Here we go again. I think to myself with my shield firmly in place. No need for Edward to know I still get nervous on my first day of school. There's not really much I can do to hide it from Jasper; I'll just have to trust him to keep his own thoughts hidden. I slide the outfit Alice laid out for me without noticing it at all. I don't really have a reason to care, people will be staring at Rosalie, Alice, Renesmee and I no matter what were wearing. It is flattering, really, but it gets old fast. Well, for most of us. Rosalie just soaks it all up.
"Bella?" Edward calls from downstairs.
"Coming!" I tell him quietly, knowing he can hear. I glance around my favorite house of the hundreds we own as I make my way gracefully down the stairs. It's a relief to be back in Forks again. The small town has changed surprisingly little in the last century since we've lived here. And even now, over a hundred years since I first walked the halls of this rainy town, I'm nervous about doing it again. This time I'm part of the intimidating Cullen group who care nothing for the stupid humans who surround us and I have my beautiful daughter by my side. Oh, and the point of my existence is next to me. Life could be worse.
Renesmee forces down a bowl of very un-appetizing of cereal. She would prefer hunting but we're short on time this morning. Jacob is down on the reservation, meeting with the Tribal elders about the anient treaty. It's funny, he's older than all the elders. So Renesmee's the only single being in the house, something nobody enjoys with all the perfectly matched couples around.
"Let's go!" Alice trills in her pixie-ish manor. "Ness, if you finish your bowl of cereal were all going to be late. So put it in the sink for Esme to wash and come on!" She demands. Renesmee rolls her brown eyes at Alice and does as she was told. Emmet runs directly to his brand new jeep and promises it that he'll be back this afternoon while Rosalie crosses her arms and glares. Alice silently slides into the drivers seat of her Porsche while Jasper claims shotgun and Rosalie and Emmett jump into the back seats, leaving me, Edward, and Renesmee to choose a second car. My Ferrari, Edwards Aston Martin or Renesmee's Toyota?
We settle on letting Nessie drive us to school as her flashy pickup was the least conspicuous of the three. We tear out of the garage after Alice and the rest of our family, not counting our parents who were holding jobs in town. Carlisle had the early shift at the hospital today and Esme was playing secretary at the local elementary school. We reach the new Forks High School, built after the last one was deemed unsafe by the superintendent, about thirty seconds after Alice due to an unknowing pedestrian before the turn onto school grounds. I grab my bag and Edwards hand, smile at my daughter, and turn to the school that had given me this crazy life so many years before.
"I've got science with you, history with Jasper, Spanish with Rosalie, Ness, Alice and Emmett and we all have lunch together." I tell Edward as we move at human pace to science. The fire in my throat is merely a tickle around all the humans now.
Science is only a boring review of things we've learned in the last few centuries. The humans seem to be getting stupider, they haven't learned anything new for years. Maybe it's enough to keep them busy for one lifetime but for us immortals, learning something new would be nice. I lightly kiss Edward goodbye at the end of the hour, I won't see him again until lunch.
I find my way slowly to the history wing alone but smile when I see my beautiful daughter coming towards me from the other side of the hall. We walk in together, her posing as my sister. Jasper, my 'adopted brother' for the sake of the humans, is already seated near the back with seats open on either side of him for Nessie and I. I sit down gratefully, wishing I had Edward with me. Settling in at my desk and preparing for another recap of what happened when Carlisle and Jasper were already alive, I grab a sheet of paper from my unused notebook and quickly scribble a note to my brother and daughter with my shield surrounding us keeping our thoughts hidden from my loving husband.
What pranks should we pull on Emmett tonight? I ask with a small smile.
Steal his jeep! Renesmee suggests gleefully.
We could pretend to kidnap Ness and Rosalie so he flips out and has a panic attack? Jasper smiles and sends a wave of excitement over the whole back of the classroom. The kids sitting closest to us twitch and squirm in their seats. I grab the note away from him before we have a Harlem Shake breaking out.
