Twelve years later

I woke to the shrill sound of my alarm. It wasn't as though I had anything against high school, but making me wake up at six in the morning was cruel and unusual punishment for a teenager used to sleeping until noon just a week before. Not only that, but that year, the first day of school was the same as my eighteenth birthday. And this was supposed to be a year I'd remember for the rest of my life; it was my senior year of high school. I smacked the alarm, but only succeeded in knocking it on the floor instead of hitting the snooze button. Of course mom had to choose that time to come in, smirking at my bleary-eyed attempts to make my alarm clock shut up.

"I see you're excited to get to school," she remarked. I half fell out of bed, yawning.

"I would be if it wasn't so dark; it definitely looks like naptime to me," I retorted. But I started to get ready for school despite wanting to lie down and hibernate for a few hours. I went to the bathroom to try and wake myself up with a shower. I looked at myself in the mirror, half-expecting to see some change. Not really. I looked just the same as I had yesterday. I was the same tall, thin, girl with brown eyes, pale skin, and black hair tangled almost beyond repair. Oh well. What had I thought was going to happen? I wasn't going to change overnight. Lost in my own world, I guess I spent longer getting ready than I really needed to. I didn't come back to earth until I heard my brother banging on the door.

"Allison! Move it!" he complained. Connor was still as annoying at fourteen as he was at two. The only difference was size. He'd been growing like a weed all summer. If it wasn't for mom, I'd feel like a shrimp. I yanked the door open and shoved past Connor.

"All yours, stickman," I told him. He looked down to give me an annoyed look, mumbling, "Dwarf," before he closed the door. I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, is there any way I can convince you to drive me to school early? Either that, or you can just let Connor drive me nuts," I asked.

"Well, now I know why I was an only child," she joked.

"Mom!"

"Just wait until your brother's out of the shower."

"Fine." I snatched a couple of pancakes from the counter, giving an exaggerated sigh. Great. Now I would be stuck driving my brother to school too. Either that, or I'd have a long way to walk. At least Connor didn't take his sweet time in the shower; he was out within five minutes. Of course, he didn't appreciate when I told him it was probably because he had no need to shave yet.

Mom came up behind me and covered my eyes with her hands. I squirmed, and she just nudged me forward and told me not to peek. I walked forward, confused when I felt a breeze running through my hair and leaves crunching underneath my feet. Finally, we stopped.

"You can look now," mom said, removing her hands. My dad, mom, and brother were all grouped around an old motorcycle with a bow skillfully attached to one of the handlebars.

"Oh my god! You bought me a bike?" I exclaimed, running my hand across the slightly worn seat. I had learned to ride over the summer on mom and dad's old bikes, but they were very protective of those. Apparently it was how they starting hanging out together as teenagers.

"Well…'saved' is probably more accurate," dad said, "Someone was going to throw it out, but I figured it wouldn't take too much to fix it up." So that was why he had spent so much time in the garage lately. I hadn't really suspected anything because they never officially told me to stay out of there.

"Just make sure not to tell your grandfather," mom said, laughing, "He was angry enough when he found out I had been riding one. If he hears I'm letting you out on a motorcycle, he'd start turning colors."

"Wow…thanks guys!" I hugged each of them on hopped on the bike. I carefully edged out of the driveway, giving the semblance of responsibility, until I was out of sight of the house. It was time to see what this thing was capable of. I gave it more speed and lurched forward with a satisfying snarl from the bike. I zipped along gracefully, leaning into the curves and becoming increasingly thankful there was no significant traffic to slow me down. I was thoroughly happy it was my birthday by the time I skid to a stop in front of the school.

*****

Since my morning had turned out to be extraordinary, I had high hopes for my first day of school. However, school was even more boring than usual. In every single class, the teacher did at least two of three lectures. First, they reminded us that this was our senior year, and this would be different from our earlier years at high school. Second, they had us play "getting to know you" games that would have been entertaining in kindergarten, maybe. I really don't understand the point of this when my graduating class was set to be under forty. Most of us knew the names of all the kids in our class, the names of all the kids' siblings, and probably the names of their dogs. Third, they reminded us that the time for college applications was lurking just around the corner and how much different college would be from high school.

