AN: The response has been amazing and I want to say thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. I love hearing from you all. I hope some of you are intrigued by the music choices. I apologize for my errors with the Spanish translation, but I speak French and English so I'm relying on Google here. I don't own anything you recognize.
Feel the Envy- Franz Ferdinand
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I had circles under my eyes and they were puffy, but at least they weren't red. No matter what I told myself, I still cried over Angela. Today, I couldn't show any type of weakness at all. I managed to do a decent job of concealing them, surprising myself since I didn't have Rose's skills. I kept the rest of my make up light, just like Mamma S told me to. It gave me confidence in my own skin and also showed that I wasn't afraid. It was subtle things like that that would help me to achieve status. I glanced at my dress. It was a floral Tory Burch dress, cerulean to match my eyes and make them pop, pink and yellow which I paired with my taupe Chloe scalloped flats. Today it would be all about designer clothes without giant, obvious brands. Girls that could spot designer clothes without brands were girls that would be my competition. I left my hair down again and grabbed my taupe Salvatore Ferragamo tote that matched my shoes. I was pleased with the way I looked and I took a deep breathe before heading downstairs to wait for Edward.
"Mamma, io sono fuori! Ciao papà! Ci vediamo più tardi. Avere una buona giornata e probabilmente andrò a Rose di o torneremo qui. Ti voglio bene!" I called out. I saw Edward leaning against a silver Aston with darkly tinted windows. [Mom, I'm off! Bye Dad! I'll see you later. Have a good day and I'll probably go to Rose's or we will come back here. Love you!]
My heart jumped in my chest, surprising me, even though I was only looking at him through the peep hole in the door. I pulled it open and smiled when his green eyes caught mine. He looked amazing, in a while button up with the sleeves pushed up and the top button undone and black jeans and expensive looking oxfords.
"Dea-maidin!" I said, as I approached. He raised an eyebrow at me. [Good morning!]
"Dea-maidin a thabhairt duit freisin. Ní raibh a fhios agam labhair tú gaeilge. Tá sé iontas deas," he said, as he pulled the passenger door open for me. [Good morning to you too. I didn't know you spoke gaelic. It's a nice surprise.]
"I do. Fluently. I was taught to be prepared, like I'm sure you were too, especially with Italian. I mean, we were enemies, so it was important to know the language," I said, as he pulled away from the curb.
"That's true. What other languages do you speak?" he asked, looking genuinely interested.
"I'm taking the most advanced level of Spanish this year and I also know some French too. Just enough to get by though."
"I see. I'm taking that Spanish class too. I also speak Chinese, Japanese and French. My father taught me those at a very young age, so it just seems like second nature now."
"I'd like to learn Chinese, but it's too hard. Learning Gaelic was enough of a struggle."
He laughed. "Emmett isn't fluent for that matter. But then again, he can hardly speak English."
"My sister is like that," I said, feeling down suddenly.
"Are you okay after yesterday Bella? I saw you, and I know you don't want sympathy by the way you pulled yourself together so quickly, but I just want to know if you are alright," he said, sounding genuinely concerned as he looked at me with his emerald eyes that made me want to spill my guts to him.
"Yes. My best friend and her family in Washington were killed in a drunk driving accident. I had just received the news."
"I'm sorry."
"She had an amazing life though. And I'm positive she died happy."
"Here we are," he said, pulling into a space that was reserved for him. I knew I had a reserved space somewhere, but I knew it wouldn't be as good as this. Then again, I had a feeling that Edward was the king of the school. "Shall we?"
He walked around the car and opened my door for me and offered me his hand. Instantly, I felt the stares and could actually hear some of the whispers. I looked around and saw girls in dresses, but they all seemed to be last season. That was good.
Edward bent down and whispered in my ear. "You will be queen Bella, and this should help you. Take my arm."
I linked arms with Edward as we strolled towards Jasper's car.
"Hey Bell," Rose said slyly as she hugged me. Jasper followed suit and then shook hands with Edward and Rose hugged him too. People were watching and I knew that Rose and Jasper obviously ran in Edward's close circle due to their father's position and because they had been friends with the Cullen boys since birth. A bell rang and Rose took my arm and began to talk to me in hushed tones.
"Okay. You have made a perfect entrance, and people realize that you are one of us. Watch out for Tanya, Irina and Kate. They are nasty sluts, honestly they have slept with nearly everyone. Their fathers are capos and soldiers, but they think they are the shit. Just be careful and don't let them rile you up. Trust me, they will dig at you. Come on, lets find your locker."
My locker turned out to be next to Rose's and I realized that it was not the traditional metal one. It was wood and everything about it seemed exclusive. I loved the feel of the hallways, pained, with wainscoting and crown molding. I grabbed my books and accompanied Rose to math.
I was ahead in all of my classes. This school didn't offer AP or honor classes, which surprised me, but they made sure that everyone that attended this school was on the same high level academically. But the courses were simple and I had already completed and studied everything. English was the same. And history.
"It's lunch now. We don't have anymore classes together," Rose said as she led me towards the cafeteria. The cafeteria was more like a restaurant with the table cloths and gourmet food that was being cooked by chefs in white hats. It was about the same size as the cafeteria in Forks and the comforted me, knowing that this was not a huge school. I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water before following Rose towards the table in the very center of the room.
"And this is where we sit." I looked up to see Edward, Jasper and Emmett already seated. I smiled at them, before gracefully sitting down next to Jasper and Rose.
