Chapter One: First Impressions
Author Note: This scene takes place in the main house. I have Renesme with a room in the cottage and main house. Carlisle and Esme keeping up appearances, as usual!
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" I opened one eye.
"Alice, how can you be so happy at six-thirty on a Monday?" I grumbled, burrowing under my pillow. My aunt giggled, yanking my pillows and bedding off me and drawing the curtains wide. She danced back over to me.
"Renie, get up and put on the outfit I set out for you," She leaned in, her hair brushing my cheek, "I have a present for you, so…"
"That's my incentive, huh?" Alice nodded, "Fine, auntie-dear. You win…" I swung my legs over the edge as Alice twirled out of the room, shutting the door. Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled over to see what Alice wanted me to wear.
I dressed, did my makeup, and stuffed my laptop in my grey messenger. Alice usually had great presents, that mum usually didn't approve of; I haven't ever been disappointed. I shut my door, slipping on my boots.
"Where are you off to, Nessie?" I spun around.
"You know I hate being called that." I sighed, exasperated already. Mornings were not my thing. Jacob was leaning up against the wall, staring at me. My vampire-side had long ago rejected the imprint of the human-side. I loved Jacob, sure, but it was more like, "if you insist on staying, I'll tolerate it, okay". I don't think that qualifies as love, though.
He sauntered towards me.
"Oh, come on, Nessie; don't be that way." I rolled my eyes.
"Can we hurry this up? I need to be somewhere." I said impatiently.
"I just wanted to know where my girl is headed off to …" he said softly. My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Jacob, I'm going to make this super clear. I tolerate your existence because you insist on being a helicopter, but" I sighed, "I will never be 'your girl' and I hate you calling me the name I used when I couldn't pronounce R's."
"Fine; geez, you're touchy this morning…" Jacob backed off, hurt.
Blame Miss Alice Sunshine-butterflies for that… I thought smugly. Adjusting my bag, I turned and proceeded to the kitchen. Right when Alice decided to come find me.
"Renesme, what took you so long?" She exclaimed. I gave her a small smile.
"Sorry Alice, but I couldn't find everything…" I lied easily. My auntie threw her hands in the air.
"You need to become more organized if you want to survive school." Alice rushed back into the kitchen, muttering her grievances. Chuckling a bit, I followed her, but at a human pace.
Renesme; would you care to explain what happened just now? I jumped, looking around. My gaze settled on my father, reading on one of the couches.
Well, that explains that. I mused. Dad, it's just Jacob being Jacob…Can we talk later?
Are you going to be at the cottage tonight? Dad flipped the page of his book. I began rummaging through my messenger, just in case Jacob was spying.
Only if you want to talk, dad; I can do homework anywhere…I kept going through pockets.
Alright, but I want the truth and all of it; understand Renesme? I held up a book, feigning triumph.
Yes, dad; Love you and thanks…
I love you too. Now go on before Alice loses her temper. Smirked and entered the strangely state-of-the-art kitchen.
Alice had made me a breakfast of biscuits: two with butter and one with peanut butter, with strawberries on the side. I was experimenting with a literal vegetarian diet when I ate. I finished and was turning on my phone when Alice slid a Tiffany-blue box my way. I looked at her curiously, but tore the thing open regardless. On a bed of soft green fabric was a set of keys.
"Alice, you're well aware that I have a car, yes?" I looked at her funny. "You know, the silver Ford Fiesta; ring any bells?" Alice laughed.
"Renie, those aren't car keys." I bit my lip. "You need to get going, so come on." Not sure what to expect, I followed Alice onto the front porch. I stood atop the wooden railing, watching Alice march out into the driveway.
"Jasper, bring her out please!" she called. Out of the garage, my uncle appeared, rolling something out. I nearly fell off my perch when it came into view.
Looking rather impressed with himself, Jasper stood with my mum's old Honda XL250 motorbike. He had totally redone it; stripping off the rusty-red colour and replacing it with a sleek dark purple. Alice stood on her tip-toes, jingling the keys in the air.
"Oh Renie, your chariot a-waits!" she sang, satisfied with my reaction. Coming back to earth, I jumped off the railing and ran over to Jasper and Alice.
"Mum is going to murder you two!" I smiled, my cheeks hurting.
"But there's one more present, dearie!" Alice grinned, "Do the honors, Jasper?" Smiling wide, my uncle handed me a navy blue helmet, a white leather jacket, and a pair of fingerless gloves.
"Jasp, Alice, I love it! Thanks a million!" I hugged them both. "And my parents only got me textbooks!" I joked.
"For shame, Edward!" Alice scoffed, "Now go on, Renie; and have fun, okay?" I promised them I would before jumping on my ride and zipping down highway 101 to Forks High School.
Speeding into the high school parking lot, I turned into the first spot I found. That spot was, of course, the closest one to the door. I had a plan of trying to stay under the radar for as long as possible. However, now that I had every person (mostly guys) staring at me, I might as well make a good entrance. Turning off the engine, I startled the seat and whipped off my helmet, letting my hair fall over my shoulders. Stepping onto the sidewalk, I caught four boys staring at me from the bicycle rack. Sweeping my bangs off my face, I smirked and winked at them. Seeing a boy with black hair fall to the ground, I laughed and strode into the lobby.
Everyone in the half-full lobby was staring, and my mind chose now to get self-conscious. Probably looking like a deer in headlights, I ducked into the main office and started digging through my bag.
Damn it! Of all the things to forget! I cursed myself.
"Excuse me," my head shot up, a pen hanging out of my mouth. The receptionist watched me curiously. "Do you need help?" Pulling the pen out, I nodded, feeling really stupid.
"It seems that I've forgotten my course paper at home," I smiled, approaching the desk. "I don't suppose you have another on file?" The receptionist looked flustered, but nostalgic at the same time. She had voluminous bottle-red hair and strange glasses; I felt like I had heard of her from someone…
"What's your name dear?" she asked, already nose-deep in her file cabinet.
"Renesme Cullen, ma'am." Pulling out a file, the receptionist watched me sign off on the new student roster my mum had told me about. Taking the clipboard, she examined me.
"Are you related to an Edward Cullen, by any chance?" the woman looked genuinely hopeful.
"Yea, he's my older brother." I said, exactly like Esme and I had practiced. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted me in April…"
"Well, we're you from sweetie?" she asked, handing me a print-out of my schedule. I lowered my eyes, pretending to stare at the paper; I was awful at saying the next part of this lie correctly.
"I was born in Indianapolis, but somehow ended up bouncing from every home from Chicago to San Francisco…" I looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Jasper found me because he was a student teacher during my freshman year." The receptionist smiled and I recognized who she was. Dad had been talking to Emmett a few days ago, curious if "that receptionist, the one who was so flirtatious" was still there. Question answered.
"I knew Edward and the rest while they were here…" She said, kind of reminiscently. It was borderline creepy, seeing as she fancied my dad back then.
"Well, have a good day!" I said, "And thank you!" I don't believe she heard me, so I turned and scampered down the hallway.
Author Note:
Hey-a! Nice to meet you all; I'm Carie and I hope you're enjoying so far. I dropped this story back in August (in my notebooks), but decided to pick it up again this October! Sorry for some inconsistencies in the first couple of chapters: I changed the story's whole ship as well (from Ren/Nahuel to Ren/Alec), so I had to come up with a bunch of different scenarios.
Well, rate and review; and thanks! – Carie Lea