A new school year, a new school, a new page for a new chapter in my life…
I pulled up to the quaint Forks High School at eight sharp. There were a few vehicles in the parking lot but not too many with owners beside them. They must be the teachers' cars. I slid into an easy escape parking spot. I knew my car was going to receive some special attention; the quicker I could get out of here at the end of the day, the fewer questions needed to be answered. The Saturn Sky I drove was flashier than the rest of the cars in the lot, though some of the vehicles were new, mine spoke of money. I hated driving it to school, but until I could find something a little less ostentatious this is what I had to live with. I killed the engine and grabbed my bag from the passenger seat. With one deep breath I opened the door to walk swiftly inside.
A silver Volvo drove passed just then, slowing ever so slightly by my car. I avoided eye contact and as it passed continued to walk swiftly inside. The town of forks was wet and cooler then what I was used to. Not frigid by any means, but still much colder; I pulled my hat down around my ears. I pushed the double doors to the school open and walked to the office. A new school meant a new schedule. I wondered how many of my previous classes would be provided in such a small school. The front office was warm and inviting. I shuddered delightedly. The woman behind the desk had a friendly enough face, with small reading glasses holding on to the very tip of her nose. She looked up at me as I entered and smiled.
"Jaden Arquette I presume?" She smiled at me.
"Yes, that would be me. It's Jade actually. I came to get my schedule?" I smiled back. She was already typing something into the computer and the printer buzzed obligingly. She handed me my schedule and a map of the school. I tried not to laugh. Going from a school of four thousand to four hundred didn't seem map worthy, but I took it thankfully.
"Do you think you'll be able to get around alright Jade? Or would you like a guide for the day?" She asked sweetly.
"I'll be fine, thank you. It's all part of the adventure in a new school." I laughed lightly.
"Alright dear, your first class is math at eight fifteen with Mr. Duncan. That class at least is here in the main building, so off you scoot. Out the door and to your right will get you started in the right direction. Have a great day and don't forget to have your teachers sign your schedule in the proper places, and bring it back here at the end of your day." She gestured toward the door with a grin. I nodded my thanks and headed off on my own to find Mr. Duncan's class.
The school was now buzzing with the sound of students slamming lockers, and trying to get last minute conversations in before class. Not many glanced in my direction as I passed by and those who did I pretended not to notice, paying extra attention to my schedule and trying to act like I belonged. I was so busy avoiding eye contact I didn't notice the person in front of me as I turned a corner. I walked into her back and it was almost like walking into a brick wall. I dropped my schedule and bag as I did so. She barely seemed to move at all and turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder. She had short brown hair, spiked out in every direction and some of the palest skin I had ever seen. Her eyes were a pretty caramel brown framed by thick dark lashes.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I apologized as I knelt quickly to scoop up my bag and my schedule, now wet with muddy boot water, from the floor. I stood back up and she smiled.
"That's alright. You're new, you have an excuse. Need any help finding your first class?" She asked sweetly, her voice ringing like a bell. I couldn't help but smile at the sound of it.
"I guess it couldn't hurt to ask. I'm Jade by the way, I have math with Mr. Duncan." I explained. She reached out for my schedule and I handed it to her obediently. She looked it over.
"Math, history, English lit, art, lunch, biology, health and phys ed. Well, looks like you have a busy schedule. No open periods, no study halls, what year are you?" She asked curiously.
"I'm a junior." I stated flatly. She raised an eyebrow. I inhaled silently preparing for questions I was hoping to avoid. She seemed to notice and looked back to my schedule. The first warning bell rang loudly and I jumped a bit. She looked up at me and smiled.
"Mr. Duncan is down the hall to your left and the last door on your right. You have Ms. Patterson for art fourth period with me, I'm Alice by the way, see you then." She smiled and walked swiftly away in the opposite direction. A tall boy with medium curly blond hair waited for her at the end of the hall. She kissed his cheek before she grabbed his hand and drug him around the corner. I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked swiftly in the direction she told me. I opened the door just as the last bell rang.
I hated Mr. Duncan. Not because he was a horrible teacher, I hated him simply because of what he taught. Math and Jade did not get along. History was dull and boring just like any other history class. English was by far my favorite class. Not only did we get to read some of the greatest authors, we were also given the assignment of journal entries for every day and two short stories per semester. I was going to thoroughly enjoy this class. I hadn't been asked to stand in front of any of my classes and introduce myself which I was extremely grateful, and no one had come up and asked me any question to personal for me to want to answer. I had even been invited by a girl from my history class to sit with her at lunch. I was feeling pretty good about my first day until I walked into Art. I had forgotten about Alice, the all too curious student of the hour. I found her almost immediately as I walked into class. She had an easel in front of her, as did the rest of the class, and she was wearing a paint spattered apron over her clothes. She smiled at me as she noticed my entrance and pointed to the easel next to hers. I smiled politely and took the seat next to hers and picked up my paint spattered apron.
