Why Me?

Drabble one: Trying new things

My eye twitched as I stared at the food in front of me. I trusted Edward's judgement on what I could eat and what I couldn't... but this was making me skeptical. Edward sat across the booth from me, watching me with curiosity that wasn't shrouded by anything. He had his long pale hands folded under his chin, and his eyebrow was raised in amusement. I scoffed at my food and pushed it away, denying it.

"You need to eat, Bella. You haven't had anything since breakfast." Edward told me, reaching out with one hand to push my plate back in front of me. I looked at it doubtfully. Slowly, I reached up with my finger and poked it. To my utmost disgust, it jiggled. I shoved the plate away again.

Edward frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. I tore my eyes away from the odd specimen of food long enough to stare into Edward's entrancing golden eyes. He stared back, a look of confusion and held back laughter gracing his features. "Did you order something wrong?" he asked, grinning. I snorted and looked back down at my food.

"I don't know what it is." I admitted. It was a small bread-like thing that had a pink shade to the top of it. Another molded part of bread was on the side, dyed green to look like leaves. It sat on top of a warm piece of wax paper. I poked it again, and it squished under the pressure.

"I was told that it was a Dumpling." he told me, watching it with more pleasure in his eyes than me. I knew that it was a dumpling... but I didn't know what it was. "Just try it, Bella." He said. I sighed reluctantly. I never did like trying new things.

Edward had taken me to a Asian restaurant. In an attempt to make me try new things, he had ordered me a wide variety of odd sounding foods starting with this. This... dumpling. I shuddered at the thought of what might be concealed behind its rubbery texture, just waiting for me to unexpectedly take a bite into it. What was Edward thinking?

Slowly, I picked it up off the plate. It squished even more in my hands. I held back the temptation to just drop it. I peeled off the wax paper and tentatively rose it to my mouth. I nibbled a bit from the pink part and watched it as I chewed. I was relieved to find that it was just a plain piece of bread, even if it was the oddest tasting bread I had ever eaten. With relief in my mind, I bit into it farther. Edward watched me in interest.

Then, it hit me. The grueling taste of rancid meat came into my mouth overpowering even the bread. I dropped the dumpling onto my plate in abhorrence. My hands flew to my drink in a pathetic attempt to free myself from the vulgar taste. I swallowed reluctantly and then sucked half of my Coke down. I took a deep breath after I finished chasing down the taste. Even then, it still lingered in my mouth.

Edward, on the other hand, was barely suppressing a roar of laugher. His shoulders shook with his attempt and a grin spread from one ear to the other.

"Don't laugh! That was the most disgusting thing that I have ever tasted in my life!" I scolded him. He tried to put on a straight face for me, but failed miserably. He then burst out in a quiet laugh to avoid the looks of other customers.

"B-but Bella... that was the most classic face I have ever seen you make!" he choked out. He was laughing so hard that I was almost embarrassed. "That was just... That was hilarious!" He let out another loud laugh, this time gaining the gaze of other people. I frowned at him, my cheeks lighting up in response.

"Don't be mad..." he told me, his roaring laugh dying down to a soft chuckle. "I still love you, stupid gestures or not." I smiled softly at him, and he gave me his lopsided grin in response. Now how could I stay mad at that?

"I love you too..." I said quietly, but genuinely. He smiled again, even softer than before; his golden eyes shimmered with admiration. Then, the waitress came bearing yet another plate. This time, the plate that was set in front of me held small golden-brown breaded things. I wrinkled my nose at it skeptically. After the occurrence with the dumpling, I was afraid to try it.

But Edward convinced me to try it.

And I learned the hard way that it was Frog Legs.

End

This drabble was formed by my personal experience with a dumpling. It didn't have meat in it... it was actually a Bean paste, and that wasn't any better, but I just wanted to make sure that it was clear that it's just absolutely a huge surprise when you bite into those things.

Lesson of the Day: Make sure you know what you're eating before you eat it.

Kaytoko