11. FIRST DAY
Summer break is over and school is starting tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm excited or not. I had been so excited before about the experience, but now I wasn't so sure about it. I have a feeling that school isn't exactly going to be fun, but it should be nice to be a normal teenager for a change. That was one aspect of life that I wanted to be a part of but hadn't gotten to experience yet, normal.
I woke up this morning with Mom tapping me on the shoulder. I reluctantly got up and got into the shower. I stepped out a few minutes later and slipped on my robe. I went over to my room then and started rummaging through my closest for something to wear. I decided on this really cute dress that Alice had gotten me. It was a little white bubble dress. It was really short on me now so I decided to pair it with my favorite pair of jeans and some flats.
I met Mom and Dad in the living room and then we headed out for the house. Jake was waiting for us in the garage by the Volvo.
He smirked when he saw me and I smirked back.
"Good morning," he said as I was walking towards him. He leaned down and peaked me on the lips. "That's a really nice outfit."
"Thanks."
"Would you two love birds get a move on," Emmett said as he walked around us to get into the Jeep.
"Sure thing, bro," I joked.
"See ya at school, little sis."
"Re, Rene, Renes… Miss Cullen?"
"Here. And it's Renesmee, but you can just call me Ness."
Only one teacher had managed to pronounce my name correctly all day, but it didn't really bother me. Actually, I thought it was quite funny; listening to them stumble over my name trying to figure out how to pronounce it. Once I explained that it was just Renee and Esme stuck together they seemed to understand. Then they would get a look on their face like they were thinking, "I should have been able to figure that out, now I look like an idiot." And I would always look at them like I thought they were an idiot just so they would think so. I doubted any of them would ever forget my name now.
Almost every teacher had asked me if I was related to the other Cullens, each time confirming their suspicions. We all did look alike after all, in at least one sense. And people always told me I looked a lot like my mom and my dad, not that anyone here knew that they were my parents.
Jake and I had the exact same schedule, complements of Dad. I was glad too, having him there made the day much better.
I had two classes with Mom and Dad. They had the same schedule too, so every class I had with Mom I had with Dad, and vise versa.
I also had one class with Alice, but the only time I got to see the rest of my family was at lunch.
It was finally time for lunch, and Jacob and I were walking there together. We walked into the cafeteria, and I tried to take it in. It was a fairly big room full of hungry children and circular tables scattered about. There was a sound like a roar due to all of the different conversations going on at once.
Jake and I were holding hands and everyone was staring at us. It had bothered me at first, but I had gotten use to the staring now. I suppose that I had been stared at my whole life, so I guess it wasn't really something out of the norm for me, or for any of my family. It was something you just grew used to ignoring, but it wasn't anything you could truly become comfortable with.
As we walked by a table full of students I heard one of them say, "So where do you think he was hiding her?" I couldn't help but laugh. Hiding me, huh? What a completely absurd thing to say.
Then I heard someone answer, "It's no wonder he never talked to any other girls, and why he turned down Sara. I mean, Sara's hot and everything, but that chick's a hard ten."
"No doubt, dude. And it definitely explains why he sits with the Cullens everyday; he's dating their sister."
"Yeah, I always wondered why he sat with them. Now it makes perfect sense."
"It must be pretty serious too; I heard he lives with them."
"Really? How…" The conversation trailed off as we made our way across the cafeteria.
"So what was so funny?" Jacob asked. Apparently he hadn't been listening to them.
"Oh nothing, just something that boy over there said. These humans are so funny." I had been hearing all kinds of different conversations today and I couldn't believe the things these teenagers talked about. They were so ridiculous and trivia, but they talked about them like they were the most important thing in the world. I could hardly believe it.
Maybe being normal is overrated.
"Which part, about me hiding you?" So he had heard them.
"Yes. That's the part I'm referring to."
"Yeah, that was pretty funny."
We were waiting in line now so Jacob could get something to eat; I still preferred blood. I watched him as he continued to pile more and more food onto his tray.
"You consuming this massive amount of food on a daily basis is going to make the humans suspicious," I said in a hushed tone.
Jake leaned down so that his lips were touching my ear.
