through this and a whole host of cost cutting measures, they have ensures that they remain profitable. The airline is on an expansion mode to other major cities of the country as well as international destinations. Indigo scores better than the low cost JetLite and JetKonnect on the service dimension. In terms of communication, Indigo ads focus mainly on their own time performance and the hassle-free experience. To break the ad clutter, Indigo differentiated its ads: it came up with an innovative ad picturised on the form of a Broadway musical. The ad also showed uniformed stewards and air hostesses in Indigos blue uniform which was a great way to portray their brand identity.  [1]   Kingfisher Owned by Vijay Mallya, its the most flamboyant airline in India and fares much better than Jet in terms of in flight and on ground services. It is a major luxury airline operating an extensive network and had expansion plans for regional and long-haul services. Currently, it is in bad financial health due to which its flights have been plagued by delays and as a consequence, its image has taken a severe beating. In terms of communication, Flying High was the tagline used in the Kingfisher video ad2 that exhibited liberation and flying through its picturization2. Kingfisher was positioned as a luxury brand and this was conveyed clearly through the video. However, similar to Jet, Kingfisher didnt release any video ad for the low cost carrier (Kingfisher Red) it started operating after acquiring Air Deccan. The luxury positioning of Kingfisher, which resulted in confusion when Red started operations, was one of the factors that was leading to its growing unpopularity. Its future, at least in Goyals point of view, looked bleak. Hence he focussed more on other competitors while strategizing for the future of Jet. SpiceJet It is Indias second largest low cost airline and third largest in terms of market share. It was originally started as Modiluft airways back in 1993 in partnership with Lufthansa. Over the years, it changed hands and got rebranded as SpiceJet and operates as a low cost carrier. SpiceJets communication focuses on the main attributes of the airline: service to unaccompanied minors, option of choosing your own seat etc. But, these features fall either in the categories of basic/performance attributes that any airline should have. SpiceJet hasnt taken any measures in their service to upgrade these features to the excitement category so as to be differentiated from other players. Tipping points in the history Sahara acquisition Spreading wings In year 2005-06, when Air Sahara was exploring the opportunities for private placements of its equity, several airlines like SpiceJet and Kingfisher showed their interest for stake in the company. However the deal couldnt be made because Kingfisher thought the price set was too high given the not so strong financials of Sahara. Later, Jet Airways came into the picture and showed strong interest in buying out the airline. This merger had several strategical objectives behind it: Jet will have a strong position in the Indian Airline industry with almost 50% of the market share. Jet would become the only private carrier to fly international with no competition for 3 years because other carriers were relatively new. And as per regulations, it would have needed minimum of 3 years of domestic operation before going international. Jet would have a complete dominance of parking bays and airport infrastructure. Jet could now easily increase its capacity without expanding supply. The merger happened in 2007 and Jet Airways branded Air Sahara as JetLite and positioned it as low cost carrier to compete against low cost carrier at that time. If we look at this merger strategy from Ansoffs matrix framework, we can say that the move was more of Diversification strategy. This can be justified by the fact that JetLite was positioned as low cost carrier as a new product for Jet (Jet was known as full cost carrier) and they targeted new market segment which was low cost. However, this turning point for Jet proved to be too costly as it moved from a profit-making airline to a loss-maker and hasnt recovered yet. (Refer Exhibit 2 for sales and profit trends). Jet Konnect Another Jet brand In year 2009, when Indian economy was not doing well, the international operations of Indian airlines were affected too. At the same time, Jet Airways was facing stiff competition from low cost carriers and JetLite was not doing well in the domestic market with just around 7% of market share. Thus in the same year, Jet launched low cost brand named Jet Konnect to fight with the low cost carriers on routes with higher passenger load factor. Instead of expanding the existing brand JetLite, the decision to establish a new subsidiary was to avoid the regulatory delays associated with moving excess aircraft from Jet Airways to JetLite which had separate operating codes. Jet Konnect offered no-frill services. Almost 3 years after its introduction, positioning of Jet Konnect seems to be working for the fact that 70% of all the seats that Jet sells in the domestic market come from Jet Konnect itself. But even after the introduction of JetKonnect, the company has been making losses. Thus, though Jet Konnect strategy may have helped Jet to retain its market share near 28%, clearly it failed to make a long term business plan. Issues- Increasing Sales; Decreasing Profits The financials indicate that sales have been increasing throughout the past 12 years, but the profits have not followed the trend. The company which had started to make increasing and positive profits since the internationalization of its operations in 2004, started showing declining profits that soon dwindled into losses after the acquisition of Air Sahara. Recovery from the losses has been very slow. Goyal wondered if this was because of the inability of transferring the synergies from Jets primary business of full service to no-frills service. Brand Confusion Goyal also wondered if having two low-cost brands was a good idea, as it could have possibly led to people not being able to differentiate between JetLite and JetKonnect. At the time of inception of JetKonnect it had seemed like the best option possible to earn revenues in a slowing market and it had to be implemented quickly without waiting for the settlement of legal issues of including Jets fleet under JetLites name. But now, thinking back, Goyal wondered if he had moved too fast. Brand Dilution Jet used to be considered a premium brand offering full services. With the extension of the name Jet to the new no-frills brands JetLite and JetKonnect, Goyal wondered if there has been a dilution in the brands equity. Ideally, JetLite and JetKonnect were meant to be downgraded versions of Jet. Did the market perceive it this way? Or was Jet being seen as an upgraded version of the low-cost carriers (and thus occupying only a second place in the mindspace of the consumer)? Has the extension resulted in cannibalization of Jet? The way forward- Alternatives Entry into LCC segment had started off the loss-making phase for Jet and the introduction of a new LCC brand hadnt helped the company make positive profits. If the LCC segment were to be still operated by Jet, streamlining the product portfolio of the group to offer the guests a single superior in-flight product in the full-service and low-fare categories respectively was the only viable option as seen in the alternatives he jotted down to be discussed with his strategy team. Merge JetLite and Jet Konnect; brand it as JetLite. Merge JetLite and Jet Konnect; brand it as Jet Konnect. Merge JetLite and Jet Konnect; brand it as a different new brand. Exit the Low Cost Carrier segment to overcome brand dilution. The next day, he put forth these to the team and asked for a solution to the issue at hand and a suggestion for the way forward. Analysis- Arriving at a solution After the meeting with Goyal, the strategy team split themselves into sub-groups: one analyzing the communications of Jets brands and one conducting market research to understand peoples brand associations with respect to Jet. They aimed to view the current position of the brands with respect to the value as well as price perceived by the market. Communications of Jets brands Jet Airways A set of formal ads was released in 2007, without any celebrity attraction [  [2]  ]. These ads focussed on the various attributes featured in the three classes of air travel, without any voice-over. The tagline used was Change the way you fly. This was followed by a set of TV Commercials (storyboards in Exhibit 3) released in 2008, starring Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, for the First Class, Premiere Class and Economy Class of Jet Airways. The airline was positioned as a service-oriented one that took care of the little things that add to the good experience of the customer. In addition, there were hoardings speaking about connectivity as well as reinforcing the taglines of the video advertisements. An interesting case in point was when Kingfisher took an ambush initiative and put up a hoarding over Jets hoarding (that spoke about Jet having changed and asking people to visit their site to know more); Kingfisher took credit saying that it was responsible for the change. This was followed by GoAirs ambush of Kingfisher and Jet, by putting up a hoarding on top of the two existing hoardings, saying that they havent changed and still remain the smartest way to fly. This campaign resulted in publicity for all three brands. JetLite JetKonnect Not much of advertising was done for these two brands- a possible reason for the confusion between the two, prevailing among people. A few print ads for JetKonnect were released when the airline was introduced (Ref. Exhibit 4-a). One of them had personnel wearing the same attire as Jet Airways personnel. This was aimed at reinforcing the good service quality in JetKonnect (by linking it