Bella lay in her bed reading a magazine not paying attention to what was going around. As she turned to the next page the doorbell rang. She didn't react believing that her dad would get it.
The bell rang again and she heard her dad shout.
"Bella! Can you get that? I'm stuck in front of the stove here."
Bella rolled her eyes and forced herself up. She was almost there and the bell rang again.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" she groaned.
She opened the door wondering who it would be. She figured it was probably Alice with more things to plan for the wedding.
Unfortunately it wasn't her but someone she had never seen before. It was a teenage girl, maybe a little younger than herself, standing there with a taller man in a fancy suit and what Bella considered, and a really bad comb over.
The girl stood there in an old t-shirt and jeans with a very annoyed and uncaring look on her face. Her hair reddish brown hair flowed freely in her face. She chewed a piece of gum and looked at Bella rolling her eyes.
"Hi," she said not seeming to really care what was going on.
"Hey…" Bella said back.
The man introduced himself. "My name is George Brown. I'm looking for a Charlie Swan. Are you Isabella?"
"Yes, but please, call me Bella. I'll go get Cha- my father."
She turned around and made a quick shout to her dad.
"Dad, we have someone to see you. A Mr. Brown?"
Bella came back with her father behind her cleaning his hands with a small wet towel. He smiled when he realized exactly who was at the door.
"Hello, Mr. Brown. This must be her," Charlie said referring to the young girl standing in front of him. "You must be June," he said extended his hand.
She quickly shook his hand and retreated it. "The name's Jude."
"Oh, like the song!" he exclaimed.
"I guess so."
"Dad," Bella butted in. "Who are these people?" She was both confused and somewhat nervous.
"I'm from the WSS. Washington Social Services. Your father has called us and said that he would like to be a foster parent," George said.
"Foster parent?" Bella asked.
"Yeah, well," he replied, "You're going to go away soon and I still like the idea of being a father figure. I thought it would be a good way to do that."
"You didn't even ask?"
"Bella, not right now." He stepped out of the way and made a motion with his hands to let the two into his home. "Why don't I get you guys something to drink?"
Georg smiled and walked in. Of course Jude walked in too, but she didn't smile. Instead she just popped her large pink gum.
"Thanks," she replied, not caring that much.
Bella gave Charlie a look that said 'what were you thinking' as she entered the kitchen to get their guests some water.
"So how old are you?" Bella asked.
"Fifteen."
"Not much of a talker, are you?" Charlie commented. Jude just shrugged off his comment.
She yawned as she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and left a few strands flowing freely in her face. She looked between the other the three of them and waited for something to happen.
"So, Jude, would you like to see the room you'll be staying in?" Charlie asked.
"I guess."
"Bella, she's staying in the guest room. Can you show around too? George and I need to discuss some things."
Jude, hearing this, got up and followed Bella down the hall.
"This is the bathroom. Here's the closet for things like towels. And finally," Bella swung open a door, "this, I guess, is where you'll be staying."
The room wasn't anything special. It was almost completely bare and consisted of nothing but a brown chest, a twin sized bed, and a small painting of a lake.
"Thanks," Jude said. Her tone wasn't really sarcastic, but it sounded more like she simply wanted to get the whole process over with.
"Not that it's any of my business, but how many foster homes have you been in?"
Jude glared at her. "Lost count a while back. Maybe about eight… possibly nine."
"That's got to be tough."
"You get used to it after a while." Jude then pulled her hand into her jeans and reached out what appeared to be a small block of metal entwined with some plastic coated wires. "Do you guys have an outlet I can use?"
"Sure, right there in the corner." She pointed to the corner next to the bed.
Jude undid her wires and plugged it into the wall. Bella figured it was probably just some kind of MP3 or game system.
"How old are you?"
Bella was surprised when she heard Jude asking the questions. "Uh, I'm going to be nineteen in about two months."
"And you're married?"
She looked down at her ring. "Engaged."
"Never thought it would be easy to find such a great guy in such a small town like this." The only part of the sentence that time that sounded sarcastic was when she said 'great guy'.
"Yeah, they don't come by very easily. So, are you going to be a sophomore in the fall?"
Jude shook her head. "Junior. I skipped the second grade."
"Hey, I know a guy going to be a junior next year. Well, I'm not completely sure that he'll even be attending."
"Great," she sighed. She picked up her arm to show reveal her bulky black watch. "Five, four, three, two-"
"Okay, Jude!" they heard George say. "Your things are at the door. I'll be back in a week to check up on you. Don't get into any trouble. Sayonara!"
"That was fast," Bella said.
"Sure. Why not?"
"Bella, Jude, can you guys come here for a second?" Charles called out.
Jude groaned. This was a regular routine for her. Check out her room, meet the family, talk about how she was going to have a great time with them, then finally let her get some sleep. Only
difference this time was that she might get to attend a wedding. She smiled at the thought. She had never been to one before.
They walked to the kitchen where Charlie sat.
"Bella, I have to go now. I didn't expect Jude to get here until tomorrow and I can't miss work. You were going to drive up to the Cullens ' house, maybe it would be a good idea for her to meet Edward."
"Who?" Jude asked.
"My fiancé. And actually dad, Edward canceled. I'm not going until tomorrow."
"Okay then. Jude, you can go ahead and get your stuff and unpack. You can meet them tomorrow."
