Everyone one in Forks was buzzing about the arrival of Isabella Swan, the sheriff's daughter, who was in my Trig and Spanish class. I overheard her telling people that she preferred to be called Bella, and she seemed nice enough. Not that many people were showing her around, so I informed her about classes and teachers and stuff and invited her to sit with me. I introduced to her everyone at my table at lunch.

We were all talking, when Bella spotted them – the Cullens. Everyone pretty much stayed away from them. I had to admit, they were kind of weird. . . They all skipped school and took three-day weekends constantly and still managed to keep their 4.0 GPA's. And they always looked tired. Edward was always talking to himself when all four of them were together, too.

He was the hottest of all the guys in my opinion, even though he did turn me down when I asked him if he wanted to see a movie with me and a few friends last month. He said he didn't date. . . whatever. Bella was still admiring them in all their glory, and I continued eating my lunch.

"Who are they?" Bella asked.

I looked up, but I knew exactly who she was talking about.

Edward turned and looked at me, like I called his name or something, looked at Bella, and then looked away.

I giggled out of embarrassment, a habit of mine, and then I looked at the table. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," I whispered to her.

Bella looked at Edward. "They are . . . very nice-looking," she stammered.

"Yes!" I said. Who wouldn't agree to that? "They're all together though – Emmett and Rosalie, and jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." It was a bit scandalous, and it caused a lot of gossip when they first moved here.

"Which ones are the Cullens? They don't look related. . ."

"Oh, they're not," I responded. "Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties." For an older guy, he was pretty hot, too. "They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children."

"They look a little old to be foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

Bella gazed at the strange but beautiful family for a second, and then continued speaking. "That's really kind of nice – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," I said. I've heard a lot of stuff about the doctor and his wife. I felt a twinge of something – jealousy? – run through me. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have kids, though," I added.

Her eyes darted back and forth to their table.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" Bella asked.

"No," I said curtly. Wasn't it a little obvious? "They just moved down two years ago from someplace in Alaska."

Bella inspected Edward, and he met her gaze. He looked as if he was trying to figure out something – like a hard calculus problem.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" She peered at him from the corner of her eye, but he was still staring at her, trying to work out that pesky math problem.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste you time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him."

Bella bit her lip for some reason, and then glanced back to Edward. His back was turned to us. A few minutes later, the four left to go to their next classes.

I realized something on my way back from lunch – Edward had to be checking her out. That's why he was staring at her like that. I felt another pang of jealousy. Bella was really pretty, I had to admit that. But what did she have that I didn't?

Then I blew it off. It wasn't like Bella and Edward were going to fall in love or anything.