to the service of Jet Airways) but it resulted in brand dilution and cannibalization of Jet Airways, when a low cost carrier (JetKonnects ads spoke about Low Fares) was perceived to offer an equally good service. The print ad of JetLite (Ref. Exhibit 4-b) reinforced the low-cost feature by displaying the price (Rs. 1001) prominently, for a few domestic routes. Brand Associations Depth Interviews- Depth interviews conducted across six people in the age group of 22-27 who had travelled by Jet Airways, JetLite and JetKonnect. This segment was chosen because they would be part of the major class of air travellers in the coming decades. Questions were posed (Ref. Exhibit 5) to understand their requirements from airlines services and their views on the three brands that Jet had. The respondents could be classified into two major categories: Those who expect comfortable travel and service quality and are willing to pay for these Those who are very price-conscious and do not care much for service The people in the former category associated Jet with comfortable travel and thus preferred it for long journeys; those in the latter category did not associate anything exceptionally good with Jet. Some even felt that they were too high priced for the quality of service they offered. None of the people interviewed had seen the advertisements of Jet Airways with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan starring in them. Some recalled seeing hoardings that spoke about good connectivity and some recalled the attire of the personnel and the logo. All the interviewed people used the online mode of checking prices via sites like makemytrip.com, yatra.com or cleartrip.com. Booking was made by some people at the respective airlines website while it was done by some others at the price checking portal. All were aware of the Jet Privilege Card program but only one was a user of it. Punctuality was a key expected attribute by all interviewees and all gave a positive feedback about IndiGo on that aspect. Jets brands were seen to be neither significantly good nor significantly bad with respect to punctuality. The comfort and quality-sensitive people gave Jet Airways a higher rating than JetLite or JetKonnect, while the price-sensitive people rated JetLite and JetKonnect over Jet Airways. No difference was perceived or observed between JetLite and JetKonnect. Is Jet an upgraded version of JetLite/Konnect (or) is JetLite/Konnect a downgraded version of Jet? From the customers ticket purchase behaviour (all of them used makemytrip.com or cleartrip.com or the likes), it was seen that they would first be shown the cheapest flights first (which is how those sites are programmed to function). Hence, a typical customer would first see JetLite / JetKonnects prices and then see the incremental price to be paid for Jet and then compare the price versus quality / extra features received from the full-service airline. Thus, it was observed that the LCC brands were becoming the anchor brands and Jet was seen as an upgrade. This was substantiated further in the analysis of a survey that was conducted (as explained below). A low-cost carrier being seen as an anchor brand is degenerative to the parent brand as brand dilution occurs and people associate even the parent with the LCCs attributes. Survey A survey (Ref. Exhibit 8 for the survey) of air travellers was conducted to identify the importance of various attributes to people and the rating of airlines on those attributes (Ref. Exhibit 6). This helped arrive at the Market Perceived Quality (MPQ) and Market Perceived Price (MPP) of the airlines relative to one another, which aided our comparative analysis and inferences regarding brand perceptions. Weight attached to attributes The attributes, in the order of importance, was seen to fall into 3 buckets. The first bucket has punctuality with a highest weightage of 21%. The second bucket has flight connectivity, baggage allowance and flight crews attitude, all with weights around 17-18%. The third bucket contains food-on board and in-flight entertainment with weights around 13-14%. (Ref. Exhibit 6-a). Punctuality has always been of paramount importance in any mode of transport. However, the interesting thing is the reduced weights given to the third bucket this was a direct result of the communication strategies followed by the low-cost carriers. Existence of Brand Confusion An MPQ as well as MPP analysis of JetLite versus JetKonnect throws up a score of 1.00, implying that there is no perceivable difference in the minds of the customer in terms of the two brands, leading to brand confusion and dilution. JetLite-Jet: Quality versus Price MPQ analysis (Ref Exhibit 6-e) of JetLite versus Jet shows that JetLite is only 89% of Jet with respect to quality, whereas an MPP (Ref Exhibit 6-f) analysis shows that Jetlites perceived price is 97% of that of Jet. Heence, people can easily perceive Jet to be priced only marginally higher than JetLite for a relatively better offer of quality. Hence they think that Jet is an upgraded version of JetLite. Indigo- Better Quality than Jet MPQ analysis of Jet versus IndiGo shows that Jet is marginally perceived to be of a lower quality than IndiGo, despite Jet being a full-service airline and IndiGo being a no-frills airline. This is indicative of the fact that people perceive punctuality (in which IndiGo excels) to be a very important quality. Thus a relatively new airline has managed to change the weight attached by people to punctuality, by showing them the value it can create for them by offering it. Perceptual Maps Also, based on the interview and survey responses, perception maps were constructed for airlines in India (Ref. Exhibit 7). It is seen that IndiGo offers very good price-value performance with respect to the top three attributes that people expect in airline service. No carrier operated in the Premium price-high connectivity quadrant, as it was not economical to offer full-service over short routes (that offer high / direct connectivity). Current brand name connotations (Lite signifies that it is a stripped down version of Jet; gives a negative connotation to the customer that he/she is losing some services of the original Jet airways) + (Gives the reliability of the parent brand, and the extension Konnect tries to point out to an additional attribute of connectivity, which according to the survey is highly valued) n/a (A name which would not include Jet in it) n/a Parent brand enhancement (A premium product and a stripped down product with the same brand name will lead to dilution) (A premium product and a stripped down product with the same brand name will lead to dilution) + (A name which would not include Jet in it; being a completely independent thing it would not tarnish Jets image with a low cost tag) + (Exiting from the LCC segment and just concentrating on the traditional segment completely eliminates the chances of brand dilution) Anchoring in the mind of the customer -Jet Airways versus LCC brand name (Jet is seen as the upgraded version of Jetlite (the perceived anchor, as shown in the analysis- Ref Exhibit 6-e,f)) (Jet is seen as the upgraded version of Jetkonnect, which is perceived to be the same as JetLite, (LCC is the perceived anchor, as shown in the analysis- Ref Exhibit 6-e,f)) + (With the LCC not having Jet in its brand name the first customer contact with Jet happens with Jet Airways and hence Jet remains the anchor brand) + (Completely exiting LCC, eliminates the whole threat of being anchored as a low-priced brand in customers mind) Recommendations by the strategy team The evaluation of the options indicates that the 3rd option (Merge Jetlite Jetkonnect; spin off with a new brand name) is the most viable, as it scores positively on all criteria. Currently the brands of jet are positioned as in Fig- 2. This can be modified to create a positioning map such that there are two different brands that are clearly separated, with distinct brand names that do not result in brand dilution or confusion. The positioning should be as in Fig-3: cid:[emailprotected] Fig 3: Current Jet Situation Fig 3: Jet after brand fusion Operational Recommendations for both brands of the company Punctuality- This is the most important attribute to the customers. Hence this has to be provided by both the full-service as well as the low-cost service airlines. Otherwise they would soon lose out to IndiGo. Connectivity- The new LCC brand should aggressively increase the number of directly connected locations to compete with IndiGo and SpiceJet. Communications- Clear and distinct communication strategy should be developed for both brands. For example, crew attire, colours in the print ads and such visible brand elements should be distinct, to avoid brand dilution. First Class Ad1 The description of the features such as a comfortable lie-flat bed, personal wardrobe, table for two and a door (that provides privacy) is done by a voice-over, accompanied by the visuals that show the protagonist experiencing them in an imaginary place of luxury, correlating each scene with the experience inside the flight. The comfort and luxury are communicated effectively and the ad ends with a tagline- Filled with the little touches that count and a written line displaying More than 400 international flights per week. Economy Class Ad2 The features- such as more space between rows of seats, more legroom (with a special leg-rest) and a cushion for back-rest- are shown as being enjoyed on board a flight by the protagonist, while a voice-over describes each one. The ad ends with a tagline Its the little touches that go a long way and a display of the words More than 400 international flights per week. Premiere Class Ad3 The features such as wider seats and more space for passengers are shown figuratively with a widening of a sofa on which the protagonist is seated and pushing the sofa down the room to create more space between the protagonist and another person. The