Forks, Washington wasn't somewhere I ever imagined I'd be living. I was a city girl through and through. I loved the fast pace, the bright lights, and the fact that everything I could ever need or want was within walking distance.
So imagine my disappointment when my parents announced that we'd be moving, to a town I'd never heard of, with a population of just over 3,000, and the closest mall over an hours drive away.
"Can you stop sighing?" My little sister, Avery, snapped as she fiddled with her phone. At thirteen-almost fourteen-, she was just entering the moody, angst-riddled phase of being a teen and she was taking the role very seriously.
"Sorry, wannabe Hayley Williams." I flicked a strand of her choppily cut hair that she'd cut herself in a fit of self-loathing. She glared, batting away my hands and attempting to fix her bangs.
"Girls," My mom sighed from the front passenger seat, twisting her torso to look at us with agitation written clearly across her delicately aged face. "Can you please behave for just a little longer. We're less than an hour away."
"Sorry mom," I smiled apologetically whilst Avery mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'whatever' and shoved her earbuds into her ears. My dad chuckled from the driver's seat and my mom rolled her eyes in exasperation.
The closer we got to Forks, the denser the tree line became until all I could see was green, green, and greener. Buildings became sparse, only one or two popping up each mile. It was as if they'd gone out of their way to purposefully isolate themselves from the rest of the world. A depressing thought really.
'Welcome to Forks,' an ageing wooden sign read as we finally entered the small town named after a utensil. Avery and I looked at each other with a snort of laughter. Really, who in their right mind named a town after cutlery. I wonder if there's a spoon and a knife somewhere.
The two-story colonial style home was quite the picture. It was a fair bit larger than our last home, with a small porch already fitted with a porch swing and several potted plants. The exterior walls were an off-white with deep green accents. The front yard was lovely; plush green grass and a flower bed beside the porch that was home to vibrant, pink tulips.
Inside was already fully furnished and decorated so we only had to take our luggage inside which was harder than it sounded. I alone had four suitcases for my constantly expanding wardrobe, though I knew half of the stuff I'd brought with me could never possibly be worn in this weather. My dad made a show of dragging two of my suitcases behind him and up the porch steps, acting as if they weighed more than a house. I rolled my eyes but could help but follow him with an amused smile, pulling my remaining suitcases along.
My room had originally been the attic so the wooden steps leading up to it were narrow, making our trip a little harder than it should have been. Thankfully, the ceiling wasn't too low and I could stand comfortably without fear of hitting my head. I'd kept my room minimalistic and modern, walls a slate grey and pristine white. The palette bed sat low on the ground, pushed directly against the wall, the grey bed sheets already in place with a furry, white comforter folded over the bottom half. There were small end tables on either side of the bed with a lamp on both and small terrariums containing various succulents. I was pleased to see my vision come to life, the decorators had done a brilliant job.
Dad left me to unpack and I was grateful for the time to spend with my own thoughts. Whilst I placed my clothing in the wardrobe I allowed my mind to drift to those I'd left behind in New York. It had been incredibly hard to say goodbye to my best friend, Rhys, but I'd felt a little better after we promised to skype each other on a weekly basis. It also helped that we had been texting back and forth constantly since she'd waved me and my family off. As if she knew I was thinking of her, my phone vibrated in my pocket with a new message. I pulled it out with a grin that widened upon seeing her name and contact picture.
Rhys: I miss you already. Mom says she'd be happy to have you over winter break as long as its okay with your folks.
I quickly tapped out a reply, letting her know that I missed her too and that I was more than happy to stay with her during the holiday and that I would ask my parents for permission as soon as possible.
We had dinner together that evening, a rare occurrence in our household. Mom was usually at the law firm and Dad at the hospital but they weren't due to start work for another two days. Unfortunately for Avery and I, we had school tomorrow.
"Avery," Mom's tone was chastising, "stop playing with your food and eat it." Avery looked like she was trying very hard not to stick her tongue out and continued to push the vegetables on her plate.
"So, are we excited for school tomorrow?" Dad asked, sounding all too cheerful. I snorted, almost choking on a piece of chicken. Once my throat was clear, I spoke.
"Sure, dad. Nothing is quite as good as being the new kid in the middle of a semester." Avery raised a hand for a high five and I happily slapped it with a big grin.
"You'll be fine," Mom tried to reassure, standing to clear the table as we had all finished. "You're both lovely girls, I'm sure people will want to befriend you."
"Because you're not biased at all," Avery quipped sarcastically, pushing her chair back from the table and making to flee up to her room. Mom stopped her by loudly clearing her throat.
"Hand it over," She held her hand out expectantly. Avery just looked at her blankly for a moment before sighing when she realised mom wasn't going to give in and slapped her phone into mom's palm harder than necessary. "You can have it back in the morning. You need a good nights sleep if you're going to be up on time, not texting your no good friends all night."
"Whatever," Avery huffed, turning and stomping upstairs with exaggerated force behind her steps. I chuckled to myself as I bid my parent's goodnight, giving each a kiss on the cheek before heading up to my own room.
