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"Isabella Swan!" Principal Taylor called out. "Just the student i wanted to see!"

Bella looked up from her locker as she shuffled through the papers in her biology notebook. She had a quiz that day, and she wanted to make sure she had her notes so she could do a little extra cramming during homeroom.

The principal of Forks High was smiling at her from behind his wire-rimmed glasses. Beside him was a tall girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckles. Bella had never seen her before.

"Hi, Principal Taylor," Bella said closing her locker. "What's up?"

"Isabella Swan, this is Tanya Denali," the principal said, motioning to the girl beside him. "She just moved here from Alaska."

"Oh! Hi, Tanya. Welcome to Forks High" Bella smiled warmly at the girl. She had been the new girl plenty of times in her life, and she knew exactly how unnerving it could be to face a whole school full of strangers.

"Thanks," Tanya said. "It seems pretty cool here so far."

"Yes, yes." Principal Taylor rubbed his hands together. "I'm sure you'll find Forks High very, er, cool, Tanya. Isabella is in your homeroom, so I thought perhaps she wouldn't mind showing you around today."

"Not yet." Tanya giggled. "I just hope i don't get totally lost. Forks High is a lot bigger than my old school."

Principal Taylor checked his watch. "Better hurry, girls," he said. "The bell rings in fifteen minutes."

He hurried off toward his office. Bella turned and led the way down the hall in the opposite direction. "It's too bad you had to switch schools in the middle of the semester," she said sympathetically. "That's really hard."

"Tell me about it!" Tanya rolled her eyes. "My dad's company was so totally spastic about getting us here that i couldn't even convince him to let me stay in Alaska an extra two weeks for my Friend Kate's birthday ski trip. It's probably going to be the party of the century, and i have to miss it!"

Bella had never been all that interested in parties-or skiing, for that matter. But she understood how Tanya must be feeling.

"I know what you mean," she said. "When my mom got transferred from Phoenix to Forks, we had to move right before i was supposed to got on this cool field trip to the science museum in Gilbert. Oh! And the move before that?" She grimaced at the memory. "That one happened two weeks before my birthday."

Tanya shot her a curious look. " Whoa, it sounds like you've moved almost as much as me."

"Eight school in eleven and a half years." Bella smiled ruefully.

"Only five schools here." Tanya laughed and held up both hands. "You win!"

Bella giggled. "trust me, that's one award I'd love to give back! Still, it wasn't so bad. At least i ended up at Forks High. you're going to love it here-its a really great school." She checked her watch. "We'd better hurry. The bell's going to ring soon."

"Another Monday morning." Emmett McCarty groaned, spinning the basketball he was holding on one finger as he walked down the packed school hallway. "That means another whole week of school before our next game."

Edward Mason grinned at his friend. As far as Emmett was concerned, every Monday morning was cause for, well, mourning.

"Look at the bright side," Edward said. "That gives us five nights of practice before we face Garfield High this weekend."

"Yeah. We gotta keep our streak going." Emmett raised one hand for a high five. "Go Spartans!"

Edward returned the high five. The Forks High Spartans had won their last nine games in a row. It was the team's longest winning streak in several years.

"And Garfield High is tough," Edward said. "We're going to have to really be on top of our game-"

"Edward! Yoo-hoo, Edward!"

Edward glanced over his shoulder. Rosalie Hale was rushing down the hall toward him, pushing her way through the throng of students. He winced as she accidentally whacked someone with her rhinestone-studded designer purse. Her matching shoes click-clacked loudly on the tile floor. Rosalie was co-president of the Forks High drama club, and just about everything she did was...dramatic.

"Hi, Rosalie," he said as she skidded to a stop in front of him. "How was your weekend?"

"Never mind that." Rosalie waved one manicured hand in the air as if the question were no more important than a pesky mosquito. "Edward, wanted you to be among the first to hear my big announcement."

Emmett was staring at Rosalie's candy-pink-striped outfit and glitter eye shadow. "What-that clown look is making a comeback?"

Rosalie made a sour face at Emmett. But she broke into a smile again as she returned her attention to Edward. "I'm sure you both realize my birthday is this weekend," she said. "Oh, and Jasper's, too, of course."

