I'm not going to miss Arizona.
I hate the sun, I hate school, and I hate my father.
The only thing good happening is that I'm leaving. Today.
The airport was crowded, and the air felt kind of stuffy. I held my mom's protective hand with my left, my right tugging my baggage behind me.
"You there, Dani? Thank goodness! Come on! We're gonna miss our flight!" my mom fretted. I mentally rolled my eyes. Could she not feel my hand in hers? Seriously, woman, and you call yourself my mother!
She dragged me along, seeming to know where to go. At last, we came to a stop in front of a line. Some minutes later, we finally got on the plane. Don't ask for details, though, I slept through the entire thing.
In the last few months, my mom and dad kept fighting and screaming at each other, to the point when they finally got a divorce. It wasn't a pretty thing, and I get depressed whenever I think about it. Sandy, my friend, got rather distant after I vented out my frustration of what was going on at home at her in the words of "I hate you" which I now regret. Still, I know that I can't really change that now.
"—ni? Danielle, honey, wake up. We're here."
I opened my eyes to the sound of my mother's voice, feeling comforted. While me and my father were never really close, I always knew I could count on my mother to be there for me, even if she did get overprotective sometimes.
"Where?" I asked groggily, still half-asleep.
"Washington," she answered. Right. Washington.
I yawned. "Alright, I'm getting up."
We got out of the airport and retrieved our stuff. Hailing a taxi to go to our new home, my mother looked at me.
"How're you feeling?" she asked quietly.
I hesitated for a moment before confidently answering. "I'll be fine." I opted to give her a small smile.
She gave me a knowing look.
"Movie night?"
I smirked. "Do I get to pick what we watch?"
"As long as you buy the snacks." she replied with a growing grin.
"You're on."
"Man, I wish that Lord of the Rings was real."
"Me too. I wouldn't mind meeting Legolas," I said.
"Psh, like I care. So long as you don't take Aragorn," my mom said dreamily. I smacked her arm.
"You have a daughter already, lady!" I joked. "Besides," I began, shooting a side glance at her, "I didn't take Aragorn. Arwen did."
She pouted. "No, I'm going to have Aragorn, no matter what. Now go to bed, young lady, you have school tomorrow."
"No I don't, I just got here," I laughed.
"So did I," was her reply.
I stopped laughing and looked at her, trying to see if she was lying.
"I'm not joking," she warned as if reading my mind.
"WHAT!" I shrieked. "But I'm not going to get a goodnight rest! Wha—"
"Well, that's not my fault. Now go to bed."
I reluctantly went to bed, dreaming of Aragorn as my dad, kicking everybody's ass. Huh, I guess mom SHOULD marry Aragorn.
"Mom, I'm missing a binder."
"Which one, honey?"
"Um," I wavered, pulling out the supply list she gave me. Let's see... hm, green binder, check.. white binder, check... blue bi—
"Blue binder!" I told her. She rolled her eyes.
"You mean the blue binder on your chair?" she inquired dryly. I looked over to my seat, and there it was, in all it's light blue glory.
"Thank you," I piped.
"Come on, sit down, Dani. Eat your breakfast. You know what they say: Breakfast is the most important—"
"Meal of the day," I finished, reciting the phrase my mom has told me all my life.
"Exactly," she said pointedly. "Now eat."
"Fine," I relented. I ate my whole plate (blueberry muffins, sausage and egg) and took a swig of my milk.
"Alright. Now, what time is it?" I asked.
"Seven forty," mom replied without looking away from her plate. I narrowed my eyes and checked the clock before widening them.
7:40
Damn, she's good.
I checked my bag to see if I had remembered everything. Yep. Then I checked my appearance again. Ponytail, flats, jeans, and blouse. Nothing too dressy, though. I deemed it okay. Deciding not use any make up, I turned to my mother.
"I hate you," I said, referring to having to go to school.
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you come back home on time and safely," she said motherly. "Now go on."
My car isn't the best. I'm lucky I have one, though, so I guess I really can't complain. It was a gray-ish minivan, the car my mother used to own before getting a new one. I hopped in and started my way to school. It wasn't hard. I just drove around till I found a student (age gives it away sometimes) and followed them to school. Don't blame me, I've never been here before, my mother should be grateful that I'm so clever.
Anyways, I parked my car off to the side and got out. I locked it before walking down to the building, not really knowing where I was going, just that I somehow will.
And I was right.
However, it seemed kind of weird walking around and having eyes trailing after me all the way to the secretary's office. I was just glad I couldn't hear what they were saying, or at least I wasn't trying to. It's too damn early to start with that shit.
"Just wait a moment... hmm...," the woman finally looked away from her computer screen. "Yes, what did you need...?"
"Dani. Well, actually Danielle, but—"
"OH, right. The new girl. Well I suppose you came here for..." she rifled through a stack a papers.
"These."
