Chapter Two 

I sat staring after him when the pixie touched my arm and said, "And my name is Alice. Forget Edward, he's not good with new people." She smiled comfortingly, but I knew there was more behind it. I decided not to press the matter, though.

Alice sat next to me and they all stared at me expectantly. I smiled and began eating, feeling more and more uncomfortable. I could feel their eyes burning holes into my face and I was sure I was blushing as well. My watch suddenly vibrated, indicating the bell was to ring in a few minutes.

"What was that?" the big one, Emmett, asked.

"Oh, my cellphone," I lied quickly. "You can hear that?"

"Yea, it makes an annoying buzzing sound," he said, picking at his apple.

I nodded, trying to seem interested. I noticed then that they weren't eating. "Hey, are you guys going to eat? The bell is going to ring in a few minutes."

"Oh, the school lunch doesn't work well with our stomachs. We have a special diet at home," Alice said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yea, our dad, or Carlisle-"

"Wait, your dad is Dr. Cullen?" I was shocked and slightly frightened of her answer.

"Yea," said the blonde one. He looked at me funny, like if he wasn't sure of something.

I threw my emotions in their bottle and said, "Oh, cool. My dad said he's a good man." Do they know? I stood up and said, "Well, I gotta make my way to my next class, but I'll see you guys later." I smiled and grabbed my tray, making my way over to the garbage bin. I threw my food away, and was being to walk away when I had a classic Bella moment. I slipped, and was able to catch myself, but accidentally bumped into someone behind me.

I turned and saw that I had bumped the tray, not a person. Her food went all down her front, making a mess. I gasped and said, "I am so sorry."

"Tell it to someone who cares," she said, putting her tray away and stomping off. I blushed and was about to go after her when a hand touched my arm. I turned and saw Jessica standing there.

"Hey Jess. I have to –"

"No, it's okay, Bella. That's Lauren. She's just a really overdramatic drama queen. She's fine. You just hurt her pride."

"Really? I should probably go get her a new shirt…"

"No, just leave it be. She's fine and next week, she will have forgotten it and be your best friend. It's okay."

I nodded, not sure. Another girl who had been standing behind Jessica came forward and said, "Yea, just ignore her."

I nodded and smiled, saying, "Hi, I'm Bella. I don't really know your name."

"Angela Weber. Nice to meet you, Bella," she said, smiling. "Where's your next class?"

"Biology," I said, pulling out my paper to make sure. "With Banner."

"Oh, that's my next class. I could take you there," Angela said, smiling some more. She was really nice.

"Thank you. That would be great."

We waved goodbye to Jessica and began our maze through buildings and walkways to Biology. She would ask me a question or say something to start a conversation, but it was pretty silent. When we arrived to the Biology building, I opened the door and there was Edward. He turned and his eyes widened when he saw me. I gave him a brief smile and made my way over to the teacher's desk. He signed my slip and said, "You sit over there, by Mr. Cullen."

I nodded and smiled, turning around and going over to the lab station Edward was at. I put my bag on the top and sat down. I turned to him and smiled, saying "Hi, again." He nodded and turned, looking out the window, stiff. My smile faded quickly and I began opening my bag. I pulled out my pen and notebook, then began jolting down the notes that were on the board. My watch vibrated, indicating the bell was ringing (I could hear the bell! And it was annoying!), so I looked up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward suddenly turn around freakishly fast and look at my wrist, staring at my watch. I looked at him and said, "Yes?"

"Why does your watch vibrate?"

"It wasn't my watch. It was my cellphone," I said, trying to lie.

He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and looked to the teacher. I turned my attention back to the teacher as well, trying to focus on what he was saying. I took notes, and when the bell rang, I began getting up when I realized Edward wasn't there. I looked at the door and it was closing behind him.

I took a deep breath, putting my emotions into their bottle, and calmly put my stuff in my bag. I was about to leave when a boy with spiky blonde hair walked up. "Hey, you're Isabella Swan, right?"

"Yea, but I prefer Bella," I said, smiling. I shook his outstretched hand and said, "What's you're name?"

"Mike Newton. Nice to meet you, Bella," he said smiling. I pulled my hand from his (he wouldn't let go!) and smiled at him. "What's your next class?" he asked.

"Um, not sure," I said, looking at my schedule. I had gym, but I had to get that changed. "I have to go the main office, but I'll see you later, okay?"

He smiled bigger, obviously taking the "see you later" too seriously. "Okay, see you around, Bella."

I left and hurried straight to the office, trying to remember where it was. I stopped and pulled out my map, trying to find where it was. I had to take a left, then a right. I hurried and took the left, then was on my way to take the right when I ran into someone. I looked up and said, "Sorry," only to realize it was Emmett.

"Hey!" he said, smiling at me. "How are you, Bella?"

"Good. You?"

"Good, just on my way to Spanish. Where you off to?"

"The main office."

"Oh, just go the right and you're there," he said, smiling.

"Thanks," I said, smiling and hurrying away.

I walked up the steps and opened the door, walking in and going up to the counter. "Hi," I said.

Mrs. Cope looked up and smiled. "What do you need, dear?"