I was quick to hop in the shower, scrubbing off the grime and sweat that had accumulated since this morning. Once that was done, I burrowed into the covers of my bed and drifted off into a surprisingly easy sleep.
Morning came and with it, the soft singing of the birds in the trees and a soft grey light seeping through the gaps in the curtains. It was a startling yet surprisingly wonderful change to the wake-up call of taxi cabs beeping their horns and street vendors yelling to attract punters back in New York.
I was dressed and eating breakfast in the kitchen long before the sounds of Avery stomping about upstairs met my ears. I wasn't expecting my parents to be up anytime soon since they were making the most of their time off work and probably wouldn't stir for another few hours. It fell on me to make sure Avery and I were on time to school, the task was a little easier since Avery was now a freshman in High School and I wouldn't have to detour to the Middle School to drop her off before heading to the High School myself.
Avery came into the kitchen as I was placing my dripping bowl on the drying rack, dressed just as I was expecting yet slightly more refined than usual. Her skinny jeans were ripped but not as much they usually were. The shirt she wore bore the logo of one of her favourite bands, Paramore, and her hair was styled very much the same as the frontwoman, Hayley Williams. She wore very little makeup, except for the heavy black eyeliner around her brown eyes. "Looking good little sis," I whistled loudly, laughing when she glared but her pale skin had flushed a shade of light pink.
"Do you want me to cook you something? We have..." I trailed off, looking at the clock that hung on the wall. "About twenty minutes before we need to leave."
"Nope," She popped the 'p', grabbing a bowl from the cabinet. "I'll just have cereal." I shrugged and sat back down at the table, pulling out my phone and scrolling through Facebook absently as Avery poured her cereal before sitting across from me.
Once Avery had finished her cereal and washed her bowl, the two of us headed out to my car, my pride and joy, a 1966 E-Type Jaguar convertible in a sleek, scarlet shade. I didn't know much about cars -how they were made, which ones were better than others, or how to fix them- but I could appreciate the beauty of a well made, vintage car. Cars really weren't made to the standard they used to be. Once I passed my driving test at sixteen, I begged my parents for a classic car and they said if I kept up my 4.0 GPA till the end of the year, they'd get me whatever car I wanted. I managed it, but barely, and on the last day of school my dad picked me up and drove me to a vintage car dealership where I saw it and knew I had to have it. The smile on my face as I drove home in my brand new car with the top down, the wind whipping through my hair, was perhaps the largest, silliest grin.
Avery turned the radio on full as soon as I started up the engine, Mr Brightside by The Killers blaring from the speakers. I didn't mind, I could tell she was nervous -her fingers drummed frantically on her jean-clad thighs, and her lip remained firmly between her teeth-, and the music calmed her down.
The two of us sang along as The Killers changed to Red Hot Chilli Peppers, to Linkin Park, to My Chemical Romance. And before we knew it, I was pulling into the deserted parking lot in front of the Front Office.
Inside the office was stiflingly warm and I had to shrug off my parka and scarf and drape them over my arm. Clearly whoever decorated didn't think there was enough greenery outside and had stuffed as many potted plants on every surface available as they could. It was cluttered, cork boards full of flyers, piles of papers stacked precariously on counters. The red-haired, be-speckled woman behind the desk looked up when we entered, a welcoming smile on her fuchsia painted lips. "Hello, dears. How may I help you?"
I stepped up to the desk and glanced at the nameplate in front of her. "Good morning, Mrs Cope. I'm Anastasia Weston and this is my little sister Avery, we're here for our schedules." I gave her my most congenial smile.
"Of course, of course. We've been waiting for you." Because that didn't sound ominous at all. She ruffled through one of the large stacks of papers and after several moments, emerged with several sheets in various pastel shades. She slid two pale pink sheets over to us, "these are your schedules," two buttercup yellow sheets covered those. "Maps of the school. I took the liberty of highlighting the best routes to each of your classes." I thanked her. Finally, two lavender slips were placed, "these slips need to be signed by each of your teachers then returned at the end of the day." I took the two piles, slipping mine into my bag and handing Avery hers. "Have a good day, girls."
"What a waste of paper," Avery muttered as we stepped back out into the cool outdoors. I laughed, slipping my Parka and scarf back on and fishing for my keys in my coat pocket.
The dashboard clock read 7:45 am and a steady stream of cars made their way to the student parking lot. I followed, making note of the fact that nearly every car seemed to be an older model and slightly beat up in some way. I bit my lip harshly when I realised how ostentatious my car was and how much attention we were already garnering. Avery sunk down in her seat as she came to the same realisation.
I pulled into the very first available spot that I saw and cut the engine. "You ready?" I asked Avery, tightening my grip on my bag strap and searching her face. She breathed a heavy sigh then nodded, face hardening in determination. "Okay," The air puffed from my lips as I swung open the door.
A/N: I'd like to say I'm like Anna, but I'm definitely more like Avery