Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed and put this story on alert. The response has been overwhelming and I truly am grateful. A/N's aren't a norm for me, but I simply couldn't pass up this opportunity to thank you...and to give a shout out to my Twitter pals, the ladies on the Tutor forum and the girls at the Gaz. Love you all!


A Rough Start

Chapter 2 – 9 to 5

Bella stood in front of the floor length mirror (that also served as her closet door) and pinched herself with delight. She had been working towards this moment for six long years and now finally; finally, she was starting her very first post-college job. Come Monday morning, Bella was the new kindergarten teacher at Forks Elementary School.

Ironically, Bella's mother, Renee, claims that Forks, Washington was the town that almost ruined her marriage. The dreary, rainy days, lack of entertainment and all around frumpiness of the town drove her into such a catatonic state of depression that she had to leave her husband in search of something better. It only took two months for Bella's father, Charlie, to follow after her and the two reconciled and relocated to Phoenix, Arizona where they currently reside. When Bella had announced her job offer in Forks to her parents, her mother had grimaced and told her that she probably wouldn't visit often. On the contrary, her father had asked how often he could visit before she'd consider him a burden. Many of his friends were still in Forks and he would utilize any and all opportunities to see them again.

Before retiring for the night, her last evening as an unemployed student, Bella carefully laid out the casual pants and cardigan set she planned to wear the next day. After setting out her briefcase and the little trinkets she planned to decorate her desk with, Bella shut out the light and went to sleep.

All of her preparations spoke volumes for who Bella was. The attention to detail, the methodical way she planned every facet of her day, and of her life for that matter, was often touted as one of her strengths, but as her close friends often told her, it was also a fault.

During her final year, while she was working to get her teaching credential, Bella had a minor respiratory attack that she says was brought on by an allergic reaction to the allergy medication she'd taken. However, Angela, Ben and Tyler, her close friends back home, had known the truth. In her quest for perfection, Bella had earned her very first anxiety attack.

As an only child, Bella had set her own personal standards, and without having the trials and setbacks of siblings to compare herself to, Bella had a hard time settling for anything less than the best. It was a standard, however, that she only applied to her own life. She never held her friends to her personal goals and was empathetic to the consequences that resulted from their errors. She did, however, try feverishly to learn from others' mistakes, so much so, that she had a reputation for rarely trying anything new; a wallflower at the dance of life.

At exactly six o'clock the next morning, two different alarm clocks, set five minutes apart, went off in Bella's adequately sized two-bedroom apartment. Immediately, Bella sprung to life, thanks to eight hours of recommended sleep. The coffee pot in the kitchen, set to automatically brew, simulated her actions, waking up and kicking in to gear as soon as its timer told it to.

Bella dried her hair after a soothing shower and dressed in the outfit she'd laid out. After a healthy breakfast and a cup of coffee, Bella grabbed the lunch she'd packed the night before, along with her briefcase, and headed off to work.

By the time the rest of the staff of Forks Elementary had arrived at the school, Bella had labeled all of her desks with her students' names, written that day's lesson on the board, decorated her desk, and alphabetized her classroom library by title.

At exactly nine o'clock, Bella was in high sprits as she stood at the door to greet her students and their parents for the first day of school. Little hands clutched at pant legs and skirt bottoms as some children struggled with being separated from their parents for the first time.

"Sierra," Bella bent down so that she was eye level with a crying little girl. "I have been waiting to meet you all morning. Do you know why?" When the little girl shook her head, Bella continued. "Because the letter I got from you this summer said that your very favorite thing is ponies. And guess what? I love ponies, too. And from one pony lover to another, guess what I put on your desk?"

Sierra looked inquisitive, but slightly unconvinced. Bella held out her hand for the little girl to take. "Can I show you the special surprise I put on your desk?"

Slowly Sierra nodded, but made sure her mother didn't go far as she allowed Bella to lead her to where she'd be sitting. A slow smile spread across her face when she saw the coloring page of a pony and a brand new box of crayons on her desk.

"I bet your mom would love it if you would color this picture for her so that she could put it on her refrigerator today after she picks you up from school. What do you think?"

Sierra nodded. "I'm going to make this picture for you, Mommy," she said to her mother.

Sierra's mother mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Bella before tiptoeing to the edge of the room with the hope of making a successful exit.

Bella was thankful to her mentor teacher who'd given her the idea of having the incoming students' parents fill out an information sheet telling her something special about their child. It was always helpful to find a common ground when trying to manage a classroom.

