What the hell had happened in Forks recently?

Bella

Passing in my last exam of the semester, I smiled brightly at my professor. I had a feeling that I had done really well on it.

"Have a good summer, Ms. Swan," Professor Banner said, with a wave of his hand.

"You as well, sir. See you in September."

Leaving the hall, I headed for the exit and then to my truck. I flipped open my bag to grab my keys and phone, and noticed that I had missed a call from my father, and had a new voicemail.

"Hey Bells, it's your dad. Give me a call when you finish your exam. I, uh, have some news..."

I frowned, listening to a voicemail from Charlie. That didn't sound like good news. Standing against the cab of my truck,I deleted the voicemail and called my father's work number.

"Sheriff's Department, Deputy Clearwater speaking," came to greeting.

Sheriff's Department?

"Hey Seth, it's Bella. Is my dad around?"

"Oh, um...hey Bella. No, Charlie's not here. Uh, try him at home, maybe?" Seth sounded nervous.

"At home at four o'clock on a Tuesday? Um, okay, I'll try him at home. Thanks Seth."

I ended the phone call with more questions than I had before calling. I had called the Forks Police Department, but Seth said Sheriff's Department. What the hell had happened in Forks recently?

Dialing my father's home phone number, I raised the phone again to my ear.

"Charlie Swan speaking," came the gruff response from my dad.

"Dad? It's Bella. I tried calling you at work, but Seth said you were home. What's going on?"

Charlie sighed, "Bells, I'll get right to it. I'm sorry to bother you kid, but I have news. The county voted to have the Sheriff's department take over Forks as a way to cut costs. I was given the choice of early retirement over being fired publicly at least, but that means a drastic pay reduction. I'm sorry kid, I don't have the money now to pay for your final year of school."

Charlie had said more in that one breath then he had in our last two conversations.

Crap. This is not good.

"Forget about me for a second, what about you? When did this happen?" I was trying not to freak out at the thought of my dad being homeless.

"I'll be fine, Bella. The uh, house is paid for, and I'm a simple guy with simple needs. I won't have enough for luxuries, but I'll be alright. It's you I'm concerned about."

"It's okay, dad. I can get a student loan or something, I'll figure it out," I tried to reassure my father, "But when did this happen?"

Surely they wouldn't have renamed the Forks PD overnight.

"Oh, uh," Charlie stuttered, "About two weeks ago. I didn't want to worry you until I knew anything for sure and I didn't want it to interfere with you studying for your exams.. I'm sorry, kid. Maybe you can move home and get a work for a year? You know Sue would hire you at the diner, or maybe Jake. I know things didn't end well but-"

"Maybe," I cut him off, thinking I would do anything in my power to not have to ask Jacob Black for a job. "I'm covered for rent for the summer, so if I can find a good summer job in Seattle, I can work things out."

"Bella," Charlie said quietly, "Your tuition is around twelve thousand dollars. Plus either your current apartment or moving back into the dorms and living expenses. Sweetheart, I don't think any summer job is going to pay you enough for all of that. I could help with moving expenses home, maybe…"

"I don't want to make any decisions today, I just need time to think of a plan," I said more confidently than I felt, "I'll start looking for a job tomorrow, and I'll go back to school to see if I can find any last minute scholarships."

"Well, let me know what you decide to do," Charlie urged, "I love you, kid. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Dad."

I sighed, pressing the end button on my phone and putting it back into my bag.

The end of my junior year just got a lot more stressful.