"Knock, knock! Rise and shine! It is officially the 1st day of junior year! Bella," Alice groaned, dragging out the syllables as if she was annoyed. "Get up! We have so much to do!"

"Alice, go away!" I all but screamed into my pillow. I'm really not a morning person.

"Isabella Swan, you get your butt out of bed now! Rose is on her way over with Starbucks and you at least have to be dressed before you get anything!" She said, ripping the curtains open. The bright light shined through, immediately blinding me.

"Alice shut the damn curtains! You're killing me." So maybe I was a bit over dramatic, too.

"Oh what are you? The wicked witch of the west? Actually…" She stopped to ponder it dramatically, while I slowly, very slowly, peeled myself away from my soft, warm bed to prepare for the long day ahead of me.

First days of school certainly weren't my favorite. Everybody comes back with their new clothes, and their freshly cut hair, all sporting perfect tans from summer fun, while I come back looking as plain and pale as ever. Dull brown hair, normal brown eyes, small boyish frame. Not exactly something the guys drool over.

Not that you care,

I told myself, you only have two more years of high school, then you're done. Then you're off to college where no one will even care.

With a sigh, I surrendered myself to Alice and let her work her 'magic.' Rosalie arrived 10 minutes later with a Mocha Frappuccino, no whip cream, for me, a Tazo Passion Tea Lemonade with a shot of coconut for her, and an Iced Carmel Macchiato for Alice. I had made blueberry muffins for breakfast the night before, so we all ate and sipped our drinks while Alice attempted to improve my looks.

An hour and a half later, all of us were dressed, with our hair and makeup done to 'perfection' as Alice had put it. Rose was wearing an extremely short pair of high-waisted denim shorts that had a gradual fade out at the bottom that showed off her perfectly tan legs. On top she was wearing a simple white bustier under what I'm sure was one of Edward's, her boyfriend's, plaid shirts. She wore a light pink pair of oxfords on her feet. Her hair was styled in long loose curls, the shine only enhancing her natural blonde hair. She looked amazing, like any American guy's wet dream.

Alice was wearing an adorable, beige lace maxi dress that made her short figure look long and lean. She had on a pair of coral, suede wedges. Her shoulder length was in big curls framing her face. Her make up was perfection! She looks gorgeous!

And then there was me. Alice had forced me into a sort of eggshell blue skirt with white polka dots, and a white cropped sweater. I wore white flats with beige toe and trim detail. My long brown hair had been styled into a perfect bun on the top of my head, Rose who had styled my hair, had even added a few braids for 'visual interest.' My make up was natural because Ali knew I hated wearing it in the first place, but I have to admit I didn't look terrible. I would even say I looked pretty, but I still didn't compare to Ali and Rose.

"Bella? Girls?" It was Charlie on the other side of my door.

"Yeah, dad?" I responded.

"It's seven. You guys should probably head out. Don't want to be late for the first day." And with that we all shuffled out of my room and down the stairs.

"Well, all of you girls look very nice, but I still don't see why it takes so long to get ready." Charlie said.

"Oh Charlie, you men will just never understand." Said a tisking Alice. Rosalie stood behind her just shaking her head.

"We gotta go. See you later dad, love you." I called as I walked outside to my baby. I heard Rose and Alice bid him goodbye as they shut the door and headed for their cars. I turned the ignition on my '76 Ford Bronco Sport. It was old, but in great shape, with a white-painted top and an orange bottom. Charlie always thought it was unreliable, and the gas did cost a fortune, but it was totally worth it.

I arrived in the parking lot not long after the girls. I got a good parking spot which is unusual assuming we got there 10 minutes before school started. I grabbed my bag and walked over to where the group was now standing surrounding Edward's car, a fancy new Volvo. Edward was excitedly telling Jazz all about it's 'totally sick' features, while Alice talked to Angela, another one of our good friends, and Rose tried to keep Mike's attention as he was trying to wave me down as if I hadn't already seen them.