"Any trouble finding any of your other classes?" She asked opening a box of charcoal.
"Not really. All of them have been in the main building so far. Biology is in another ward outside I guess." I looked out the window at the rain. Alice laughed.
"Not a fan of the rain I see." She smiled and nodded toward the window, her voice sounding even more angelic when she laughed. I sighed but smiled all the same.
"One thing I wasn't looking forward to when I moved here. Going from mid-eighty's and nothing but sunshine to low fifties cloudy and mostly rain really wasn't ideal for me." The teacher Ms. Patterson walked in then and shut the door behind her.
"Alright people pair up. You will be sketching faces today. Use your charcoal sparingly and don't forget about shading. Black and white is the most beautiful when you catch the light just right. I want to see that light in your artwork." She bustled around the room making sure everyone had a clean canvas to work on.
"Partners?" Alice asked with a smile. I looked back at her and felt a bit intimidated. Alice had flawless skin, perfect cheekbones; she would have been any artists dream. I really hoped I could do her justice.
"Sure thing, just don't make my nose look bigger than it already is ok?" I smiled. She furrowed her brows and examined my face thoroughly.
"There's nothing wrong with your nose Jade. If I made it look big it would have to be on purpose."
"Well if I morph your image into something more like Picasso, please forgive me. I'm still working on faces." I shrugged apologetically. She laughed again.
"I'll try not to take it personally." The teacher came by then and I handed her my schedule to sign. After making sure we had all of the proper materials she held her fingers to her lips and told us to get to work. Alice and I exchanged one more amused glance before we began to draw each others faces. I was doing surprisingly well. It seemed Alice's perfectly flawless face was a lot easier to work with than any other I had tried. Very little shading was involved. Her face was perfectly outlined and easy enough to copy onto the canvas. Her eyes never seemed to leave my face even for a moment. It was a bit distracting. I felt as though I was being stared at rather than glanced at for the sake of drawing. I tried not to let her see how uncomfortable I felt with her staring at me. I didn't want her to capture that emotion in charcoal. I was just finishing my sketch, feeling very proud of my artwork when the bell rang.
"Well now, would you like to see how big I made your nose look?" Alice smiled at me as she gracefully stood untied her apron and threw it over her chair. I laughed.
"You bet. I need to know if I need to make any more Picasso adjustments to mine." She grinned and turned her easel easily around so I could stare at her handy work. My mouth all but dropped. In forty-five minutes she had created a perfectly framed portrait of my face. The detail was unnerving, right down to every last freckle. I just stared at it dumbfounded, feeling less confident about my sketch of her. Alice stopped smiling and looked back at her perfect portrait.
"You don't like it?" She asked looking worried. I blinked up at her in disbelief.
"Don't like it? Alice that picture is amazing. I love it. I'm just feeling a bit less confident about your portrait. I did alright, but not as good as you." I admitted with a shrug. Alice smiled and bounced in place.
"You really like it?" She asked. I stared back at her drawing and nodded. "Alright show me yours." She said politely rising up on her toes trying to peek. I felt myself blush slightly. Compared to hers, she may just laugh in my face. I stood and stepped out of her way so she could see my so called masterpiece. She stared at it for longer than seemed necessary and it started to make me feel uncomfortable.
"I told you I was still working on faces." I said bringing a nervous hand to my neck. She looked up at me and smiled.
"Jade this looks great. What are you talking about?"
"You like it? Really? I mean it's not as good as yours that's for sure but you really think it's alright?" I asked relieved. She nodded her head and smiled.
"If you're still working on faces I think you just mastered one. I love it." She replied sincerely with a smile. I felt much better. "We better head off to lunch or Ms. Patterson might lock us in." Alice said glancing to the door where an impatient Ms. Patterson stood waiting for us. I laughed and grabbed up my bag and headed for the door behind Alice.
"I'll see you later Jade. Have fun at lunch." She waved and headed out a set of doors, letting a cool draft in after her. I shivered slightly. I was a bit sad to see her leave. Then I remembered I had been invited to lunch by that girl in history. What was her name?
"Jade over here!" A voice echoed across the cafeteria. Jessica, my invite to lunch, waved me over excitedly. Angela, a girl from one of my classes was sitting next to her. I grabbed up my lunch tray strewn with a variety of fruits and veggies and smiled as I took the seat she offered next to her. A few boys had their heads together whispering on the other side of the table. One was the jock type, short blonde hair, letterman jacket; I think his name was Mike. The other boy was Tyler. I only remembered his name because he was one of the few black kids I had seen at this school. The other guy was Asian with medium length jet black hair that he obviously spent time on. He had a lap top open in front of him. They would look up at me every so often but kept their conversation quiet. "I'm glad you took my invite for lunch. You happen to be the hot topic of conversation as of late." Jessica rolled her eyes amused and sipped her diet soda.
