"What the hell!" I screamed jolting up from a dead sleep, punching my alarm clock off my side table in my rush to silence it. Why was my alarm going off? It's five in the morning! Scrambling up out of bed, I stumbled to the bathroom to begin my morning routine. I shook my head at my reaction to the alarm this morning. It had been a restful, long summer and I'd almost forgotten what my morning alarm sounded like.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face before making my way to the happily percolating coffee maker. I poured myself a steaming hot cup of black gold. I proceeded to pour in the perfect amount of whole milk and raw sugar before stirring as I took my seat at the table. I relaxed, nursing the mug just below my nose so that I could let the fumes begin to let the neurons fire.
After a while, I huffed a bit at the early wake up call. I'm just not a morning person. I sighed. It seemed liked I was sighing a lot lately. Today will go well. I told myself. Maybe, I'll even make a new friend or two.
Looking at the time, I groaned my resentment quietly and rushed out of there after one huge gulp of liquid energy, leaving my empty mug behind. I dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a graphic tee before grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, walking out the door to my beast of a truck.
Half an hour later, I was walking across the street towards Paradise Valley Community College. As much as I hated hoofing it, there was no way I was going to pay the exorbitant priority parking fees to park on campus. I could see already that I was in for a lot of walking, something I did way too much of this summer. Walking had been the only mode of transportation out in the wilderness, and I hadn't gotten to recoup.
I walked to the entrance of the big, blocky building and followed the signs to the office where I received my schedule and book list. The woman was kind enough, but not at all nice to look at. In fact, not a single adult figure I saw here was at all easy on the eyes. It was the polar opposite of the Forks... like some lazy writer didn't care what the adults would look like because they would be passed over as minor characters anyway. Urgh, this is going to be a long semester.
I was walking along the hallway looking for the right room number when I bumped into a girl with stick-straight, mousey, brown hair, mocha colored eyes that shone with happiness, and a very sweet smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be new. My name is Kayla. I'm president of the student council. How can I help you?"
She seemed way too perky and helpful. It kind of worried me. I laughed awkwardly- an annoying habit of mine that needed breaking. "Well, you have me pegged, I am new. Could you help me find room number? I'm a bit turned around to be honest." She took the paper from me and started walking. How in the world she would know the location of the class? There must be hundreds on campus. I guess she must have gone here for a few years. I listened to her as she pointed out where my classes would be on the way and gave me some tips based on the teachers. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
She stopped and pointed to a door on the other side of the hallway. "That room is where you want to be. I'm in a more advanced class, but a bunch of my friends are in this class, so I'll see you around Bella."
My head turned around in shock. "How did you know my name? I never told you." I asked, eyes wide. I felt my heart begin to hammer in my chest. Please don't let her be a vampire.
She pointed at the top of my schedule. There was my name. Now I felt stupid, my mind acting like a sieve just like Edward once said. I felt a distant pull in my gut as I thought about my former love. "Oh. Well, thank you. I'll see you around Kayla."
I walked into class just before the teacher stood to lock the door, indicating to all late comers that tardiness would be unacceptable. I shuffled to the back of the classroom, finding only one or two open seats left, and I didn't feel like sitting at the front. I wound up behind an abnormally tall red head and next to an angry looking boy with black, slicked-back hair who was wearing a red, plaid collared shirt under a yellow sweater with a green jacket over top. He wore jeans and a pair of sunglasses rested on top of his head.
I wasn't paying much attention to the beginnings of the lesson, but the teacher pretty much ignored us all in the back and, despite trying to listen, I was otherwise distracted by the redheaded boy passing me a note. 'You don't look like the type of chick who belongs in the bad kid section. Why not sit at the front?' I read.
Finally having shaken myself out of the earlier stupor, I responded between writing the notes that were written on the board. 'I'm just here for an education. Don't want to participate if I can avoid it. My name's Bella, by the way.' I explained wrote. I briefly considered adding something about not wanting to be distracted, but changed my mind before I put pen to paper.
He was quick to respond- clearly not interested in writing any of the notes down. Either he had an impressive eidetic memory, or he just didn't care. He must cram all night before tests and manage to pass, I surmised. 'I've been in Mr. Iwamoto's class before. It's pretty easy so long as you've read the books he assigns. If you need any help with the material, let me know. Jamie Patterson at your service, Bella. I'm the baddest guy here at Paradise Valley Community College.'
