Hello everyone! I came up with this story while sitting in the Barnes & Noble café in Union Square and decided to post it. Please read, review, and enjoy! The playlist for this story is located on my profile. Please take a listen!
Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Everything else is property of Stephenie Meyer.
..Bella's POV…
My chin rested on the open window as I let the warm breeze wash over my face, blowing my hair out in all different directions. My eyes were drying out from being open with the wind rushing right into them. Everything was a big blur, not just because the car was moving fast, but also because I had removed my glasses. I was completely useless without them since I had possibly the worst eyesight ever. Ever since I was a kid I've had ridiculous glasses with lenses as thick as coke bottle caps. It was embarrassing, but necessary. I was currently sitting in the back of the station wagon owned by my mother and her husband, Phil. The whole trunk was packed full of boxes and we had a rented U-Haul trailer attached to the back filled with more boxes. Currently, we were somewhere in the state of New Jersey and I sighed in relief that I wouldn't have to sit back here for much longer. I was starting my first year of college at New York University and I couldn't be happier about getting as far away as possible from Phoenix. I looked as moving to New York City as a fresh start. I wouldn't know anyone and they wouldn't know me, thank God. Maybe now I'd have the opportunity to make some friends.
"Bella, Look! The New York City skyline!" my mother, Renee exclaimed loudly over the rushing wind. I opened my eyes and quickly put my glasses back on and sure enough, there it was.
"Finally," I whispered to myself. I had never been to New York and I was excited that I was about to be living there and going to school. I looked at this as a new beginning. My life hadn't fully started until this moment. Twenty minutes later we were driving through the Lincoln Tunnel and I was getting antsy. We were so close and I was bursting at the seams with excitement. Once we were out of the tunnel, I practically hung my head out the window, trying to take everything in.
"Damn cab drivers!" Phil mumbled, stopping short. The GPS was on, giving directions to my dorm room and Phil drove cautiously, and gripping the steering wheel tightly in fright at the way people were honking at him and driving like maniacs. Luckily, we made it to my dorm unscathed and even found a parking spot right out front. My dorm room was right in Union Square and it was bustling with life. I got out of the car and stretched, taking in my surroundings.
"Oh dear, Bella. I think they definitely put you in the right dorm!" Renee said, pointing to the right. I looked at where she was pointing and almost fainted. A Barnes & Noble with five floors! I was officially in heaven and trying not to hyperventilate. I guess you could say I was sort of a nerd and a loner. My only friends were the characters in the books I read.
"Come on! Let's go check out your dorm and move all your stuff in," Phil suggested.
"We can explore later." We went inside and checked in. The security at the front desk handed me my room key and told us where to go. Seven floors up the elevator and we were on my floor. It was crowded with students and parents moving in. I found my room and saw the door was already open, the girl who I'm guessing was my roommate, and her parents setting up her things.
"Um, hi. I think this is my room," I said shyly, stepping through the doorway. The girl and her parents looked up at us.
"Are you Isabella Swan?" she asked and I nodded.
"Then you're in the right place. I'm Jessica Stanley," the girl said as she got up and shook my hand. She was obviously the complete opposite of me. She was tan, had long dirty blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail and she wore short shirts and a tight tank top. She was built like an athlete and I guessed she was going to be playing some sort of sport. I guessed right as I looked on her bed and saw a volleyball.
"Bella," I said softly. "This is my mom, Renee and my step-father, Phil." Once we were all introduced, I went back downstairs with Renee and Phil and started bringing my things up to the room. It took about ten trips in total and we were all sweating by the end.
"So Jessica, where are you from?" my mother asked my roommate as we started to unpack my belongings.
"Daytona Beach. What about you, Bella?" she asked me.
"Phoenix," I answered.
"Really? Aren't people from Arizona supposed to be like, tan?" she asked.
"Yeah… I guess that's why they kicked me out," I deadpanned and Jessica laughed. I gave myself a mental pat on the back from actually making someone laugh at my corny joke.
"What's your major, Bella?"
"English. You?"
"I'm here on a volleyball scholarship, but my major is business."
