Kinda long of a chapter this time, but Bella meets Jasper in this one! But, first impressions are crucial, and Jasper did not make a good one…. Hope you like it!
"Bella. Bella, wake up. C'mon, its 5:30, time to get up." a very unwelcome voice whispered, interrupting me from an awesome dream about the beach.
"No. Nope. Go away. Sleepy time." I growled.
"Time to get up sunshine. You're gonna be late for school." Charlie said sarcastically, and shook my shoulder. He seemed to be enjoying this.
"I'm up." I cried, throwing off my warm comforter. Even though we had the heat on, the floor was freezing.
"'Atta girl. First day of school! I'll have you coffee ready when you get out of the shower." Charlie said, and left me to pick out my clothes. I selected a light purple sweater, a grey cardigan, black jeans, my badass leather boots, and my heavy suede jacket. I got a long hot shower, stalling my inevitable going to school. I was so not excited for this. I towel dried my dreads, who decided to behave today, and got dressed. Before I left the bathroom, I slipped on the bracelet Jake and Billy had given me. It looked beautiful as always.
"You should probably get going!" called Charlie from downstairs.
"On my way!" I shouted back. I got my old tan messenger bag full or paper and pencils, and bounded down the stairs. Charlie had a thermal cup full of coffee ready for me, and a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.
"Thanks, Dad." I said, and wolfed it down in a lady like fashion.
"Not a problem she-wolf. Have a good day at school." he gave me an awkward one armed hug, like we were homies.
"Don't count on it!" I replied, and carefully walked out to my truck.
When I got to school, it was a hot ass mess. There were so many people I didn't know. It took me forever to find my homeroom. I sat in the back with The Catcher in the Rye and tried to be invisible.
"Is that book like, required or something?" someone asked. Without looking up I responded "Probably not."
"Oh. Then why are you reading it?" she inquired. This stunning declaration of intelligence forced me to look up.
"It's my favorite book." I said simply. The girl was pretty, maybe 16, with medium length brown hair.
"That's cool. Are you new?" she asked bluntly.
"Yeah, I just moved in with my dad." I responded.
"Where from?" she demanded. Rude.
"Phoenix." I replied shortly.
"Oh. OK." she answered, and turned around in her chair. What. The. Fuck?!
The teacher passed out our schedules and paperwork and whatnot.
Period 1: Jazz Band
Period 2: P.E.
Period 3: English 2 Honors
Period 4: Anatomy and Physiology
Period 5: American History Honors
Period 6: Spanish 1 Honors
Period 7: Child Development
Where the hell had all these honors classes come from? Any social life I had hoped of having was shot down with that schedule. While I wallowed in the misery of all the upcoming work I had to do, the bell rang to dismiss us to first period. I tried to be an angsty teenager that didn't know how to feel, but I couldn't help but be excited for Jazz Band. I might meet some awesome musicians, maybe even a fellow guitarist to jam with. The classroom turned out to be the tiny theater. I arrived just as the bell rang, and counted about 15 other people. The instructor was onstage with a podium, calling out role. There was only one other girl's name called until they got to me.
"Isabella Swan?" he called. I raised my hand.
"Bella, please." everyone except two guys in the front turned around and looked at me like I was a serial killer or something.
"Bella it is." the teacher replied without looking up. He seemed like a cool guy. He looked about 60, but he had lots of laugh lines carved into his face. He finished calling role, and introduced himself.
"Hello class. My name is Jay Ricci, but I expect you to call me Jay, none of that Mister nonsense. So, as you may know, this is my non-performing Jazz Band, which means as the name implies, we will not be performing at school events or football games. We will be solely focusing on honing your musical abilities. But, I'm warning you now, this will not be an easy class. You may not be graded on performance like my other Jazz Band, but I expect you to sound just as good. At the end of this year, if you so choose, you will have a chance at getting an A for your final grade, regardless of how you have done the rest of the year. Every year I take my performing Jazz Band and three of you to a jazz festival in Seattle. There, you will perform a song of your choice, and if I deem it successful, you get a grade for the entire year. If you perform badly, I fail you. Any questions so far?" he paused and looked around for raised hands.
"Alright. Please, do not be intimidated at all by this class. I intend for the year to be enjoyable. My classroom is a safe place, which means anything said here stays here, got it?" a few people nodded.
"We're going to do a little get-to-know-each-other exercise, as is the protocol for the first day of school. On stage, everyone." he ordered. Everyone slowly got up. Instead of using the stairs, I hopped up on the stage, along with two gorgeous looking guys. They took my breath away, literally, and I found it hard not to drool. Both were super pale, with black, hollow eyes. One had messy bronze-colored hair and cheekbones I would kill for. He looked at me strange as we joined the group. The other had shaggy honey blonde hair past his chin, and had peculiar scars all over his neck, and even some on his face. He gave me the same weird, almost offended look the other guy had given me. Suddenly, blondie tensed up, and appeared to be in pain. He glared at me for some reason, with this murderous gaze that terrified me.
"Hey man, you alright?" I cried, but stayed where I was. He looked like he wanted to kill me.
"He gets migraines. He'll be fine." the bronze-haired guy assured me. His voice sounded beautiful, almost like bells.
"You sure? He looked like he's gonna pass out." I countered, but still remained where I stood. Blondie looked a little more restrained now.
"I'm fine. These uh, migraines are pretty wicked." he said, sounding strained.
"Jazz, you want to step out-side or-"
"I am fine Edward." Blondie snapped, and quickly walked past me. Moody bitch!
"Alright everybody, if you don't mind, everyone stand in a circle. Circle, not oval. Great!" Jay brought out a foam ball.
"I'm going to toss this in the air. Whoever catches it will tell us their name, two hobbies, one interesting thing about themselves, and what instrument they play. Got it?" he asked. We all nodded. He tossed it, and a tall, plain looking girl caught it.
"Damn. OK, then. Um, I'm Angela Webber. I like to run and be on the Internet. Um, interesting thing about me. I guess I'm the tallest girl in our year? And I play violin." she informed, and tossed the ball in the air. Two guys caught it, one saxophone player and a cellist. The cellist tossed the ball, and Blondie caught it.
"My name is Jasper Hale. I read and hunt." the bronze-haired guy stifled a laugh. Jasper grinned at him.
"Intersting thing about me, huh? I'm a vegetarian. I'm a drummer." he finished. At the vegetarian line, Bronze-hair lost it, and busted a gut laughing.
"What's so funny, Mr. Cullen?" demanded Jay.
"Nothing, sir. Inside joke between my brother and I." laughed Bronze-Head. Jasper looked at me, and chucked the ball in my direction. It came so fast, I barely had time to catch it. It hit me in the stomach, hard. It knocked the wind out of me.
"The fuck is your problem, man?" I demanded angrily.
"Nothing darlin'. Sorry, too rough?" he asked sweetly. I glared at him, and chucked the ball at his head. He caught it like it was nothing.
"This is not Phys. Ed, you guys. We are not playing catch. Ms. Swan, your turn." Jay ordered, and tossed the ball lightly to me.
"Fine. I'm Bella. I camp and listen to reggae most of the time. I'm from Phoenix. I play guitar." I said shortly, and threw the ball at Bronze-Boy.
"Ya, mon!" someone called out. I smiled.
"I'm Edward Cullen. I write music and hunt, with my brothers and sisters. I'm also a vegetarian," he said, stifling a laugh as he grinner at Jasper, "And I play piano."
The rest of class, people introduced themselves. When the bell rang, I jumped off the stage, got my things, and got the hell out of there. Those brothers, I guess, were werid, and not in a good way. Especially that blonde one….