"How did i miss the news bulletin?" Emmett wondered out loud.

As usual, Rosalie grandly ignored Emmett's gibe. "To celebrate, I'll be hosting a sophisticated night. Very exclusive, of course."

"Of course," Edward Said.

Emmett tossed his basketball from one hand to the other. "So don't keep us in suspense, Rosalie," he said. "Who made the cut?"

"All in due time, my little basketball bouncing friend. All in due time." Rosalie winked at Edward. "After all, what's the fun of an exclusive guest list if i blurt it out just like that?" She waggled one finger and shook her head. "Sorry, boys. That wouldn't do at all. There will be a formal announcement later this week."

"Well, I'm sure the party will be fun, Rosalie," Edward waid politely.

"Oh, trust me, Edward. It will be an evening to remember." Rosalie patted her blonde hair and shot both guys a self-satisfied smile. "That's why i wanted to give you the opportunity to save the date. see, a little bird told me that you just might make the cut." Her smile faded slightly as she glanced at Emmett. "You, too, Edward's friend. Maybe."

"Cool. But my boy and i will have to play it by ear." Emmett slung one arm around Edward's shoulder.

"See, when party time rolls around, we might still be busy celebrating our winning streak hitting double digits." He backed away and spun his basketball at Edward.

Edward caught it and laughed. "No problem," he said. "We can just make it a combo birthday party and victory celebration."

Rosalie didn't look entirely pleased by that idea, but she smiled and gave them a little wave. "I'll keep you boys posted," She said over her shoulder as she hurried off. "You do that" Emmett said.

Edward dribbled the ball on the hall floor, then shot it back at Emmett. Emmett was a little too slow, and it bounced of his fingertips and crashed into a locker door.

"Yo, man, you'll have to do better than that if we want to keep our winning streak alive!" Edward called, still laughing as Emmett scrambled after the ball.

But he was only joking. The Spartans had Friday's game in the bag!

"Ready for the last stop on your whirlwind tour of Forks High?" Bella asked as she and Tanya hurried down the crowded hallway.

"Sure," Tanya said. "But I'm not expecting much. Nothing could be more exciting than the book-return slot outside the library."

Bella laughed. It was easy to see that Tanya was a lot more interested in the outdoor patio, the mirrors in the girls' restroom and even the Spartan statue in the upstairs lobby than she was in the library, the chemistry lab, or anything else having to do with actual academic activities. Obviously, she and Bella had different ideas about what was important in a school.

"You're right, it probably won't be that exciting," Bella said. "But anyway, here it is-your new homeroom."

She led the way inside. Most of the class was already there. Bella's Friend Alice Brandon was bent over a textbook at her desk. Edward was lounging against the sprawling out into the aisle. Emmett was nearby, practicing some moves with the basketball he carried around everywhere.

"Whoa!" Tanya's eyes widened, and she pursed her pink-glossed lips. "Who's the mega-hottie?"

Following her gaze, Bella realized Tanya was staring at Edward and his friends. "Um. you mean the dark-haired kid in the back row?" she said. "His name's Tyler, and he-"

"No." Tanya cut her off. "I mean Mr. Gorgeous there in the blue T-shirt. I thought we had some cute guys at my last school, but now I'm wishing i moved here ages ago!"

Bella could feel heat rising in her cheeks as she realized Tanya was talking about Edward.

This is awkward with a capital A! she thought. Still she realized the new girl had no way of knowing that Edward and Bella were an item.

"Um, that's Edward," she said. "He and I-well, that is, Edward is um..."

Tanya continued staring at Edward for a moment as Bella stammered. Then she finally glanced over. Her eyes widened, and her mouth rounded in a little O.

"Omigosh!" she hissed in a stage whisper. "You mean you and Edward..."

Bella shrugged and nodded, positive that her cheeks were bright red by now. "Sorry."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry!" Tanya grabbed her arm and squeezed it. "I swear, Bella, I never would've said anything if i knew he was your guy. Let's just hit rewind and pretend it never happened, okay?"

Bella's shoulders slumped in relief. The awkward moment had passed, just like that.