"So will calling them humans." He straightened up before continuing, speaking louder now. "I'm in a bulking phase." I noticed that he puffed out his chest before continuing. "Trainer says I need to eat a lot of protein." He said this loud enough that a few students around us would have heard him. The story of Jake and his 'trainer' would be around school by the end of the day.
"Nothing on that tray contains any protein," I contradicted.
He spoke in a hushed tone again, leaning down slightly. "A normal teenage human wouldn't know that."
Urg! This was going to be harder than I thought. I should just shut my mouth before I get the whole family implicated with a stupid remark.
Jake reached down and grabbed my shoulder.
"I'm only kidding, Ness. Calm Down." He paused for a second before going on. "You really should stop referring to them as humans though."
"Got it," I said. Calling them humans implied that I was something other than human; I really needed to stop doing that.
After Jake paid for his massive amount of food we began to walk to the table where my family was waiting. The table that was on the other side of the cafeteria where we had come in.
Since we had to go back the same way that we came to get to the table where my family was sitting we ended up passing the same table of students that had made me laugh before. As we were walking by the table I heard the same person as before say, "How do you think he eats all that food everyday and is still that skinny? It doesn't make any sense." I laughed again.
"If you say, 'I told you so' I might just have to eat you," Jake said.
I just stuck my tongue out at him.
We had made it to the table where my family was all waiting. I sat down next to Mom and Jake sat down next to me, Rose was on his other side.
Let's hope no arguments get started, they're in fist-throwing range.
I looked past Rose to see the rest of my family: Emmett next to her, then Jazz, Alice, Dad, then Mom. They all seemed so comfortable here that if it wasn't for our appearance I believe that no one would have any reason to suspect us.
All of us had control of ourselves enough that school didn't bother any of us.
School used to be painful for Jasper, being in such a small enclosed area with so many humans, but now he sat next to Alice with a smile on his face. Uncle Jazz didn't have trouble with his self control anymore. Dad had said that it was thanks to me and something I had said to him a long time ago.
Jazz always had trouble understanding how I drank human blood as a child without being tempted when I was around humans. It was a reasonable enough question. Our animal instincts had a large control over our actions, and, for someone with a life like Jasper, he just didn't understand how it could be possible.
It had been only two years after my birth when I had explained it to him.
"I could never put someone through a pain like that, losing a loved one. All of that grief and emptiness… knowing I had caused it. I could never live with myself if I knew I had done that to someone. Everyone has family that loves them… that would miss them if they were gone.
"And I know that I couldn't imagine if I ever lost one of you: Carlisle, Esme… Mom, Dad- Jacob. I don't know what I would do if someone ever took you guys away from me. Any one of you. It would be a pain I could never endure. You are all my family, and I love you all so much. The world wouldn't be the same with one of you gone," I paused. "What would you do if someone took Alice away from you?"
By the time I had finished my little speech he had had a very thoughtful look on his face. Especially after that last line, "What would you do if someone took Alice away from you?" That seemed to hit home. I knew that Alice was the one thing in this world that he couldn't bear losing.
Simple to say, school was easy for him now.
"How's your first day going?" Mom asked.
I looked at her skeptically and said, "Like you haven't had Dad giving you the run down all day." I knew my parents, I wasn't stupid.
Everyone at the table started laughing, because everyone knew it was true. Mom and Dad could be a little paranoid. I couldn't blame them though; they just loved me too much.
Plus, Dad had to see how people reacted to me; if anyone was suspicious of me for one reason or another we would have to do something to fix it or we could possibly be forced to leave.
This was always the routine that Dad had to go through every time the family would have to move to a new town to get a fresh start. I wasn't sure how many times they had been through this now, but I'm sure Dad had it down to a science by now.
For the first week or so he would see how everyone was perceiving them and be sure that no one was getting suspicious, and that if anyone was getting suspicious, which they usually did to an extent, that they weren't anywhere near the right track of finding out what we truly are.
I believe there was only one time that the family had had to move because someone had guessed right and that had been before I was born. We were much better at being discreet and acting as normal as possible now.
The rest of the day passed much like the morning. Jacob and I walked into class together, everyone started murmuring, the teacher took roll, pronounced my name wrong, then we learned about something I already knew.
I could tell right away that school wasn't going to be something I would enjoy, but as long as I got to endure it with Jacob by my side it wouldn't be so bad.