"Topic of conversation, should I be worried?" I asked glancing suspiciously at the boys across the table again. The Asian kid smiled, Mike turned his head smiled and winked. I tried not to laugh.
"Yes, very worried. It's like the first day of kindergarten and you're the shiny new toy." Jessica replied a little sour. She tried to cover it with a laugh which to me sounded very forced and bitter. I laughed as well in disbelief. Jealousy, really?
"So I'm hot topic of conversations because I'm the new chick?" I opened my can of V8 and took a sip.
"Actually your car was the hot topic, until we figured out who drove it." It was the Asian kid who spoke. I almost choked on my drink but recovered quickly.
"You saw that huh? How did you find out it was mine?" I asked trying to sound bored. Someone had to start asking questions at some point today.
"Process of elimination. New car, but no new teachers, therefore had to be a new student, and that leaves you. I'm Eric by the way, this is…"
"Tyler and Mike, yes I know. Nice to meet you guys."
"How do you know us?" Tyler asked looking confused.
"I have classes with both of you." I stated plainly biting into a carrot. "So my car is a hot topic and that officially makes me a hot topic? I see you typing on your computer over there Eric. I'm not the next feature in your school newspaper alright? I'll answer questions off the record only got it?" I stated simply not taking my eyes away from my food, Mike laughed.
"Ok strictly off the record. How do you have that car?" Eric asked in awe. I could picture the drool as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath preparing for questions.
"Speaking of cars and money, you know we haven't seen the Cullen's with a new car in a while." Jessica mentioned off hand.
"Who are the Cullen's?" I asked quickly taking advantage of the new subject. I saw everyone glance toward the back of the cafeteria. I turned and immediately recognized Alice. I smiled and took in the faces of the three others. They were all stunning. They didn't look anything alike with the exception of that flawless skin and perfect grace that I so envied in Alice. There were two boys and one other girl. They came in the back door and descended upon an empty table in a corner of the room.
"So is anyone going to explain for me?" I asked again.
"They're doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids." Angela piped in picking at part of her sandwich. Her voice was soft and quiet. "The blonde is Rosalie and that's her twin brother Jasper. I think Mrs. Cullen is there Aunt or something. Then there's Emmett and the short spiky haired girl is…"
"Alice. Yes I've met her. She's in my art class. She's nice." I smiled again.
"She's weird." Jessica chimed in quietly. "They all are. They don't just live together they're all dating as well. Alice is with Jasper and Rosalie is coupled with Emmett." As I slowly began to tune Jess's whining out of my head another person caught my attention. He strode past the window across from our table and I couldn't help but follow him with my eyes. He was gorgeous. He came in the back door of the cafeteria just as the rest of his family had. He could only belong to the rest of the beautiful human beings sitting at that corner table. He had short disheveled bronze colored hair and looked like he should be walking off a runway.
"And that would be Edward Cullen." Jess whispered in my ear, bringing my attention back down to my own table. I grinned and turned back to my apple pieces.
"They are a very lovely looking group." I mentioned to no one in particular and sipped my V8.
"I know right!" Jess giggled. "He's gorgeous of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls around here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when it was exactly that he had turned her down.
I hid my smile behind my V8 and glanced over at their table again as Jess began talking about some school function I was not interested in. Though he wasn't looking in our direction I thought I saw a smile. He said something to the rest of them quietly and Alice looked over in our direction. I nodded my head and she waved politely. That's when he looked at me. I smiled and held up two fingers in greetings. He turned back to his table, obviously not interested. I laughed; his sister was much more polite.
I bit into a carrot stick and half listened to what Jess was talking about, a school dance I think, while I stared out the window and watched the rain fall. I was being watched. I didn't actually know it but I could sense it, there were eyes on me. I half glanced back over at Edward and the others. It was he who was staring at me. He looked curious. I casually turned my head and met his gaze. He was unfazed, his expression became slightly frustrated.
Why was he staring at me? Did I have something on my face? I blinked at him annoyed. He still didn't turn away, he only looked more frustrated. I turned in my seat back to my own table. He could stare at the back of my head.
"Jade, Edward Cullen is staring at you." Angela whispered looking down at the table.
"I know it's starting to creep me out. He's cute and everything but does he have to be blatantly rude?" I heard a soft laugh from behind me. Did he hear that? The bell rang and lunch was thankfully over. I grabbed up my stuff and casually glanced back in his direction, he was already out the back door and I swear I saw him laughing.
