First Day

First days are supposed to be special, but after ten first days at four different schools, it loses its glamour. Its tough when every three to four years we have to move. Usually the Cullens could live somewhere for five years, Carlisle would just change jobs and the kids would graduate. But with me in elementary school, Carlisle and Esme were in the spot light, so five dropped to three until I reached middle school. We have lived in six cities,

Poland Springs, ME,

Binghamton, NY,

Colorado Springs, Colorado,

Missoula, Montana,

Bridgton, ME,

and Anchorage, Alaska.

Now we are settling in Seattle, Washington. I prefer the cities, its easier to blend, not so much attention and no one really cares about you if your different. Living in Bridgton was hard. It was extremely small and I ran across someone familiar. Later, we only stayed for three weeks, Carlisle told me that it was her that I would have replaced, had I been hidden outside of the vampire world. She would have been put up for adoption at some church because her parents never would have known there was a switch. I'm glad that didn't happen, I would have felt so guilty.

So we are living in Seattle, and I can't help but notice some hesitation from Carlisle and Edward. Everyone wants to go live and hour away in Forks, Washington, where the family had a house. I see no problem with that except that it's a small city, but I'd live I guess. Carlisle and Edward refuse to move there, they say its to dangerous for me. I can't see why. I think their hiding something from me. They stop thinking when I come around. I hate it. Edward has never hid anything from me.

"Ellia, darling, its almost time for school. If you do not hurry up, you will be late." My mother called to me as I descended from the upper floor of our townhouse. " I am surprised you are still alive dear, the only time I've seen you this summer is when you are eating and going out with Alice. What has been bothering you?"

Not in the mood to talk, is simply reply, "Just having a teen-age time, its hard without having a lot of friends to spend time with. I've been working on my art." A nice guilt trip, I know its mean, but I think she is in on the big family secret.

Just as I walked out the door to my car, Edward walked up. "Hey little sister, after school do you want to work on the Camero, you have been a little distant." I truly did, but he was in on the secret, but he always felt so guilty about it, like he wanted to tell me. Maybe if I got closer with him he would tell me. That seemed like it would work, maybe.

"Sure! Hey, wanna race to school? Ask Alice, but there won't be any cops." I missed our drag days, even before I could drive I had loved speed. Being raised by vampires probably did not help to much, but with my vampire reflexes I was driving before I legally could, and now that I was legal, I had my own car.

My car, it was my seventeenth birthday present from Edward, Alice, and Jasper. It was beautiful, a 2010 Camero, dark purple, custom of course, with black racing stripes. The interior was black leather, with custom purple details. It's engine was custom built by Edward, so with out a doubt it was extremely fast, and quiet.

A look of fear crossed Edward's face, knowing I had learned from the best, but I saw his expression change as he let his ego get the best of him. "You take Alice…" but Alice had already interjected, "We are already ready, girls against boys, how classic." She loved a good race, and I liked having her around. Her foresight helped a lot, Edward must be real confident, usually he cheated with her.

As we sped off, I couldn't help but to listen to the conversation beginning in the house behind us. "Do you think she is figuring it…" but we were long gone before I could hear the end of my parents words.

Pulling into the school was the same as always. Everyone was staring from the moment Alice and I, and then Edward and Jasper, pulled in. As we got out of our cars and walked toward the school, that's when the whispers began. I had never heard the words of the admirers, as Edward and Alice had coined them, but now my senses of hearing and sight were slowly advancing toward vampirism.

"Look at the hot blonde one…" Some girl across the way whispered to her friend.

"I call the brunette…" "Wow, the shorter one is cute…"

"That blonde guy looks like a threat.." "No way I want the brunette…"

"Wow, look at the…red-head?" "She is hot…"

"Wait are they talking about me? They never talk about me." No one had to speak my answer, Jasper and Edward were going into "big-brother" mode, but Edward seemed different. He didn't seem like he was getting ready to glare at someone for checking me out. It looked like he was, I don't know, he was looking like Emmett when he wants to pick a fight for someone hitting on Rose, but Edward doesn't feel that way about me. "Does he?"

"What? Does who?" I didn't think I had said that to loud but these were vampires and it seems that Alice had been trying to start a conversation while I was in mid-thought. "Anyways, as I was saying, your hot now girl, I told you to work it. Those shoes are so good for your ass…"Edward shot her his "big-brother" look. "Assets, I was going to say assets. It makes your legs look good."

