Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight or any of its characters, Stephenie Meyer does, nor any ideas adopted from Speak.
Drowning Lessons
Chapter One
Dear Laptop.
My name is Bella Swan. You don't know me and I don't know you. This is only a laptop they gave me to make me feel more 'at home' here. I guess I should start off the top.
My parents were killed in an accident involving a drunken logging truck driver and a disastrous camping trip. I won't go into that, though. I don't talk much. It's hard to find the will to speak. And if I did, what is there to talk about?
My new 'parents', Carlisle and Esme Cullen, were two of my dad's best friends. He wanted me to come live with them. Tomorrow is my first day at Forks high school. I hope nobody acknowledges me. I don't want to have to answer them.
I guess that's it for tonight, then.
Bella.
I close the skinny laptop and set it on the smooth mahogany desk. I change into my pajamas quickly and climb into the bed. I can hear Alice and Rosalie chatting from the floor below me. I can hear Emmett and Jasper fighting over the video game system. I can hear Edward listening to Debussy in the next room.
They don't know what it was like to have your life shattered into a million tiny pieces that everyone tries to put back together. Alice tried to be my best friend when I got here. If I hadn't been grieving, I would have loved to talk to her all night and run around town with her and everything.
Emmett tried to be the older brother. He still is, in a way. He won't let anyone pick on me. I tend to make that harder than it needs to be though. I usually wear dark colors a lot, and every day I wore my oversized black hoodie.
Everyone else is sort of distant.
My mind drifts until I black out. I wake the next morning to a beeping alarm clock and a cloudy sky. It matches my mood perfectly. I throw the red comforter off my legs and get out of bed, stumbling on the hem of the gray cotton pants.
Welcome to Forks High.
I walk into my bathroom (I actually have my own bathroom!) and strip. I get under the stream of hot water and take a quick shower before throwing on a pair of jeans and a blue shirt before my hoodie goes over the top. I never bother with makeup but toss on a pair of black sneakers.
I manage to get down the stairs without any injuries. Esme is already out in the kitchen, talking with Alice, Jasper, and Edward. Edward is the first to notice my entrance. He grins crookedly.
I make a genuine effort to smile back, but it falls flat. Alice sees me next, and elbows Jasper. "Hey, Bella! Did you sleep well?"
I nod, and Esme hands me a plate of pancakes. I try to smile, and rasp, "Thank you." The last time I had pancakes was a month before my parents' death, and my mother had accidentally spilled orange juice in the batter.
I sit down at the bar style table and eat my pancakes. It takes about ten minutes for Rosalie and Emmett to come out. I finish shortly after that. Everyone doubles up to leave in their own respective vehicles. I am stuck in the Volvo with Edward.
Bach plays quietly during the silent drive to Forks High. I get out a second before the car fully stops, jumping out and landing with reckless stupidity. Edward frowns at my suicidal antics and escorts me to the office, Alice joining us halfway there.
I am receiving an unfortunately large amount of curious stares. I wedge myself between Alice and Edward during our short walk. We go through the door into the warm of the interior of the office.
I sit in a chair and let Alice grab my schedule for me. She smiles and hands it to me. I try to smile back, but the edges of my lips tremble so much that it doesn't look anything like the warm, friendly smile I am aiming for.
Alice rattles on about how our schedules compare. I had English, Government, Trig, Spanish, lunch, Biology, art, and then P.E.
Alice: I have English, Spanish, Trig, P.E, then lunch, Biology, and Chemistry. So we have English, Trig, and Biology together, but there's lunch, too.
Me:
Alice: We also have Trig with Rose, and you have Spanish with Emmett, Government with Jasper, and Biology with Edward and I.
Me:
We walk out the door and back towards our first class. Mr. Whatshisname tells me to take a seat. I scan the reading list. I remember a time when I used to love reading. No! Bad thoughts!
Back to reading list. Basic. Lots of Shakespeare. None of the Bronte sisters as I had hoped. Mr. Whatshisname drones on and on and on and on and on.
I get lost on my way to Government and get stuck in the rain. I make it to building six and earn my first demerit for wandering the halls. I miss all of Government (I'm certainly not complaining) and sprint to Trig to make up for lost time.
Mr. Whatshisface makes me introduce myself. I mutter and stumble and turn bright red. I take a seat in the back and copy the problems from the board. I'm not bad at math. I scored top of my class last year. But Trig? Just kill me now. I make a valiant attempt at doing the problems. The bell rings and I leave, now to español.
Lunch is Killer.
I don't pay attention in Spanish. The bell rings and I run to lunch. I only trip twice. The school lunch today is some sort of mush covered in pasty, white-ish goo with a side of mashed potatoes. I puke a bit into my mouth and grab an apple.
I see the Cullens and walk over, trying to ignore the stares and whispers…wind whistles through the trees outside, moving the trees, blowing off the red leaves and making a stark contrast against the gray sky. Clouds boil over each other, spilling rain as I take a seat at the edge of the table.
Alice scoots toward me and begins talking.
Alice: Hey Bella! How has your day been? You have Bio next, right? Edward and I do too! And then…art, right? You'll totally like Mr. Freeman. He's so cool!
Me:
Alice: Last year we all made a huge sculpture out of newspaper and duct tape. He never does the same thing twice. The year before that, when I was a freshman, he had everybody get into groups of five and spray paint one wall of his classroom, the group who made the best mural got an automatic A+. Everyone got As though.
Me:
I take a bite of my apple. They resume chatter. The bell rings. Alice and Edward walk me to Biology. Mr. Idon'tlikeyoubecauseyou'reahighschoolstudent, passes out slides. I'm stuck with Edward for a partner. We're done before anyone else. No talking. Quiet now, class. Shh, everyone. Are you done yet? Hurry up, now.
I pull out my ipod and stuff the ear buds into my ears and hit play. A musique calme de Parc de Linkin. Linkin Park. I should transfer to French. I can already speak it well enough.
Mr. Idon'tlikeyoubecauseyou'reahighschoolstudent shows the class the slides and all that crap. Boring. He doesn't notice my ipod. I take a nap. The bell pulls me out of my stupor. Edward gives me directions to the art room. I'm late.
Mr. Freeman: Ah, you must be Isabella. Do you go by another name? Izzy? Bella?
Me: Bella.
Mr. Freeman: Great. Here.
He holds out a bucket full of paper scraps. I grab one. Tree.
Mr. Freeman: You will spend the rest of the year making this into a piece of art. It has to say something though. Speak to everyone who looks at it. Enjoy.
I grab a sheet of paper and a pencil. I used to like drawing. I sketched what I saw, just like I saw it. Even though it wasn't very good. I draw a rectangle for a trunk. Dozens of skinny branches popping from the top. I don't know what it's supposed to be. It doesn't look like a tree; it looks like a million little pieces of shattered glass. A tree that's been chopped up and rearranged to fit someone's idea of a tree.
It looks like a tree that's been forced to mutate. The bell rings. I shove the sketch into my bag and jog to P.E. Ms. Coach tells us to watch while some of the students on the varsity volleyball team demonstrate how to hit the ball. I zone out.