I never thought anyone paid special attention to me, especially girls. I mean, I always thought of myself as the average high school nerd. Most of my time is consumed by band, maintaining a 3.952 GPA, and reading. The only time I was singled out for anything was during a jazz concert when it was my turn to solo. Over the past couple of months, I began to notice things. Girls started giggling and blushing whenever I passed. I always checked to see if I had a TP trail from my shoe or something but I was all clear. Walking into the cafeteria one day I overheard some girls talking about me but as soon as they noticed me they turned away and giggled. What the fuck? Am I the butt of some joke and it just hasn't circled around to my ears yet?

The next day I was sitting on my porch with my guitar just jamming when out of the corner of my eye I see the mailman coming down the street. I didn't think anything of it and just kept playing, closing my eyes and just feeling the music pulse through my fingers as I strummed. The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped me out of my trance.

"Oh, sorry. Got lost in the melody," I blushed as I met eyes with the mailman.

"No problem, I just didn't want to step over you to get to the mailbox," he replied and handed me a small stack of envelopes on top of a light brown package. "Have a nice day," he smiled and walked to the next house.

"You too," I said automatically, pulling the package out from under the envelopes. It was addressed to me. Odd, I don't remember buying anything online lately. I took my guitar inside, tossed the envelopes onto the coffee table without sifting through them, and went to my room to inspect the package. No return address, and the sticker with my name on it was printed from a machine. No clues there. I grabbed my pocketknife from my nightstand and sliced through the umpteen layers of tape.

Wrapped carefully in bubblewrap were two items; an orange envelope with my name on it and a slightly weighty rectangle encased in colorful wrapping paper. Upon opening the envelope I finally discovered who sent the mystery package, my aunt. It was a belated birthday gift, she had been out of town when I turned 17 a month ago and forgot to send the gift before she left. "I hope you didn't think I forgot you, Carlisle. You know you're my favorite nephew! I saw this book and thought you might like it," was what she wrote in the card. Thanks for telling me what my present was, and making me open it anyway. I tore through the paper and examined the book. It was black and the cover had a pair of white hands holding a bright red apple with Twilight in silver writing across the top middle. I had heard some people at school talking about this book, something about vampires. I tossed the book on the bed, deciding to read it later.

I went the whole week without so much as cracking the binding, just moved the book from place to place in my room as it got in the way. As Friday came to a close and I made my way to the parking lot after band practice, I noticed that someone was following me. With a quick glance over my right shoulder, I realized it was this girl from my history class. I continued walking to my car, pretending not to notice. As I opened the back door to toss in my backpack and guitar case, she made her presence known.

"Hey, Carl."

"Oh hi, Amy. I didn't see you there," I reply as I turn to smile at her. She doesn't say anything, just blushes and bites her lip nervously. "Did you need a ride?" I gesture to my car but she shakes her head.

"No, I was just wondering, um, what are you doing tonight?" Again, biting her lip, she averts her eyes from my face and stares awkwardly at the ground. I didn't think her face could turn a darker shade of red.

"I'll be at the football game, I play snare in the marching band, remember?" I chuckle and close the car door which I just realized was still open. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh yea, right. Well, what are you doing after the game?" Amy shuffled her feet, still looking everywhere but at me.

"Usually I go with some friends to grab a bite to eat. You're welcome to come with us if you like," I can't for the life of me figure out why she is so nervous. It's not like she's never talked to me before, we've known each other since middle school and we were paired for projects in other classes. She doesn't say anything; just smiles, nods, and practically runs across the parking lot to her friends, all girls and all giggling. I get into my car, shaking my head and wondering what has gotten into the female population at Ralis High School.