A.N. - So this is my first attempt at fanfic, just something that has been floating around in my head for awhile.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Edward, Bella, or anything Twilight related. The genius that is Stephanie Meyer created Twilight and all its awesomeness.

Chapter 1

BELLA

I looked in the mirror for the tenth time. Well, this is the best it's going to get.

I was wearing SmartMart's standard issue uniform: a white t-shirt under a blue vest with the fuck-ugly SmartMart logo over my right breast, with light tan khakis and sneakers.

How did this happen? Oh right, I was fired from my shitty job in Phoenix as a copy editor for "misuse of commas, horrible placement of semicolons, and inadequate knowledge of basic grammar and mechanics." As if my life hadn't sucked enough, my boyfriend Jacob kicked me out of our house, after 8 years together.

"I met someone else, sorry." He shrugged. To maintain at least a miniscule amount of dignity, I kneed him where it counts. "Fuck you." I said classily.

So that's how I ended up here, in Forks, working for SmartMart. SmartMart was the biggest monstrosity I had ever seen, selling everything from groceries to furniture. It was three stories high, and was easily the largest store in town. Hell, it was almost bigger than the town itself.

So why Forks? Well, my dad, Charlie, owns a house here and offered it to me to live in. When he retired from his job as police chief two years ago, he moved to Colorado to pursue a life that alternated between fishing and sleeping. So now I live in his house, alone, and I work for SmartMart. Damn, four years in college just to have an utterly hopeless life at only 22. Oh, the irony.

I sighed. Today was my first day of work at ShitMart. I slowly locked up the house and walked to my beat-up Chevy. The door creaked loudly as I opened it and a chip of paint fell off when I slammed it shut. I loved my truck, but it was falling apart. It had personality where it lacked in luxury. Maybe I would earn enough from this job to repair it.

When I arrived at SmartMart, I parked in the special employees section. God, this place looked even bigger today. A horde of people were dashing to the entrance. Fuck, why did I agree to this? I followed through the revolving doors, where I was instantly greeted by a stout, middle-aged man with dark hair.

"Isabella Swan?" He asked and extended his hand. I noticed his hair was graying at the temples.

"It's just Bella." I shook his hand.

"Charlie has told me great things about you. I'm Eustace Bugles, the manager here at SmartMart." A small giggle escaped my lips but I was able to conceal it as a cough. He didn't seem to notice. "I'll be giving you a quick tour, as you can see, we're very busy, so you've got to start work as soon as possible." Bugles started walking.

"This is the grocery section of the store." He waved his arm across the area as if it were a museum display. He showed me a few other sections of the store before we reached the checkout area.

"This is where you'll be working, Ms. Swan. It is quite a rarity to be given this job with no previous cashier experience…" He trailed off looking into the distance. His brow furrowed. I turned to see what he was looking at.

One of the cashiers, an impossibly tiny and petite girl with short jet black hair, was clutching a bright orange tube top, her face puckered.

"Are you going to scan that, or what?" The customer waved one of her flabby arms over the conveyor belt. The woman shifted impatiently, her large frame blocking my view of the rack of magazines next to the checkout lane.

The cashier looked up at the woman, her face still twisted with distaste. "Actually, Miss, this type of shirt is best suited for women who aren't-"

"Alice!" Mr. Bugles screeched and ran over to the cashier. I could hear Bugles apologizing profusely to the customer while alternately scolding Alice. I stifled a laugh. Maybe not everyone at SmartMart sucked after all.