"Bella! How the heck are ya? I haven't heard from you in a while." Mike said as he picked me up and twirled me in a hug.

"Uh, I'm great. How are you?" I responded with an attempt at a smile. I liked Mike fine, but sometimes I think he liked me in a bit of a… different way.

"I'm fantastic, especially since you're here! I missed you this summer."

"Yeah… I was pretty busy… with stuff… What'd you do?" I was actually trying to make conversation, something that I'm not really good being as shy as I am.

"Well I-"

"Bella!" Edward and Jasper had finally stopped obsessing over the new car and had realized that I had arrived. Edward ran over and gave me a big hug. I'd known Edward my whole life and he was like a brother to me, he was also Rosalie's boyfriend so we spent a lot of time together. Once Edward released me, Jasper came up and gave me a friendly hug. I hadn't known him as long, we had met after Alice introduced us in 8th grade. He was new and had just moved here, here being Forks, from Texas. Quite a big difference, but he fit right in and we got along great.

"Guys it's 7:28," It was Angela this time, announcing that we should all head to class.

And at that we all separated. My first class of the day was AP Shakespeare with Ms. Pizer. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in the class who signed up for it out of real interest, and not just to get the AP grade, or for the credit.

"Good morning class! Welcome back to school. I know that you are all just trembling with excitement!" Ms. Pizer said with a laugh. "But before we can dive down deep into the world of Shakespeare, we have a guest. The new guidance counselor, Mr. McCarthy. He should be here in a few short moments, but while we wait, how about we take role?"

"Adams, Lindsey." Here. "Aero, Melanie." Here. "Anderson, Tucker." Here. And so on, down the roster. The class broke into loud noise, everybody excited to see friends after the long summer. I sat quietly, waiting for the counselor to arrive. A few minutes later the classroom door opened and the noise level dropped a bit.

Then he came in. He strolled in casually, wearing nice black slacks that were clearly tailored, because they fit him perfectly in every way, and a nice white button up shirt that was left unbuttoned at the top three, showing just enough of his strong neck without revealing too much. He was a very well-built man, tall and muscular. Actually, he was a very large man when I thought about it, he would easily tower over Charlie, and he had twice the muscle mass of Edward or Jazz. He had broad shoulders, and large arms, and a nice lean core. He hair was dark, dark brown, almost black. It was short, but you could still tell that it was curly. And his eyes were… beautiful. They were the most interesting shade of blue. Not the formal blue, but a radiant blue, if that even makes sense. They were deep pools of blue that shown out. Gorgeous really…

The man cleared his throat, pulling me back to reality. I hadn't realized that I had been staring at him, and I'm pretty sure I had stopped breathing. I blushed and looked down, hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Hey guys. I'm Emmett McCarthy. You can call me Mr. McCarthy, Mr. M, whatever, but not Emmett there is some weird school policy against and I don't want anybody getting in trouble this year." He shoots a stern but playful smile around the room.

"Some of you may even get to call me Coach, as I have also been hired for the position of varsity soccer coach." Hmm… I didn't peg him for the soccer kind, more of the football kind, but soccer players are pretty sexy… David Beckham…

"But anyway, today I am here to talk to you about why you come to see me. So I've put together the most radical power point of you life. Don't get too excited!" He earned a few laughs around the room. I smiled. Cute, athletic, funny. I'm staring to like this guy.

After the power point was over, he passed out contact info. His email, work phone number, and other numbers you can call if needed: suicide hotlines, hospitals, etc, along with the emails and numbers of the other two counselors.

"Now, I will be handling last names R through Z, so if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to stop by! I'm here to help in whatever way I can!" He ended with that note and after taking a few questions he left the room.

I felt as if I could breathe again, but my stomach was twisted in knots. I felt nervous, but giddy, and I didn't fully understand it.

I'm sure it's just first day jitters. That's all.

I tell myself. For some reason, I don't think that's all it is…

I hope you all enjoyed! Please comment and let me know what you think!