She handed me some papers: a map of the campus, my schedule, and a sheet that I recognized had to be signed by my teachers.
"Oh, thanks. I know what I need to do, I can take it from here. Thanks," I said, not wanting to waste time. I rushed out the door and readjusted the bag carrying my books on my shoulder. I looked at my schedule.
Period 1 8:25 - 9:15 French, Room 20 Ms. Delacour
Period 2 9:20 - 10:10 Calculus, Room 114 Mrs. Piechoki
Period 3 10:15 - 11:25 History, Room 212 Mr. Harvis
Period 4 11:30 - 12:25 Sports, Gym Coach Clapp
LUNCH
Period 5 12:55 - 1:50 Biology, Room 208 Mr. Banner
Period 6 1:55 - 2:45 English, Room 100 Mr. Mason
French. Shit.
I doodled on my notebook. I had taken French classes in freshman year, thinking that the language would be cool to learn. Well, sure.
But then there's all the tests and homework/essays that are about and written in said language, so I guess I found out I wasn't that committed. I still got Ms. Delacour to sign the sheet after she reprimanded me for being late. I'm sure she'll hate me even more when she finds out I suck at this class. Heck, I don't even know why I'm taking it!
Oh, that's right... mother...
I'm gonna go to my counselor—
"Barnes! Pay attention!" Ms. Delacour yelled.
"Yes, Madame," I replied, siting up from my slouching position. Sheesh, and it was a comfortable position, too!
I looked around the classroom, seeing friends that were sitting together in groups, mentally taking note of them. The first group were a bunch of black girls with one white-wannabe. I rolled my eyes. Not going there. I looked over to the next group. Well, pair actually. There didn't seem to be anyone else near them, though I couldn't see why not. They (two girls) had beauty, grace, and brains apparently too, which I found out after Ms. Delacour tried to call out their whispering by asking them both a question. They answered like they were casually trading greetings with each other. Very impressive.
Then the bell rang, and I'm pretty sure I was the first one out of the room. The next periods went on much better, seeing as I was actually on time for them. In gym we played basketball, which I rock at. My team won, and my mood was cheered up in time for lunch. I walked down to the cafeteria with one of the fast girls on my team, Lauren.
"So how long have you been playing basketball?" Lauren asked bluntly.
"I actually only played in sixth grade. I got too busy, though, so I stopped."
"You are pretty good for someone who hasn't played a proper game for years. You should join the Girls Basketball Team, or at least just tryout, see how it is." she suggested. I considered the thought for a few moments.
"You know, I might actually do that, but I'm not making any promises," I added as an afterthought.
She smiled. "Okay."
She walked me to a table with her (or so I assumed) friends.
"Everyone," she announced. "Meet, Danielle Barnes. She's new to the school."
A series of noncommittal greetings ensued, and I carried my tray over to where Lauren sat. Near her were two girls and one guy, all of whom were smiling at me.
"Hey," the guy started. "I'm-"
"An asshole!" a random guy cut in. I looked confused at the new guy. He had blond hair and a face that looked too childish for me to be interested. He gave me what he must have thought was a charming smile.
"Mike Newton's the name," he said cockily. I didn't like him.
"Funny, though. I don't recall asking you for it."
Oohs came from the table. I just blinked slowly to show my disinterest and turned towards the guy who was introducing himself before.
"And you are?" He shook himself out of it.
"Oh. Right, I'm Ben Cheney." The girl with glasses spoke up next.
"Angela Weber." I nodded to show I heard her and faced the last girl. She was busy using her phone before sensing all of us looking at her, waiting for her to speak. She opened her mouth and sat up.
"Sorry. My name's Jessica Stanley." she told me. I gave her a polite smile.
"I'm Danielle Barnes," I told her in return. She smiled back at me.
"So who led you to your classes?" Angela said. I frowned.
"Nobody, come to think of it. People seem to like talking about me instead of talking to me."
They all looked at me understandingly.
"Don't worry, I'll take you to your other classes. Here, let me see your schedule," Ben offered. I eventually found it and gave it to him.
"Oh, you've got Bio with Banner. I'll show you where to go."
"Thanks," I said. Lauren and Angela were talking among themselves, leaving me alone with Jessica since Ben had left to chat with the other boys.
"Say, do you have any plans for after school?" she asked me.
"Um, no." I lied. Just a few paragraphs about—well, actually I forgot. I wrote it down somewhere, so I don't have to worry.
"Good! Then we can go shopping, that is, if it's okay with your parents," she ended hesitantly.
"I'm sure it'll be! Besides, my mom is eager for me to make new friends here, so..." I shrugged.
"I'll go."
"Yes!" she whooped.
"Do you wanna swap numbers so we can arrange it?" I asked.
"Sure."
I sighed forlornly, knowing that my sleeping hours would be shortened. Oh well.
