Chapter 1

I woke up early, so early that it was still dark outside and there was no sign of the sun. Truth is, I loved the silence of the night and the sense of mystery it carried. I tiptoed down the stairs, afraid of waking up Nisha and then went outside to sit on the porch. We only moved in last week, but so far I loved my new home. It was in a secluded part of Forks, on the outskirts of the city. It was actually very close to the La Push reservation. The house we lived in was more like a cottage, with only two bedrooms, but it was sufficient for the two of us.

Even after an entire year, Nisha is still convinced that Raj is searching for me. She purposely bought a house that was secluded so that it would be easier to keep a low profile. I don't know how that's going to be possible, now that I'm starting school at Forks High and Nisha was going to be the new art teacher there, but I guess I have to try.

Today was actually my first day of school. It would be an understatement if I said I was nervous, because truthfully, I was terrified. Over the past week, I had been indulging in American television, hoping to discover new ways of how to communicate with people and just seem normal. In India, I went to a strict all girls school. The teachers would strike our hand with canes if they caught us chewing gum and would send a student out of the classroom if she was playing with her hair or daydreaming. It was like torture and sometimes I would feel like a robot. I honestly didn't know what to do with the newfound freedom that I now had.

I hoped that I would make some good friends here. Back at home, my classmates used to hate me. They were always jealous that I had such nice clothes and so much attention wherever I went. I would have been happy to have a lifestyle like them, but they never understood.

Anyways, Nisha didn't even want me to join public high school. She thought it would be better if I was home-schooled, away from the eyes of the public. After a huge argument with her and me winning as usual, she agreed to let me join. Nisha was ridiculous sometimes, but I still loved her. She was the only one that had been there for me during the hardest part of my life. Being only 27, she had sacrificed so much for me.

As I saw the sun begin to rise, I decided it was time to go inside. I drank some milk and went upstairs to take a shower. I looked in the mirror and sighed again. Why did I have to be so strange looking? I had overly large green eyes, long curly black hair to my waist and golden colored skin. I was also really tall for a girl, 5'9, and had curves that were too developed for my thin frame. I took a nice cold shower to stay fresh the whole day. I wore some jeans and a white cotton tee shirt, then put my hair in a ponytail. I did not want to attract attention to myself, which is hard considering that I'm in one of the smallest cities in the country.

When I went downstairs, I saw Nisha making me some eggs for breakfast. She looked at me with a worried frown when she saw that I was ready.

"Eesha, are you sure you want to go?" she asked.

"Yes, Nisha, I'm sure, we already talked about this-"

She cut me off, "- but there's no hurry, I mean whats the point when home schooling can give you all the education you need? These kids are not as nice as they seem, like on TV…"

Ugh, she was making me nervous about school now, but I couldn't let her know that. "Nisha, don't worry about me. I need a change…. I don't like hiding anymore" I said the last part quietly but I knew she heard.

After eating, Nisha offered to drive me to school, but I wanted to walk since it wasn't raining. The school was a couple miles away, but along the way, I enjoyed the feel of the breeze on my face, the smell of fresh morning dew and the sound of birds chirping to each other.

About half way there, a black car drove by me and slowed down. The driver, a boy who looked my age, rolled the window down. "Hey, do you need a ride to school?"

"No thanks! Its close by, I think I'll just walk," I said with a smile.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let a pretty lady walk all the way to school alone." He was smirking when he said this and staring at my chest. Ugh, really? My first encounter with someone in months and this is what it had to be like? I sighed internally.

Then I looked at the time and saw that I had only 10 minutes for school to start. Great, now I have to get that ride. "Alright, I'll come with you…."

"Evan, my names Evan" he gave me a wink. Why did I want to go to school again? He looked at me like he was expecting something.

Oh, duh. "My names Eesha" We drove to school while he chatted on and asked me questions I really didn't want to answer.

"Thanks for the ride" I said and quickly left before he could ask me something else. A lot of people stared, I think it was made worse by the fact that I came with Evan. He was cute I guess, a nice smile, carefree eyes, but he didn't fit the picture of my dream man. Yes, I read romance novels, but always in secret, away from Nisha's prying eyes. I fantasize about a handsome tall man with captivating dark eyes. Watching the sun rise together with his strong arms around me. Devouring me with his hungry kisses, large hands trailing down my waist…. Oops, I was off in lala land. I blushed as I noticed people looking, no, staring at me with a confused expression. Hopefully, I wasn't doing anything weird like drooling or smiling like an idiot. Yup, I was definitely crazy.