4: Phenomenon

. . .

And then I woke up.

I gasped for air greedily as my eyes shot open. I felt oddly warm but my body trembled viciously. Still, the sensation I felt was… pleasure.

What a weird dream. I sniffed and considered getting up, but I wanted to stay there and soak in the feeling as long as possible. I could rarely remember my dreams, but I could usually remember the way they felt if I took the moment, like this, to savor it…

As I stared at the ceiling, reality slowly returned to me. I felt truly dumbfounded - I couldn't even remember what day it was. My dream had slipped away but it left a foggy confusion. Something about my first day? It almost felt impossible that Charlie's baseball game was really last night.

Why did I have the feeling that everything had changed?

The room was dark, so I knew I had plenty of time for more sleep, but I couldn't find it in me to feel drowsy. Eventually, the pleasure melted into boredom, and I glanced at the clock in the corner of my room.

"4:17 A.M." The digits flashed unpleasantly at me. I stared at them, willing myself to internalize them, to fall back asleep. I didn't want my first day to be a flop, and I didn't want to show up with huge bags under my eyes, either.

When the digits flashed from "4:59 A.M." to "5:00 A.M.," I gave up on falling back to sleep. Sighing, I rolled out of bed, swinging my legs under me.

I got ready for my day slowly, carefully, savoring the extra time. I even curled my hair, something I hadn't done since I'd left my curling iron here in the first place - four years ago.

By the time it was six thirty, I was awfully prepared, all ready for school two hours too early. Feeling jittery, I went outside to explore the nearby foliage.

Wandering around in the trees by our house was a long-time favorite of mine. While I detested the sheer amount of green that coated the space, I loved the peace that came from a relatively still environment. Although watching sports with Charlie was fun every now and then, feeling on edge from the anxiety of what might happen next was exhausting for the most part. Being outside like this was nice because, odds are, no one is going to do anything too surprising. You can relax here.

I sat on a relatively dry stump and nibbled on some trail mix that I'd brought with me. I wondered what my first day of school would be like, and smiled at a pleasant warmth that filled me. Today was going to be a really good day.

. . .

Finding the school was easy. The deja vu, the strong feeling that I'd been there before, was oddly comforting. Everything felt familiar, like watching a familiar show you've seen a hundred times.

Plus, it just isn't a hard building to find. There weren't many big brick buildings in Forks - or many big buildings at all, to be fair.

I visited the front office to pick up my slip, but the lady in the blue shirt told me there was no need, mentioning something about how I should already have a copy.

The deja vus were piling on top of each other now, making it hard for me to think straight. I thanked Ms. Cope and then scurried back out into the hallway.

What am I going to do now? I sighed and pulled out my backpack. Ms. Cope seemed so sure that I would already have a copy…

As I pulled out my notebook, I gasped - a tinny hall slip, covered in teacher signatures and backpack debris floated softly to the ground.

No.

"Excuse me," I grabbed the next person I saw, midstep. "Do you know what day today is?"

But before he could respond, someone else spoke behind me.

"I do."

No.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Sorry," I muttered, releasing the student from my grasp.

I'm still dreaming. I'm still dreaming. I'm still -

"Today is the nineteenth, your second day of school, right?"

I opened my eyes.

Edward Cullen circled me until we were face to face.

He smiled.

"Welcome to Forks High."

. . .

AN: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter. :) It was so fun hearing your guesses on the high pitched sound - but it hasn't been guessed yet! I am also looking forward to see what happens next... so I guess I need to write the next couple of chapters to see, hehe. Shout out to reddishbrownwolf and sweetie7smiled as always for their thoughtful and encouraging reviews.