"I can't take gym, so can I change that class?" I asked.

"Yes, do you have a doctor's note?" she asked smiling.

I nodded and pulled it out, handing it to her. When it comes to my doctor's note, it doesn't mention that I'm hearing impaired. All it says is that I need to sit in the front and no sports except running in track.

She typed something into the computer, and she said, "Okay, here are the classes we have open." She turned the monitor some to face me, and I looked down the list. There was Art, Music, Choir, Mechanics, Spanish, Business, and Literature. I thought for a moment and said, "Is there any after school stuff with these classes?"

"Yes, in Music. An after school music club thing that the music teacher started."

"Okay, Art, please, and do I have to sign up for the Music Club?"

"No, just walk in and introduce yourself. She might have you play a piece, but that's it."

I nodded and grabbed my new schedule. I looked at the map while leaving, trying to figure out where the Art building was, when I just about ran into someone. I looked up and saw Edward. "Hey, sorry," I said. He just stared at me. "See you later, too." I hurried down the steps to the art class.

I walked around for a few minutes, then came to the class. I walked in and everyone looked at me. I blushed and hurried over to the teacher, handing her my slip and my doctor's note. She looked at it, then smiled and said, "Welcome. You sit right next to Alice."

I raised my eyebrows at the name and turned. I looked in the front 2 rows and there sat Alice, off to the right, smiling at me. She waved me over and I went over and sat down by her. "Hey," I said.

"Bella, I'm so glad you're in this class! We're going to be the best of friends!" she said, bouncing a little in her seat.

I smiled my biggest, glad that she wanted to be my friend. I was cautious, though, because I wasn't sure if she knew. "Well, I hope so. Now, what are we doing?" I asked, looking down at her art.

"We're drawing anime. This is supposed to be an angel, but I did the wings wrong."

"Really?" I asked, looking down at her drawing. It looked perfect to me.

"Yea, one's bigger than the other."

"Well, she is sitting to the side, so that's how it's supposed to be," I said, my inner artist kicking in. "One wing is off to the side and the other is behind her. They're supposed to be different."

"Yea, but they seem kinda off."

"It's okay. It looks perfect to me," I said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Bella!" She hugged me briefly, making me stiffen at the sudden contact. I hugged her back best I could, and pulled my sketchbook out of my bag.

I flipped to a blank page and asked, "Is there anything specific we have to draw?"

"Yea, something fictional," she said, while drawing the shoes of her angel.

I nodded and began drawing, letting myself lose. Whenever I drew, wrote, or played the piano or guitar, I feel like I can be normal. I feel like I see everything, smell the smells, and hear the sounds that fill that world. I'm usually doing something like that to escape my quiet world. I became totally focused on my art till my watch vibrated, making me jump at the sudden movement. I stood up and put my stuff away before Alice said, "See you tomorrow, Bella!"

I smiled and said, "See you, Alice." I put my bag on my shoulder and left, hurrying to parking lot. I hopped into my truck and hurried my way to the hospital to my appointment. When I arrived, I parked and hurried into the building, not wanting to be late. I signed in and was lead to a room by a nurse. She did the basic check up and then left to get Dr. Cullen.

I looked up and began counting the tiles on the ceiling while I waited. I let my mind wander, thinking back to earlier today. For some reason, my mind landed on Edward Cullen and his behavior towards me. What was his problem? Was he mute? No, he said, "Hi," to me. I was beginning to wonder if he had a disorder when Dr. Cullen walked in.

"Hello, Miss Swan. How are you this afternoon?" he asked, sitting down in a chair.

"I'm great, thank you. How are you?"

"Doing great," he replied, looking through the papers in his hands. "So, you are here to see if you can get a cochlear implant?" I nodded. "Exciting. Bella, tell me, why are you interested in one now?"

"I didn't hear about it till a couple months ago when my audiologist mentioned it to us. My mom and I thought it would be a good idea."

"Okay, then. Let's not keep you waiting any longer," he said as he began his checkup. A good 45 minutes later, he sat down again and began explaining what the surgery procedure would be like and how to prepare for it. "What day would you like to get it on?"

"The first day of Winter Break, so I don't miss more than 2 weeks of school."

"Okay," he said, typing something into the computer behind him. "Would 11 a.m. work?"

"Yep."

"Okay, then once you've healed, you will have to come back periodically for therapy and check-ups. Do you want to further discuss, or wait till after the surgery?"

"I wanna know now so it won't be a problem later."

"Okay, things to avoid once you have them: plastic slides, scuba diving, and swimming and showering for long periods of time. You must not wear them in water or to bed. They're pretty much the same thing as a hearing aid, so everything else should be okay."

"Okay, thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Pleasure is all mine. Have a good day, Miss Swan." We both stood up and when I opened the room door, Edward was standing there. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I said, "Hi, Edward. Have a good afternoon," and left. I climbed into my car when I suddenly realized that he could know. His father could tell him.

'Wait, why should I care? No one talks to him, except his family, and he doesn't even know me,' I thought, trying to calm my fear. I was hoping this wouldn't be Phoenix all over again.