"Deal," she said with a smile. "Now, where were we? Oh, year-welcome to your homeroom."

"Thanks," Tanya said, returning her smile. "It's nice to walk into homeroom with a friend for a change."

A friend? Bella's smile widened. She liked the sound of that.

Okay, so maybe Tanya and i dont seem to have a whole lot in common other than the moving thing, she though. So what? A lot of people wouldn't have thought Edward and i had much in common at first, and look at us now.

Just than, Alice looked up and spotted Bella. She waved and hurried over.

"Hey," she said. "Did you study for that bio quiz?" she blinked, suddenly seeming to notice Tanya for the first time. "Oh. Hi there."

Bella introduced the two girls. "Alice is the captain of our Scholastic Decathlon team," Bella said.

"Scholastic what?" Tanya said with a giggle. "Is that, like juggling books or something?"

Without waiting for an answer, she pointed toward Emmett, who had just sunk a "basket" in the classroom's trash can. "Hey, are those guys on the basketball team? I love basketball! My old school had an awesome team."

"So does your new school," Bella told her. "The Spartans are on a nine-game winning streak right now."

"Cool!" Tanya said, sounding genuinely impressed.

Just then Emmett looked over and saw her staring. "Yo," he said, loping over. "Who's your cute new friend, ladies?"

Tanya giggle and tilted her head."I love your hair," she said, gazing up at Emmett. "It's so wild!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Bella could see that Alice was scowling. She and Emmett were an on-again, off-again couple. As far as Bella knew, at the moment they were supposed to be on again.

Uh-oh, she thought, wincing. Oh, well, i'm sure Tanya will back off when she figures things out, just like she did with Edward. She's just trying to be friendly and fit in, that's all.

"Come on, Tanya," she said. "Alice and i will introduce you to the other guys."

"I'll have to take a rain check," Alice said, still looking annoyed. "I want to do a little more studying for the Biology quiz."

"That's my girl," Emmett joked. "Always exercising that super-sized brain."

"Right," Alice said. "Some people could use a little more of that kind of exersice." She spun on her heel and headed for her desk.

"Hey, what'd i do this time?" Emmett exclaimed, hurrying after her.

"Oops." Tanya stared after them. "Was it something I said?"

"Don't worry about them. They're always like that." Bella led the way over to Edward and the others. "Hi, you guys," she said,interrupting their spirited discussion of last weekend's basketball game.

Edward looked up. "Hey!" he head, his face brightening as soon as he saw her. That expression always made Bella flash back to the first time they'd met-the first time they'd sung together. That had been such a special moment, and things had only gotten better between them since then.

"Hi," she said, smiling at him. "This is Tanya. Shes new. Tanya this is Mike. And this is Edward."

"Nice to meet you," Tanya said. "I hear you guys are, like, basketball gods."

"That's us," Tyler said, puffing up his chest playfully. "Masters of the universe."

Mike smacked his friend on the shoulder and laughed. "Get real, man. You didn't look like a master of anything when you tripped over your shoelace and wiped out last weekend in front of the whole crowd."

"Oh, yea? I did that on purpose to make everyone forget that rebound you fumbled, dude," Tyler retorted with a grin.

"Boys, boys, no need to argue," Edward put in. "You're both master dorks."

As the guys continued to joke around, making Tanya laugh, Bella sneaked a peek at her watch. It was almost time for the warning bell.

Oh, well, she thought. Guess I won't have time to do any extra cramming, after all...

"Excuse me, people!" a loud voice announced. "May I have your attention, please?"

Bella looked up and say Rosalie posed dramatically in the doorway. Her brother, Jasper, was right behind her. Everyone else in the classroom stopped talking and glanced over.

"Thank you!" Rosalie put one hand on her chest. "I'm very sorry, but I'm going to have to insist that everyone quit begging me to tell them whether they're invited to my very exclusive party this Saturday night. I'm afraid you'll all have to wait to find out. It just wouldn't be fair to tell some people and not others."

"Right," Jasper spoke up. "Not fair at all."