Biology was the first class I had outside the main building. It was also very helpful and very cute yet annoying Mike Newton's next class. We walked outside and I pulled my hood over my face protectively. Mike tried to make small talk but I made it very clear rain wasn't my friend and he walked faster, cutting any conversation he was trying to have short. We walked into the next wing of the school and down the short hall to our classroom in silence.
"If you're gonna get lost again tomorrow, let me know." Mike smiled as he hung up his wet jacket on a rack at the front of the class and strode passed me to his seat. I gave him a nod and went to have the teacher sign my schedule.
Everyone of course had partners for biology already, all except one, and he was still staring. As I went to sit in the empty chair next to Edward Cullen he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face-it was hostile, furious. I noticed his eyes were black as coal. I paused for just a moment wondering just what the hell I did to deserve that. I didn't look up at him as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad.
"Are you alright?" I asked quietly looking up at him. I immediately regretted it. He glared back at me, never saying a word. If looks could kill I thought to myself looking away and feeling quite confused. I opened my book and began taking notes on cellular anatomy all the while feeling his eyes on me. I wasn't one to be easily shaken, but this kid made me feel really uncomfortable. He didn't move, he didn't take a single note, I'm not even sure he took a breath that entire hour. Then the bell rang and he was quickly and gracefully up out of his seat and out the door before anyone else was even out of their chair. I stared after him in disbelief.
"Did you stab Edward in the eye with a pencil or something?" I looked up to find Mike standing by my table.
"So he doesn't normally act like a jerk?" I asked with a chuckle. Good, I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"I have never seen him act like that to anyone ever actually. Don't worry about it, that kid's weird. You could always ask to switch and be my partner if you'd like." Mike smiled. I shook my head and laughed.
"And let him think he got to me? No way, if he doesn't like me, he can switch partners." I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. I did nothing to wrong this guy he would just need to get over himself.
"Need help finding your next class?" Mike asked enthusiastically. I was going to have to do something about him. He was sweet, but with the wrong intentions. Mike wasn't my type.
"Actually it's in the same building so I think I can manage. Thanks Mike." I stood and collected my things. He waited and walked me out the door anyway.
"Well I'll see you around." He smiled walked in the other direction back outside toward the main building. I went two doors down to find my sixth period health class still wondering about Edward's strange behavior.
Everyone was still standing and chatting around their desks before the bell rang. I found the teachers desk at the head of the classroom with a familiar body in front of it. Edward Cullen was leaning over the teacher's desk speaking softly to her. I walked up and waited quietly behind him. As I approached I heard him asking the teacher in a very attractive voice if he could leave class to go home early as he wasn't feeling well. She smiled at him and told him to wait a moment so she could write him a note to bring to the office. Then she turned her attention to me.
"Yes?" She asked in a voice too small for a grown woman to have. Edward stepped aside and then noticed who was standing behind him. I saw him tense almost immediately and I locked eyes with him for just a moment before he quickly looked elsewhere as I stepped forward and presented the teacher with my schedule. Still dark and angry, I wondered if the teacher noticed his apparently odd behavior. She signed my schedule and I stepped back, never taking my eyes off of him. He took my place and faced the teacher again as she scribbled a note on a small piece of paper and handed it to him with another smile.
"Thank you." He said in a voice like velvet and then turned and walked passed me swiftly without another glance. I laughed quietly to myself and I think I saw him pause for just a moment and half glance back over his shoulder at me. Sick my ass.
The class went by quickly and I was placed in a seat in the back of the room which sat right next to yet another empty seat, the only other empty seat in class, Edward's seat. I shook my head but smiled. This was going to be a very interesting year. When class ended it wasn't hard to find my way to the gymnasium. The teacher didn't make me dress down my first day but found me a gym uniform for the next. Since I didn't have to participate I asked if I could leave class to have more time to discuss more important things with the office. He let me go without a huff and I left to the front office to give them my schedule.
The secretary at the front office met me with the same smile from earlier as I handed her my paperwork and left for the day. Time to get out of the parking lot while everyone was in class, therefore leaving no questions to answer, at least for today. I walked up the few steps to the main parking lot to find my car when I saw him again. He was sitting in a silver Volvo talking on a cell phone. I saw him look up at me as I walked by, making my way to my own rig a few cars down. He stopped talking, following me with his eyes as I passed. I stared back and winked. I couldn't help it, if he was going to keep staring I might as well have some fun with it. He began speaking into his phone looking furious. I laughed out loud and continued to my car. I had just opened my door when his car flew past me and down the hill toward the highway. I just shook my head, most definitely an interesting year.