features of a lie-flat bed and direct aisle access from all seats are shown in an in-flight environment. The possible absence of a figurative comparison for a lie-flat be  [3]  d could be to avoid confusion with the first class ad. The ad ends with the tagline Its the little touches that make a big difference and a display of the words More than 400 international flights per week. How frequently do you travel and for what purpose? While working- once in 3 weeks; purpose was official 12-13 times per year; personal(going home vacation) Once in 4-5 months; personal Do you have any preference for specific purposes; if so, why? Official- jet (to take advantage of frequent flier); Personal- Whichever is the cheapest(except Air India) Indigo over spicejet because of timely departure and arrival; likes jetlite as well because of the same reason; doesnt prefer jet because of food (as that adds to cost) Indigo any day- both personal business; punctuality is the best What comes to your mind when we say Jet ? Logo, nothing else High price. Jet was good once upon a time; Now, Jet doesnt give value for the amount charged Nothing premium; in-flight entertainment doesnt always work; food is the only differentiating factor, but it doesnt matter to me What 3 attributes make you choose JetLite over Jet Airways? Only Price Price, Punctuality (think Jetlite is better), Newer seats Only Price What 3 attributes make you choose Jet over JetLite ? Wont prefer; cost sensitive Will chose jet over jetlite in case there is no jetlite flight in that route+ if Jet travels quicker (can accept price that is higher by a max of Rs 1000) Only if I am not paying for it Have you seen ads of Jet? Remembers Hoarding; connects to (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) ; (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) flights to NY/SA; airhostess dress color; Yes; havent seen them in recent times; doesnt remember much Not recently; Kingfishers ambush-known due to prior academic input How do you book your tickets? Online-search for yatra coupons; Book the cheapest mode Check prices through makemytrip; book through the travel agent. Doesnt trust giving the card no. in the website Cleartrip.com site only Do you know about Jets loyalty programme? Yes; registered but didnt get the card /make use of it Heard about the reward points system from other people Yes; not a member as I dont fly regularly Do you perceive any difference between JetLite JetKonnect? If so, what? No Not much; jetlite has been more punctual and more sophisticated air crew; no change in food options No

The Manifestation Of Sin :: essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Throughout the story Pearl develops into a prominent symbol of the "A". In this essay the example of symbolism Pearl comes to represent will be explained.In the Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, received a scarlet letter, "A" which she had to wear upon her chest for the rest of her life in Boston. This was the Puritan way of punishing her for her then criminal action of adultery. She wondered the streets to be given sour looks from all. This eventually caused so much mental and physical anguish that she eventually questioned why she should live if it weren't for her Pearl. Pearl was a bundle of life sent from god to remind her of her wrong doing each and every moment and as a walking sermon to preach against sin for others.Hester's wasted life the ultimate price that Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was almost never filled with joy, but instead a constant reminder of the harsh word adultery. Pearl would also make her own "A" to wear, and sometimes she played games wither her mother's trying to hit it with rocks. When Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of her and Pearl and would yell and throw dirt at them. So in this case, Pearl symbolized the decimation of Hester's life and mental state. Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her ultimate treasure. Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life. Surely if Pearl wasn't in Hester's life, Hester would have taken her own life. Once and a while, Pearl would bring joy to Hester's life, and that helped her to bare the guilt, lonesomeness, and isolation that became the main theme of her life. Pearl could be compared to weather, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always changing. It was Pearl's pounding storms that gave Hester so much grief. Pearl's exuberant personality caused Puritans to believe she was a child of witchcraft and a mischievous little elf. But basically she represented everything that was the exact opposite of Puritan belief. Pearl's taunting and malice disposition sometimes even caused Hester to make outbursts like "Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!" Some would believe the "A" stood for anti-puritan for her wild soul could never be confined by the rules of the conservative Puritan Society.

New media Essay

New media has transformed the way we receive and produce content. New media such as the internet is making it easier for people to get their opinions across which creates content and allows a two-way dialogue. New media and technologies such social media networks change the way a person perceives the world. In the past decades, old style media was the only form of media used to receive content and sharing content was not as easy like it is nowadays. Internet can be easily accessed, with the transformation process still continuing it is now easy for the public to create and upload content which form discussions. Habermas’ conception of the public sphere (Scannell 2000). Habermas defined the idea of the public sphere as a social space in which all participants spoke as equals, made rational arguments, felt free to question authority and traditional political assumptions. New media is broadcasted though digital media and online sites such as Facebook and the internet. Content is shared and created through social media by uploading or publishing content such as images, videos and text. New media allows individuals to receive and share content. The rapid development of computer science leads to the emergence of brand-new type media which is transforming the world and the way how people perceive the world. Interactivity which distinguishes new media from their traditional counterparts endows them with capability to transform the mode of communication. Based on the powerful computer science and technologies, new media quickly engulf the whole world. Rather than evolving from traditional media and extending to new fields traditional media fail to reach, new media are completely another tool with totally different structure and mechanism against which they function. They make it possible to construct a three-dimension world resembling exactly what human beings actually live and give people a realistic feeling after stepping in. This capacity leads to a new mode of cultural representation, simulation. The implications are more than just to imitate and reveal true, but also include creating truth  creating a reality that cannot exist in the actual world. The interactivity closely associated with new media enables them the transform the conventional communication mode as well. The one-way information flow in traditional media changes into the two-way dialogue, then into â€Å"group discussion†. Virtual communities and social networks take shape. There, communication participants are no longer persons in conventional sense, but reduce into roles. A single person can have various roles to present in different spaces created by new media. An example of the two – way dialogue is the â€Å"BUST THE BUDGET† on the sbs site and through social media such as twitter people who attended the rally were able to connect and present their opinions to sbs. Online social networking communities are transforming the way we are experiencing television/network channel content. Social media connects people from local to global. Online communities talk everything that excites, entertains, energies or anything that creates an emotional bonding with certain kind of stuff. Social sites like Twitter and Facebook are the platforms where communities share information, ideas and insights. To conclude, media quickly to engulf the whole world. Rather than evolving from traditional media and extending to new fields traditional media fail to reach, new media are completely another tool with totally different structure and mechanism against which they function. They make it possible to construct a three-dimension world resembling exactly what human beings actually live and give people a realistic feeling after stepping in. This capacity leads to a new mode of cultural representation, simulation. The implications are more than just to imitate and reveal true, but also include creating truth creating a reality that cannot exist in the actual world. The interactivity closely associated with new media enables them the transform the conventional communication mode as well. The one-way information flow in traditional media changes into the two-way dialogue, then into â€Å"group discussion†. Virtual communities and social networks take shape. There, communication participants are no longer persons in conventional sense, but reduce into roles. A single person can have various roles to present in different spaces created by new media. Cultural representation and  communication are no longer what they used to be in face of the powerful engine. This is what â€Å"new† in â€Å"New Media† exactly means transformations. Reference: Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media – John B. Thompson – 2014. Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media – John B. Thompson The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere – J.Habermas – 2014. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/06/anti-budget-rallies-held-around-country-0 Meikle, Graham & Young, Sherman (2012) Ch 3 ‘From Broadcast to Social Media’ in Media Flew, Terry (2008) â€Å"Approaches to new media† from New media Van Dyke, N., Soule, S. A., & Taylor, V. A. (2005). The targets of social movements: Beyond a focus on the state. Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 25, 27-51. Howley, K. (2007). Community media and the public sphere. Media studies: Key issues and debates, 342-360. Scannell, P. (Ed.). (1991). Broadcast talk (Vol. 5). Sage. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-06/storify-bust-the-budget-protests/5575378