Rosalie shot her brother a slightly annoyed look. "Yes," she said, "As I was saying, i must insist upon my privacy. That is all." She flounced to her seat, sat down, and pulled out her cell phone.

"What was all that about?" Bella asked as the rest of the class started buzzing about Rosalie's announcement. "What party?"

Edward shook his head and smiled. "Some birthday party she's having at the country club," he said. "I guess it's supposed to be some big, fancy, exclusive event for everyone who's anyone at Forks High. Or something like that." He winked and Bella.

Bella grinned. That sounded just like Rosalie. She loved being center stage, whether there was a play going on at the time or not.

"Really?" Tanya glanced over at Rosalie with interest. "That sounds cool. And i really lover her outfit-maybe I should go tell her that. Want to introduce me, Bella?"

"Trust me," Tyler told her with a smirk. "You don't want to meet Rosalie any sooner than you have to."

Tanya ignored him. "Please?" she wheedled, smiling hopefully at Bella. "I just feel like I should get to know as many people as I can, you know? and you've been so great about introducing me around..."

Bella hesitated. she and Rosalie had never been the best of friends. Bella had barely been at Forks High a week when she'd won the lead in the school musical-a part Rosalie had been certain belonged to her. It also didn't help that Rosalie had always had a crush on Edward, and that he hadn't had eyes for anyone else since Bella arrived on the scene.

Still, the two of them had reached some sort of understanding since then. And what was the harm in introducing Tanya? She'd figure out for herself soon enough that little Rosalie went a long way.

"Well, okay, i guess," Bella said.

"Thanks, Bella!" Tanya smiled. She waggled her fingers at Edward and his friends. "Catch you guys later, okay? I want to hear all about this weekends game."

She and Bella headed for Rosalie's desk. Rosalie had put away her cell phone and was talking to Jasper.

"Excuse me, Rosalie?" Bella said when they reached her.

Rosalie sighed loudly. "did you not hear what I just said?" she exclaimed. "If you're here about the party..."

"I'm not," Bella assured her quickly. "I just wanted you to meet Tanya. She's new."

"I see." Rosalie looked Tanya up and down with obvious disdain.

"Hi, Rosalie," Tanya said eagerly. "I'm really sorry for interrupting. I just wanted Bella to introduce me so I could tell you that your jacket is absolutely awesome!"

"Oh." Rosalie seemed surprised. But she smiled and smoothed down the lapels of her pink strapped top. "Thanks."

"Its a designer original, actually," Jasper put in.

"It looks great on you, Rosalie," Tanya gushed. "I also really, really love your hair. How do you get it so smooth and shiny?"

Rosalie tossed her head, making her blonde locks bounce. "Well, actually, I-" she began.

"Excuse me, but I'd better go-I just remembered I need to study for a quiz," Bella interrupted. Without waiting for a response, she scooted off across the room. The last thing she felt like doing was hanging around to listen to Rosalie expound upon her favorite subject-herself.

If Tanya's already a Rosalie fan, Bella thought ruefully, maybe that means we have even less in common than I thought.

"Hey, good move," Edward said, grabbing her by the hand as she walked by and pulling her down into the seat behind him. Then he leaned toward her with a playful smile. You finally ditched the newbie."

Bella smiled back uncertainly, feeling a twinge of guilt at his words. Ditched the newbie? Was that what she'd just done?

"What's that supposed to mean?" she teased back. "I was the newbie once myself, don't you remember?"

"Yeah. But your different." He grinned. "Much cuter, for one thing."

Bella blushed at the sweet words. "Nice."

She pretended to be dismayed, even though she knew Edward was only joking. "It's a good thing poor Tanya has me, or her new life at Forks High would be sad and lonely."

She was mostly kidding-Tanya didn't seem like the type of person to be lonely for long. But Bella wasn't going to take any chances. Edward, Alice, and her other friends at Forks High had made her early days here much less confusing and lonely than they had been at any of her other schools. And she was planning to do her best to pay it forward by doing the same for Tanya.

"Hey," Edward greeted Emmett, who was cramming his schoolbooks into his already overstuffed locker. "How'd you do on that chem quiz today?"

Emmett groaned. "Don't ask!"

