I debated getting up and leaving town at that moment. There were vampires. Not just one or two, but what seemed to be a whole coven. Why were they here? Were they just trying to blend in like me or were they here at the behest of Sargon? I'd avoided meeting other vampires for three hundred years and now, the one time I tried to find a permanent refuge, I was face to face with a whole group.
As if he could feel me staring at them, one turned to meet my gaze. His hair was a stunning bronze and his features made the statues I saw in Rome look like they were done by a novice. I noticed that his eyes were amber as they widened with shock before he turned back to his companions.
My mind was racing when I realized Angela was trying to get my attention. I blinked and forced myself to turn to her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, brown eyes full of concern. I gave her a slight smile and nodded.
"Yeah, those people just looked familiar for a second," I responded. "Who are they?"
"Those are the Cullens," Jessica explained. "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted them, but they're all, like, together.
"The big guy and the blonde girl are Emmett and Rosalie. They're seniors, along with Rosalie's twin brother Jasper. He's the one who looks like he's in pain all the time. He's with the weird girl, Alice. She's a junior like us."
"What about the third guy?" I inquired about the one from a moment ago.
"That's Edward Cullen," she said with a bitter laugh. "He's the only single one, but don't try your luck. No one here is good enough for him."
The girl next to Jessica took that as a cue to gossip about the latest romance drama in the school. I sat back in my chair, intently studying a spot on the table in front of me, and focused my attention on the coven in an attempt to hear what they were saying.
"She's one of us?" a male asked quietly. I almost couldn't hear him over the bustling voices of the many other students in the room.
"She's obviously a vampire," a female replied.
"I saw her eyes," the next voice responded. It was a warm tenor that reminded me of honey. "They prove she doesn't feast on humans."
"You have to wonder why she's here." This voice was beautiful and lilting.
"What's she thinking?" the first voice asked. There was a moment of silence and a frustrated sigh.
"I can't hear her." I could sense the frown in the tenor's voice. "She's completely silent. Like Chief Swan's fogginess but on a whole different level."
"We should talk to her after school to see what she's up to," the second female's suggestion almost came across as a demand. Almost.
"I wonder how she'll affect our futures," the first female whispered wistfully. "I haven't seen anything about her."
"Well," the tenor sighed, "all we can do is talk to her first. Then we'll go from there."
"You know Bella," Jessica turned my attention back to the table, "you kind of have the same vibe going on as the Cullens."
"You think so?" I tried to sound doubtful.
"Oh yeah," the other girl interjected. "Gold eyes, flawless skin, natural beauty." She sounded bitter. I briefly wondered if she needed some candy.
"Well, thanks," I laughed off her comment.
I was saved by the bell from further awkward conversations. I waved goodbye to my companions and walked toward biology. It turned out that Mike and Angela had the same class, so we all walked together. When we arrived at the classroom, I immediately noticed the vampire sitting at an otherwise empty two person desk. I quickly averted my gaze and greeted the teacher.
"Ah yes, welcome Miss Elvet. Go sit by Mr. Cullen; I believe that's the only open spot."
I could feel the vampire's watchful gaze on me as I walked over and sat down without acknowledging him. I opened my textbook and hoped he'd leave me alone.
"Hello," the beautiful tenor from the cafeteria broke the silence between us. I tensed up, immediately going back into flight mode. "My name is Edward Cullen. You're Isabella Elvet, correct?"
"Bella." I barely managed to get the word out. It felt like my throat was closing up, but I knew that was impossible. It was just a physical reaction to the fear I was feeling. I would think back on the science of it later.
"It's nice to meet you, Bella," I could see his smile out of the corner of my eye. "What brings you to Forks?"
I ignored his question and tried to calm myself down. I noticed I was gripping the edge of my chair a little too hard and let go, not oblivious to the hand imprint left behind. Edward seemed to have noticed as well and gave me a questioning look.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly as the teacher began the lesson. I couldn't tell if it was concern or pity in his tone. I ignored him again and tried to focus on the lecture. Edward seemed insistent on getting at least one answer out of me, so he continued to ask questions. Where I was from, how old I was, if I was alone, etc. I gave him the same response every time: silence.
When the bell finally rang, I jumped up and left as fast as I could while maintaining my human guise. He didn't try to follow, for which I was grateful.
My last class was gym. I half heartedly participated, claiming lack of coordination. I "accidentally" hit Mike in the back of the head with a volleyball in order to get the teacher to allow me to sit out. I requested to visit the front office since I was benched and the coach agreed.
The kind lady who gave me my schedule this morning smiled at me when I entered the brightly lit office.
"Isabella! How was your first day?"
"It was good, I just had a quick question about my schedule," I explained and handed her a paper she had asked me to get my teachers to sign.
"What can I help you with? Were your classes an okay fit?" She looked concerned, like she was worried about disappointing the new student. Her perfume was intense, commanding all of the other scents in the small room. I resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose.
"Well, I was wondering if there was a different science open. I get queasy in biology labs," I lied. She laughed in relief.
"Oh I understand that, dear! Can't tell you how many people go to the nurse's office thanks to Mr. Banner's class." She pushed her glasses back up her nurse and looked at the computer. "Let me check if anything else is open for you."
"That's great, thank you."
