TITLE TRANSLATION:
?Eclipse Blessing?;
As in moviemaking, during the process of writing and editing a book, some scenes are cut. This section includes several scenes that were once part of the Twilight Saga. Think of them as similar to the outtakes in the special-features section of a DVD. (Other outtakes and materials are available at www.stepheniemeyer.com.)
?BADMINTON?
This is an outtake from chapter 11 of
I walked into the gym, light-headed, wobbly. I drifted to the locker room, changing in a trancelike state, only vaguely aware that there were other people surrounding me. Reality didn‘t fully set in until I was handed a racket. It wasn‘t heavy, yet it felt very unsafe in my hand. I could see a few of the other kids in class eyeing me furtively. Coach Clapp ordered us to pair up into teams.
Mercifully, some vestiges of Mike‘s chivalry still survived; he came to stand beside me.
?Do you want to be a team?? he asked cheerfully.
?Thanks, Mike — you don‘t have to do this, you know.? I grimaced.
?Don‘t worry, I‘ll keep out of your way.? He grinned. Sometimes it was so easy to be fond of Mike.
It didn‘t go smoothly. I tried to stay clear of Mike so that he could keep the birdie in play, but Coach Clapp came by and ordered him to remain on his side of the court so I could participate. He stayed, watching, to enforce his words.
My racket bounced back from the net with surprising strength, popping out of my hand and glancing off my forehead before whacking Mike in the shoulder as he rushed forward to get the birdie I had completely missed.
With a sigh, I stepped into a more central place on the court, holding my racket upright, if still gingerly. The girl on the other team sneered maliciously as she served the birdie — I must have injured her during the basketball section — lobbing it just a few feet past the net, directly toward me. I sprung gracelessly forward, aiming my swing in the direction of the little rubber pest, but I forgot to take the net into account. My racket bounced back from the net with surprising strength, popping out of my hand and glancing off my forehead before whacking Mike in the shoulder as he rushed forward to get the birdie I had completely missed.
Coach Clapp coughed, or muffled a laugh.
?Sorry, Newton,? he mumbled, ambling away so we could return to our former, less dangerous, positions.
?Are you okay?? Mike asked, massaging his shoulder, just as I was rubbing my forehead.
?Yeah, are you?? I asked meekly, retrieving my weapon.
?I think I‘ll make it.? He swung his arm in a circle, making sure he still had full range of motion.
?I‘ll just stay back here.? I walked to the back corner of the court, holding my racket carefully behind my back.
?EMMETT AND THE BEAR
Originally this piece was to be in the
I was surprised to find a strange kinship growing between myself and Emmett, especially since he had once been the most frightening to me of them all. It had to do with how we had both been chosen to join the family; we‘d both been loved — and had loved in return — while we were human, though very briefly for him. Only Emmett remembered — he alone really understood the miracle that Edward remained to me.
We spoke of it for the first time one evening as the three of us lounged on the light sofas of the front room, Emmett quietly regaling me with memories that were better than fairy tales, while Edward concentrated on the Food Network — he‘d decided he needed to learn to cook, to my disbelief, and it was rough going without the proper sense of taste and smell. After all, there
?He was finished playing with me then, and I knew I was about to die,? Emmett remembered softly, winding up the tale of his human years with the story of the bear. Edward paid us no attention; he‘d heard it before. ?I couldn‘t move, and my consciousness was slipping away, when I heard what I thought was another bear, and a fight — over which would get my carcass, I supposed. Suddenly it felt like I was flying. I figured I‘d died, but I tried to open my eyes anyway. And then I saw
?I‘d had a little too much fun in my twenty human years, so I wasn‘t surprised by the fires of hell.
?I thought what happened next was my judgment. I‘d had a little too much fun in my twenty human years, so I wasn‘t surprised by the fires of hell.? He laughed again, and I shivered; Edward‘s arm tightened around me unconsciously. ?What surprised me was that the angel didn‘t leave. I couldn‘t understand how something so beautiful would be allowed to stay in hell with me — but I was