Author's Note: I do not own Twilight. Twilight and all the characters are the creation of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.
-oOo-
It seemed easy to work my way into a daily routine. Waking up early everyday wasn't actually all that difficult when you got used to it.
Everyday I would wake up at six and get dressed, freshened up, and eat breakfast. I found that it was easier to take a shower in the evening rather than in the morning. If I took a shower in the evening, I didn't have to wake up any earlier to take one in the morning. It was much more beneficial for me.
Alice, Rosalie, Bella, and I seemed to have an unofficial seating chart in Rose's convertible. We always sat in the same spot, Rose in the driver's seat, Bella in the passenger's seat, and Alice and I in the backseat.
We didn't mind. Like I said, it was routine.
And yes, I did end up forgiving Parker. He just wanted the best for me and we both agreed we overreacted. Besides, it was hard for me to stay mad at him. Impossible, actually.
Time seemed to fly by from August twenty-fourth. School wasn't too exciting, with nothing really worthwhile to report. Same classes, same people. Iris didn't seem to be too nasty, but I occasionally saw her give me dirty looks. I don't know what her problem with me was. I never recall doing anything to her.
Edward says it's because she jealous of us, that she was the most beautiful girl in her grade and she feels threatened by our beauty. I could see that in Alice, Rosalie, and Bella, but me? Why would she be threatened by me?
Parker keeps telling me I'm the prettiest girl he's ever seen, but some of the time I don't believe him.
Well, most of the time.
High school is a battle for the top. Iris thought she had it made, but now she's actually got to work for the top.
It didn't seem that it would be September 10th so quickly, but yet it was.
Nessie's birthday.
-oOo-
It was a Friday, but we all still had to go to school. But when we got home, it was full-on Nessie mode. Alice decorated the living room with roses and lots of pink. It was girly, but fit Nessie's 3rd birthday. It was hard to believe she was only three years old, when she looked almost eleven. The odd aging of hybrids...
The cake was chocolate with different sections of white, milk, and dark chocolate icing. Nessie absolutely loved chocolate, so it was heaven for her. It tasted pretty good to me, too.
She got a lot of new clothes from Alice and Rosalie, ranging from dresses to skirts to shirts. As a family gift, we got her a charm bracelet. Everyone in the family had a charm that symbolized them. My charm was a little camera with a heart and an "A" engraved in the back, meaning "Love, Alex". Esme's was a chef's hat with a heart engraved on the back as well. It was my idea for her to get a chef's hat, since she was such a great chef. She happy obliged and got the charm.
Alice's charm was a shoe (of course) and Rosalie's charm was a rose.
Nessie had nine charms on her bracelet until Jacob came over and brought some of his wolf friends. Nessie was extremely happy to see him and he presented her with her tenth and final charm: a wolf with a "J" engraved on the back.
So, Nessie enjoyed her 3rd birthday party, and said it was "the best birthday she's ever had".
We all agreed.
-oOo-
So, it was back to school on Monday and I sat in the backseat of Rosalie's convertible, my backpack placed on my lap. Alice was holding a miniature compact in her hand as she applied some red lipstick.
"How can you put on makeup in the car?" I asked her, astounded.
"The steady hand of a vampire, my dear," Alice said as she closed her lipstick and stored it away in her bag.
"Not necessarily," Bella said. "I can't put on lipstick in a moving vehicle as well as you."
I chuckled as we pulled into the student parking lot.
Iris and her little clique were standing by the front doors. I swear she saw me through the window and glared. I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed out of the car. It was overcast and chilly, perfect weather for vampires. Surprisingly, I'm happy that it's rarely sunny in Astoria. I don't think I could survive without everyone at school.
I shouldn't have jinxed myself.
-oOo-
The 13th of September was a cool but sunny day. There was a bus stop on my street, not at the end of our driveway, but close. I had to wake up a bit earlier to catch the bus, which worsened my mood. Everyone wished me good luck as I headed out for the school day.
Since most of the people on the bus already had friends on the bus and had seats, I sat by myself in the front seat. I pulled out my iPhone and listened to music for the whole ride.
-oOo-
I was expecting the worst in math class, not having Alice there to entertain me or help me if I was struggling, which happened from time to time.
I walked into class minutes before the first bell rang. One boy was in the room, along with Macey Arnold, one of the other students whose name I could actually remember. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her.
"Can I sit next to you?" I asked her, gesturing to the desk to her right.
"Go for it," she said. I plopped my backpack on the desk and sat down in the chair.
"I love your backpack," she said. "Vera Bradley is great."
I nodded. "Yeah, it's a good backpack. Pretty durable."
She smiled.
"So..." I said. "You're Macey, right?"
"Yes, Macey Arnold. And your Alexan-" she paused. "Sorry, Alex Cullen."
I laughed softly. "Yeah, that's me. New girl extraordinaire."
Macey chuckled as the bell rang and the rest of the students and Mr. Evans walked in. After an intro to what we will be working on today, he passed out a worksheet.
I stared at the worksheet, dumbfounded.
"Do you even know how to do this?" I asked Macey.
"It's simple, actually," she said. "Well, first-"
Macey went through the first problem with me step by step. I tried the second problem and managed to complete it on my own. We worked together on the rest of the worksheet and finished minutes before the bell rang.
"Thanks for all the help," I said to her as we left the classroom.
"Anytime," she replied. "So... I guess I'll see you around." We waved goodbye to each other and I watched her walk down the hallway, then headed off to my next class.
-oOo-
Yay, Alex made a new friend! But will the friendship last? Or could there be an "accident" along the way?