We all made small talk throughout the unpacking until we were all so hungry that we needed a break. After a quick bite to eat with my mom and Phil at the diner a few doors down from me, they came back and hooked up my computer and helped put the rest of my stuff away. Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye.
"Thank you for driving me," I said as my mother squeezed me tightly while crying her eyes out.
"My baby's in college!" she wailed. I almost started to cry myself, but kept it together. After Phil pried my mother off of me, he gave me a big hug and slipped something into my hand. I looked down and saw it was a can of pepper spray.
"Your dad told me to get you one. He's a cop through and through," he chuckled. "Be careful, Bells. You can call us anytime you want."
"And if you EVER want to come home, we will come pick you up in a heartbeat!" my mother cried.
"Mom, I'll be fine. I promise."
After a million hugs, kisses, and "I love you's," Renee and Phil left. I stared around my dorm and tried to figure out what I should do first. Jessica was still not back from dinner with her parents and it was still fairly early for a Saturday night. I grabbed my class schedule and decided to go to Barnes & Noble to by my textbooks. As I stepped out onto the sidewalk, I looked around and smiled. This was my life now. While everyone I went to high school with was stuck at community colleges in Phoenix or other universities close by, I was here in New York. I was giddy. Once I got to Barnes & Noble, I went to the customer service desk since I had no idea where to buy my books.
"Excuse me," I asked the girl behind the counter. "I'm a student at NYU and I was wondering where I could find my textbooks."
"Third floor," she said. I thanked her and took the escalators up to the third floor. Once I walked past the café, I saw that the textbooks were in the back. After finding my Math and Literature ones, I made my way to the science section. I was not happy about taking science, but a semester of it was required for all majors. I chose Biology since I took it in high school. Only problem was, there were so many Biology textbooks for the same course numbered class I was taking. Which one do I get?
"Need help?" a smooth, beautiful, male voice asked from behind me. I jumped slightly before turning around. I looked up meeting the most amazing pair of Emerald green eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't look away if I tried. "Are you OK?" he asked once I didn't answer. I shook my head, clearing my foggy brain before saying that I was fine.
"Do you work here?" I asked the beautiful stranger. I took a good look at all of him and decided that he was hands down the most glorious creation ever to walk the earth. In addition to his green eyes, he had silky looking copper hair that stuck up uncontrollably, giving him a relaxed look, smooth skin with a little bit of stubble, a perfect sloping nose and full lips that curved up into a crooked smile, showing off his straight, white teeth. He was tall, about 6'1" and had a lean, but muscular frame. All in all, he was a Greek God. I was convinced.
"Work here? Nah. Just buying my textbooks. Same as you," he said. "So do you need help?"
"Um, yes please," I said, still trying to lift my jaw off the floor and calm my racing heart. I must have looked like the biggest idiot in history.
"Let me see your schedule," he said and I handed it to him. He looked it over and smiled.
"We have Biology together. Lab and lecture." Inside, my unruly teenager started doing back flips and throwing herself a party, but I mumbled a "cool" to him. He looked at the shelves in front of us and pulled the book off the shelf.
"Thank you so much," I said, taking the book from him.
"It's no problem, Isabella Swan," he said and I gaped at him, wondering how he knew my name. He chuckled and waved my schedule in front of my face. Oh, of course. My class schedule had my name on it. You're such an idiot, Bella. "I'm Edward Cullen," he introduced himself, holding out his hand for me to shake. I placed my hand in his and gasped at the electric current that passed between us. He didn't react so I guessed I was the only one who felt it. It was probably just a shock. I let go and he smiled at amazing crooked smile again.
"Nice to meet you. Please call me Bella. I hate the name Isabella," I said.
"All right, Bella. Nice to meet you too," he said and handed me back my schedule before grabbing the same book for himself. "So, you new to NYU?" he asked. I nodded.
"Freshman," I said. "You?"
"Junior. Pre-med. I kept putting off taking this class for the past two years, but my advisor finally made me take it. What's your major?" he asked.