"Bella, I would like to apologize. I'm really sorry. For everything," Emmett said, empathetically.
I waved him off. "I'm sorry I flipped you."
"Cute dress by the way Bella," he said with a wink that caused everyone to laugh.
We chatted about classes and Emmett's new adventures in class when I heard the sound of heels approaching. I looked up to see three very fake looking girls in front of me. I quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes?" I asked, taking the lead and letting them know I already had power in their group.
"We just wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm Tanya Denali, this is Irina, my sister and Kate Volturi. And you are?" she said with a sneer that contradicted her earlier tone.
"I'm Bella Swan," I said, and I watched as recognition crossed their faces.
"Edward," Tanya tried to purr. And failed. "How long have you known Bella?"
"Only about 24 hours," he responded.
"And you gave her a ride? Do you not have a car?" she sneered at me again.
"Oh, no I do. But you see, Emmett crashed into it at church yesterday, but I assume you weren't there. It's a shame, I would have liked to have met you there. Anyways, I think Edward and Jasper told him to, so that Edward would have an excuse to take me to school," I responded. I knew that they would have to go to church if they even wanted to try and compete with our group.
"Of course," Tanya said, paling under her fake tan. I glanced at her too tight dress and obscene amount of cleavage that was spilling out. She could have showed off her assets tastefully of course, but she failed.
I turned and continued my previous conversation with Rose about the new Chanel fall clothes, and dismissed them. Tanya got the right idea and left.
"Good one Bella! I'd never thought to have given her a dig about church," Jasper said.
I smiled at him. "What classes do you all have next?" I asked, suddenly worried that I might be alone.
"I have science," Emmett said. The beauty of this school was that there was only one teacher for each subject every period.
"Spanish. You are with me," Edward said.
"Okay," I said as the bell rang. "I'll see you all later." I moved to clear my plate, but Edward said that they cleared the tables for us. That was certainly different.
We walked into the Spanish classroom together and Edward greeted the teacher.
"Hola señora! Se trata de Isabella Swan, uno de mis amigos," he said with an amazing smile that left the teacher looking rather frazzled. I tried to stifle a laugh. [Hello Senora! This is Isabella Swan, one of my friends.]
"Es un placer conocerla señora. Estoy bastante emocionado de ser capaz de tomar esta clase como junior. En mi antigua escuela, que no tienen un nivel tan alto, así que estoy muy emocionada de aprender aún más," I said. [It's a pleasure to meet you senora. I'm rather excited about being able to take this class as a junior. At my old school, they didn't have a level this high, so I'm really excited to learn even more.]
"Bueno Bella, espero que esta clase es un reto para usted. Usted parece ser fluido como Edward aquí. Tome asiento y disfrute!" she said, and I liked her instantly. [Well Bella, I hope this class is a challenge for you. You seem to be fluent like Edward here. Take a seat and enjoy!]
Edward led me over to two desks by the window."¿Por qué no me dijiste que estabas con fluidez?" [Why didn't you tell me you were fluent?]
"No tenía idea de que era." [I had no idea I was.]
"Por lo menos podemos hablar y nadie en esta clase entenderemos. Será realmente hacer esta clase de mérito," he said. [At least we can talk and no one in this class will understand. It will actually make this class worthwhile.]
The teacher passed out tests that were supposed to test if we were supposed to be in this level. Edward and I finished before anyone else and the teacher didn't bother grading them.
"Sé que ustedes dos están lo suficientemente avanzados en esta clase, por lo que no media lo que se obtiene hasta en tanto se toman las pruebas unitarias. Usted no tiene que hacer la tarea, y le permitirá hacer lo que quieras en esta clase, siempre y cuando usted no interrumpe todos. A continuación, se perderán estos privilegios," she said. [I know you two are advanced enough in this class, so I don't mid what you get up to as long as you take the unit tests. You don't have to do the homework, and I will allow you to do whatever you want in this class as long as you do no disrupt everyone. Then these privileges will be lost.]
We returned to our desks. "Buille faoi thuairim mé a chiallaíonn gur féidir liom a chleachtadh mo Ghaelach le duine atá níos Gaelaí ná Rose nó Jasper," I whispered. [I guess that means I can practice my gaelic with someone who is more Irish than Rose or Jasper.]
"Tá sé iontach mar a fhios ag aon duine sa rang seo é," he replied, smiling at me. [It's great because no one in this class knows it.]
The class finished and I walked to science, my last class of the day. There was no one I knew in the class, but I had already had many unwanted admirers come and introduce themselves, causing quite a few of the girls to glare at me. It was time to make myself popular with the girls, but let the guys down gently so they would still follow me.
"Listen up. I have a boyfriend, so please, guys look around at all of these lovely single girls that are obviously frustrated that you are all talking to me. Talk to them instead," I said, getting smiles from blushing girls and nods from the guys.
"Are you with Edward?" one girl piped up and then instantly looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude..." She looked terrified.
"I'm not going to talk about my personal life, but we are close friends. That's it," I replied with a tight smile. The rest of the class passed easily and I was happy to be dome with the day. I had practically no homework, which was extremely beneficial and I decided to make it my mission to get as far ahead as possible and stay ahead. I had to have the grades if I wanted to focus on ruling.
As I walked towards Edward's car, I saw something that made my stomach flip nervously. Alice was laughing and chatting rather amicably with Tanya and her posse. Shit.
