Please bear with me on the timeline scheme. Hurricane Katrina was in 2005, so I might accidentally mention a few things that occur or were made after 2005, but I tried to avoid doing so. Well, enjoy.
I don't own any of the Twilight saga characters! Only Jianna, Austin, Tracie, etc., my original characters.
Displaced
Jianna
Forks High School. She grimaced at the tawny sign that stood between her and her new school for the next nine months. Suppressing the urge to kick the brick structure, turn around, and walk back home, Jianna stuffed her hands deeper in her hoody pockets and merged with the chatting teens entering through the front of the school building. It wasn't part of her nature to be so pessimistic towards change - or anything for that matter - but due to her situation, it was understandable.
She could put it off as the consistently gloomy weather that she was not used to or the sudden transfer to a new school, a new home, and a new town, but that didn't even start to explain it. The reason had left Jianna devastated. It left her childhood memories a blur, ran all of her friends away, and snatched her father away from his family. She left Jianna shell-shocked and empty-handed. She was the downturn of all of Jianna's 18 years of living. She left Jianna with no where to call 'home'.
Katrina.
Jianna's entire hometown as well as emotional stability had been wiped out in that catastrophic day. After witnessing and being a victim of such destruction, it's nearly impossible to overcome it in a single bound. It was more than just an obstacle for her; more like a brick wall, and Jianna ran head first into it. Forks was a huge change for her from the lively, vivacious, and busy New Orleans she grew up in.
Strolling through the halls, she felt like every face that found hers screamed one thing; pity. She didn't want their pity. She wanted to be back in New Orleans at Benjamin Franklin High with all the people she knew, celebrating their senior year together and getting ready to separate. Instead, there was no time for celebration or preparation.
Jianna managed to get her schedule from the office in record time thanks to her mother calling as soon as they arrived in Forks to set up a class schedule. On her way to U.S. Government, her first class, she took the hall with her locker on it to ensure she would be able to find it later on.
Room 52, she read from her schedule and looked up to the white plate above the outside of the door that read Room 52 as well. She filled her lungs before releasing an impassive sigh and knocking on the door.
"Come in!" a baritone escaped from the other side of the door.
She entered and went straight to the African American male in pinstripe slacks and a solid navy button up standing in front of the teacher's desk and handed him the schedule she had just recently received.
"Ah Miss Reed," he spoke as though he'd been expecting her. "You're from Gnaw'lands, right?"
Is this some kind of joke? I don't even talk like that. As bad as Jianna wanted to snatch the yellow paper out of his hand and smack him across the head with it, she didn't. He was only trying to get a smile out of her, she assumed.
She only nodded.
"Alright, well I'm Mr. Palmer. Take a seat wherever there's an empty one at. We'll find you a more permanent one once you get more settled in." He initialed her schedule and handed it back.
It didn't make sense to Jianna as to why Mr. Palmer wanted her to get settled and comfortable in a spot just for him to change it. She rolled her eyes to herself as she headed toward the back of the classrom, ignoring the stares, and sat in a vacant desk in the last row.
"Oh and we don't wear hoods in the classroom, Miss Gnaw'lands." Mr. Palmer announced to her, requesting that she removed the hood she forgot was on her head. Was he going to continue to call her that ridiculous name?
She pushed the hood off of her head and ran her fingers through her curly raven tresses instinctively. Her hair was naturally wavy but she curled it that morning and wasn't going to let the drizzle outside ruin it. A few students had turned around and were looking at Jianna but she ignored them, pretending to center her attention on what the teacher began to lecture on. Neither math nor history were her key points so she was trying to determine how difficult it would be to make it through this class.
"You're like a refugee, right?" a lean, blonde boy whispered to Jianna.
Beside his rudeness and lack of even an informal greeting, Jianna was instantly irritated by him. She hated that word; refugee. It made her sound like an illegal immigrant running away from her former country to the States. She didn't run away from anything, she was forced out of her home to this dreary excuse for a town.
Jianna only scowled at him and focused back on the teacher.
"Fine," he scoffed. "What's your name, anyway?"
She slid her schedule toward him without shifting her attention at all.
"Jianna," he read quietly to himself. "Well, beautiful, I'm Austin."
Jianna couldn't even muster the discipline to form an appropriate reply to Austin. Was he trying to hit on her after insulting her and practically calling her an expatriate? Thank God this wasn't her permanent seat.
By lunch, Jianna had lost her standoffish façade and befriended a handful of people, Austin from Government not being one. She didn't intend on being in an awkward situation, sitting wherever she could find a seat then feeling obligated to shoot the breeze with the strangers surrounding her. By the time she got her lunch tray, a short light brunette with straight shoulder length hair and striking eyes named Tracie waved Jianna over to her table.
"Jia, this is Evan, Ramona, Mark, and you know Candice. Everybody, this is Jianna." Tracie made the friendly introduction for Jianna.
"Hey Jianna," they chorused together, and Jianna smiled.
"He-ey," she spoke enthusiastically and sat down in the empty seat by Tracie, whom she had become friends with in Calculus. Tracie seemed incredibly sociable and Jianna didn't feel like the 'unlucky tragedy story girl' around her. Something about her reminded Jianna of an old friend at her old school.
"Jia I am stealing your hair," Candice smiled, flipping with one of Jianna's curls.
Candice had strawberry blonde hair that was about the same length as Tracie's. She had an artificial tan that somewhat suited her that seemed necessary in Forks. Her emerald green eyes were the same shade as Jianna's but nowhere near the same almond shape.
"You can have it," Jianna complained. "It feels like it takes days just to get it all curled or flat ironed."
The chocolate haired girl formerly introduced as Ramona asked, "Is it naturally black? Or did you dye it?"
"It's natural," she relied beaming. She felt as though she was complimenting herself without having to brag.
"Straight?" Candice asked.
"Nope, kind of curly. Like. . ." Jianna scanned the cafeteria tables for a girl with the same hair shape as her own. "Like hers . Just not that. . .perfect." Jianna pointed to a pale skinned female that strolled into the cafeteria, accompanied by five others. As a matter of fact, the other five people were just as pale as her and just as physically stunning.
Everyone at the tables attention when to where Jianna had briefly pointed at.
"Oh, you mean Bella? You're right about that 'perfect' part," Tracie mused. "Their whole family makes just walking look like the runway."
Jianna nodded slowly in agreement. "Family?"
"They're all adopted by a doctor who works here in Forks. Well, all of them except Bella. She's dating Edward." Ramona explained. She named each of the Cullens to Jianna and left her staring in wonder.
The tiny one with spiky black hair that Ramona had addressed as Alice stopped and her eyes collided with Jianna's and they both froze. Alice's face went from smiling to a blank stare in nothing flat. Bella grabbed Alice's arm and shook it then looked at Jianna as well. Jianna's gaze quickly fleeted to the others occupying her table who seemed to all be paying attention to something else by now. When Jianna looked back at Alice, she was gawking as if Jianna was some kind of eight headed dragon. The one Ramona addressed as Jasper, Alice's boyfriend, was clearly talking some sense into his girlfriend because Alice's expression changed to one of surprise then unemotional.
"Did you guys see that?" Jianna questioned her small circle of friends.
"See what?" Tracie asked, sticking a French fry in her mouth.
Jianna looked back at the Cullens who were now walking towards the lunch line, only Bella looking over her shoulder at her. Jianna groaned inwardly. Just when she started to get comfortable with these new surroundings, she was in an awkward position with six gorgeous strangers.
Hmm, that was a lot shorter than I thought it was. I know, no Jasper yet! I promise there will be plenty in the chapters to come.
Well, please review. ;)
