Chapter 2: First Impressions

After a couple of days in Forks I had established where things were and I didn't get lost any more. My house was on the same road as a couple of others, but I hadn't met the neighbours yet as there was about a quarter of a mile distance if not more between the houses. Outside one house there was a police car but as my house showed no signs of someone living in it, the owner of it never bothered me. I'd scarcely used the electric, besides the cooker and the kettle. I was much too used to candle light, and there was only li'l old me in the house, so I didn't need to light every room when it got dark. On my fourth day in America, however, I had to start school. I groaned as my alarm went off at the crack of dawn. Without a car, I had to walk so an early start was imperative if I was going to get to school on time.

Once I had washed my face and brushed my teeth, I stood in my bedroom to put together an outfit. I opted to wear a black vest top with a chequered flannel shirt over the top of it, and jeans. My hair was as bushy as normal, but after drenching it with water I managed to work it into a French plait. I wanted to look presentable on my first day. First impressions and all that jazz. My messenger bag was black with an orange and red lion emblazoned on it, a personal touch that I couldn't help but add. I needed a bit of Gryffindor courage with me and this was the only way I could think of doing so with the current temperatures. When winter arrived I would be able to wear my beloved striped scarf.

By the time the clock showed the hour to be 07:15 I was ready to leave. I cuddled an annoyed Crookshanks, kissed his head and left for my first day as a muggle secondary school student. Putting on my coat and placing the strap of my bag over my head so that it went across by body, I left the house and locked the door. I drew my coat close around me as I walked, my nearly empty bag smacking repetitively against my thigh as I walked. It was cloudy and miserable today, and rain was threatening to fall. I was glad I had tied my hair back. Once I was accepted into the school by the students I'd give up making such an effort, but first impressions could rarely be rewritten.

My footsteps were the only things that broke the silence apart from the birds hiding in the trees. If there's one thing I really liked about Forks, it's the nature. There was so much of it! It made me feel at home because Hogwarts was surrounded by extensive land that included lakes, hills, and forests. It was beautiful there in the grounds, and all these trees here - whilst thankfully nothing like the Forbidden Forest - were a good reminder of all that I loved even if the weather was rubbish. Just like Britain then. The main difference colour wise was that Forks had a green tint that seemed to coat everything in a very dominating way. There were no hints of blue to balance everything out.

The walk to school was pretty uneventful, although in hindsight I was maybe cutting it a bit fine time wise. I wasn't in any rush but I underestimated the distance of this route, because I couldn't exactly use the highway to get to school. I had to walk on roads for some of the journey, which I hadn't really thought about, so I had to keep crossing from side to side every time I approached a corner. My frustration with this is best reflected in the fact that I wished I had a broomstick. Still, when I arrived at school, other pupils were arriving too so I wasn't exactly late. But being the new girl sure was noticeable in the way that practically everyone stopped to look at me. It made me feel uncomfortable, so blocking them out I made my way to reception to enrol myself officially into Forks High School.

The receptionist was lovely, and as I waited for her to gather all the information I needed I admired the plants. Indoor plants that didn't try to bite you and weren't filled with puss. How nostalgic for me! I couldn't help but smile at the simplicity of the area but there was a tugging at my heart strings because the ordinariness of this setting wasn't normal for me, and I was a little home sick for Hogwarts.

"Here you are, dear. This a map of the school and this is your timetable. Oh, and here's a form you'll need to get all your teachers to sign. At the end of the day bring it back here. If there isn't anyone available to hand it into here, just drop it in that basket. Have a nice day, and don't be a stranger if you have any questions!" she smiled, handing me several sheets of paper. I thanked her gratefully, before leaving the building and making my way to the main school complex.

"Who are you?" a voice disturbed me from my map reading, and I looked up immediately. It was a boy wearing khaki pants and a t-shirt. His question was a bit rude but I can't say I blamed him for his curiosity. Goodness knows I was inquisitive.

"I'm Hermione, who are you?" I deliberately neglected to mention my last name. I was using my real name on all my forms, but that didn't mean I wanted to be risk being called Granger again. It got under my skin that Malfoy called me that! It sounded so... derogatory. Maybe it's just because it's my name, but I'm pretty sure that every other surname sounds okay as a 'nickname'. Weasley, Potter, even Malfoy. All of them sounded better than 'Granger'. Then again Malfoy tended to say it with the same disgust as when he called me a mudblood, so it could just be me making subconscious connotations.

"My name's Mike. What's your first class?" he asked eagerly, with this weird hopeful look in his eyes. I looked at my timetable.

"I have English in building 6." Please don't have English. Please, please, please don't.

"I'll show you the way!" he said keenly. I forced a smile.

It's not that I didn't want to make friends, it's just that... well Mike seemed a bit too persistent for my liking. Oh gosh, I hope he isn't my personal Colin Creevey! I'm not sure I could handle that as well as Harry. But the way Mike looked at me was making me uncomfortable because that excitement in his eyes had me feeling like something bad was going to happen. I suppressed a sigh as I walked in silence with Mike, getting a little irritated at how close he was getting to me. Personal bubble, kiddo. Respect it. At least his mindless chatter gave me a reason to keep quiet.

When we got to English I went to go speak to the teacher, and as I was there a bit early I got to sit down straight away at the back of the class without having to introduce myself. I examined the reading list that the teacher gave me, and was almost disheartened to find that several of the texts I'd read already. On the bright side, I'd never studied them before so that would still be new and would doubtlessly inspire a new way of thinking about each of them. A small smile formed on my lips as excitement bubbled once more about muggle school.

The lesson made me quite content, even with Mike sitting next to me, and as such when someone spoke to me at the end of the English I was much more obliging than I had been with Mike.

"How are you liking Forks...?" he trailed off, clearly asking for my name.

"So far so good. I'm Hermione, and you?" I returned with a smile, and a diplomatic answer because quite frankly my opinion was neutral.

"Eric" He said, grinning at me.

And just like that I'd formed a second friendship.