EPOV

New school, new start. Outwardly I looked composed and ready for anything. Last night a million and one worries were rushing through my mind, amplifying my insomnia and wreaking havoc on the desk I was nervously drumming my fingers against. Out of these millions of worries an insignificant one decided to rear it's ugly head. Tie or no tie? I nearly slapped myself in the head. Nobody cared whether I wore a tie or not... I decided I was in the anti-tie brigade. They felt too much like a noose.

When I procured my job at Forks High School I realised that life would be a lot easier than it was in Seattle. Big city schools were intimidating and constantly trying to maintain an air of authority. I had to dress formally and act accordingly. It was an ongoing struggle to keep a firm hierarchy where students and teachers were on clearly different levels. Out in the little towns everybody knew everyone and you didn't have to act like such an education Nazi.

But I was nervous. I got work as an English teacher in Seattle straight out of college and it had been demanding to say the least. I was barely older than the kids themselves so I always commanded less respect. I wasn't asking them to sit straight and recite verbs, all I asked for was to be listened to, but they always saw me as more of a peer than member of staff.

I was older now, and wiser. And though I was nervous, I knew that small town kids would be nothing compared to the Seattle rebelliousness I was now used to. I stuck that out for 5 years so what challenges could this possibly pose?

I chose a dusty green shirt and rolled my sleeves up to my elbows. My hair was its usual mess of copper birds nest and I sighed. No use trying to tame it, I'd only drag my hands through it anyway. Nervous habit.

I got into the school and found the staff room without any problems but the issues started once I got in there. A matronly woman bustled around me offering endless supplies of coffee, trying to convince me with promises of cookies which I had to politely decline three times before she let me escape to get to my first class.

My stomach was in knots. Would I be able to pass some of my passion for literature to at least some students this time? I walked in and suddenly felt like the new kid at school again. All the students were already seated, and upon my entry turned to look at me with shocked eyes.

I scanned the room quickly, only to linger at a pair of wide brown eyes that were staring fixedly back into my green ones.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Cullen" I introduced myself.

The room looked pretty bare. There were very few students in the room even though only three desks remained. There only seemed to be about a dozen people in the room. Well... I could manage that. No screaming, no heckling, no stress. I smiled widely, with meaning.

"Introductions!" I clapped my hands together and rubbed them, "I want your name, and seeing as this is English, a book that you have read recently and enjoyed." They looked nervous. "Okay I'll start. I'm Edward Cullen and I recently read The Stranger by Camus which I enjoyed".

The line carried on with many nervous "ums". The general consensus was most kids were either reading vampire fiction or Harry Potter. Then came the brown eyed girl I noticed earlier. She spoke so very quietly I hardly heard her at all, and I was vaguely interested though I wasn't quite sure why. I asked her to repeat herself.

"Oh okay... My name is Bella Swan. A book I read recently and enjoyed was The Letters of Abelard and Heloise". My eyebrows shot up in surprise. What was a 17 year old girl doing reading impassioned love notes from the 12th century?

Bemused, I carried on speaking to the class giving syllabus outlines and various other "first day" nonsense talks. But in the back of my mind remained the initial about Bella Swan, and her obvious differences to her classmates.

I dismissed the class early, first days being so bitty there was no point in starting scheduled lessons. Bella remained at the back of the classroom after the others had left. She kept picking up pieces of paper, shaking her head minutely and looking amongst the remaining pile of documents.

"Anything I can help with?" I asked, and she visibly jumped after being startled by my voice. She must have thought she was alone.

"No, thanks it's okay. It's my first day here so.. They give you so much crap to look at and none of it makes sense." She then gasped and blushed. "Sorry", her eyes were downcast and ashamed. All because she said crap? Was she for real?

"Don't be. That's PG compared to what I'm used to. Abelard and Heloise, huh? That's some intensive reading for a girl your age. How did you come across it?"

Her blush remained. "I saw it in a play and then bought the book..."

"Medieval literature and the theatre... How old did you say you were again?" I laughed.

She chuckled nervously but still looked ill at ease. "Well I should probably get to next period so..."

"Of course. Good luck for the rest of your first day" Obviously she'd want to get to her next period, not wait around talking to her old English teacher.

"You too, Sir" She smiled with downcast eyes at nothing in particular, before she lifted her bag onto her frail alabaster shoulder and walked out.

There were 3 things of which I was completely uncertain: first, why was I hanging on the every word of a 17 year old high school student? Second, why did she look like a rabbit caught in the headlights for the entirety of the lesson? And third, why was she calling me sir?