Ch. 1
E.P.O.V.
Sitting at his new desk, in his new classroom, Edward stared at the papers lying on the desk in front of him.
I look too young, they'll never respect me, he found himself thinking.
Well then, whom do we have today? He quickly glanced over the roll. Thankfully none of his siblings decided to go back to high school again, opting for a career path instead.
If any of his family had been in any of his classes his life would have been a living hell, as if it wasn't already. I shouldn't think things like that. It's not fair to my parents. Besides, except for the impending eternal damnation things are looking up.
I'm an English teacher at Forks High School, my latest old haunt and Carlisle and Esme are even considering letting me move into town. I sound like a child, but it is partly their decision as well as mine. Better make sure everything's ready.
He ended the internal conversation and stood up grabbing a dry-erase marker from the teacher mug/pen-holder. He wrote his name in elegant script across the board, leaving out his first name, and giving the simple but authoritative Mr. Cullen.
I really wish I could put a Dr. in front of my name, but they'd probably be suspicious since I already look more like a student than a young teacher anyway, though I've got the education twice over for someone with a Doctorate.
He quickly adjusted his tie, straightened his waistcoat-its called a vest now but waistcoat sounds so much more refined, he thought. He scooped up the introduction papers he had drawn up for his class and stood patiently for the next five seconds until the bell rang.
The students quickly filed in, some more quickly than others. He could immediately tell by the gait of their walk, their smell, and their thoughts of course, which students were eager and which were…well, not.
His head ached slightly for a few seconds as he adjusted to all the voices speaking and thinking around him now. He turned toward the board, the same direction as the door, just in time to see Jessica Stanley and a girl he didn't recognize come in the classroom. All he saw was her beauty at first.
She was not necessarily immortally beautiful, he wouldn't even call her gorgeous, she just had this emotional vulnerability and softness that pored out of her in a way that physically lit up her face. Her skin was white, so white, and her perfectly human heart was pumping so fast her cheeks had the most flattering color to them. Her eyes were warm and soft, shielded by long dark lashes. She was simply beautiful.
He then noticed two other things about her. First, he could not, no matter how hard he focused, read her thoughts. She was blank to him. And second, she was so frustratingly familiar to him he almost said hello in a "I know you" kind of way instead of a teacher kind of way.
"Hello ladies, welcome. We were just about to begin. Miss Stanley, and miss…?" He began. The soft-eyed one opened her mouth to answer, but as her usual habit, Jessica opened her mouth and spoke, louder and a good two seconds before her partner could even think. "This is Isabella Swan, Mr. Cullen. The Sheriff's daughter. She just moved here from Arizona-oh wait! You're from Arizona but you just moved here from Florida right?" Jessica looked at her expectantly.
The other students were beginning to whisper and stir at this new bit of gossip. At least it was all true for once, or at least mostly true, given that it came from Jessica Stanley's mouth.
The poor girl looked completely unnerved. "It's just Bella." Was all she got out. There was a second of awkward silence, and then Edward directed them to find a seat.
Nothing about her history that Jessica had said left any clues in his mind. Although he did feel like he knew a girl from Arizona, though he'd never been there himself.
