Chapter 1: The Mouse

With great power comes great responsibility.

And with great change comes the great resistance to hurl on one's own shoes. Okay so maybe The Amazing Spiderman comics may have never said that quote exactly but that's what I'm sticking with and Uncle Ben can just deal with it. Or not seeing as he is dead and all. Well whatever. The point is that this year is going to change everything. And upchucking all over my white converse may not be the best outcome but damn it, it seems like the most likely outcome. To say I'm nervous would be a complete understatement.

As of today I, Bella Swan, will be starting my first day of sophomore year at Forks High School. Hold your gasps I know. However let's rewind a bit to see how I actually ended up here.

You see, my parents divorced when I was very young about 5 or so thus for the majority of my life I had been soaking up the sun in Phoenix, Arizona with my mom Renée. Not that you could tell, it's like my skin was immune to a tan keeping me as pale as possible. But regardless my entire childhood was set in one place, a home where I lost all my baby teeth, took ballet lessons despite my debilitating clumsiness and started off freshman year. I never really visited my Dad, Charlie, in the rainy state of Washington because flights were always so expensive and there seemed to be never any time while whisked into my mom's new adventures and plans at every turn.

She was more like a kid than me in that case, full of energy to try and try again. In some ways we were just total opposites. My mom was so outgoing and extroverted she whipped around thoughts and hobbies in a tumble of speed. In contrast I always preferred to stick my nose firmly into my favourite books and tried to keep my mom's head grounded and not floating off into the clouds. From a young age I just knew I had to be the responsible one and in all honesty I fitted into that role as neatly as possible for the sake of Renée.

Guess I just got the 'pragmatic' gene from my Dad and speaking of which though we were still close through phone calls and Skype (even if it was hilariously difficult trying to teach my technologically-challenged Dad how to use it) it wasn't the same as having my Dad with me for that first bike ride or Father's day at elementary school. Hell even to just be in person teaching him how incoming calls on Skype worked. Missing him was a natural feeing of ache in my chest while growing up, always there. There was a part of me that knew that Phoenix, Arizona was somewhat empty, not because my mom never loved or cared for me there but because I was missing something. A side of my family, a side of myself. Thinking to myself then I knew that I wanted more than just a half. I wanted a chance to be more independent too, to make my own story that didn't revolve around taking care of my mom.

So many wild ideas ran through my mind about leaving, getting on a plane to discover it all first-hand but I couldn't tell my mom the truth and break her heart with the distance between us, as she remained all alone. I was always too soft-hearted when it came to Renée either humouring her ideas or being there for her whenever she needed me. However when I saw her finally start over fresh in relationships with heart eyes for her new boyfriend Phil I couldn't help the short burst of hope fizzling in my chest.

Phil Dwyer was a good man on all accounts and he treated my mom right albeit he was quite a lot younger than I felt entirely comfortable with. He travelled so much for work as a minor league baseball player (I still snort imagining how minor league baseball could be so jet setting) and this meant for the first time (so many firsts have been cropping up now) I had a choice.

I could choose a way to get what both my mom and I wanted. Let her pack her suitcases to the brim and overflow onto Phil's life. Be with him and be blissfully in love without having or even needing to lean on me for once. And me? I could fly away to something bigger, to something better.

It all can fall into place.

Tada! Tiny sentimental flashback over and now we remain locked in a battlefield faced with danger at every turn. Or rather I should say pale-faced if my own face is to be brought into the equation. Moving here was hands down the bravest decision I have ever made. I just wish the extra change I had was instead some spare bravery jangling in my pockets to hold on to. Suddenly the urge to just hide out in my beat up red pickup truck seemed so appealing. Turning myself around and getting my numb legs to walk back into the parking lot was a mere survival instinct. For some reason I just convinced myself that stepping through those doors was like triggering a mouse trap, and being slammed shut inside there with no escape was too daunting even for the new brave Bella.

Would I disappoint Charlie if I bunked school? I frowned and my stride slowed into a snail's pace. Ever since our tentative weekend together, after I arrived in the rainy state of Washington at the airport, both of us have been testing the waters so to speak. He gruffly hugged me and through his beard gave me such a genuine smile when I jumped into my red pickup when starting school today. Buying me a car even second-hand so I would have no worries about transport to or from school was a really big gift from him and squandering it, tugging the ends of his smile down filled me with guilt for even considering bunking. Plus I couldn't just hide forever eventually I would have to attend school anyway.

So despite all my self-preservation yelling in my ears, "What are you doing?! Don't go in there!" I was determined not to listen.