The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 2. Open Book

I leaned back against the soft snow bank, letting the dry powder reshape itself around my weight. My skin had cooled to match the air around me, and the tiny pieces of ice felt like velvet under my skin. The sky above me was clear, brilliant with stars, glowing blue in some places, yellow in others. The stars created majestic, swirling shapes against the black universe – an awesome sight. Exquisitely beautiful. Or rather, it should have been exquisite. Would have been, if I'd been able to really see it. It wasn't getting any better. Six days had passed, six days I'd hidden here in the empty Denali wilderness, but I was no closer to freedom than I had been since the first moment that I'd caught her scent. When I stared up at the jeweled sky, it was as if there were an obstruction between my eyes and their beauty. The obstruction was a face, just an unremarkable human face, but I couldn't quite seem to banish it from my mind. I heard the approaching thoughts before I heard the footsteps that accompanied them. The sound of movement was only a faint whisper against the powder. I was not surprised that Tanya had followed me here. I knew she'd been mulling over this coming conversation for the last few days, putting it off until she was sure of exactly what she wanted to say. She sprang into sight about sixty yards away, leaping onto the tip of an outcropping of black rock and balancing there on the balls of her bare feet. Tanya's skin was silver in the starlight, and her long blond curls shone pale, almost pink with their strawberry tint. Her amber eyes glinted as she spied me, halfburied in the snow, and her full lips stretched slowly into a smile. Exquisite. If I'd really been able to see her. I sighed. She crouched down on the point of the stone, her fingertips touching the rock, her body coiled. Cannonball, she thought. She launched herself into the air; her shape became a dark, twisting shadow as she spun gracefully between me and the stars. She curled herself into a ball just as she struck the piled snow bank beside me. A blizzard of snow flew up around me. The stars went black and I was buried deep in the feathery ice crystals. I sighed again, but didn't move to unearth myself. The blackness under the snow neither hurt nor improved the view. I still saw the same face. â€Å"Edward?† Then snow was flying again as Tanya swiftly disinterred me. She brushed the powder from my unmoving face, not quite meeting my eyes. â€Å"Sorry,† she murmured. â€Å"It was a joke.† â€Å"I know. It was funny.† Her mouth twisted down. â€Å"Irina and Kate said I should leave you alone. They think I'm annoying you.† â€Å"Not at all,† I assured her. â€Å"On the contrary, I'm the one who's being rude – abominably rude. I'm very sorry.† You're going home, aren't you? she thought. â€Å"I haven't†¦entirely†¦decided that yet.† But you're not staying here. Her thought was wistful now, sad. â€Å"No. It doesn't seem to be†¦helping.† She grimaced. â€Å"That's my fault, isn't it?† â€Å"Of course not,† I lied smoothly. Don't be a gentleman. I smiled. I make you uncomfortable, she accused. â€Å"No.† She raised one eyebrow, her expression so disbelieving that I had to laugh. One short laugh, followed by another sigh. â€Å"All right,† I admitted. â€Å"A little bit.† She sighed, too, and put her chin in her hands. Her thoughts were chagrined. â€Å"You're a thousand times lovelier than the stars, Tanya. Of course, you're already well aware of that. Don't let my stubbornness undermine your confidence.† I chuckled at the unlikeliness of that. â€Å"I'm not used to rejection,† she grumbled, her lower lip pushing out into an attractive pout. â€Å"Certainly not,† I agreed, trying with little success to block out her thoughts as she fleetingly sifted through memories of her thousands of successful conquests. Mostly Tanya preferred human men – they were much more populous for one thing, with the added advantage of being soft and warm. And always eager, definitely. â€Å"Succubus,† I teased, hoping to interrupt the images flickering in her head. She grinned, flashing her teeth. â€Å"The original.† Unlike Carlisle, Tanya and her sisters had discovered their consciences slowly. In the end, it was their fondness for human men that turned the sisters against the slaughter. Now the men they loved†¦lived. â€Å"When you showed up here,† Tanya said slowly. â€Å"I thought that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd known what she'd thought. And I should have guessed that she would have felt that way. But I hadn't been at my best for analytical thinking in that moment. â€Å"You thought that I'd changed my mind.† â€Å"Yes.† She scowled. â€Å"I feel horrible for toying with your expectations, Tanya. I didn't mean to – I wasn't thinking. It's just that I left in†¦quite a hurry.† â€Å"I don't suppose you'd tell me why†¦?† I sat up and wrapped my arms around my legs, curling defensively. â€Å"I don't want to talk about it.† Tanya, Irina and Kate were very good at this life they'd committed to. Better, in some ways, than even Carlisle. Despite the insanely close proximity they allowed themselves with those who should be – and once were – their prey, they did not make mistakes. I was too ashamed to admit my weakness to Tanya. â€Å"Woman troubles?† she guessed, ignoring my reluctance. I laughed a bleak laugh. â€Å"Not the way you mean it.† She was quiet then. I listened to her thoughts as she ran through different guesses, tried to decipher the meaning of my words. â€Å"You're not even close,† I told her. â€Å"One hint?† she asked. â€Å"Please let it go, Tanya.† She was quiet again, still speculating. I ignored her, trying in vain to appreciate the stars. She gave up after a silent moment, and her thoughts pursued a new direction. Where will you go, Edward, if you leave? Back to Carlisle? â€Å"I don't think so,† I whispered. Where would I go? I could not think of one place on the entire planet that held any interest for me. There was nothing I wanted to see or do. Because, no matter where I went, I would not be going to anywhere – I would only be running from. I hated that. When had I become such a coward? Tanya threw her slender arm around my shoulders. I stiffened, but did not flinch out from under her touch. She meant it as nothing more than friendly comfort. Mostly. â€Å"I think that you will go back,† she said, her voice taking on just a hint of her long lost Russian accent. â€Å"No matter what it is†¦or who it is†¦that is haunting you. You'll face it head on. You're the type.† Her thoughts were as certain as her words. I tried to embrace the vision of myself that she carried in her head. The one who faced things head on. It was pleasant to think of myself that way again. I'd never doubted my courage, my ability to face difficulty, before that horrible hour in a high school biology class such a short time ago. I kissed her cheek, pulling back swiftly when she twisted her face toward mine, her lips already puckered. She smiled ruefully at my quickness. â€Å"Thank you, Tanya. I needed to hear that.† Her thoughts turned petulant. â€Å"You're welcome, I guess. I wish you would be more reasonable about things, Edward.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Tanya. You know you're too good for me. I just†¦haven't found what I'm looking for yet.† â€Å"Well, if you leave before I see you again†¦goodbye, Edward.† â€Å"Goodbye, Tanya.† As I said the words, I could see it. I could see myself leaving. Being strong enough to go back to the one place where I wanted to be. â€Å"Thanks again.† She was on her feet in one nimble move, and then she was running away, ghosting across the snow so quickly that her feet had no time to sink into the snow; she left no prints behind her. She didn't look back. My rejection bothered her more than she'd let on before, even in her thoughts. She wouldn't want to see me again before I left. My mouth twisted with chagrin. I didn't like hurting Tanya, though her feelings were not deep, hardly pure, and, in any case, not something I could return. It still made me feel less than a gentleman. I put my chin on my knees and stared up at the stars again, though I was suddenly anxious to be on my way. I knew that Alice would see me coming home, that she would tell the others. This would make them happy – Carlisle and Esme especially. But I gazed at the stars for one more moment, trying to see past the face in my head. Between me and the brilliant lights in the sky, a pair of bewildered chocolate-brown eyes stared back at me, seeming to ask what this decision would mean for her. Of course, I couldn't be sure if that was really the information her curious eyes sought. Even in my imagination, I couldn't hear her thoughts. Bella Swan's eyes continued to question, and an unobstructed view of the stars continued to elude me. With a heavy sigh, I gave up, and got to my feet. If I ran, I would be back to Carlisle's car in less than an hour†¦ In a hurry to see my family – and wanting very much to be the Edward that faced things head on – I raced across the starlit snowfield, leaving no footprints. â€Å"It's going to be okay,† Alice breathed. Her eyes were unfocused, and Jasper had one hand lightly under her elbow, guiding her forward as we walked into the rundown cafeteria in a close group. Rosalie and Emmett led the way, Emmett looking ridiculously like a bodyguard in the middle of hostile territory. Rose looked wary, too, but much more irritated than protective. â€Å"Of course it is,† I grumbled. Their behavior was ludicrous. If I wasn't positive that I could handle this moment, I would have stayed home. The sudden shift from our normal, even playful morning – it had snowed in the night, and Emmett and Jasper were not above taking advantage of my distraction to bombard me with slushballs; when they got bored with my lack of response, they'd turned on each other – to this overdone vigilance would have been comical if it weren't so irritating. â€Å"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in†¦she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot.† â€Å"Of course we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'll be absolutely fine.† She blinked once as Jasper helped her into her seat, and her eyes finally focused on my face. â€Å"Hmm,† she said, sounding surprised. â€Å"I think you're right.† â€Å"Of course I am,† I muttered. I hated being the focus of their concern. I felt a sudden sympathy for Jasper, remembering all the times we'd hovered protectively over him. He met my glance briefly, and grinned. Annoying, isn't it? I grimaced at him. Was it just last week that this long, drab room had seemed so killingly dull to me? That it had seemed almost like sleep, like a coma, to be here? Today my nerves were stretched tight – piano wires, tensed to sing at the lightest pressure. My senses were hyper-alert; I scanned every sound, every sight, every movement of the air that touched my skin, every thought. Especially the thoughts. There was only one sense that I kept locked down, refused to use. Smell, of course. I didn't breathe. I was expecting to hear more about the Cullens in the thoughts that I sifted through. All day I'd been waiting, searching for whichever new acquaintance Bella Swan might have confided in, trying to see the direction the new gossip would take. But there was nothing. No one noticed the five vampires in the cafeteria, just the same as before the new girl had come. Several of the humans here were still thinking of that girl, still thinking the same thoughts from last week. Instead of finding this unutterably boring, I was now fascinated. Had she said nothing to anyone about me? There was no way that she had not noticed my black, murderous glare. I had seen her react to it. Surely, I'd scared her silly. I had been convinced that she would have mentioned it to someone, maybe even exaggerated the story a bit to make it better. Given me a few menacing lines. And then, she'd also heard me trying to get out of our shared biology class. She must have wondered, after seeing my expression, whether she were the cause. A normal girl would have asked around, compared her experience to others, looked for common ground that would explain my behavior so she didn't feel singled out. Humans were constantly desperate to feel normal, to fit in. To blend in with everyone else around them, like a featureless flock of sheep. The need was particularly strong during the insecure adolescent years. This girl would be no exception to that rule. But no one at all took any notice of us sitting here, at our normal table. Bella must be exceptionally shy, if she'd confided in no one. Perhaps she had spoken to her father, maybe that was the strongest relationship†¦though that seemed unlikely, given the fact that she had spent so little time with him throughout her life. She would be closer to her mother. Still, I would have to pass by Chief Swan sometime soon and listen to what he was thinking. â€Å"Anything new?† Jasper asked. â€Å"Nothing. She†¦must not have said anything.† All of them raised an eyebrow at this news. â€Å"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are,† Emmett said, chuckling. â€Å"I bet I could have frightened her better than that.† I rolled my eyes at him. â€Å"Wonder why†¦?† He puzzled again over my revelation about the girl's unique silence. â€Å"We've been over that. I don't know.† â€Å"She's coming in,† Alice murmured then. I felt my body go rigid. â€Å"Try to look human.† â€Å"Human, you say?† Emmett asked. He held up his right fist, twisting his fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm. Of course it had not melted there. He'd squeezed it into a lumpy block of ice. He had his eyes on Jasper, but I saw the direction of his thoughts. So did Alice, of course. When he abruptly hurled the ice chunk at her, she flicked it away with a casual flutter of her fingers. The ice ricocheted across the length of the cafeteria, too fast to be visible to human eyes, and shattered with a sharp crack against the brick wall. The brick cracked, too. The heads in that corner of the room all turned to stare at the pile of broken ice on the floor, and then swiveled to find the culprit. They didn't look further than a few tables away. No one looked at us. â€Å"Very human, Emmett,† Rosalie said scathingly. â€Å"Why don't you punch through the wall while you're at it?† â€Å"It would look more impressive if you did it, baby.† I tried to pay attention to them, keeping a grin fixed on my face like I was part of their banter. I did not allow myself to look toward the line where I knew she was standing. But that was all that I was listening to. I could hear Jessica's impatience with the new girl, who seemed to be distracted, too, standing motionless in the moving line. I saw, in Jessica's thoughts, that Bella Swan's cheeks were once more colored bright pink with blood. I pulled in short, shallow breaths, ready to quit breathing if any hint of her scent touched the air near me. Mike Newton was with the two girls. I heard both his voices, mental and verbal, when he asked Jessica what was wrong with the Swan girl. I didn't like the way his thoughts wrapped around her, the flicker of already established fantasies that clouded his mind while he watched her start and look up from her reverie like she'd forgotten he was there. â€Å"Nothing,† I heard Bella say in that quiet, clear voice. It seemed to ring like a bell over the babble in the cafeteria, but I knew that was just because I was listening for it so intently. â€Å"I'll just get a soda today,† she continued as she moved to catch up with the line. I couldn't help flickering one glance in her direction. She was staring at the floor, the blood slowly fading from her face. I looked away quickly, to Emmett, who laughed at the now pained-looking smile on my face. You look sick, bro. I rearranged my features so the expression would seem casual and effortless. Jessica was wondering aloud about the girl's lack of appetite. â€Å"Aren't you hungry?† â€Å"Actually, I feel a little sick.† Her voice was lower, but still very clear. Why did it bother me, the protective concern that suddenly emanated from Mike Newton's thoughts? What did it matter that there was a possessive edge to them? It wasn't my business if Mike Newton felt unnecessarily anxious for her. Perhaps this was the way everyone responded to her. Hadn't I wanted, instinctively, to protect her, too? Before I'd wanted to kill her, that is†¦ But was the girl ill? It was hard to judge – she looked so delicate with her translucent skin†¦ Then I realized that I was worrying, too, just like that dimwitted boy, and I forced myself not to think about her health. Regardless, I didn't like monitoring her through Mike's thoughts. I switched to Jessica's, watching carefully as the three of them chose which table to sit at. Fortunately, they sat with Jessica's usual companions, at one of the first tables in the room. Not downwind, just as Alice had promised. Alice elbowed me. She's going to look soon, act human. I clenched my teeth behind my grin. â€Å"Ease up, Edward,† Emmett said. â€Å"Honestly. So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world.† â€Å"You would know,† I murmured. Emmett laughed. â€Å"You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt.† Just then, Alice tossed a smaller handful of ice that she'd been hiding into Emmett's unsuspecting face. He blinked, surprised, and then grinned in anticipation. â€Å"You asked for it,† he said as he leaned across the table and shook his iceencrusted hair in her direction. The snow, melting in the warm room, flew out from his hair in a thick shower of half-liquid, half-ice. â€Å"Ew!† Rose complained, as she and Alice recoiled from the deluge. Alice laughed, and we all joined in. I could see in Alice's head how she'd orchestrated this perfect moment, and I knew that the girl – I should stop thinking of her that way, as if she were the only girl in the world – that Bella would be watching us laugh and play, looking as happy and human and unrealistically ideal as a Norman Rockwell painting. Alice kept laughing, and held her tray up as a shield. The girl – Bella must still be staring at us. †¦staring at the Cullens again, someone thought, catching my attention. I looked automatically toward the unintentional call, realizing as my eyes found their destination that I recognized the voice – I'd been listening to it so much today. But my eyes slid right past Jessica, and focused on the girl's penetrating gaze. She looked down quickly, hiding behind her thick hair again. What was she thinking? The frustration seemed to be getting more acute as time went on, rather than dulling. I tried – uncertain in what I was doing for I'd never tried this before – to probe with my mind at the silence around her. My extra hearing had always come to me naturally, without asking; I'd never had to work at it. But I concentrated now, trying to break through whatever shield surrounded her. Nothing but silence. What is it about her? Jessica thought, echoing my own frustration. â€Å"Edward Cullen is staring at you,† she whispered in the Swan girl's ear, adding a giggle. There was no hint of her jealous irritation in her tone. Jessica seemed to be skilled at feigning friendship. I listened, too engrossed, to the girl's response. â€Å"He doesn't look angry, does he?