After a few moments of scrolling, she frowned. "I'm sorry dear, but it doesn't look like we have another science with any room open."
"Oh, that's okay. I can just deal with it." I hid my disappointment with a smile. My plan of switching out of Edward's class was foiled.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, dear?"
"No, thank you. Have a great day." I walked out of the office and looked at the clock in the hall. There was ten minutes left in class. I remembered the comment one of the female Cullens made about talking to me after school and decided it would be best to leave before they had that chance.
After I finished homework for classes I still hadn't decided if I was going to return to, I jumped up to the roof of my little house, the wood bending slightly under my weight. Once I was certain it wasn't going to give, I laid back and looked up to the sky, hoping the clouds would allow me a glimpse of the heavens.
As the moon rose, the sky did clear up some. The one comfort I've had in my centuries of constant movement was that the stars were always consistent. Since I rarely crossed the equator, I've spent all my years looking to the same constellations. Some have shifted ever so slightly, barely enough to notice, but they've been my guiding lights through many challenges.
I raised my finger and traced the glistening shapes of Orion and Monoceros, Boötes and Draco, Cassiopeia and Andromeda. I remembered the stories Parthenia told me about the tales the constellations told of valor, deceit, love, and loss; all depicted by the twinkling sky.
"Parthenia, I wish you were here."
As my first friend in my new life, Parthenia was dear to me. She found me wandering, lost, on the shores of that river because of a vision she received. From the moment she took me to her hut and gave me a clean change of clothes, the elderly woman was a source of comfort for me. I never stayed in one place for long, but I always went back to her. She helped me through the first years of my vampire life and taught me things about the world that I wouldn't have known growing up in a London church. Without her guidance, I would have been lost.
My heart ached when the image of her mangled flesh flashed in my memories. I had just returned from wandering the tundra far north for a few years. Her physical body was waiting for me, but her spirit was not. From the stench of copper and figs, I knew that Sargon was the one responsible for her death. That was the moment I learned I could never keep anyone close to me if I valued their life. The moment I steeled my heart for a life of isolation.
I pushed away the memories of Parthenia and remembered something one of the female vampires said earlier.
"I wonder how she'll affect our futures. I haven't seen anything about her."
I had heard from Gweldyr, the witch who sent me here, that some vampires posses special abilities. I wondered if this woman had one similar to the Sight that earned Parthenia the title of Oracle.
"What's she thinking?"
"I can't hear her. She's completely silent."
I furrowed my brows and dropped my finger from where it was frozen over the tip of Cygnus. I remembered that Edward's voice was the one who responded to that question. Could he read minds? If so, why couldn't he hear mine?
I groaned and sat up, watching small animals bustle at the edge of my clearing.
"I don't know what to do anymore," I quietly cried to the darkness. "This was supposed to be a chance to stop running. I can't stay here if this is a coven's territory! Who knows what they might tell Sargon...they might even be the same kind of sadistic monster he is."
As soon as I said it, I knew my last statement wasn't true. After all, their eyes were like mine. According to Parthenia, who watched my eyes transition from red to amber, gold eyes meant they drank animal blood. If they had respect for human life, they were at least better than my sire on one account.
I stayed on the roof until the sun rose, observing the forest waking around me. I was starting to wonder if I needed to skip school because of the sunlight when a mass of black cloud rolled in and thunder rumbled in the distance.
"One more day," I told myself. "Let's see how it goes."
Just like the day before, the morning passed without incident. Some of the people who were sitting at the table yesterday came up to talk to me during classes. It was strange, talking to so many people. Not unpleasant, but definitely strange.
Jessica and I walked to the cafeteria together since we had Spanish right before lunch. We sat at the same table as yesterday; I noticed that everyone seemed to do that. It was as if their tables were their territory and no one else dared trespass.
Once again, I noticed the atmosphere in the room change right before the Cullens walked in. I couldn't describe the shift other than a herd of sheep noticing wolves were approaching. As much as they admired the coven for their beauty, the humans were rightfully uncomfortable with their presence.
I felt five pairs of eyes boring holes into my back but refused to turn around. I felt like I was a mouse in that cave in France once again. The throat-clenching fear from yesterday clawed its way through my chest. Could vampires hyperventilate? It seemed I was about to find out.
"Bella? You okay? You look paler than normal, if that's even possible," Mike reached his hand toward me. I recoiled before he touched me and forced a smile.
"Yeah, I just think I'm getting sick. If you'll excuse me." I used that moment to rush out of the cafeteria. I found a spot outside between some bushes where I could hide. I doubted anyone would follow me into the pouring rain.
I remembered reading about panic attacks in an old psychology textbook. I didn't know if that was what I was experiencing, but I still made myself start an exercise it described to calm people in an attack down. I closed my eyes and started to breathe in to the count of five, held it for five seconds, and then let it out for five. I continued this square breathing method for a little while longer and noticed that, despite not physically needing air, it helped me calm down.
I sat back against the wet bricks of the building I was hiding behind and let out a sad chuckle.
There's no way you can do this every day, I pointed out to myself. I acknowledged the thought with a sigh and went in to the front office to explain that I wasn't feeling well. The nurse was the one watching the desk while the secretary was on her lunch break, and let me go without any questions. I assumed it was because I was drenched.
Just like that, I was walking out of Forks High School for the last time.