Chapter 1: Drama
The innkeeper, Mr. Miller, ironically, showed me to my room and helped me get my luggage upstairs. The journey to the inn was pretty short, barely five minutes and filled with the pixie Alice chattering up a storm and the man Carlisle shooting her amusing looks. After helping me get off my luggage from the car, the two Cullen's bid their goodbyes, with Alice hugging me while I thanked them profusely. That was when I noticed the ice cold skin. Carlisle looked ready to offer an excuse, however, I found no reason to ask. They helped me and I was thankful. Period. Poking my nose into someone else's business was not something I was particularly interested in.
After some contemplation, I decided to put off sleeping and explore town while trying to find someplace to rent. I took a long shower and after changing into a water repelling parka I bought from Zara, I pulled on my waterproof Taras boots which went right under my knee and simply added kohl to my eyes. I headed downstairs to ask Mr. Miller on where I could get decent breakfast and found him sitting in the reception.
"Morning, Mr. Miller." I greeted "Do you know somewhere I could get breakfast and possibly a place to rent?"
"Well, child, I know Sue's dinner would be good, but I see you have no ride. So I suggest you go up the street to Miss Abigail's place. She doesn't keep anything fancy. Just some eggs and waffles for the policemen working the early shift." He explained. "As for your rent problem, I remember old Mrs. Jenks went to live with her son in New York and told the Chief Swan to look for tenants to rent the house to. For details, you'll have to talk to him."
Locating the desk that supported the nameplate of 'Police Chief', I walked over to the man seated on the desk and he looked up. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties with brown, curly hair.
"Hello. Are you Chief Swan?" I inquired.
"Yes, young lady. How may I help you?" He asked. I could tell he was curious about me but too well-mannered to directly ask me.
"As you can probably tell, I am new in town and I need a place to stay, preferably rent." I explained while satiating a bit of his curiosity. "Mr. Miller told me you might have some information."
"Well, are you alone? Parents? Siblings? How old are you?" He inquired.
"Yes, I am alone. Everyone is back at home, in India. I turn eighteen right after Christmas." I answered. He look satiated with my answers and finally ready to provide real information, it seemed.
"Well, Mrs. Jenks did tell me to search for tenants to rent her old place out to, and you look trustworthy enough. Are you going to attend Forks High School?" He asked.
"Yes I am, sir." I answered.
"Well, are you going to work to pay the rent?" He inquired.
"Yes. As soon as I find a job." I was getting tired of this inquisition very quickly.
"And your tuition for high school?" He still appeared to have a list of questions.
"My brother transferred the amount already. Since it costs less than my old school, he gave me the surplus left and I'm waiting till my birthday to get a home for myself. My parents know where I am (They did know I am in the states) however, they will not accept any responsibilities other than the tuition they have set aside and the money sent with me." I started voluntarily providing information to finish this off and get some god damned food. Looking at skeptical look on his face I continued, "I have my own account before I am eighteen due to some reasons. Also, I cannot drive a car, so I refuse to put money towards something I cannot use and have to spend more getting someone to teach , I am basically going to walk everywhere till I have enough saved up to buy a bike. All my documents including my reason are here along with my dual citizenship proof." I hand him a plastic folder from my waterproof Gucci handbag.
"Very well then. How long can you stay at the inn?" He asked.
"Not long." I quickly answered. I do not want to waste money even if I have enough.
"Can you manage till seven o'clock?" He asked.
"Yes I can." I answered suspicious of his intents.
"Well Mrs. Jenks is going to be back at six-thirty this evening so, you can talk to her and fix out the kinks in your plan after giving her sometime to settle. I do have on good authority that the rent is going to be a good 450$ a month. Will you be able to manage that?" He asked leafing through my documents.
"Yes, I will." Of course I will. The inn cost me 70$ a day and if I move out today, I save up on more than I could even think of doing. That was almost a month's rent. I thought I would have to stay a couple weeks at the inn before I managed to find a place. Then something he said nagged at me. "What do you mean by kinks?"