† she whispered back. So she had noticed my wild reaction last week. Of course she had. The question confused Jessica. I saw my own face in her thoughts as she checked my expression, but I did not meet her glance. I was still concentrating on the girl, trying to hear something. My intent focus didn't seem to be helping at all. â€Å"No,† Jess told her, and I knew that she wished she could say yes – how it rankled inside her, my staring – though there was no trace of that in her voice. â€Å"Should he be?† â€Å"I don't think he likes me,† the girl whispered back, laying her head down on her arm as if she were suddenly tired. I tried to understand the motion, but I could only make guesses. Maybe she was tired. â€Å"The Cullens don't like anybody,† Jess reassured her. â€Å"Well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them.† They never used to. Her thought was a grumble of complaint. â€Å"But he's still staring at you.† â€Å"Stop looking at him,† the girl said anxiously, lifting her head from her arm to make sure Jessica obeyed the order. Jessica giggled, but did as she was asked. The girl did not look away from her table for the rest of the hour. I thought – though, of course, I could not be sure – that this was deliberate. It seemed like she wanted to look at me. Her body would shift slightly in my direction, her chin would begin to turn, and then she would catch herself, take a deep breath, and stare fixedly at whoever was speaking. I ignored the other thoughts around the girl for the most part, as they were not, momentarily, about her. Mike Newton was planning a snow fight in the parking lot after school, not seeming to realize that the snow had already shifted to rain. The flutter of soft flakes against the roof had become the more common patter of raindrops. Could he really not hear the change? It seemed loud to me. When the lunch period ended, I stayed in my seat. The humans filed out, and I caught myself trying to distinguish the sound of her footsteps from the sound of the rest, as if there was something important or unusual about them. How stupid. My family made no move to leave, either. They waited to see what I would do. Would I go to class, sit beside the girl where I could smell the absurdly potent scent of her blood and feel the warmth of her pulse in the air on my skin? Was I strong enough for that? Or had I had enough for one day? â€Å"I†¦think it's okay,† Alice said, hesitant. â€Å"Your mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour.† But Alice knew well how quickly a mind could change. â€Å"Why push it, Edward?† Jasper asked. Though he didn't want to feel smug that I was the one who was weak now, I could hear that he did, just a little. â€Å"Go home. Take it slow.† â€Å"What's the big deal?† Emmett disagreed. â€Å"Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way.† â€Å"I don't want to move yet,† Rosalie complained. â€Å"I don't want to start over. We're almost out of high school, Emmett. Finally.† I was evenly torn on the decision. I wanted, wanted badly, to face this head on rather than running away again. But I didn't want to push myself too far, either. It had been a mistake last week for Jasper to go so long without hunting; was this just as pointless a mistake? I didn't want to uproot my family. None of them would thank me for that. But I wanted to go to my biology class. I realized that I wanted to see her face again. That's what decided it for me. That curiosity. I was angry with myself for feeling it. Hadn't I promised myself that I wouldn't let the silence of the girl's mind make me unduly interested in her? And yet, here I was, most unduly interested. I wanted to know what she was thinking. Her mind was closed, but her eyes were very open. Perhaps I could read them instead. â€Å"No, Rose, I think it really will be okay,† Alice said. â€Å"It's†¦firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure that nothing bad will happen if he goes to class.† She looked at me inquisitively, wondering what had changed in my thoughts that made her vision of the future more secure. Would curiosity be enough to keep Bella Swan alive? Emmett was right, though – why not get it over with, either way? I would face the temptation head on. â€Å"Go to class,† I ordered, pushing away from the table. I turned and strode away from them without looking back. I could hear Alice's worry, Jasper's censure, Emmett's approval, and Rosalie's irritation trailing after me. I took one last deep breath at the door of the classroom, and then held it in my lungs as I walked into the small, warm space. I was not late. Mr. Banner was still setting up for today's lab. The girl sat at my – at our table, her face down again, staring at the folder she was doodling on. I examined the sketch as I approached, interested in even this trivial creation of her mind, but it was meaningless. Just a random scribbling of loops within loops. Perhaps she was not concentrating on the pattern, but thinking of something else? I pulled my chair back with unnecessary roughness, letting it scrape across the linoleum; humans always felt more comfortable when noise announced someone's approach. I knew she heard the sound; she did not look up, but her hand missed a loop in the design she was drawing, making it unbalanced. Why didn't she look up? Probably she was frightened. I must be sure to leave her with a different impression this time. Make her think she'd been imagining things before. â€Å"Hello,† I said in the quiet voice I used when I wanted to make humans more comfortable, forming a polite smile with my lips that would not show any teeth. She looked up then, her wide brown eyes startled – almost bewildered – and full of silent questions. It was the same expression that had been obstructing my vision for the last week. As I stared into those oddly deep brown eyes, I realized that the hate – the hate I'd imagined this girl somehow deserved for simply existing – had evaporated. Not breathing now, not tasting her scent, it was hard to believe that anyone so vulnerable could ever justify hatred. Her cheeks began to flush, and she said nothing. I kept my eyes on hers, focusing only on their questioning depths, and tried to ignore the appetizing color of her skin. I had enough breath to speak for a while longer without inhaling. â€Å"My name is Edward Cullen,† I said, though I knew she knew that. It was the polite way to begin. â€Å"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.† She seemed confused – there was that little pucker between her eyes again. It took her half a second longer than it should have for her to respond. â€Å"How do you know my name?† she demanded, and her voice shook just a little. I must have truly terrified her. This made me feel guilty; she was just so defenseless. I laughed gently – it was a sound that I knew made humans more at ease. Again, I was careful about my teeth. â€Å"Oh, I think everyone knows your name.† Surely she must have realized that she'd become the center of attention in this monotonous place. â€Å"The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive.† She frowned as if this information was unpleasant. I supposed, being shy as she seemed to be, attention would seem like a bad thing to her. Most humans felt the opposite. Though they didn't want to stand out from the herd, at the same time they craved a spotlight for their individual uniformity. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"I meant, why did you call me Bella?† â€Å"Do you prefer Isabella?† I asked, perplexed by the fact that I couldn't see where this question was leading. I didn't understand. Surely, she'd made her preference clear many times that first day. Were all humans this incomprehensible without the mental context as a guide? â€Å"No, I like Bella,† she answered, leaning her head slightly to one side. Her expression – if I was reading it correctly – was torn between embarrassment and confusion. â€Å"But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back. That's what everyone here seems to know me as.† Her skin darkened one shade pinker. â€Å"Oh,† I said lamely, and quickly looked away from her face. I'd just realized what her questions meant: I had slipped up – made an error. If I hadn't been eavesdropping on all the others that first day, then I would have addressed her initially by her full name, just like everyone else. She'd noticed the difference. I felt a pang of unease. It was very quick of her to pick up on my slip. Quite astute, especially for someone who was supposed to be terrified by my nearness. But I had bigger problems than whatever suspicions about me she might be keeping locked inside her head. I was out of air. If I were going to speak to her again, I would have to inhale. It would be hard to avoid speaking. Unfortunately for her, sharing this table made her my lab partner, and we would have to work together today. It would seem odd – and incomprehensibly rude – for me to ignore her while we did the lab. It would make her more suspicious, more afraid†¦ I leaned as far away from her as I could without moving my seat, twisting my head out into the aisle. I braced myself, locking my muscles in place, and then sucked in one quick chest-full of air, breathing through my mouth alone. Ahh! It was genuinely painful. Even without smelling her, I could taste her on my tongue. My throat was suddenly in flames again, the craving every bit as strong as that first moment I'd caught her scent last week. I gritted my teeth together and tried to compose myself. â€Å"Get started,† Mr. Banner commanded. It felt like it took every single ounce of self-control that I'd achieved in seventy years of hard work to turn back to the girl, who was staring down at the table, and smile. â€Å"Ladies first, partner?† I offered. She looked up at my expression and her face went blank, her eyes wide. Was there something off in my expression? Was she frightened again? She didn't speak. â€Å"Or, I could start, if you wish,† I said quietly. â€Å"No,† she said, and her face went from white to red again. â€Å"I'll go first.