"We're almost home," Esme buzzed with excitement, jumping slightly in the passenger seat.
I took notice of the deep and aquatic greens whipping past us in a blur with great speculation. "Forks," I tested. "Home sweet home."
Have you ever wished that you had been warned about something? Not necessarily in a bad, foreboding way, but to let you know something great is about to happen to you; a warning to allow you to really cherish something you'll look back on forever. I wish I'd had one for Forks, Washington. This was never the plan for life, but I guess you never really can plan life, can you?
Despite my wish for warning, if I had to...I'd do it all again.
Two days of unpacking my life's belongings and setting up my new room brought me Monday morning - my first day at Forks High School. I was one of the first to arrive in the designated student lot, securing a spot up front near the entrance. My first meeting was with my student-assigned tour guide. At 6'3" with hulking muscles and a mischievous air, he looked to be more of a football god than a student government officiant.
"You're my guide?" I wondered skeptically. Despite my first impression, his easy smile and friendly demeanor were disarming in the best way.
"Sure am. Student body vice-president at your service," he fake saluted me. His stiff hand was brought down for a shake, and I took it with only mild hesitance. "Emmett McCarty," he offered.
Emmett took me down each wing of the school, making sure to point out the rooms that I had classes in. After the tour of the halls, he brought me by the deep lunchroom that was filled with an abundance of faux-woodgrain lunch tables and short stools.
"We have the same lunch," Emmett figured, checking my schedule. "You can sit with my crew if you want." His giant hand hit my back in a friendly manner and I smiled gratefully.
We circled our way back to the front office where he dropped me off with a quick goodbye. I followed his path with my eyes as he met up with a golden-haired girl that was of the same height, their lips meeting with a quick kiss. I tore my gaze away and took a deep breath before setting off for first period English.
My first and second class breezed by without much fanfare; mostly people stared, but no introductions were made except for one annoying dog of a boy-man named Michael Newton. "But I prefer Mike," he made sure to tell me. Against my hopes, he was in every class of mine but one - Anatomy. My third period was Gym and was blissfully before lunch.
The boys' gym teacher, Coach Clapp, explained that we could have the first day without dressing in our standard Forks High-issued uniforms, and herded us outside to the baseball field bleachers where the girls' class was already seated.
Due to my lack of familiarity with anyone but Michael "Mike" Newton, I followed him to the shiny top tier, plopping down with him and a stranger guy with greasy brown hair and an equally slimy grin. His name - Tyler Crowley, "pussy extraordinaire."
There were a few minutes of talk as everyone reacquainted themselves with friends, until suddenly a sort of hush fell over the crowd, every eye locked in mesmerization as one last girl made her way toward the bleacher seats.
She was wrapped in a classic white t-shirt, her hips swirling about her pleated plaid skirt with every sway; a flannel shirt was tied around her hips haphazardly, a forethought possession for the erratic Forks weather. Skin, so fair like white opal, glinted despite the lack of sunshine, but her face was the most interesting, most appealing thing about her.
"Oh fuck yeah. Now the school year has officially begun."
Involuntarily, I contributed to Tyler. "What?"
He smiled over at me, his trademark slimy smirk. "I'll fill you in at lunch, my new friend."
The fascinating girl climbed the shiny steps, not outwardly reacting to the odd attention she was receiving from both student and teacher alike. She came close to the top, where we three sat, and rooted herself next to a little waify girl who immediately linked her arm through the beautiful brunette's. Coach Clapp called attention to us with a piercing whistle, and at the last second, I recognized Emmett's blonde love interest huddled close to the brunette's other side. A devil's trio, I thought right before the brunette perked up and turned to the left, glancing at me for merely a second but affecting me in the biggest way.
A 90's school girl dream with beach hair, cherry red nails, and a plaid outfit that transcended fashion itself, I found her ruby-coated lips enticing rather than reaching as it would have been on any other girl. For the hour period, I studied her beauty and zoned out on gym class rules and regulations.
"She's easily...bored," Mike later regaled me as I sat at his lunch table. His cowl was a special mix of disappointment, longing, and a dash of respect; I found myself wondering about his history with the elusive brunette.
"Bored is an understatement," Tyler interjected with a snort. "Bella gets herself into trouble when she's bored. And more often than not, it's the best kind of trouble if you know what I mean," he added slyly, wagging his eyebrows in a sexually suggestive way. I was mildly intrigued, but there was no chance in hell that I was going to ask.
"Oh please, Crowley," a blonde girl drawled, her only accessory an apple that curiously reminded me of Bella's lips. "Despite how much you want it, Isabella Swan has never and will never give your dick the time of day."
The gulp of water that was halfway down my throat came rushing up in a concentrated burn, scorching my nose and esophagus. Tyler looked immediately ashamed, more so at being called out rather than his hounddog ways.
"I'm pretty sure she's into older dudes anyway," Jessica Stanley - an annoying frizzy-mopped girl with a toothy grin and a penchant for gossip - whispered, leaning close into my personal space.
I subtly shifted to the left, attempting to maintain politeness. "Oh."
"Oh, yeah!" Tyler exclaimed excitedly, leaning close as well so there was a hunched circle of secrets between us.
"She totally stole away her sister's college boyfriend last year. I heard Gianna walked in on Bella and Peter fully going at it in their backyard pool."
Everyone's eyes were alight with gossipy intrigue, their hands clasped in anticipation, hanging on Jessica's every word.
"Gianna's the sister?" I questioned.
Jessica nodded emphatically. "Yeah, so Gianna throat-punched Peter, went back to school in L.A., and has been there ever since."
"Too ashamed to come back," the blonde girl added on.
"Wow," I worded out soundlessly.
"Yeah, so I wouldn't even bother with her." Jessica's suggestion was conspicuously loaded with an ulterior motive.
I glanced over to Bella's table, my head swimming with all the information I'd been fed. Did any of it hold water? The people I was currently surrounded with were quick to talk, and I hadn't heard anything positive from them about Bella except for her looks, which were more or less debasing. I found myself longing to know the real girl, not the rumors.
"Edward!" I shook out of my stupor, staring in surprise at the waiting faces of Mike, Tyler, Jessica, and the blonde.
"What?" I shrugged, embarrassed to have been caught in my daydream.
"Beach party this weekend. You in?"
"Oh," I murmured. I couldn't think of any excuse not to, except for maybe these people were pseudo-assholes and not really the type I wanted to surround myself with, but there was no way I'd say the words out loud so instead, I agreed. "Yeah, sounds good."
"Great," Jessica stretched out with a grin. There was an anticipatory glint in her dull eyes, making my stomach curl.
I was grateful for the sharp ring of the bell, and pulled out my schedule. Anatomy class in the East wing with Dr. Banner. The group of four boneheads walked off in the opposite direction of me with a wave and I let out a breath that had been bottled in my chest since lunch began. Despite all the nasty rumors I had been presented with over the 45-minute course, I left feeling more wary of the group's integrity than Bella Swan's.