He slammed the locker shut. It took two or three tries, but finally the latch clicked. Then he tucked his basketball under his arm and slung his gym bag over the other shoulder.

Edward grinned. "Dude, one of these days your locker is going to explode. And it's not going to be pretty."

"Funny. You sound just like Alice." Emmett grimaced. "She actually wrote out some equation proving that if I jammed one more thing in there, the total mass would be to much for the volume of pi squared times x. Or some science junk like that." He rolled his eyes. "Can you believe her?"

"What I can't believe is that you two can put up with each other." Edward counters, his grin widening. He and Bella might have started out as a little bit of an odd couple-nobody would have predicted that the captain of the basketball team would fall for a math-and-science genius. But Emmett and Alice were an even weirder match.

Edward and Emmett headed down the hall. Last period had just ended, and students were at their lockers or rushing off to after-school activities or to catch the bus. Edward checked his watch to see how much time they had before basketball practice started. The coach-who also happened to be Edward's dad-hated it when his players were late.

As they rounded a corner. Edward spotted Bella at her locker. That new girl, Tanya, was with her. Tanya spotted the two guys right away.

"Hi, Edward! Hi, Emmett! Off to practice?" she called as they approached.

"You got it," Emmett replied. "We've got to get ready to dominate Garfield High this Saturday " He tossed his basketball in the air and spun around, catching it in his other hand.

Bella just smiled, but Tanya clapped enthusiastically. "That was great!" she exclaimed. "I'm starting to understand why you guys are so good."

"Uh-huh," Edward said. He glanced at his watch again. "And one way we stay that way is by showing up for practice on time. Come on, Emmett, let's get going."

"Bye," Bella said

"See you." Edward smiled at her, then hurried off.

Emmett caught up around the next corner. "Yo, what's the rush?" he said. "We don't have to be on the court for fifteen minutes." He grabbed Edward by the arm and his eyes widened. "Hold on a sec." he said. "This...this doesn't mean..."

"What?" Edward hid a smile. He could tell Emmett was goofing off again.

Emmett put a hand to his forehead, pretending he was about to faint. The basketball slipped out of his other had and rolled down the hall.

"It's finally happened!" he exclaimed, dramatically enough to do Rosalie proud. "You're finally over Bella!"

Edward shook his head and grinned. "Sorry, wrong answer." His smile faded, and he glanced back over his shoulder to make sure that the girls were nowhere in sight. "But now that you mention it, i am sort of over that new girl."

"Tanya?" Emmett looked surprised. "What's your problem with her? She seems pretty cool."

"You like anyone who thinks you're a basketball god," Edward joked. He scooped up Emmett's basketball and tossed it from hand to hand.

"And you're right. Tanya is perfectly nice. It's just she's been sticking to Bella like glue all day and acting like her new best friend or something..." He hesitated, not really sure what he was trying to say. Usually Edward got along with just about everybody, but there was something about the new girl that rubbed him the wrong way.

Emmett shrugged. "Okay, so maybe Tanya's trying a little hard," he said. "But give her a chance, bro. Sometimes people grow on you. Kind of like a fungus."

Edward smiled. "Thinking about Alice again, huh?" he joked.

"Funny," Emmett said. "Seriously, though. Give it some time. At least it's not like Bella's spending all this time with another guy right?"

Edward blinked. "It's not like that," he said, realizing that Emmett thought he was jealous of all the time Bella was spending with the new girl. That wasn't it-was it?

He bit his lip. Suddenly he wasn't sure. Maybe I am just jealous, he thought. And that's not fair to Tanya-or Bella, either. Why shouldn't she make a new friend if she wants to? I probably just need to try a little harder to see whatever it is she sees in Tanya, that's all.

He tossed the basketball back to Emmett. "Come on. We'd better keep moving or we really are going to be late for practice."

"Someday, maybe, I'll figure out my way around this place!" Tanya cried. "I still can't believe I walked into the teachers lounge during free period, thinking it was the language lab!"

Bella smiled. "Give yourself a break," she said. "It's only been one day. You'll figure it out."