Just when the lunch was nearly over, I stood to empty out my tray. I didn't watch were I was going, so obviously I bumped into a guy.
"Sorry," I said impulsively. I looked up at the poor stranger now partly covered in unfinished yogurt and had a hard time trying not to stare. He was hot, so don't blame me. I quickly turned my back and left, not waiting for him to lash out at me. I silently groaned at my bad luck. Only I would bump into the hottest guy ever and spill vanilla yogurt on his obviously expensive sweater on my first day of school.
After returning back to the table, looking flushed, Ben took up on his promise to lead me to my next class. Biology wasn't that hard, I'm pretty sure I could make some kind of impression. Or not.
"And here we are!" Ben exclaimed, reaching the door of Mr. Banner's classroom. We were a little early, so I guess he took this as an opportunity to talk to me.
"Um, I was wondering if you wanted to set up a meeting—"
"What for? I'm not going on a date with anyone, so don't even think about it" I interrupted. He slightly blushed.
"No, I just wanted to make an interview for the school paper—"
"No." I looked at him impassively. "I don't want any articles to be about me or my life, I don't like that."
"Oh. Are you sure?" he asked hopefully.
"Positive," I stated. Now more students had come and started sitting down in their seats. I gave him a forced smile.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll find something else to write about. See you later." And without another word, I exited the hallway and went into the room.
Where to sit? I scanned the room for empty seats and some some in the back, but decided not to go there. I am trying to make an impression of a good girl, anyways. The seat I choose was next to a window, near the front-ish. So I gave Mr. Banner the sheet to sign and sat down in my chosen place. Class was about to begin, and I took out my notebook before another presence arrived at the door. My eyes widened for a second, recognizing him as the guy I had bumped into at lunch.
OH SHIT.
The two word phrase repeated in my brain, each time thought faster and faster. Reason being there was only one seat left now. I guess you could tell where that is.
He saw the only empty seat left and looked at me. His back stiffened and I focused my gaze on the board ahead. I tried desperately not to blush, thanking the Lord above for succeeding. He sat down next to me, putting his bag on the ground and casually slipping his notebook out along with a pen. Black pen, I thought randomly. Then I blinked in confusion in looked at the board again, ignoring the beautiful and stiff creature next to me.
Occasionally, I slipped side glances at him, trying to figure out why he was stiff. I felt hurt when I realized he was teetering off his chair in an obvious attempt to be far from me. That was when I truly started ignoring him. A rude guy like that, even with those looks, was no good to a girl like me.
When class ended, he was the first one out of the room.
"This one makes me look fat," Jessica whined. I stood changing into a red cardigan sweater with blue jeans.
"Then don't buy it," I responded. I got out of the changing room and looked at the mirror. "I think I'm buying these. God knows I need more jeans in my closet!" I said.
"Yeah, but what about me?" she asked with a pout. I sighed. "I think we should try another store." At this she cheered up. "Okay."
I brought my new clothes out of the store and into her car, since I didn't come in mine. I don't know the name of the store we went next, but looked slightly more of a dressy place. After two hours, Jessica was finally satisfied with her pickings.
"Alright, let's go home." My feet rejoiced at the thought or sleeping. Of course, that would be after I had done my French essay. Stupid, evil, French teacher! We were going out in the parking lot and placing the shopping bags with the others when Jessica grabbed my arm. "Look!"
I turned to the direction of where she was pointing. Two girls were coming out of the shop across the one we came out of. I recognized them as the two beautiful girls from my French class.
"Who are they?" I asked her. She looked back at me in disbelief. Then she changed her expression into a perfect "o".
"You probably wouldn't know. That's Rosalie Hale, the blonde, and Alice Cullen, the short one, two gorgeous and taken sisters in the adopted Cullen family. Their dad, Carlisle Cullen, works in the hospital and is married to Esme Cullen. The others in their family, Emmett and Jasper, are taken. Alice is with Jasper, and Rosalie is with Emmett. Then," she smiled in a sort of daze, "there's Edward, the fifth Cullen. He's totally gorgeous and all alone, but apparently no one's good enough for him, so he's single." At this point, she seemed to be frustrated. I laughed at her. She looked at me inquiringly.
"What?" I laughed even more at her confusion.
"You sound like a scorned lover," I chortled. She narrowed her eyes at me.
"I don't even know why I tell you this stuff," she said, walking to the diver seat, and I soon rushed to the passenger seat, remembering that she was my ride.
"Hey, Jess, wait up!"
I sat in my bedroom on the chair for the computer, doing my essay on Word and then translating it on Google Translate.
Gotta love the internet.
I looked at the clock, the time reading 10:41. I sighed. I walked sleepily to my bed, sleeping almost as soon as I slipped under my covers. That night I dreamt about a man with vibrant green eyes.
A/N: So this is the first chapter! I'm not sure if I should continue. Drop a review?