Chp. 2 Re-Acquaintance
"And, that is the first time I see him"
He's tall and slender, with unruly bronze colored hair (yes, bronze. Who has bronze hair?) and as he approaches I get the strangest feeling of déjà vu. My mind wanders back to a random afternoon in Junior High…
It's lunch and I am sitting at my usual table with my usual friends. Eric Yorkie approaches our table. I groan. Eric has a crush on me, the only guy in this whole damn school that likes me and he's even lamer than I seem to be.
"Hey Bella! I was wondering if you'd like to come sit outside and meet some of my friends?"
I'm stunned, but I am too nice to say no and let's just be realistic, why burn the bridge of the one guy that actually thinks I'm attractive?
"Ummm, sure Eric. I'd love to meet your friends."
I walk outside and find a group of three other guys. Guys is actually to strong a word, three other boys. They are all short and kinda nerdy. Bowl cuts, too tight pants and awkward communication skills.
Eric walks up with a huge grin on his face "Hey Guys, this is Bella. Bella, these are my friends. This is Jared, Embry and Edward"
The one identified as Edward is the smallest of them all, he has the strangest reddish colored hair and is the one with the bowl cut. He acts utterly unimpressed by my appearance and goes about his business of playing whatever lame game they were playing previous to my arrival. I try to be nice and converse with them all, but this Edward kid is just getting on my nerves. He's curt and unimpressed by anything I say.
"So, Edward? What is your last name?" I ask in a bit of a snooty tone.
He eyes me warily. "Cullen. Why do you want to know?"
I glare at him. "I just want to make sure I avoid you going forward, cause you're kind of a jerk"
"Yeah, well you're kind of a bitch." He turns and walks away.
Could this tall skinny guy with, frankly awesome hair, be Edward Cullen? As he approaches one my acquaintances, Quil greets him.
"Hey, Edward! What are you doing taking summer school?"
Edward grins and runs a hand through his hair "Hey, Quil. I, umm, let my grades slip a bit last year. Just trying to make up"
I'm staring, I know I'm staring, but I can't believe this is the same Edward Cullen. Seriously he must have grown a foot and a half in three years, and he definitely wasn't wearing to tight pants. Actually his close all fit him rather nicely.
"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen" His voice breaks me away from my internal evaluation of his looks.
"Oh, uh, hi… I'm Bella… Bella Swan" I'm mumbling and stumbling like an idiot. I'm also a little confused as to why he's introducing himself to me like we've never met.
The door open's and our teacher ushers us into the classroom. I sit next to Quil and another acquaintance, Jessica. Edward sits behind Quil.
I rack my brain through my entire English class. How had I not noticed that Edward had changed so much? I mean, I guess after our initial (and only) meeting I didn't really give him much thought. Still I think I would have noticed a change that drastic in anyone. I'm barely aware of the fact that I'm sitting in class until my name is called.
"Bella! Earth to Bella!" Jessica is trying to get my attention. I snap out of my head and realize everyone is getting up and leaving. Class is over time to head to my next one.
I get up from my seat and mentally smack myself. This is High School; everyone is growing and changing drastically. Why should I care this much about Edward Cullen "growing up"? I walk out of class with Jessica, who has history with me as well, and we quickly catch up with a Quil and Edward.
"So, Bella Swan. Is that like chief Swan?" Edward asks me as Jessica and I approach.
I roll my eyes; sometimes it really sucks to be the daughter of the chief in such a small town. "Oh, no. We just happen to have the same last name. Weird coincidence, huh?"
Edward stares at me for a moment. "Hm. Yeah, weird."
I laugh and he gives me a strange look "I was being sarcastic. Yes, chief Swan is my dad. Sorry, to good a chance to pass up."
"Oh." He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "That was some convincing sarcasm."
I notice we are still walking in the same direction, Quil, Jessica, Edward and myself. Are we all in the same class again?
"So, are you all taking History next as well?"
I receive a collective nod in response. Well at least I know that I'll have friends in my classes, that should help the time pass. We walk into the classroom and there is a seating chart posted on the whiteboard. Really this is summer school and we're getting assigned seats? Just another reason why school sucks. Zero rights.
I huff and quote one of my favorite songs "Laws that rule the school and workplace, signs that caution, sixteen's unsafe."
Edward quickly turns and looks at me "Did you just quote Blink 182?"
I look at him in shock "Yeah I did. They're my favorite band. You know them?"
"They're my favorite band too. I didn't think anyone else our age knew any of there older stuff." He grins at me like I just made his day.
I smile and look up at the seating chart. It looks like Edward and I will be sitting next to each other. I point that out to him and he grins. As we are making our way to our seats, Mr. Newton (the jerk that failed me in History to begin with) calls the class to order. Apparently we are to do "get to know you exercises" with the person sitting next to us. Usually I dread these tasks. I hate being forced to get to know people, but with Edward as my partner I'm excited. If we have the same favorite band, then what else do we have in common? We spend the entire class talking about music and it turns out we have very similar interests. I don't think he even remembers our first meeting, but I am sure enjoying getting re-acquainted.
*Thanks for reading. I will update as often as possible.
Song Lyric is from Anthem Part 2 by Blink 182
