A/N: This is my first fanfic, so it's probably terrible, but go easy on me! This chapter's kind of boring, but I wanted to show what Bella's life in Phoenix is like, and it's pretty boring. I promise it'll be more exciting later on!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters (except Jen!) or twilight, smeyer does. But I get to play with them!
Chapter 1: The Big Move
This was it. I was finally off to college and getting out of Phoenix. I'd lived here as long as I could remember with my mother, Rene, and my stepfather, Phil. My father, Charlie, lived in a rainy little town called Forks in Washington, but when my mom left when I was 2 she took me with her. I visited Charlie every summer until I was 10 for 2 weeks. I hated it there; even in mid-July it didn't get past 60. Since then, however, I hadn't left Phoenix. Actually, aside from my two homes, I hadn't been anywhere. I was desperate to see the world, but I knew that I couldn't leave Rene. Someone had to be the adult in the house. Even though she found Phil, he was so young, and had no idea how to run a house.
But, finally, I was leaving. I worked hard in high school to get a scholarship. Unfortunately, the only ones that gave me enough money were Arizona State and Washington State. I got full rides to both because in-state tuition is so much cheaper. Well, I knew I couldn't spend another minute in Arizona. It would kill me to leave Rene and Phil to fend for themselves, but I had to go back to Washington for the first time in 8 years. Of course, Charlie was ecstatic. Even though WSU was all the way on the other side of Washington, I would be closer to him than I had been since I was a child. I, on the other hand, was beginning to think that I was just a ping-pong ball, destined never to leave the only two places I knew.
I looked around my room one final time. It seemed so bare now that everything was packed away. All my pictures were gone, and I suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was leaving everything behind. I was so lost in my thoughts that I jumped as my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. It was my best friend, Jen. I fumbled with my pocket and opened my phone.
"Hey Jen," I said.
"Oh, Bella! I was just packing my stuff and I came across that picture of us from the 6th grade dance! Do you remember?" I could hear the tears welling up in her throat. It was all I could do not to break down. I would miss her so much.
"Of course, Jen, how could I forget? That was the year we both had braces and we were so afraid that none of the boys would dance with us."
"Bella, what am I going to do without you? I'm going to be at State all alone! I can't let you leave me!" she was sobbing now, and my eyes welled up.
"You won't be alone, Jen" I sniffed. "Half of our class will be as ASU with you. And you're rooming with Alix. Trust me, you'll be fine."
"You're right, like always. But I'm just going to miss you so much!" she replied.
"I know, I'm going to be a wreck without my bestie. But Jen, I gotta get these last boxes in my car. When are you coming over? I don't want to be up too late, if we want to make good time we're going to have to get up early."
"Well, I promised my mom I'd have dinner with her before I go, so I'll come over around eight?"
"Sounds great. I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
I have to admit, I was a little bit shocked that Jen was getting so emotional now. Tomorrow we're going to take a road trip up to Washington so I could have my car and get my stuff up without having to ship it. But I guess it is just like her to overreact a week before I have to say goodbye until Christmas. I suddenly felt tears streaming down my face. Even though I was excited to see a (somewhat) new place, I was really going to miss Phoenix. There were so many things I loved here: I loved my house and my grassless yard full of cacti; I loved my mom and Phil and having to cook for them every night; and I loved my friends, especially Jen. I wiped my tear-stained cheeks, and grabbed the last two boxes on my floor. I hoisted them into my arms and carried them out to my car, my beautiful red 1953 Chevy truck. I took bungee cords and secured everything in the bed down before running inside to hop in the shower before Rene got home; I couldn't let her see me puffy-eyed, it would just be too much for her.
I let my hair down and turned the shower on. As I stepped in, the hot water relaxed me and I began to feel good about my decision again. I thought about my years in Phoenix. I was always a slender girl, but never incredibly attractive. I had a few good friends, but was never popular. And no matter how long I stayed out in the sun, I was always pale. Most of the girls here were tan, blonde, and athletic. I was ghostly white, had dark brown hair, and could trip walking barefoot on a flat surface. I just seemed not to fit in here. Maybe at Washington State, I would feel more in place. Surely in such cloudy, rainy place, my paleness wouldn't be a problem. And surely with a population of 17,000 students, I would find at least a couple friends. Plus, I would be close to Charlie, and I did miss him, a lot.
I turned off the shower and toweled off. I dried my hair straight and walked over to my room. I pulled out pretty much the only clothes I had left: a simple white t-shirt and jeans. Just as I was walking out of my room, I heard Rene and Phil walk through the door.
"Bella, honey, I'm starving. What's for dinner?" my mom called up the stairs.
"Um, I was thinking of enchiladas. Does that sound okay?" I said as I walked down.
"Mmm. I've been craving Mexican all day."
I chuckled as a made my way to the kitchen. My mother was still such a kid sometimes. But I really did enjoy cooking for her. I chopped up some cheese, chicken, and jalapenos, and rolled them into tortillas, covering them with red sauce and more cheese. Then I popped them into the oven. I melted some cheese on a plate of chips and brought the nachos out to Rene to tide her over until dinner was ready. Then I started on the Mexican rice. We ate dinner; or rather Phil ate dinner, because I could barely get two bites in as Rene tried to convince me for the last time to stay. Before she could start on Round 2, I heard Jen walk through the door. She squeezed me so tight I could hardly breathe and Rene ran to her and lifted her up in a big hug. "At least you're not leaving me Jenny. Tell me you'll come visit."
"Obviously, Rene." Jen giggled. "And you better come see my dorm room and party with Alix and me!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I was coming back, after all. It's not like I was shipping off to Iraq, or like I would suddenly fall in love with Washington. After having Rene and Jen gang up on me, Phil came in and saved me.
"Girls," he said, "I know you want to keep Bella, but if you're going to be driving at the crack of dawn, you need some rest."
"You're right, Phil." I threw him a grateful glance, "Come on Jen, let's get up to bed."
So that's it for now, but Chapter 2: Road Trip! should be up soon. Some constructive criticism would be nice!