"You are seventeen. She might require a co-signer for your lease." He was still leafing through my documents so I waited till he found my reasons. I knew he found it when his eyes grew huge, and he looked at me with a hanging jaw.
"I am not going into the account unless someone is dying," I answered his unspoken question. He nodded though still looked pensive. So I elaborated, "I am trying to live on my own, work through life not sit and eat on other's money through it." He actually looked proud though I had no reason why.
"Okay, Miss. Ag- Aga…" He looked awkward trying to pronounce my last name, so, I offered him a way out.
"You can call me Alisha." I offered. He instantly accepted.
"Okay Alisha. Everything is in perfect order, so, I will help with the co-sign problem on some conditions." He seemed to be genuine in helping me.
"What conditions?" This is getting too fishy for my taste.
"Look, I have a daughter who is just a year younger than you and I cannot imagine her living without anyone around to help. So, I'll help you on the condition that you keep up the perfect GPA I see on these transcripts." He said waving them around. "Also, you tell me where you work and I'll keep a check on things. If all these are fulfilled I'll get rid of your co-sign problem."
His terms were so easily fulfilled I had no problems agreeing to them. I nodded and he handed me my file back and ordered me to meet him at the station at quarter to seven on the dot.
I left the station and walked to the diner Mr. Miller mentioned. I came in front of closed sign. Confused, I looked at my watch which showed it was time for lunch. I had spent more than two hours discussing my living arrangements. Lovely, note my sarcasm. I just kept walking hoping to find someone to tell me someplace to eat when I turned around the corner. I saw the high school and thought completing my paperwork was the best distraction to have currently. As I walked, I became aware of someone leaning on the gate of the school. Someone tiny. By the time I reached seeing distance I saw Alice waving at me wildly beckoning me over.
"Hello Alisha. I see you're here." She speaks.
'Well spotted, genius' I think. "Yes." I reply. She hands me box and says, "Here I got lunch for you. Don't worry I know you're vegetarian." She snickers lightly. Not even bothering to question on how she knew I would be here or I am vegetarian, I start eating. I see vegetable tacos and I moan after eating a bite of it. I wouldn't usually take food from others but, she made me feel warm and safe, I wasn't turning down any offers of friendship from a kind-hearted person.
"It's good right? Of course it is. My mom, Esme made these. Now, your paperwork will be in the office with Mrs. Cope. I'll show you there." She again went on a spiel with information she should not know. 'Maybe my parents found out? Or did I have a stalker?' The list in my mind went off and I found myself nearing a panic attack when a wave of calm washes over me. This has never happened before, I blink in confusion when a large hand rubs my back. I realize that I was dry heaving in a parking lot and straightened up, panicking at the feel of someone's touch.
"Whoa! Miss. It's okay. I won't touch you." A male voice with a southern twang said.
After I caught my breath, I looked up. If I was tall, he was huge, towering over me by at least half a foot, maybe more. He had dirty blond hair, and his eyes- so beautiful that I stared right into them. He stared right back at me and it felt like something was connecting. What I do not know, but it was definitely something. The spell was broken by a dainty hand that touched the back of my hand. Startled I looked down and followed the hand back to Alice. She quickly removed her hand and introduced me to the newcomer.
"Alisha, this is my brother, Jasper. Jasper, this is my new friend I told you about, Alisha." I offered my hand to him, but instead of shaking it, he brought it up to his lips and my heart started beating fast. His lips felt soft but had a marble like quality to them- unyeilding- and were so cool I almost moaned in pleasure.
Due to being a person who regularly got overheated, his touch felt like a breath of fresh air, cool and refreshing to me. This time his touch did not make me panic. It felt safe. Safer than anything I have ever known. It felt like his touch had enchanted me and bewitched me. A bell rung and I looked away, I could feel heat on my cheeks, but he did nothing but give a deep chuckle that made me shiver. With what feeling, I do not know, but it was a shiver, none-the-less.
