10. FIRST DAY

Everyone in my family experienced college numerous times, and to them it was routine and monotonous. Just something for them to do to pass time. I'm sure I will feel the same way in a couple of decades, but for me right now, it felt like a whole new adventure to explore. One, especially, that didn't risk my life or the lives of the people I love. It was why I was so exited. Maybe, it was the book-worm in me, but I was eager to learn.

Alice, Edward, and I had world history as our first class. We were all seated in the same row next to each other. We sat up top, a little to the left, but close enough to the door if we needed to make a speedy escape. Not that we were in danger. We were the danger. Sitting near the exit was caution just in case a human around us had an open wound like a paper cut or smelled too appetizing for their own good.

The professor had yet to show and in the meantime, Edward, Alice, and I were greeted with stares from mostly everybody in the auditorium.

"Every single person in this room is staring at us." I whispered to Edward.

He quickly surveyed the entire place. "Not that person." Edward pointed to the back of a guy's head in the second row. All of a sudden, the guy turned around as to stretch his back. As I heard his back cracking, the guy glanced up to the seat left of Edward's where Alice sat comfortably. "Oh, he just looked."

"I hate this." I added. It was half-true. Part of me was actually enjoying this attention and the other part of me wanted to put a bag over my head. I knew, however, if I said I hated Portland, there was a chance we could move back to Forks. If we did, I could start my process of desensitizing Gregory Abrams. I would have to come up with good excuses to stop at the police station. However, my dad was chief. Whatever needed alibi could involve him.

"Don't be so self-conscious." Edward had mentioned.

"It's not that."

Edward looked confused and frustrated all at once. "What, then?"

"When I was in Forks, I was so happy to blend in. In Phoenix, I was the pasty white kid among a bunch of super-tan, blond girls. But in Forks, I looked like everyone else. Now, no matter where I go, that will never happen. People will notice my irregular-ness." I made up the last word.

He laughed at me. "Like I said, don't be so self-conscious. They don't think you look strange, love. They think you're stunningly beautiful. I hear girls cursing in their minds about how perfect you appear. They're envious. The guys are jealous, too, but of me. They see me talking to you and wish they were in my place."

It was the kind of moment I would have been blushing if I still could. "Thanks, I'm sure the girls are wishing they were in my seat, too."

Unexpectedly, Edward kissed me.

"That was mean." I crossed my arms against my chest. "Those poor girls. You just crushed their dreams."

Edward's forehead creased. He flashed his crooked smiled and shrugged.

The professor finally made it to class. He appeared disheveled, like he rushed to get here on time. He was, however, only a few minutes late. His horn-rimmed glasses were sliding down his nose when he put his suitcase down. With his one hand, he slicked back his hair neatly and then pushed his glasses up. "Sor-ry I'm late." The teacher announced. "My car broke down. I'm Pro-fes-sor or Mr. Mal-o-ry. What-ev-er you choose is up to you."

As I listened to Mr. Malory ennuciate every syllable, I tried to ignore the piercing eyes that were still glaring at Alice, Edward, and me instead of the professor. It was difficult. One boy, who's eyes I swore never left my face, smelled liked milk and honey. As quickly as the scent reached my nose, I realized my throat was burning. I would need to go hunting soon. My eyes were already a dark shade of amber when I glanced at my reflection this morning. Had it been a week already? I had an infinite amount of time on my hands that seemingly enough, I couldn't keep up with.

The class in itself was boring. I already made the assumption after Mr. Malory took ten minutes on explaining why he was late and another thirty minutes just for his introduction. Not to mention, he spoke in a monotone that could put Nessie to sleep within seconds. Even though I had Alice and Edward, listening to this teacher was as much fun as getting it in the head with a textbook. I was relieved when the eighty-five minutes were up. Edward and Alice by my sides only made the class slightly more tolerable.

"How are you doing?" Edward asked as the two of us walked out of the building. Alice had quickly ran off to find Jasper on the other side of campus.

"Fine." It was truth for the most part and Edward took it without protest. I kept my mind easily busy with other things. He wanted to know how I was holding up since leaving Forks and Charlie behind. I was doing fine. Not great, but I could have definitely been feeling worse. Edward still didn't know that I knew about Alice's vision that he wanted to keep from me. He didn't know I wanted to leave and face my problem head on. More importantly, I wanted to get to know Greg Abrams. I would make the effort starting this Saturday. I looked at Edward. His eyes were growing darker ever hour it seemed as well. "We should hunt today."

"Right now?"

"Well, when we get your car and drive home. We don't have another class until six."

Edward nodded in agreement. As we walked toward the parking lot, I spotted the school's book-store.

"Give me one second..." He followed me inside. I went to the aisle that held magazines and calendars. I slid a calendar out that had pictures of Portland on the front. "This will work." I faced Edward whose head was cocked to the side. He looked puzzled. "What? It's so I can keep track."

---

Once we reached home, I found Nessie in the backyard sitting next to the garden, reading a book from one of my shelves. I got a closer look at the title, Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. She had read it at least four times already. It was one of her favorites, not because it was a good story, which it was, but because one of the main characters had the same name as her father.

Nessie closed the book on page fifty-nine and looked up at me. "How was class, mommy?"

"Trite. Hopefully, it will get better instead of feeling like I'm repeating twelfth grade. " I paused. "Are you hungry at all?"

She swiftly stood up and nodded her head.

The forest behind my new house had plenty of elk. The three of us found a large herd about two miles out. I satiated my thirst with two and felt instant relief. Not one drop of blood on my outfit, I felt proud. I was getting better. It was feeling more natural. My daughter, however, looked like she got in a fight. Her bronze curls had twigs wrapped around. Her pants were torn. Her shirt sleeves were hanging off. "Awe, honey."