Ignoring the slush of water from rolling tyres of incoming cars I gulped down my nerves and walked back towards Forks High School. The concrete path was really damp surrounded by tall deep green trees on either side, the leaves of which were so wet that they drooped down letting water droplets fall onto unsuspecting students' heads. I saw a group of girls huddled under the looming building doors shaking out their umbrellas and giggling. I had to pass them. Ducking my head I let my long straight brown hair cover my face, I felt a twinge of self-consciousness just being in their direction. Hoping that they wouldn't notice I tried to swiftly manoeuvre past.

But in my haste I felt my ankle twist oddly and I tripped over my own feet head on into the gaggle of girls. A high-pitched squeal burst through my eardrums as the girls against me screamed. I tried to readjust myself in my mortification, pushing upwards and away getting back on my feet, but it was too late. I had managed to topple all three of them over and into the wet concrete so they lay before me a throng of mismatched limbs. One girl with light blonde hair with indignation steaming out of her ears raged, "Could you watch where you're going?"

My face immediately flamed and my cheeks went as hot as iron while I stuttered out an apology, "I'm so sorry!" I wanted the ground to literally swallow me whole. One of the girls quickly jumped up and brushed herself off helping the others up too. Before I could make a dash inside she turned to me.

Her glasses had steamed up with the commotion but I'd like to imagine some kindness in her eyes as she smiled at me and assured, "Hey it's okay we didn't know we were blocking the entrance and it's kinda our fault too." She continued, "I'm Angela Webber, this is Lauren Mallory" she gestured towards the blonde girl still giving me the death stare, "and that's Jessica Stanley."

Jessica Stanley had managed to pull out a compact mirror to adjust her brown fringe and barely seemed to pay any attention to us until her name was mentioned, then her eyes quickly darted to me. The minute she analysed my entire face her she lit up in joy. She grabbed Lauren's stiff arm in excitement and said to her, "This is the new girl Lauren don't start off on the wrong foot."

For a second I blanched thinking that if Jessica already knew that I was a new transfer did that mean the rest of the school did too? I shuddered imagining the amount of attention I could draw to myself in this small town by just being new. My nerves starting to rise back up my throat again. I was thrown from my train of thought by Lauren's aggravated reply.

"The only person starting off on the wrong foot here is Ms. Klutz." She huffed. With a toss of her highlighted hair behind her shoulder she stomped into school leaving me open-mouthed. The air, if possible, just got a lot more hostile in her wake transforming the school into something much more intimidating now. Jessica pouted put out before snapping back and smiling at me with all of her perfectly white teeth on display.

She chirps, "Don't take what Lauren says to heart she can be pretty mean." Yeah, I thought, a pretty girl pretty mean? What a revolutionary concept and had to stop myself from physically rolling my eyes. She continued with vigour, this time hanging off of Angela, "So what's your name, new girl? I've heard you're a sophomore like us."

I felt more and more out of my depth as this conversation went on. I couldn't tell if I had made friends with Angela and Jessica or just ruined my reputation already from the first moment of being on the school grounds. I shook off my confusion hoping for the former and answered, "Isabella Swan but just call me Bella, and I am a sophomore."

Angela nodded while Jessica vibrated with this newfound knowledge. She stopped for just a moment to say, "You should totally come sit with us at lunch today! We'll be in the middle-ish of the cafeteria." I briefly hesitated, I didn't particularly want to run into Lauren again. As if noticing my reluctance Jessica pushed more, "You could use some company on your first day, don't worry we don't bite!" I assuaged then because I could use some company on this already tough first day and Angela seemed really welcoming too.

Just then the classic sound of a high school bell rang. I imagined every teenager around palms' going sweaty as they begin to panic as they tried to make it on time to their next lessons. The waves of students rolled through the doors and washed up into the corridors. Watching Angela and Jessica's backs flow with the current inside. Holding onto the straps of my bag I mustered up my courage and too joined the motion, heading off left first to the front desk to collect my academic material as I was sadly late into the semester by two weeks.

A strict receptionist, Mrs Cope with a non-nonsense attitude, handed off a map of the school and a timetable with all my subjects on it to me. Luckily I knew I had taken some AP courses not offered at Forks at my old school so I knew I could catch up easily to the workload here.

Underneath the fluorescent lighting of the corridors and passing past dark blue lockers I could release a sigh of relief. Somehow I had made it. There was still a long way to go until the end of today and until I could gain true independence but I was on the right track. I knew I had made the right decision.

Glancing at my first period I read Biology with Mr Molina and feel even better and this is a subject I genuinely enjoy and understand. Maybe I'll get a chance to sneak a book under my desk and read for a little while.

But after what actually happened in that classroom I realised just how wrong I would be.