They started walking and I followed, hyper-aware that Jasper was still holding my hand. They took me to a brown door in one of the many buildings.
"That is the office. We'll see you later, Alisha." With that Alice was gone tugging Jasper behind her. He held my hand till he was too far to hold on to it and then dropped it.
Dazed, I walk into the office and found a small cosy room and a desk filled with flowers and bright papers. I cleared my throat politely and the large, red-haired woman behind the desk, looked up from her paperback. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Alisha. My brother got me registered here?" I informed her, and saw immediate curiosity light up her eyes. Of course, she wants to know gossip material. As if Chief Swan's Spanish inquisition wasn't enough.
"Yes dear," She looked through a delicately stacked pile of papers on her desk and immediately took out a bunch of papers kept together by clip. "Everything seems to be in order other than your transcripts. Your brother did not send those." I look through my bag and hand them to her. She mentioned to one of the padded folding chairs and I took a seat. She started leafing through my transcripts and pencilling down information along the clipped papers.
Fifteen minutes and one intense stare match with the counter later, she said "Yes, perfect. However, here it mentions that your subjects are AP Literature, Hindi, AP Psychology, AP Biology and Algebra." I nodded and she continues, "Well, you see dear, we do not offer Hindi nor do we have AP subjects here, so how about you look through the syllabus for the subjects we do have and see if you want something else. I'll see what I can do about you language problem."
She walks out of the room and I start looking through the course work they have and find that most of it had already been covered in my old school. Thank the gods. It was not going to be as hard a year as I thought. I could start self- study on most of my work to stay ahead. However, the psychology course I had finished already so I thought about picking up a new subject for some extra credits (stave of my boredom). Just then, Ms. Cope (as her nameplate suggested) walked in with a man with small eyes.
With a stern voice, he jumped right into the matter. "Ms. Alisha, how much of Hindi do you know?" I recognised the voice as Principal Greene due to our one tiny conversation over the phone. His question was odd. It's like asking a Frenchman whether he could speak French or not.
"I grew up in India sir. It's my mother tongue. I know it better than the back of my hand." I answered.
"Very well," he said. "Then can you study on your own or do you want a new subject?"
"I would like to self-study." I answered. "Credits are not a problem. I have more than enough to graduate."
"Okay, I'll see if I can arrange for someone to look into your work once in a while. Now, for psychology?" he asked.
"I would like to take philosophy instead." I answered. His eyebrows went up.
"Will you be able manage?" He looked a bit concerned, so I immediately went to soothe them. No point in making an enemy out my principal.
"Yes sir. I'll start working hard right away and if I feel like I am too far behind, I'll ask someone to tutor me."
"Good plan. I would suggest Mr. Cullen for tutoring. He is an excellent student with perfect academic history." Cullen. He must be someone related to Alice. I remember her mentioning four siblings, so it must be one of them. Immediately thoughts of Jasper start creeping into my mind. I can feel the blush start to develop, so I go back to the conversation.
After a heavy discussions and many more questions we settled on Literature, Biology, Philosophy and Algebra along with gym (which was compulsory, much to my annoyance) and music. To my pleasure, though a school bus would pick me up for school saving me a walk. At four o'clock I walk out of the building with a sense of accomplishment.
Now, the only thing left to do was find a job, and I was all settled. I walk around the town familiarising myself with its layout. Eventually, I found the library. It was a dilapidated building that had seen better days, but I could already smell the scent of paper and books in the air. Giving a cursory glance toward myself, I entered the building. And that was when I saw a godsend. A "Help! Needed" sign. Luckily, I had volunteered in a library before and Chief Swan had allowed me to list him as a reference. The lady stocking books looked at me and then beckoned me over.
"Yes dearie, how may I help you?" She asked.
"I saw the help sign outside and wondered if I could..." I trailed off.
