The classroom door opened slowly, almost hesitantly. Everyone in the room, teacher included, turned to see who would come through. It was first period Math and Mr. Anderson had handed out a pop quiz. This meant that surprisingly, for once, the room was an unnatural quiet. Quiet enough, in fact, to hear the door opening.
A girl stepped in, dark hair, brown eyes. She looked up to see the class staring at her and her cheeks; an almost Asian yellow, turned pink. The boys looked at each other, exchanging glances and a girl's voice giggled. Mr. Anderson cleared his throat, glaring at his students. "You have five more minutes. I'd suggest you use it wisely."
Turning back to the girl, he walked forward.
The girl met him halfway, something that was almost a smile on her lips. In her hand, she held a letter. Mr. Anderson could tell, even from that far away, that it was printed on the school letterhead.
New student, he figured lazily.
"I'm Ka…" he waved her shut and pointed to a chair at the back. "The class is having a test. You can go sit there until it's over."
Kara's mouth opened and closed, as if she wanted to say something else and a small flare of defiance glinted in her eye. But the flame was quelled and she nodded, face turning again to her sneakered feet.
She shuffled noiselessly through the aisle, face burning even hotter. When she got to the chair at the back, she sat down and put her books – brand new and unused, on the table. The classroom was not so large, but it was big enough not to seem crowded with thirty students sitting in it. There were large windows on the left and a board up front that the teacher had scrawled 'SILENCE' across. The teacher's table, made of cheap wood and varnished was set between the board and the first row of students.
Everyone around her, except Mr. Anderson, was Native American. Most of the boys had silky long black hair that they either had in a single plait down their backs or tied haphazardly at the nape of their necks. Kara focused on this for a while, admiring the shininess and rich darkness that covered her colleagues' heads. The girls too had the same rich black cascading around their faces like black halos, but some had chosen for a more modern cut. The rest of the boys had cut their hair to almost military style neatness. The straight planes on their faces, symmetrical and proud, screamed beauty and grace; Kara had never felt so ugly in her whole entire life.
On the walls were posters of people, places, things that Kara had never heard of before. But she recognized one with Calculus formulas on it and she smiled. She'd always loved Math. It comforted her of some sort – a link to the home that she'd been forced to leave behind and a family that she'd loved.
Suddenly, unconsciously, her chest tightened and her eyes started to burn. She thought of her home, her mother, of the tearful farewell and also, of her father. It had been too long since her mind could conjure up a decent memory of him again. He was smiling, laughing… always laughing.
Kara's throat choked with the sadness but she beat it back down. A brand new start her Uncle had told her when he'd picked her up from the airport.
A brand new start.
With all her heart and soul, Kara sincerely wished that he was right.
Pierce Anderson peered through his glasses, glaring at all the students around him. His thin mouth was turned in a permanent frown and the lines on his forehead were forever creased. Every now and then, the frown would morph into a grimace, but when it did, it was accompanied with a very long, very loud sigh.
"Pens down," he said, standing up. There were a few groans, but everyone did as they were asked. Pens hit the desks with an echoing 'clink' and some of the students sighed. Finally, it was over. In the middle row at his chair, Jacob Black's head was still bowed, pencil tapping the side of the desk; an incessantly annoying rhythm. Mr. Anderson turned toward him, eyes angry.
"Mr. Black, we would appreciate not having to hear your very limited musical skills."
Jacob's head snapped up and he glowered. What had he just said?! The anger washed in, so suddenly, without any conscious thought, and Jacob's fists started to shake. I'd like to see how much you'd appreciate not being killed…the boy started to stand, focused now entirely on the teacher who had turned his back. The length of his spine, stretching to achieve his full height, was quivering too.
A scream broke through the thick haze in his mind, and Jacob blinked. Only, it wasn't verbally spoken, Embry's voice echoed in his thoughts. Get a grip Jake. Not here, not now. Are you fucking crazy?
Jacob blinked again, anger and hurt fighting for control. His fists were still shaking but he closed his eyes and sat back down.
Get a grip, get a grip, get a grip…Embry's voice kept saying, over and over.
Bella… he kept thinking, bowing his head again. Bella … Bella … Bella …the name swam around his head like an unwanted sickness. How much he wished he could stop thinking about her!
Jacob shook his head, eyes closed. He sank into the chair, imagining Embry's focus on him, even as he sat in the next classroom, for English.
Stop with this Bella shit, Jacob. It's not going to make it any easier.
Lips turned down at the corners, stubborn. Get out of my mind, Embry.
The other boy hesitated for a second, and then sighed, Okay, but if you're going to be an ass and phase, do it after fucking Math class, alright?
"Just so you know bro, what happened back there was totally uncool," Embry Call complained, munching on a piece of pizza. Jacob looked up at him, expressionless. They were seated in the middle of the school cafeteria, two large boxes of pizza before each of them. The ones on Embry's side of the table were both empty. "And this whole silence thing you have going on … it's not working for you. Bella isn't going to come back to you – live that fact, breathe it and understand it."
Jacob said nothing, he just alternated staring at Embry and the pizza. After a single slice he wasn't even hungry any more. And that in itself was saying a heck of a lot. Embry watched him for a few more seconds then shook his head. "This is getting crazy. You know what Sam is going to say when we meet up this afternoon."
Jacob scowled. "I don't exactly care what Sam says. Or you for that matter. I don't understand why you couldn't just let me go when you could. Instead of all these lectures I keep getting every time I breathewrong."
Embry stopped chewing for a second and cocked his head. "You mean let you run. Real brave of you by the way." The sarcasm in his tone brought another flash of anger from his table partner. Jake's fists started to shake. "I wasn't running. I was recovering."
His head clouded and he saw her again – God, was she really going to marry that bloodsucking Cullen?The wave came again, unbidden. Embry shot him a warning look. "If you lose it in here Jake, there's a lot more than me who's going to get hurt."
Get a hold of yourself!Jacob shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs and brought a fist to his forehead. Angry at himself now. Around them, students were moving to their tables, lunch trays in hand, laughing and talking. The room was filled with the sound of teenage joy and human innocence. There was no way they were worried about anything other than a hang nail, these people.
Suddenly, Embry's eyes shot up and refocused behind Jacob. "Who's that?" he breathed, leaning forward. His dark eyebrows had risen in interest.
Jacob, as much as he hated it, was momentarily distracted. He turned to see a tall, slender girl enter the cafeteria. Almost every sound in the room came to a halt when she did. La Push Reservation High School never, at once in its history, boasted a student population of more than a hundred. And with almost half of that population close family friends, related or going out, any new comer would be immediately noticed. Jacob and Embry's dark eyes took in her instant blush, bowed head and black hair. Even if their minds hadn't been connected, their thoughts would still have been evident on their faces.
Who is that?
Embry was the first to break the silence. "Dibs!" he said, and for the first time in a long time, Jacob burst out laughing.