† I stared at the equipment on the table, the battered microscope, the box of slides, rather than watch the blood swirl under her clear skin. I took another quick breath, through my teeth, and winced as the taste made my throat ache. â€Å"Prophase,† she said after a quick examination. She started to remove the slide, though she'd barely examined it. â€Å"Do you mind if I look?† Instinctively – stupidly, as if I were one of her kind – I reached out to stop her hand from removing the slide. For one second, the heat of her skin burned into mine. It was like an electric pulse – surely much hotter than a mere ninety-eight point six degrees. The heat shot through my hand and up my arm. She yanked her hand out from under mine. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I muttered through my clenched teeth. Needing somewhere to look, I grasped the microscope and stared briefly into the eyepiece. She was right. â€Å"Prophase,† I agreed. I was still too unsettled to look at her. Breathing as quietly as I could through my gritted teeth and trying to ignore the fiery thirst, I concentrated on the simple assignment, writing the word on the appropriate line on the lab sheet, and then switching out the first slide for the next. What was she thinking now? What had that felt like to her, when I had touched her hand? My skin must have been ice cold – repulsive. No wonder she was so quiet. I glanced at the slide. â€Å"Anaphase,† I said to myself as I wrote it on the second line. â€Å"May I?† she asked. I looked up at her, surprised to see that she was waiting expectantly, one hand half-stretched toward the microscope. She didn't look afraid. Did she really think I'd gotten the answer wrong? I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on her face as I slid the microscope toward her. She stared into the eyepiece with an eagerness that quickly faded. The corners of her mouth turned down. â€Å"Slide three?† she asked, not looking up from the microscope, but holding out her hand. I dropped the next slide into her hand, not letting my skin come anywhere close to hers this time. Sitting beside her was like sitting next to a heat lamp. I could feel myself warming slightly to the higher temperature. She did not look at the slide for long. â€Å"Interphase,† she said nonchalantly – perhaps trying a little too hard to sound that way – and pushed the microscope to me. She did not touch the paper, but waited for me to write the answer. I checked – she was correct again. We finished this way, speaking one word at a time and never meeting each other's eyes. We were the only ones done – the others in the class were having a harder time with the lab. Mike Newton seemed to be having trouble concentrating – he was trying to watch Bella and me. Wish he'd stayed wherever he went, Mike thought, eyeing me sulfurously. Hmm, interesting. I hadn't realized the boy harbored any ill will towards me. This was a new development, about as recent as the girl's arrival it seemed. Even more interesting, I found – to my surprise – that the feeling was mutual. I looked down at the girl again, bemused by the wide range of havoc and upheaval that, despite her ordinary, unthreatening appearance, she was wreaking on my life. It wasn't that I couldn't see what Mike was going on about. She was actually rather pretty†¦in an unusual way. Better than being beautiful, her face was interesting. Not quite symmetrical – her narrow chin out of balance with her wide cheekbones; extreme in the coloring – the light and dark contrast of her skin and her hair; and then there were the eyes, brimming over with silent secrets†¦ Eyes that were suddenly boring into mine. I stared back at her, trying to guess even one of those secrets. â€Å"Did you get contacts?† she asked abruptly. What a strange question. â€Å"No.† I almost smiled at the idea of improving my eyesight. â€Å"Oh,† she mumbled. â€Å"I thought there was something different about your eyes.† I felt suddenly colder again as I realized that I was apparently not the only one attempting to ferret out secrets today. I shrugged, my shoulders stiff, and glared straight ahead to where the teacher was making his rounds. Of course there was something different about my eyes since the last time she'd stared into them. To prepare myself for today's ordeal, today's temptation, I'd spent the entire weekend hunting, satiating my thirst as much as possible, overdoing it really. I'd glutted myself on the blood of animals, not that it made much difference in the face of the outrageous flavor floating on the air around her. When I'd glared at her last, my eyes had been black with thirst. Now, my body swimming with blood, my eyes were a warmer gold. Light amber from my excessive attempt at thirst-quenching. Another slip. If I'd seen what she'd meant with her question, I could have just told her yes. I'd sat beside humans for two years now at this school, and she was the first to examine me closely enough to note the change in my eye color. The others, while admiring the beauty of my family, tended to look down quickly when we returned their stares. They shied away, blocking the details of our appearances in an instinctive endeavor to keep themselves from understanding. Ignorance was bliss to the human mind. Why did it have to be this girl who would see too much? Mr. Banner approached our table. I gratefully inhaled the gush of clean air he brought with him before it could mix with her scent. â€Å"So, Edward,† he said, looking over our answers, â€Å"didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?† â€Å"Bella,† I corrected him reflexively. â€Å"Actually, she identified three of the five.† Mr. Banner's thoughts were skeptical as he turned to look at the girl. â€Å"Have you done this lab before?† I watched, engrossed, as she smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. â€Å"Not with onion root.† â€Å"Whitefish blastula?† Mr. Banner probed. â€Å"Yeah.† This surprised him. Today's lab was something he'd pulled from a more advanced course. He nodded thoughtfully at the girl. â€Å"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?† â€Å"Yes.† She was advanced then, intelligent for a human. This did not surprise me. â€Å"Well,† Mr. Banner said, pursing his lips. â€Å"I guess it's good you two are lab partners.† He turned and walked away mumbling, â€Å"So the other kids can get a chance to learn something for themselves,† under his breath. I doubted the girl could hear that. She began scrawling loops across her folder again. Two slips so far in one half hour. A very poor showing on my part. Though I had no idea at all what the girl thought of me – how much did she fear, how much did she suspect? – I knew I needed to put forth a better effort to leave her with a new impression of me. Something to better drown her memories of our ferocious last encounter. â€Å"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?† I said, repeating the small talk that I'd heard a dozen students discuss already. A boring, standard topic of conversation. The weather – always safe. She stared at me with obvious doubt in her eyes – an abnormal reaction to my very normal words. â€Å"Not really,† she said, surprising me again. I tried to steer the conversation back to trite paths. She was from a much brighter, warmer place – her skin seemed to reflect that somehow, despite its fairness – and the cold must make her uncomfortable. My icy touch certainly had†¦ â€Å"You don't like the cold,† I guessed. â€Å"Or the wet,† she agreed. â€Å"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live.† Perhaps you should not have come here, I wanted to add. Perhaps you should go back where you belong. I wasn't sure I wanted that, though. I would always remember the scent of her blood – was there any guarantee that I wouldn't eventually follow after her? Besides, if she left, her mind would forever remain a mystery. A constant, nagging puzzle. â€Å"You have no idea,† she said in a low voice, glowering past me for a moment. Her answers were never what I expected. They made me want to ask more questions. â€Å"Why did you come here, then?† I demanded, realizing instantly that my tone was too accusatory, not casual enough for the conversation. The question sounded rude, prying. â€Å"It's†¦complicated.† She blinked her wide eyes, leaving it at that, and I nearly imploded out of curiosity – the curiosity burned as hot as the thirst in my throat. Actually, I found that it was getting slightly easier to breathe; the agony was becoming more bearable through familiarity. â€Å"I think I can keep up,† I insisted. Perhaps common courtesy would keep her answering my questions as long as I was rude enough to ask them. She stared down silently at her hands. This made me impatient; I wanted to put my hand under her chin and tilt her head up so that I could read her eyes. But it would be foolish of me – dangerous – to touch her skin again. She looked up suddenly. It was a relief to be able to see the emotions in her eyes again. She spoke in a rush, hurrying through the words. â€Å"My mother got remarried.† Ah, this was human enough, easy to understand. Sadness passed through her clear eyes and brought the pucker back between them. â€Å"That doesn't sound so complex,† I said. My voice was gentle without my working to make it that way. Her sadness left me feeling oddly helpless, wishing there was something I could do to make her feel better. A strange impulse. â€Å"When did that happen?† â€Å"Last September.† She exhaled heavily – not quite a sigh. I held my breath as her warm breath brushed my face. â€Å"And you don't like him,† I guessed, fishing for more information. â€Å"No, Phil is fine,† she said, correcting my assumption. There was a hint of a smile now around the corners of her full lips. â€Å"Too young, maybe, but nice enough.† This didn't fit with the scenario I'd been constructing in my head. â€Å"Why didn't you stay with them?† I asked, my voice a little too curious. It sounded like I was being nosy. Which I was, admittedly. â€Å"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living.