"Oh yes! Yes! My name is Maggie. Are you new? I don't think I've seen you around." Lovely. Another inquisitor. I explain my situation to her and in the end we decided on everyday two hours after school and four hours on weekends. Though a little hectic, it would pay all my bills, namely, rent and food, so I agreed. I thought I would have to work another job to keep up, but she was more than happy to give me the job.
I had to stock the bookshelves, and help the customers along and help with the tour organised once a month for children, but, other than that I was free to sit in a corner to read a book or do my schoolwork. As long as my work was finished she did not care what I did with the remaining time. The deal was amazing, and I was shocked that no one else wanted the job.
I heard the clock strike six and bid her goodbye. Walking to the café I saw while exploring, I ordered myself a lunch and by the time I finished eating, I just had enough left to walk to the station.
Mrs. Jenks was a sweet, old woman who agreed immediately after hearing my story. She just gave me a few rules, namely- no parties and she wanted the house clean. I could use the garden as I wished and electricity, gas and water were problems to be handled by her. Chief Swan stayed by side the whole time, and she agreed to allow me to stay without a co-signer as long as I paid my rent on time. The house was fully furnished though food was scarce in the cupboards, I had enough money left to buy myself food. After all I was a vegetarian, all I needed was fruits, milk, eggs and vegetables. Herbs I would grow on my own. Plus, I barely ate dinner, lunch would be packed for school and breakfast was cereal and milk unless I woke up early enough for something fancy.
We agreed on me moving tonight since she wanted to stay over at her sister's house and her bags were already packed. Very happy, I turned to leave to collect my stuff but Chief Swan 'call me Charlie', stopped me.
"How are you going to get all your bags here?" he asked.
"I'll drag them here. How long can it take?" I shrugged. He shook his head exasperatedly and mentioned me to get in his car. I smiled happily and got in. While driving he told me about his daughter, Isabella and told me that he would be stopping at his house for something, so I could meet her then.
Two minutes later we were stopping in front a white two storied house. We entered and Charlie yelled for 'Bella' to come down. A heart shaped head with brunette hair peeped down from the stairs.
"Umm… hello." She looked towards Charlie in confusion.
"Bells, this is Alisha. She's moving into Mrs. Jenks' house. She's going to High School with you." He seemed ready to bolt, even though the conversation was his idea in the first place.
While Charlie did whatever he was doing, Isabella 'call me Bella' and I awkwardly conversed with each other. Actually, conversed was wrong, we shared views on Wuthering Heights. Apparently it was her favourite novel as well.
Soon, Charlie came back and Bella and I bid goodbye to Bella.
The house Mrs. Jenks left really was very comfortable and neat. There was a study, kitchen, den, bedroom, and a bathroom- all necessities and no unneeded waste of space. I didn't feel like dinner so I unpacked- well attempted to before realising I had too many clothes. So, I started on unpacking the suitcase filled with my school things and arranged them all in the study. Next, I unpacked my clothes and shoes for the next day and decided to the rest later.
I filled my messenger bag with my very heavy binder, lots of different coloured pens and stationary that I needed. Books would be provided to me tomorrow so I did not need those. After that I decided that I should keep a change of clothes in my locker in the least. God knows what the school entailed- I was not getting water thrown at my clothes and then wandering around in them. My bag was a tad heavy but, then again I would leave more than half my stuff at the locker and just carry my binder and pens to classes. Appeased I ran through my checklist.
House. Check.
Job. Check.
School. Check.
Everything needed for tomorrow. Check.
Next on my to-do list
Food.
Unpacking.
Calling my parents (can't believe I have to do that!).
Well I seem to be running on track with time. I closed all windows and locked the main door. Then, because I started feeling flushed, I quickly took off my clothes hung them behind the door and went to sleep on top of the covers in my bra and panties. After all I was living alone. That got my attention.
I was finally living on my own! No expectations, no reprimands and finally no arguments. Peace and quiet. I finally fell into a peaceful sleep on top of the covers smelling love in the air.