By the time the school day had ended, Bella was exhausted. Many of the kindergarten teaching positions she'd applied for were half-day programs, but Forks had a full day kindergarten that ended at three in the afternoon. Though it didn't start until nine, it still made for a long day. As Bella dragged her tired form to the staff parking lot, she regretted telling her friend Rosalie that she'd meet her at happy hour.

Happy hour. One of Forks' biggest oxymorons. Almost no one was actually happy to be in an overcrowded, understaffed room for longer than an hour to receive watered down drinks.

"I didn't think you'd come," Rosalie said when she saw Bella walking towards her in the crowded bar.

"I almost didn't," Bella said as she looked around before she took a seat. "I'm really tired."

"Kindergartners kicking your butt already?" Rosalie grinned.

"I'd like to see you after six hours with seventeen five-year-olds," Bella challenged.

Rosalie Hale was a real estate agent and she and Bella met through the property management company Bella had contacted when she'd first moved to the area. The manager had looked at Bella's debt to income ratio and immediately called Rosalie, stating that Bella was a prime candidate for the first-time-buyer program. However, Bella had seen too many of her friends make too many changes too quickly; even though Rosalie had been a pretty persuasive salesperson, Bella wouldn't change her mind. Finishing school, moving to a new town and starting a new job were enough major changes for one year, so apartment living would have to do.

Still, Bella had immediately liked Rosalie's tenacity and can-do attitude. The evening meetings where Rosalie had tried to talk Bella into buying property had turned into a tradition, and so, at least once a week, Rosalie and Bella met at one dining/drinking establishment around town and chatted about their experiences.

"So, how are things with Emmett?" Bella broached the subject cautiously.

Last week, Rosalie had shared that Emmett was really stressed out about his job and as a result had been drinking more often, and in larger quantities. He'd missed out on a daytrip they'd planned because he'd been hung over.

"Same. He's really defensive when I talk to him about his drinking and we always end up fighting. If I don't want to fight, I have to ignore it – and it's getting pretty hard to ignore." A sad expression colored Rosalie's face as she spoke.

Bella empathized with Rosalie as she spoke, but a part of her wondered if she was only hearing part of the story – the safe part. Was there more to it?

"My dad drinks a lot, too," Bella began. "Luckily, he's a happy drunk. My mom loves to get him wasted and then ask him if she can plan some exotic getaway…Is Emmett like that? A happy drunk, I mean."

Rosalie immediately recognized what Bella was trying to ask her and instantly defended Emmett's honor.

"Emmett is pretty much Emmett, drunk or sober. He just doesn't remember shit, and he's a slob. But he's not mean, he's not vulgar and he's not violent," Rosalie was adamant.

Bella nodded. "Good. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that –"

"Don't worry about it," Rosalie interrupted her. "I can see how you'd be worried about it. But trust me, Emmett wouldn't lay a hand on me. And if he did, I'd kick his ass myself, not come crying to you about it."

Though she enjoyed Rosalie's company, Bella was relieved to be on her way home forty-five minutes later. She needed to review her lesson plan for the following day, make her lunch, iron her pants and cut out seventeen pumpkins for an art project.

"Eighteen," Vivian Bard, the office secretary, said to her the next morning.

"No, I only have seventeen students," Bella corrected.

"Yesterday, after you left, a father came in and enrolled his son. Cutest little thing you ever did see."

Bella looked at the barely thirty-something woman in awe. "Eighteen students and no aide? I'm going to die."

"Budget cutbacks are a bitch, aren't they?"

Bella laughed before asking Vivian for the information on her new student. With a word of thanks, Bella accepted a folder and read as much information as she could on a little boy from Salem, Oregon as she walked to her classroom.

She wasn't expecting that little boy to be standing outside of her classroom when she arrived.

"Oh, hello there!" Bella greeted him, shocked to see a kindergartener alone so early in the morning.

When he remained silent, Bella mentally scolded herself for not introducing herself first. Of course he knew better than to talk to strangers.

"I'm Miss Swan, the kindergarten teacher. Are you Anthony?"

Anthony nodded slowly.

Bella looked at her watch and noted that there was still almost an hour before school started. "You're very early, Anthony. Is your mom or dad here with you?"

Anthony shook his head.

"How'd you get here today?" Bella questioned.

"Dad," Anthony rasped, as if the word referred to a title and not a person.

"Oh. Well maybe Dad doesn't know what time school starts. We'll have to let him know that you might be able to get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning instead of getting here so early," Bella smiled.

She couldn't help but noticed how sad Anthony looked as he stood their staring up at her like a lost child.