† The little smile grew more pronounced; this career choice amused her. I smiled, too, without choosing to. I wasn't trying to make her feel at ease. Her smile just made me want to smile in response – to be in on the secret. â€Å"Have I heard of him?† I ran through the rosters of professional ball players in my head, wondering which Phil was hers†¦ â€Å"Probably not. He doesn't play well.† Another smile. â€Å"Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot.† The rosters in my head shifted instantly, and I'd tabulated a list of possibilities in less than a second. At the same time, I was imagining the new scenario. â€Å"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him,† I said. Making assumptions seemed to get more information out of her than questions did. It worked again. Her chin jutted out, and her expression was suddenly stubborn. â€Å"No, she did not send me here,† she said, and her voice had a new, hard edge to it. My assumption had upset her, though I couldn't quite see how. â€Å"I sent myself.† I could not guess at her meaning, or the source behind her pique. I was entirely lost. So I gave up. There was just no making sense of the girl. She wasn't like other humans. Maybe the silence of her thoughts and the perfume of her scent were not the only unusual things about her. â€Å"I don't understand,† I admitted, hating to concede. She sighed, and stared into my eyes for longer than most normal humans were able to stand. â€Å"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him,† she explained slowly, her tone growing more forlorn with each word. â€Å"It made her unhappy†¦so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.† The tiny pucker between her eyes deepened. â€Å"But now you're unhappy,† I murmured. I couldn't seem to stop speaking my hypotheses aloud, hoping to learn from her reactions. This one, however, did not seem as far off the mark. â€Å"And?† she said, as if this was not even an aspect to be considered. I continued to stare into her eyes, feeling that I'd finally gotten my first real glimpse into her soul. I saw in that one word where she ranked herself among her own priorities. Unlike most humans, her own needs were far down the list. She was selfless. As I saw this, the mystery of the person hiding inside this quiet mind began to thin a little. â€Å"That doesn't seem fair,† I said. I shrugged, trying to seem casual, trying to conceal the intensity of my curiosity. She laughed, but there was no amusement the sound. â€Å"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair.† I wanted to laugh at her words, though I, too, felt no real amusement. I knew a little something about the unfairness of life. â€Å"I believe I have heard that somewhere before.† She stared back at me, seeming confused again. Her eyes flickered away, and then came back to mine. â€Å"So that's all,† she told me. But I was not ready to let this conversation end. The little V between her eyes, a remnant of her sorrow, bothered me. I wanted to smooth it away with my fingertip. But, of course, I could not touch her. It was unsafe in so many ways. â€Å"You put on a good show.† I spoke slowly, still considering this next hypothesis. â€Å"But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see.† She made a face, her eyes narrowing and her mouth twisting into a lopsided pout, and she looked back towards the front of the class. She didn't like it when I guessed right. She wasn't the average martyr – she didn't want an audience to her pain. â€Å"Am I wrong?† She flinched slightly, but otherwise pretended not to hear me. That made me smile. â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Why does it matter to you?† she demanded, still staring away. â€Å"That's a very good question,† I admitted, more to myself than to answer her. Her discernment was better than mine – she saw right to the core of things while I floundered around the edges, sifting blindly through clues. The details of her very human life should not matter to me. It was wrong for me to care what she thought. Beyond protecting my family from suspicion, human thoughts were not significant. I was not used to being the less intuitive of any pairing. I relied on my extra hearing too much – I clearly was not as perceptive as I gave myself credit for. The girl sighed and glowered toward the front of the classroom. Something about her frustrated expression was humorous. The whole situation, the whole conversation was humorous. No one had ever been in more danger from me than this little girl – at any moment I might, distracted by my ridiculous absorption in the conversation, inhale through my nose and attack her before I could stop myself – and she was irritated because I hadn't answered her question. â€Å"Am I annoying you?† I asked, smiling at the absurdity of it all. She glanced at me quickly, and then her eyes seemed to get trapped by my gaze. â€Å"Not exactly,† she told me. â€Å"I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read – my mother always calls me her open book.† She frowned, disgruntled. I stared at her in amazement. The reason she was upset was because she thought I saw through her too easily. How bizarre. I'd never expended so much effort to understand someone in all my life – or rather existence, as life was hardly the right word. I did not truly have a life. â€Å"On the contrary,† I disagreed, feeling strangely†¦wary, as if there were some hidden danger here that I was failing to see. I was suddenly on edge, the premonition making me anxious. â€Å"I find you very difficult to read.† â€Å"You must be a good reader then,† she guessed, making her own assumption that was, again, right on target. â€Å"Usually,† I agreed. I smiled at her widely then, letting my lips pull back to expose the rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth behind them. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was abruptly, unexpectedly desperate to get some kind of warning through to the girl. Her body was closer to me than before, having shifted unconsciously in the course of our conversation. All the little markers and signs that were sufficient to scare off the rest of humanity did not seem to be working on her. Why did she not cringe away from me in terror? Surely she had seen enough of my darker side to realize the danger, intuitive as she seemed to be. I didn't get to see if my warning had the intended effect. Mr. Banner called for the class's attention just then, and she turned away from me at once. She seemed a little relieved for the interruption, so maybe she understood unconsciously. I hoped she did. I recognized the fascination growing inside me, even as I tried to root it out. I could not afford to find Bella Swan interesting. Or rather, she could not afford that. Already, I was anxious for another chance to talk to her. I wanted to know more about her mother, her life before she came here, her relationship with her father. All the meaningless details that would flesh out her character further. But every second I spent with her was a mistake, a risk she shouldn't have to take. Absentmindedly, she tossed her thick hair just at the moment that I allowed myself another breath. A particularly concentrated wave of her scent hit the back of my throat. It was like the first day – like the wrecking ball. The pain of the burning dryness made me dizzy. I had to grasp the table again to keep myself in my seat. This time I had slightly more control. I didn't break anything, at least. The monster growled inside me, but took no pleasure in my pain. He was too tightly bound. For the moment. I stopped breathing altogether, and leaned as far from the girl as I could. No, I could not afford to find her fascinating. The more interesting I found her, the more likely it was that I would kill her. I'd already made two minor slips today. Would I make a third, one that was not minor? As soon as the bell sounded, I fled from the classroom – probably destroying whatever impression of politeness I'd halfway constructed in the course of the hour. Again, I gasped at the clean, wet air outside like it was a healing attar. I hurried to put as much distance between myself and the girl as was possible. Emmett waited for me outside the door of our Spanish class. He read my wild expression for a moment. How did it go? he wondered warily. â€Å"Nobody died,† I mumbled. I guess that's something. When I saw Alice ditching there at the end, I thought†¦ As we walked into the classroom, I saw his memory from just a few moments ago, seen through the open door of his last class: Alice walking briskly and blank-faced across the grounds toward the science building. I felt his remembered urge to get up and join her, and then his decision to stay. If Alice needed his help, she would ask†¦ I closed my eyes in horror and disgust as I slumped into my seat. â€Å"I hadn't realized that it was that close. I didn't think I was going to†¦I didn't see that it was that bad,† I whispered. It wasn't, he reassured me. Nobody died, right? â€Å"Right,† I said through my teeth. â€Å"Not this time.† Maybe it will get easier. â€Å"Sure.† Or, maybe you kill her. He shrugged. You wouldn't be the first one to mess up. No one would judge you too harshly. Sometimes a person just smells too good. I'm impressed you've lasted this long. â€Å"Not helping, Emmett.† I was revolted by his acceptance of the idea that I would kill the girl, that this was somehow inevitable. Was it her fault that she smelled so good? I know when it happened to me†¦, he reminisced, taking me back with him half a century, to a country lane at dusk, where a middle-aged women was taking her dried sheets down from a line strung between apple trees. The scent of apples hung heavy in the air – the harvest was over and the rejected fruits were scattered on the ground, the bruises in their skin leaking their fragrance out in thick clouds. A fresh-mowed field of hay was a background to that scent, a harmony. He walked up the lane, all.