I had barely finished reading the last note before another message was passed to me from the guy with the greaser hair. 'Hey, been readin' over your shoulder. Don't let that idiot fool you. He couldn't beat me in a fight if I had both hands tied behind my back. I like your shirt, by the way. Metallica is one of my favorites. Wanna go grab a drink sometime?' For my benefit, he signed his name, Ryan Zimmerman.
My eyes got wide as I read. The answer should be no, but something told me yes. What would a date with a human be like now after having dated a vampire? I almost couldn't help myself. He'd instantly made me curious. After a moment of deliberating, I responded. 'Yeah, let's meet up some time.' I wrote my phone number on the paper before handing it back. If Charlie ever found out that I gave out my number to a guy I'd literally just met, he would be pissed, but, somehow, it felt right being friends with this guy.
I closed my eyes and expanded my newly honed senses. There was no flicker of energy coming from either of them, but I just knew that there was something special about both of them. This could clearly be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The rest of the day was uneventful, and I spent the hour long commute home with a smile on my face, having made some new friends in Ryan and Jamie.
By the time October began, a tentative friendship had already formed between Ryan and me. We cut class a couple of times, choosing to go get coffee or just having a smoke off campus. I soon found out that Ryan had quite the badass reputation among the student body, and, since I was quickly becoming one of his closest friends, I was becoming a popular fixture there as well. I could hardly turn a corner without somebody greeting me, already knowing my name even though I don't think we'd ever met.
I did notice certain significant changes in Kayla in the few weeks of friendship with Ryan. She used to drag him downstairs to class every day after lunch. Then, towards the beginning of October it became less and less ending all together just before late. I suppose she was angry that Ryan had managed to find another friend, let alone a female one. She had been his only outlet for so long that she didn't seem to know how to handle it. We ended up coming together through the sorrow and passion of our loss when tragedy suddenly struck, though.
Contrary to popular belief among the student body, Ryan really is a nice guy, just misunderstood. He saved a little boy's life by pushing him out of the way of a car and taking the hit himself. Ryan was a hero for a brief moment in the eyes of the city, but then he was gone. That day, I stayed the night at Kayla's apartment. She didn't want to be alone, and, although I was sure she still resented me over the loss of her 'boyfriend' Ryan, I wanted to be there for her. Ryan was as close a friend as I'd ever had outside the Cullen's, and, with the loss of Edward from my life, I understood her feelings better than anybody.
The night I spent with Kayla after Ryan's death was the first night since my training with Old Quil that my senses noticed a presence. I looked at Kayla's form briefly after noticing. Thank goodness, she was asleep. I looked towards the presence and focused on it. "Ryan, if that's you, this isn't funny." I whispered, still feeling the slight tickle on the back of my neck. It didn't feel menacing or evil. "Kayla and I need to get some rest before we have to help deal with your funeral arrangements tomorrow." I groaned after some time of sitting and waiting for something to happen. Finally, I moved to lay down. "If you have something to tell me, you should be able to contact me in my dreams. Goodnight, you bastard."
My dream that night was unlike any I had ever had before. Ryan and I simply sat on Kayla's bed, speaking long into the night. Apparently, the underworld wasn't prepared to take Ryan today. Supposedly, there was almost zero chance that he would have rescued that kid, and they didn't create a spot for him- whatever that means. How could you predict that kind of stuff anyway? Ryan told me that he had to decide if he wanted to go through a trial and live or choose to die. I begged him to face whatever trial the underworld had for him. He made this whole school, the whole town, bearable. It had only been a few months, but I could tell that we were in the beginning of something that would last a lifetime. Besides, it was obvious to me that Kayla needed him still.
I woke the next morning feeling like I hadn't actually slept all night. I could still sense Ryan in the room, so I smiled in his direction after checking that Kayla was still asleep. "Do what you want, Ryan, but know that we at least, still want you here... except for while we get dressed. You need to leave now." I stated before proceeding to ignore him and wake Kayla up. Before we got changed, I made sure that I sensed no nearby presence, briefly pondering if a ghost would feel a one of my energy projectiles or if it would pass right through him.