We were lucky for our reactions. Even though our pause felt like forever in a sense, it was only a slight hesitation to the humans. They wouldn't question it either; they would react the same way if they had to approach three intimidating and unworldly beautiful teenagers.
"Boys, just sit them in the front here, and leave some space in between each spot," Miss Kott further instructed. Emmett and Jasper barely nodded; their golden eyes were solely focused on me and their expressions were screaming confusion, shock, and even a bit of fear. They did as they were told and dropped the stools in their places. Emmett, still burly and huge as ever, set the two he had up for Evie and Noah while Jasper stalked toward me. He bent over slightly, getting in direct line of vision with me as he positioned the stool up right.
"Bella," he whispered the silent noise nonexistent to the teacher who stood barely three feet away from me. I didn't know what to do so I merely inched my head to the right, giving him a curious look. His expression changed to being slightly amused before he joined Emmett's side and walked back to their seats. His reaction pissed me off; he thought joking was alright?
Against my better judgment, I broke one of Aro's most sacred personal rules: I acted on my emotions and pushed my shield forward, only to slam it against his back. Jasper Hale jumped and spun around, startled by the sudden outburst of power. I let my shield come down, letting the anger I felt seep out and wrap around him. His golden eyes widened as he sat down, and I could only imagine the look that was on my face.
From the corner of my right eye, I could see the startled glances of my children. Because they were my kids, they could feel what I felt; there was some kind of weird ass connection between us and they knew exactly what I had done.
What the hell is wrong with you, mom? Noah's tone was worried. Normally I would scold him for those words but I understood. I was acting out among humans. He didn't understand though; he didn't know what it was like to see them, two people from the family that nearly ruined my life.
When I glanced at Evie though, I automatically knew that she knew as well. She was staring at Jasper and Emmett with such a fierce look. Had she not had prestige control over her emotions, I could only imagine seeing her push her way through the humans and going for their necks. She might be a sweet girl but my baby was a lioness at heart.
"Now let's begin," said the teacher uncomfortably. Maybe she was a sensitive human; there were a few who could go beyond their own species and touch other waves of tension. I thought I was one when I still had a heartbeat. "The three of you will introduce yourself, and then the class will do so. Afterward, each classmate will ask you a question. Though only you three will answer aloud, the rest of the class will write their answers down on a blank sheet of paper. Sound good?"
I nodded, as did my kids and the rest of the class. Miss Kott nodded and walked toward Evie. Placing her hand on my daughter's shoulder, I watched her flinch from the change of temperature. While my internal temperature was colder than ice, Evie and Noah were like Jacob. They were hotter than the normal human body; from what the scientists had told Aro, it had something to do with how their genome was constructed.
"You can start dear," the teacher said. Her voice wavered as she tried to subtly remove her hand from Evie's skin. Evie didn't even notice. Her eyes were still trained on the boys.
"Do I just say my name?"
"And a little bit about you would be nice. Like age, hobbies, something interesting."
Evie nodded and stood. She didn't look away from the Cullen boys until a second before she spoke. "Okay well… My name is Evangeline Swan. The three of us are triplets; we're seventeen, though I'm the youngest. We're from Italy and live here now with our older brothers and sister. I prefer artistic hobbies over anything else, and I'm very, very protective of my family. I don't stand for any trouble that comes to them."
Her last statement set the whole class, even the teacher on edge. Even though her voice was soft and caressing, the threat disguised in there was real and strong. It didn't shock me that her eyes were focused back on the Cullens and even more so that they knew she was talking about them. I was surprised by the gleam in her eyes that shouted predator.
"Okay then…" Miss Kott said rather awkwardly as Evie sat down and then looked at my son with a worried glance. "Your turn, sir."
Noah nodded once and then stood up like his sister had done. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. Only moments before, Noah had been confident and rather eager to start a new life in Forks. With my sudden outburst and Evie's lingering threat, I could see his resolve had melted into slush and now she was nervous. I wanted to kick myself for doing that to my son but there was nothing I could do about it now.
"So... I'm Noah. I'm the middle child in this group of freaks," he murmured jokingly as he concentrated on the ground in front of him. It was obvious, or only obvious to me, that he was trying to diffuse the tension Evie and I had created. "I'm very close with these two and love spending time with my sisters; you'll rarely see me without at least one of them. I also love travelling around to different places. And uh…I get confused easily."
I couldn't help the grim smile that crossed my lips briefly. I didn't even need to be told how confused he was. It wasn't a wonder I wasn't hearing a billion questions in my mind at the moment.
"Bella?" Noah murmured softly, tearing me from my thoughts. It was strange, hearing my son call me by my name. I would have to get used to it soon but for now, it made me hesitate.
As he sat down, I stood. I looked around the room in a quick once over, gazing at every human but seeing nothing in particular. I keep my gaze away from the back, even after I began to speak. "I'm Isabella; sadly, I'd be considered the oldest. I guess you would say I prefer to keep myself. If I'm not hanging around with my siblings, I am usually working on some kind of car with lots of music. There's really nothing interesting about me so that's about it."
As I took my place back on the stool, there was an awkward silence as the students and teachers digested what I had said. It took a few moments until Miss Kott spoke again.
"Well then, welcome Isabella, Noah, and Evangeline. Now class, each one of you will introduce yourself and ask a question. Remember to write down the answer to your own question. Lily, would you please start us off?"