"English. I have to take this as a requirement," I told him. He opened his mouth to say something when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw my roommate, Jessica, staring at me, and then at Edward. Her eyes lit up and she sauntered over, trying to look like a runway model.
"Hey, Bella. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" she asked, still not taking her eyes off of Edward.
"Jessica this is Edward. Edward this is my roommate Jessica," I said quietly. Jessica batted her eyelashes and held her hand out for him to shake.
"Nice to meet you, Edward," she said huskily. He took her hand and shook it.
"You too, Jessica," he replied before taking his hand back. "Well I should get going. See you Monday morning, Bella," he said, looking at me and smiling.
"Yeah, Monday. See you," I sputtered out and he walked away with a wave to both of us.
"Oh my GOD! He's so gorgeous! Hook me up with him!" Jessica said to me.
"I don't even know him," I said.
"So get to know him! You have class with him obviously since he said he'd see you on Monday. Talk to him about me and set us up!" she said and smiled at me.
"I'll do my best, Jess," I promised, but not really meaning it. I'm sure Edward would be interested in Jessica without my help. She was everything I wasn't. I was short and too thin with no boobs, no tan, and thick, ugly glasses. I didn't wear makeup or tight clothes and definitely wasn't confident. I was extremely clumsy. Edward would be better off with Jessica or someone like her. Jessica and I picked out the rest of our books before paying and making our way back to our dorm room.
"God I cannot get over how gorgeous Edward is! I hope I have a class with him!" Jessica prattled on.
"He's a pre-med student and he's a junior," I told her and she looked put out.
"Damn. That's too bad. Oh well! Good thing you have a class with him! I have a connection to him now!" I nodded and put my newly purchased books on my desk, arranging them in the order I had my classes. "So it's Saturday night in New York City and we're sitting in our dorm room. Let's go out!" Jessica suggested.
"Out? To a bar? I can't. I'm not twenty-one yet. Heck, I'm not even eighteen yet!" I exclaimed.
"You're not eighteen?" she asked me, confused.
"I'll be eighteen next month," I said.
"Well, we don't have to go to a bar. Let's go explore the city!"
"Um, I don't know. I don't know my way around at all. I don't want to get lost," I said.
"I have a map, Bella. We'll be fine!" Say yes, Bella. You had no friends at home, now's your chance to make one! Who cares if she's sort of shallow and a little pushy! Everyone has their faults.
"OK. Where should we go?" I asked Jessica clapped her hands together excitedly and signed onto her computer to look up things to do.
"Lets go to Times Square and Rockefeller Center. I've always wanted to see both!" she said and I agreed. We hopped in a cab and were dropped off in Times Square. It was even more amazing than I imagined. Both of us were snapping pictures and looking around wide-eyed at all the lights and TV screens.
"Look! It's MTV!" Jessica squealed, pointing out a building with floor to ceiling windows. "OK let's go to Rockefeller Center. We can walk there. My GPS says we can walk up 42nd street to 5th Avenue and walk to 50th street. Let's do it! All the designer stores are on 5th Avenue!" she exclaimed. Jessica had an iPhone so she had been using the GPS on it to figure out where we had to go. I followed her and we passed Bryant Park taking a few more pictures and we got to 5th Avenue. I almost had a heart attack when I saw the library. I would definitely be making many trips there. As we walked along 5th Avenue, Jessica pointed out all the big designer stores that I knew nothing about since I pretty much just shopped at Target and Old Navy. They were more my price range. Rockefeller Center was beautiful and I couldn't wait to actually see it when they put the tree up around Christmas time. This year, I wouldn't have to watch it on TV. I could actually be in the crowd. We walked back to 6th Avenue and saw Radio City Music Hall before hailing another cab back to our dorm. Both of us were tired from a long day of moving in and unpacking so we said goodnight shortly after walking through the door. Sunday, Jessica went to meet up with the volleyball team for a mandatory first meeting and I went and sat in Union Square Park to read and walk around looking at all the tables set up of people selling everything from artwork to cultural artifacts. As I lye in bed that night I smiled and thought how I would be seeing Edward in just a few short hours. I couldn't wait. Tomorrow was the first day of the rest of my life.