By the time school was over, I was fully awake, mostly because I had slept through half of my classes. At least there wasn't any homework, barring the syllabi my teachers insisted on having my parents sign. I was getting some bad kindergarten vibes from this year so far. I darted out of my last seat the moment the bell rang, looking forward to both riding my motorcycle again and visiting the Cullens. Alice and Edward were two of my best friends, which was odd. What kind of normal teenager voluntarily spends time with her mom's friends? Maybe it was because of what a normal conversation with anyone my age was like. Namely, everything that came out of my mouth made any boy within a ten foot radius to spout off "that's what she said." So I guess I had an issue with immaturity. Hanging out with forty-something year olds was a solution to that.

I turned onto the Cullens' long driveway and revved the engine again. I expertly sped through the twists in the drive, which is probably why Alice was waiting outside the house glaring at me when I arrived. I casually dismounted my bike and grinned in return.

"What do you think you're doing? Riding a motorcycle like a madman without a helmet!" she lectured me. It was kind of funny how I was slightly afraid of someone who was shorter than me by nine inches.

"Come on, Alice. We both know you drive way faster than that. And you're just as likely to crash and smear yourself on the highway as I am. Heck, you're at least twenty years older than me, so you're probably even more likely to crash," I joked, trying to blow the whole situation off. But Alice didn't seem convinced; although she seemed unable to find something to convince me I was wrong. She huffed once and let me inside. When I entered the house, I felt my mouth drop open. Pink balloons and streamers were hanging absolutely everywhere. Okay, to be honest, I expected Alice to do something like this for my birthday. But usually, I had Edward as my ally to reel her in.

"Happy birthday, Allison!" Alice trilled. Ugh. This ought to be interesting. Perhaps now is the time to remind her that I am not an oversized doll. Mom had told me about the times back when she and Alice were in high school. Alice had practically made her into a giant Barbie. Personally, I preferred doing something more active than getting dressed up, like running or riding. Alice thought I was abnormal. I agreed, but I didn't really care. I gave Alice a skeptical look.

"If this is another attempt to make me into a normal female, I swear…" I whispered. She just grinned and tried to look innocent. Thankfully, the rest of the family came in then. It struck me then, as it always had when I visited the Cullens, how young all of the family looked. Even though Esme and Carlisle had gray hair, they still looked much younger than their supposed fifty or so years. It reminded me of the time I worked backstage for a play when I was fourteen. All the actors who were playing older characters still looked rather young up close. The makeup they wore only fooled people from a distance. Most of the family looked like they were only playing temporary roles. They looked a lot like teenagers experimenting with stage makeup, really. Judging by the size of their house and property, I suspected plastic surgery. Evidently Carlisle used to be a doctor. I suppose I wouldn't be surprised.

I subtly edged toward Edward, who looked like he was on another planet. I tapped his shoulder impatiently. "Hello? Earth to Edward?" I said pointedly. He shook his head as if to clear it and looked somewhat confused. "Can you promise me something? Save me from Alice," I said. He smiled and nodded his head once. Somehow he still seemed distant. Alice enthusiastically steered me toward one of the white couches in the living room and shoved a pile of presents into my lap. I rolled my eyes and reached for the first one, which disappeared suddenly. Edward had taken it, and was opening it himself. He fluidly ripped off the wrapping paper and handed me the box.

"Are you sure I can handle lifting the lid?" I asked sarcastically. I swear I saw him flinch after that. A few moments later, I, with the annoying help of Edward, uncovered a motorcycle helmet from Alice and Jasper.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, with three exceptions. First, Edward continued to insist on removing the wrapping paper from each of my gifts. Second, the family all seemed to be expecting something to happen; and Edward was mostly lost in a different world, but not the zombie state my mom seemed to inflict upon him, it seemed more like reminiscing. Third, I was the only one in the family who ate any of the cake.