Nessie stared down at her clothes. "I'm okay, mom. Clothes not so much."

"Come on, lets get you cleaned up." I grabbed her hand and we sprinted to the house. Edward, of course, arrived first.

Once we got inside, he realized the time. "Our next class is in thirty minutes."

"Crap...I'm not liking the whole idea of night classes." I turned to Nessie. "Take a shower. I'll be home in less than two hours, promise."

She nodded and glanced at Edward. "Bye, daddy. Have fun." Nessie hugged me and then sprinted to the upstairs bathroom.

"Ready?" He asked.

I sighed. I hated the thought of leaving Renesmee by herself even though she had Jacob. But, we had to keep up the human charade.

---

Back on campus, a girl of about twenty with long blond hair walked up to Edward, Jasper, Alice, and I. The four of us were walking toward our classes. Jasper and Alice, who were majoring in liberal arts, had their next class a few rooms down from ours.

The girl smiled directly at Edward. She was carrying a pack of blue flyers close to her chest so I wasn't able to read what they were about. "Hi, I'm Erika."

"Hello." Edward replied. "I'm Edward. To my left is my sister, Alice. Across from me is my brother Emmett. That's Jasper and Rosalie. To my right is Isabella, preferably Bella."

Erika glanced at each of us, Jasper a little longer than necessary, until she laid her eyes back on Edward. "Cool. Um, well, there's a party tonight for all incoming freshman, but everyone is welcomed…you all should come." She handed a flyer out to Jasper and Edward. Apparently, those were the only two people she really wanted to invite.

"No, but thank you." announced Jasper as he handed back the sheet.

Erika's face blushed crimson. She turned to Edward but she noticed his hand was entwined in mine, rings clearly visible. She smiled once more and then ambled off in the other direction.

"So?" I asked Edward as we kept walking forward. I was wondering what Erika thought when she saw us.

"The girl-Erika was almost too intimidated to walk up to us. As she strode off, she was debating between whether to ask out Jasper or myself." A smirk appeared on his face."She also saw the rings but didn't think anything of them. However, if she's correct about her assumption, it wouldn't stop her from trying. Although, she wouldn't be even the slightest successful." Edward smiled as his hand lightly reached up and brushed a few strands away from my face.

"The new Jessica."

Edward laughed all the way until we reached our next class, general English. Once most of the chairs were filled up and everyone looked situated, Edward quickly looked over his shoulder. "There's a boy starting at you." He was clearly amused.

I tried to ignore all the eyes that had stared at me in my first class. Instead, I thought back to everyday during lunch my junior year. "Hmm…déjà vu? No?"

Edward leaned closer and whispered in my ear. "This is a boy, though."

I grew curious. I was also amazed that less people were staring at us. I guess since it was later in the day and their minds were too preoccupied with what to do tonight. "What's he thinking?"

"He thinks you're gorgeous but he uses more adjectives than just that."

I rolled my eyes. "Should we make him jealous?" I didn't hesitate for Edward's answer. I gently kissed him. Once I pulled away, I felt him grab my chin and he pressed his lips once more to mine before the teacher announced his presence.

Once again, the professor just went over the course. We would mainly be reading classics from Shakespeare, Milton, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, the Brontes, and among others. Obviously. When do English courses ever pick novels from authors who haven't died? Unless you pick a course that goes over modern day works, the answer is never.

I glanced down at the list of books we would be reading in the first semester. I frowned. "I've read every single one of these. What was the point of going to college for literature when you've read every book in the curriculum?"

Edward chuckled softly. "We still have three other classes."

"Ugh!" I really wouldn't have made it such a big deal if I didn't want to move back to Forks. The whole blending-in thing was to show I miss Forks in a more subtle way. Sooner or later I'll make it even more apparent. I just can't tell them I want to go after not even being in Portland for a week. That's why I bought a calendar. I'll know when its been about a month or two. That would be a good amount. By then, Alice's vision could be different. Mind over matter. As long as I thought that, Greg would be safe.

---

Later in the evening, I wanted to talk to Alice about the vision but when I walked to her door, I heard her talking. Jasper was in the living-room as well as the others. I could only guess correctly that she was on the phone with someone. I lightly put my ear to the door to get an even clearer sound. I immediately heard my name.

Without knocking, I barged into Alice's room. I was so close to knocking the door down, but I managed to restrain myself. Alice glanced up at me and quickly shut the cell phone. "Bella." She stated calmly.

"Alice, who was it?" I commanded.

"No one important. How did you like first day at college?"

"Quit the evasiveness. Who were you just talking to?"

Alice shook her head.

"Give me the phone. I know you probably see me take it, so just hand it over." She reluctantly dropped the tiny silver cell phone in my hand. I flipped it open and checked the last call's number. Fury shot through my body like a lightening bolt. "CHARLIE?" I didn't wait for a reply. "You called my dad?"

"Calm down. He called me." Alice sighed. "We've been staying in touch. He wanted to know how you were. Believe it or not, Charlie still loves you. He thinks you never want to talk to him again after he had walked out on you, though. I've been trying to reassure him that's not true."

I sat on Alice's couch to think things through. It only took a few seconds to realize what Alice had been doing without my knowledge was actually a favor. "Thank you. Sorry…I wished you told me about it. How long?"

"The day after the dispute. We have been talking almost every other day since and I've been helping Sue out with the wedding planning. She wants to invite all of us."

I thought long and hard about the choice I was about to make. However, now that I realize my dad does want to see me, I had more than enough incentive. I saw Alice close her eyes and then a moment later they flicked open.

"Bella? You really think that will fix everything?"

Of course, she saw what I planned to do on Saturday.

"I have to."

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