"I'm going to write a letter to your daddy so he knows what time to bring you to school. While I'm doing that, would you like to come in and color?"

Anthony seemed interested in that idea, so Bella opened her classroom door and followed him inside.

As Anthony colored, Bella read over his file and noted that his mother had recently passed away. She tried to conceal the audible gasp that escaped her lips. No wonder he's so sad! And the poor father, having just lost his wife? It's no wonder that he's a little scatterbrained and off on his schedule. Immediately Bella changed her mind about sending a note home, concluding that this was probably just Anthony's dad's way of making sure Anthony had enough time to acclimate himself to a new school.

No, she wouldn't send a note home. Instead, she would remind Anthony to tell his father that he didn't have to be at school until nine o'clock.

"Can you remember to tell Dad nine o'clock?" Bella asked Anthony as he lined up with the rest of the class at the end of the day in preparation of going home.

Bella fought off the urge to wrap her arms around Anthony and give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he promised to tell his dad what time school started.

But the next morning, Anthony was again at the kindergarten classroom door just as Bella was arriving.

"Anthony, buddy, what are you doing here so early again? Did you remember to tell your dad what time to bring you to school?" Bella asked.

"Nine o'clock," Anthony reiterated.

"And what happened?"

"He had to work."

Understanding lit Bella's features and she smiled at Anthony in relief. "Oh, sweetie, I think your dad thinks we have a before school program. We actually don't, but don't worry, I'll tell him that. Would you like to draw me a picture while we wait for the rest of your class to join us?"

Anthony gave Bella a smile that brightened her morning that much more.

The faint sound of crayons against construction paper as Anthony scribbled away at his desk provided soothing background music as Bella considered how to tactfully approach Anthony's father in written form.

From the file in her desk, Bella knew that his name was Edward Cullen and his birth date revealed that he was just a year older than her.

"Dear Mr. Cullen,"

That was as far as Bella got before she looked up and noticed that Anthony was sitting quietly with his hand raised in the air.

"Oh, Anthony, when it's just us, you can come up to my desk. You don't have to wait to be called on," Bella smiled. "What can I help you with?"

"Miss Swan, I'm hungry," Anthony announced.

"Oh. Well what did you have for breakfast this morning?"

Anthony shrugged his shoulders. Bella took that as a bad sign. He should have had breakfast less than an hour ago. How could he already not remember what he had? Unless he hadn't had anything.

"Did you not eat anything this morning?" Bella asked softly so that Anthony would know that he wasn't in trouble.

"There wasn't any milk. I don't like cereal with no milk," Anthony explained.

Bella nodded as if she understood perfectly. "Well I don't think anyone would mind if you had a little snack from your lunch. What did you bring for lunch?"

Anthony reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar bill.

One dollar? His dad sent him to school with one dollar for lunch? What was he supposed to buy for that?

But of course Bella couldn't express her thoughts to Anthony. Instead, she walked over to her desk and pulled out her own lunch.

"Do you like yogurt, Anthony?" she asked.

Anthony nodded. "My mom used to give me yogurt all the time."

Bella's heart sank at the mention of Anthony's mom. From what she'd read, it hadn't even been six months since something had claimed her life. Bella had searched through Anthony's files for anything that would indicate that he'd been assessed to see if he was even emotionally ready for school, but nothing had been found.

When Bella sat the yogurt in front of Anthony, he tore into it immediately. She was watching him intently when Vivian came into the classroom carrying a box of books.

"What's this?" Vivian asked as she glanced up at the clock.

"Oh, one of my students keeps getting dropped off pretty early," Bella replied.

Vivian shook her head adamantly. "You've got to nip this in the bud, Bella. Otherwise you'll have eighteen kids here before the sun rises."

Bella motioned for Vivian to walk with her over to her desk. The last thing she wanted was for Anthony to feel like a burden. She definitely didn't want him to overhear what Vivian was implying.

"I'm going to send a note home to his father today. At first I let it slide, thinking he just didn't know what time school started, but Anthony said he told him."

"And I told him, too. He asked if we had a morning and afterschool program. I told him we offered an afterschool program, but I also told him that he couldn't drop his son off before eight fifteen," Vivian explained.

Knowing that Mr. Cullen was well informed but chose to disregard the information infuriated Bella. What kind of father would leave such a young child unattended at a new school? The same kind of father that sends him to school on an empty stomach with a dollar for lunch.

Suddenly Bella had no problem scripting her letter to Mr. Edward Cullen.