Let's get all the guys. Except you, obviously, Jasper. So what can we do to freak out Edward, Jacob, Em, and Carlisle? Nobody but Em will spazz if we steal his new Jeep.
Renesmee grabs the paper from me across Jasper. Let's hide all the cars in different states! I'll take dad's Aston to Montana, Jazz can take Em's Jeep to New York, Mom can take the Mercedes to Florida and Rosalie can take Jake's truck to Texas.
Love it! Jazz scrawls back. I nod excitedly.
"Ms. Cullen, Mr. Hale and Ms. Cullen. Do you plan on joining us for this lesson today?" Our teacher is glaring at us with what must be an attempt at a threatening glare. It looks hilarious on his face.
"My apologies, sir." Jasper says carefully, his long lost southern accent making an appearance. The teacher nods and returns back to the lesson. I lift my shield to Edward and let him hear my bored thoughts.
"Ms. Cullen!" The teacher barks. My shield snaps back down as the teacher yells.
"Yes sir?" I ask calmly, raising an eyebrow.
"Please explain the assignment to the class. I expect you to be paying attention."
"We write a three page essay on minor generals of the civil war and present them to the class in two days." Jasper whispers to me with vampire speed. Nobody else noticed except Renesmee.
"We will be writing a three page essay on the minor generals of the civil war and presenting them to the class on Wednsday. We aren't allowed to discuss General Lee or General Grant."
"Good." He returns to explaining in more detail, embarrassed that I knew what was going on. Sorry buddy, trying to catch a vampire by surprise is no easy feat, especially for a human.
The bell rings a moment later, sending Ness and I off to Spanish. Jasper heads for the gym. We enter the classroom slowly, in no hurry to begin the lesson. All of us are more fluent than the teacher, making sitting through the class almost unbearable. Almost. With the promise of both Emmett and Rosalie in the same room there's bound to be some sort of vampire drama.
Alice was in the room first and had reserved the back row of the classroom for us. Nessie sat down on Alice's right and I sat on Renesmee's other side. Emmett came in, followed closely by Rosalie, and sat down beside me. Rosalie sat down on the other side of Alice.
"Hey sis." Emmett says loudly.
"Hello Emmett." I don't want him to embarrass us on the first day of school. I know that's a lot to ask from him, but a vampire can dream.
"Hey, babe, you ready for tonight?" He leans back in his chair to see around me, Ness and Alice to Rosalie. Every human male in the room turns around to stare at all of us. Then it hit's me. Rosalie is posing as Emmett's sister right now! How weird is it going to sound if Emmett is going on a date with his sister?
"Em, she's your sister!" I tell him with vampire speed.
"Emmett no!" Alice says quietly, only for our ears. She must've just had a vision.
"No Bells, that's my wife!" He says, much too loudly. He seems to realize it just a second late. "I mean... she's going to be my wife!" He amends loudly. The humans are all dead silent and staring. "Uhh..." Emmett stands up out of his seat, runs at human pace over to Rosalie, and gets down on one knee. Renesmee buries her face in her hand to control her laughter.
"Rosalie?" He looks up at her with panic in his eyes. "Will you do me the great honor of marrying me?" Fast as lightning Emmett snaches the ring off her finger and presents it to her again.
"Yeah. Sure." She says expressionlessly. Alice hissed at her under her breath. "I mean, yes Emmett! Yes a thousand times!" She way overdid it on the fake happiness thing. The Spanish teacher is still staring at us, dumbstruck. All of the students are in shock. I stand up, deciding we've done enough damage here already.
"Um, Ma'm? I think my brother forgot to take his meds this morning. Can I take them out for a minute?"
She nods mutely, apparently she's not used to students proposing to their sisters in her classroom. I grab Emmett by the arm and bring Rosalie out with us. Alice and Ness follow us out into the hallway.