The two girls had just finished at their lockers. Now Bella was walking Tanya out before heading to her Scholastic Decathlon meeting, Which was scheduled to start half an hour after the final bell.

"Are you sure you have to go to that meeting?" Tanya asked. "We could grab a soda or go shopping or something instead. Wouldn't that be a lot more fun?"

"Sorry. They're expecting me at the meeting," Bella said. "You could come with me if you want, though."

Tanya shuddered. "No, thanks." she said. "I'm allergic to brainiacs." She shot Bella an apologetic grin. "Present company excluded, of course."

Before Bella could answer, she heard a commotion from around the corner. "That sounds like Rosalie," she murmured. "And she doesn't sound happy."

Tanya's eyes brightened. "Do you think it's about that party?" she whispered. "Let's eavesdrop!"

The two of them crept to the corner and peered around. Rosalie and Jasper were standing in an otherwise-empty hall facing each other. Rosalie's eyes were flashing fire, and Jasper had an anxious look on his face.

"...and when I called the florist, they said you hadn't even contacted them yet to place the order!" Rosalie was shouting. "I can't believe you dropped the ball on this! You know the right flowers can make or break a party, and it's not easy to get orchids on less than a week's notice!"

"I know, I know," Jasper said. "But I told you, I really needed to study for that chemistry quiz yesterday, and-"

"That's no excuse for ruining my-I mean, our-big night!" Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were more interested in stupid stuff like your homework than you are in making this party a success." She started ticking things off on her fingers. "You forgot about the flowers. You told the caterers buffet-style when you knew I wanted sit-down service. You haven't even finished designing the ice sculpture, or..."

"Yikes," Tanya whispered in Bella's ear as Rosalie's rant continued. "she's serious about this party, isn't she?"

Bella flashed her a smile, but didn't say anything. She felt a little guilty about spying and didn't want Rosalie to hear them.

"That's not true," Jasper told his sister weakly. "I do care about the party. But I don't want to flunk out of school."

Rosalie ignored that. Her expression turned thoughtful. "You know, I wonder if I need to jazz up the plans a little more," she mused aloud. "Unfortunately, you're not the only one who isn't paying nearly enough attention to this party. I really need to come up with something that will get people talking. Add some pizzazz."

She started pacing, tapping her chin with one finger. Jasper watched her go back and forth, his head moving from side to side like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Like what?" he asked.

Rosalie stopped short, her face lighting up. "I've got it!" she crowed. "We could kick things off with a big, splashy musical number. Kind of a way to welcome everyone to the party, you know? You could choreograph it, and we could hire a live band to accompany us..."

Bella could feel laughter bubbling up inside her. She grabbed Tanya and dragged her back around the corner. They hurried down the hall, managing to make it halfway to the next corner before bursting into giggles.

"A musical number?" Tanya exclaimed. "Is she serious?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Bella shook her head. "Rosalie can't imagine anything more exciting than other people getting to watch her sing."

Tanya glanced back over her shoulder. "Still, I bet it's going to be an awesome party," she said, sounding a bit wistful. "It sounds like she's going all out with the flowers and the caterer and everything...I mean, I've never even been to a party with an ice sculpture before! Aren't you dying to know if you'll make the guest list, Bella?"

"Not really." Bella shrugged. "If she invites me, I'll go. If she doesn't, I'll do something else. No big deal."

"But this will be the party of the century!" Tanya cried "How can you not care about whether you're invited?"

"I guess because I know Rosalie," Bella joked. She could tell that Tanya really wanted to go to that party, and she wanted to make her feel better if she didn't make the cut. "She talks a good game, but what's that saying in show business? All sizzle and no bacon?" She smiled. "I have a feeling this party might just be a lot of sizzle."

"Really?" Tanya didn't look convinced."Well, I still think it will be-"

"Clear the way!" a shout came from the end of the hall. A second later Emmett and Mike raced around the corner, looking panicky.

"What's wrong?" Bella called to them as they hurried past.

"It's Edward!" Mike called over his shoulder, not slowing his pace. "He's hurt-bad!"

ohhhh! what happened to Edward? find out in part 2! it will be up in the next couple of days so keep checking. Plzzzzz Review!