Lily sat farthest to the right in the first row. She looked like the stereotypical cheerleader; peppy uniform, ribbons in the bleached-blonde hair, caked on makeup. She even looked like she had that bubblegum-smacking, arrogant attitude. And you wonder why cheerleaders get a bad rap?
"I'm Lillian Sanders, head cheerleader and future prom queen," she introduced herself as. The confidence in her voice was overbearing, urging me to snort.
See? What did I tell you?
"My question for you would be if you have any plans about getting involved with school? Like clubs, teams, stuff like that?"
I looked over at my children, curious about their answers. I didn't even think about getting involved; I wasn't one for school activities even when I was human but that didn't mean Noah and Evie couldn't.
"If I find some kind of sports team, maybe," Noah answered with a shrug. Lily's eyes lit up when he looked at her, almost causing me to giggle. I guess he was going to be popular with the ladies here.
"The same is for me," Evie murmured. "Probably only artistic clubs; I'm not much of a sporty person."
Everyone turned their attention to me, waiting for an answer. I looked at my kids from the corner of my eyes but then stared back as the class. "Not really. I doubt the school has anything I would be interested in."
"You would be surprised. Forks High School has always been a wonderful learning center with plenty of extracurricular activities on a vast region of interests," Miss Kott said. I resisted asking her when that had ever happened by biting my tongue. Forks High had never been that supportive of their students.
"Next please?"
A tall and lanky boy stood up, his posture screaming shyness and nerves. I smiled hesitantly at him when he looked at me, hoping to ease his emotions a little bit. I remembered being like that in high school; I hated having to stand up in front of a crowd with more than three people. He looked a bit shocked to see me smile but then smiled back.
"I'm David Lockhart," he murmured. The humans strained to hear his soft voice but we heard him perfectly. "I was wondering, do any of you have nicknames you prefer to go by?"
"I prefer Evie or Eve. Evangeline is simply too long to say or even remember."
"I don't think you can get any nickname from Noah but she likes to call me Nobel Peace Prize," Noah said with a chuckle as he gazed at his sister. Evie giggled along with the rest of the class.
"It's true. When we fight, he never gets violent like a normal teenage boy so I like to tease him about that," Evie further explained, making the class laugh even more. Even the two Cullens chuckled a bit.
"What about you, Isabella?" the teacher pressed on. I wanted to snarl at her for putting the attention on me. I would have been perfectly fine with being skipped over.
"Usually Bella but I'll answer to anything that isn't an insult; that is, unless you are these two," I answered, jerking my thumb at Noah and Evie. They laughed louder, remembering our own private joke.
David smiled again at me and while others were focusing on my children and their giggle fit, I winked at him. I was glad he had more control over his blush than how I did as a human. Just from his shyness and personality, I knew he was one human I wouldn't be avoiding.
In a way he sort of reminded me of Angela Webber. He had the same dark hair with matching glasses, and a dorky personality as her, not to mention a good smile. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the same sense of humor.
The questions went on and on but I hardly paid attention. I was too busy being lost in my own thoughts of being home in Italy, until Noah decided to disrupt me. When a short redhead stood up and introduced herself, his emotions went haywire as he watched her. I doubt he knew his thoughts were screaming to us.
Deidre… his thoughts whispered to us. He was captivated by everything about her; how gray her eyes were, how pale her skin was compared to his, how her copper hair was cut into an angled bob and spiked at the back and sides. Noah was in love at first sight.
I glanced at Evie, who sent me an amused look. She heard it just as well as I did and from the way her shoulders shook, she was holding back hysteria. Neither of us could believe Noah had found his mate, and naturally in first period on his first day in school.
Good luck, buddy, I chuckled silently. I made a mental note to prepare myself for the possibility of a daughter in law before the end of the year.
"What are your favorite colors?"
We gave our answers; white, black, and purple. No one looked surprised.
Before I could prepare myself, the next question was from none other but the giant bear in the back. He stood up from his desk, making a little bit of noise as the desk rattled. He skimmed over my children before focusing on me with those golden irises. I refused to let myself glare; I didn't need to scare the humans so I did my best to keep a blank face.
"I'm Emmett Cullen," he said, his baritone voice vibrating through my icy body. Another pang of hurt rang through my chest.
Beside me, I could hear a low growl from my son, low enough for only vampires to hear. He had made the connection now and was torn between feeling shocked and being beyond pissed. He edged forward on the stool, trying his best to regain control over his emotions. Emmett noticed this and flinched before gazing back at me.
"So uh… do you forgive easily?"
The humans looked back at him with curious gazes, wondering what could make him ask such a ridiculous question. I took the opportunity to glare at him while they looked away from me. His eyes widened before turning sad; he knew the answer.
"No."
It wasn't planned for the three of us to answer all at once but we did; scared the shit out of the humans, too. They all turned to face front immediately, started by our abrupt answer. I didn't blame them. It was a strange question with an even stranger answer.
When Emmett sat down and Jasper stood, I knew his question would be worse. He narrowed his eyes at me, but not in a negative way. It was more like he was studying me, wondering how I could possibly be sitting here now.
"Jasper Cullen," he stated in a firm voice, his southern accent alive and well. I braced myself for whatever flew at me next.
"You say you're from Italy… where exactly in Italy did you come from?"
So I haven't had anyone express any interest in a beta...Does anyone know where to look? I don't know much about the Beta Reader program through here and I'm already starting to rewrite this story. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! What do you think about Jasper and Emmett's appearances?