Edward dropped back to talk to Jasper about something as Alice and I walked to our first class.

She is right, when did that happen? Edward thought, to what he thought was himself. I don't think I was supposed to hear that.

We stuck together for the most part. That's because we were predators and no one wanted to befriend us. This year I had Alice with me in the 11th grade, while Edward and Jasper were seniors. Usually they started with Alice and Edward as tenth graders and the other three as juniors so they could stay somewhere for the whole five years, but Carlisle decided that I shouldn't have to repeat years, yet. So until the tenth grade I was alone and they did their normal repeats. When I hit tenth grade I was alone, because it worked out in an odd year, but this year I had Alice.

Our story usually went that I was Carlisle and Esme's biological daughter, until I hit fifteen and they couldn't pass as thirty year-olds who had a kid at fifteen. Then I joined the "adopted" list. Alice, Emmett and I were Carlisle's adopted children, Edward was Esme's nephew and Jazz and Rose were twin foster kids. Sometimes we mixed things up, but usually that's how it went.

This year Alice and I were twin foster kids, Edward and Emmett (if he and Rose visited) were Carlisle's adopted sons. Rosalie was Emmett's fiancé and Jazz was Carlisle's nephew. Everyone was a Cullen except for Alice and I, we got to pick a name. We weren't to sure what we liked, so we worked on it all spring before we moved. It was epic, we researched name meanings and backgrounds and came up with sick name. This year we were…

"Diamond, Alice?" The teacher droned, how lame it sounded when he said it. "Here" Alice happily responded. "Diamond, Potter?" Uh, I forgot what first day meant, my nick name. "Um, sir? I prefer Ellia, please?" There was a pause as he thought it out.

I could hear the snickers as some boy said, "Potter, like Harry Potter?" My blood was boiling, I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help it, "No, its Potter like the famous writer, but seeing as your to under educated to read, then I would suppose its Potter like Harry and Lily and James and Albus. So if you wanna pick on my name then you can bash my DEAD mother who died while providing aid to starving children!" Wow, that's what vampire emotions feel like.

I heard someone clear their throat in the front of the class, the teacher. "Well Ms. Diamond, if you are so proud of your name to disrupt my role call, then you will be Ella on your own time and Potter in my class."

Ugh! I wanted to yell its Ellia! But my mind decided against my emotions that that was not a good idea. "Pst… that was good…been practicing hun?" Alice whispered so only we could hear it. "Yes." I said through my teeth. After that Alice knew the tactic, block out and pretend. Should a teacher ask us a question, she would fore see the answer, Jasper would make the teacher not care about the answer and Edward and I would hear the teacher's take on their question. But no amount of blocking could make the boredom go away.

I couldn't wait to get to lunch and to see a familiar and kind face. I hadn't paid any attention to anyone around me, which hurt Alice but she understood. I would learn the things I needed to when the day was done. I learned this method last year, when I was alone, and my abilities, started to evolve.

As we walked into the cafeteria an image filled my mind and the minds of others overrode my senses. The clearest picture was Edward's attempt to help me cope with all the other messes. He could hear clearer than I could and he was helping me see. "How is that picture?" His look captured me. The image he held clearly in our minds was beautiful.

A tall, model-like woman, with medium-length brown-red hair and dark grey-gold eyes. She was wearing a simple red button-up long sleeve blouse with the sleeves rolled up a fourth of the way. She also had on black skinny jeans that made her slim, muscular form more sleek. On her feet were two-inch red leather peep-toe heels that tied ballet style up her shin.

"I like her shoes…" was all I could manage before the image clicked. It was me. Exactly how everyone had seen me today, including Edward. That was where the looks from him had been coming from. He was collecting everyone else's thoughts but this was what he was seeing, right now. "I told you, you were hot." Alice giggled as she sat down next to Jasper.

"Have you made any friends today, love?" Edward asked in an attempt to make small talk and keep me out of his head. "Of course not. You know that." He did, and I wasn't in the right mind set to be talking about my day. I needed to think. Did Edward really feel for me the way I thought he did? He was like a brother to me, not a boyfriend. "What are you thinking about Poe? Your getting all dark." Lucky for me he couldn't hear my thoughts, poor Edward, not only could I hear his mind, but with a bump from Jazz, I could find the emotions that went with his thoughts.