Moving in with Charlie was not as hard as I thought. My expectations were that I would be drowned in sorrow over leaving Renee and my friends and my life, but falling into life in Folks was rather… simple. For one thing, Charlie opted for the "I am going to stay out of your way" approach, which was quite appreciated. For another, lucky breaks seemed to just pile on, including getting a truck of my own. It was like when you go on vacation and within a day or two, you know your way around the house and it begins to feel normal. But then, the instant you step outside, you are lost, have no clue what you are doing in such a place. Well, as far as I was concerned, I was on a very long vacation to Charlie's house.
The first reason for me to "step outside" was school. I still needed to attend school, but living in Folks means going to the high school in Forks. Integration into a new teenage drama-filled society was not high on my list of things to do, but a necessity. So I resigned myself to the idea, knowing that a poor attitude would only make the experience worse. I could blend in, right? Wrong. Contrary to my expectations, the moment I set foot in the building I had people talking to me.
Quickly I was practically assaulted by this guy named Mike, a nice enough person, but clearly not the best at interoperating body language. Then there was Jessica, a girl whom I imagined walked straight out of Gossip Girl (that show is about gossip, right?). She seemed like the type who only wanted to get close to me for the attention it would bring her and the new story she could hear; my story, which I was not keen about telling. Eric and Angela joined in and instantaneously I was part of this group of friends, each member interrogating me. I could feel the stares and hear the whispered, making me wonder if a new kid at school was really that big of a deal.
Just as abruptly as I was thrown into this group, where I was required to feed them answers to their many questions, another group caught my attention, drawing out my own inquiries. They were beautiful, stunning, radiant, mysterious and… perfect. They really were the image of perfection. My gaze followed them and I felt drawn to them like they were magnets and I were a ferromagnetic material in close proximity.
Jessica was the first to notice my distraction, her chuckle unique enough to have already been registered in my mind as her. "That would be the Cullens," she informed me. "They are all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife. They are all like supermodels or something. But don't get your hopes up about getting with any of them – they are all paired up, except Edward, but he does not seem to ever like anyone." There was a hint of woe in her tone, as if she had tried to get with this Edward character and had been rejected. But, then she was back to her chipper, gossiping self, pointing out who each of the Cullens was.
"So, Edward is the one on the right, by himself," she pointed out a copper haired male, thinner than the other guys, but still fit and very beautiful. "Next to him is Rosalie who is with Emmett." Rosalie was like a goddess in human flesh, her blonde hair falling perfectly over her shoulders, her expression cold. Emmett could only be described as a bear. He is huge, heavily muscled, but in a refined, firm way rather than a disgusting way. "And then there is Alice ad Jasper, the final couple." Alice was a pixie-like creature, small and a little on the wild side, by the looks of it. Her hair was cropped short and managed to be a perfect mess on top of her head, not in any way contradicting itself. With her was Jasper, who was somewhere between Edward and Emmett in terms of size, but whose hair was blonde like Rosalie's. My mental questions were answered by Jessica's next comment. "Jasper and Rosalie are actual siblings, adopted together. I think their name used to be Hale."
I watched their table as Emmett and Edward discussed something, all of the table's focus on Edward. With them all staring at him, my actions were infected, enticed to follow suit. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Edward's feature became strained, like he was concentrating too hard on something. And then our eyes met. He looked straight at me as I stared, forcing me to look away. I could not read his expression. Maybe he was in pain, maybe he was afraid or maybe he was angry. But that did not seem possibly when looking at him and his family.
Jessica let out a small gasp and I followed her gaze back towards the Cullens. Edward was no longer seated as he spoke to Alice words too soft to hear. And then he was marching out of the school. Confused, I continued staring, but was caught again when both of the Cullen girls looked at me, Alice with intrigue and Rosalie with hatred.
The bell ran and, for the first time, I was eager to go to class. I hurriedly gathered my things and hastened my way to class. I was surprised to find that I had a class with Edward, biology, but that he decided not to show. It appeared that I was supposed to have sat next to him. The Cullens had most of my attention that day. They consumed my mind. There were so many questions and so much awe. And the wonder lasted for days, ignited further by the fact that Edward never came to school again. Who are the Cullens?