Chapter Two: The Three Musketeers
The next morning, Mariella met Charlie in the kitchen for breakfast before they headed to the school. Neither spoke much, apart from the brief, mundane, small talk.
"How did you sleep?"
"Okay. You?"
"I slept good. Were you warm enough?"
A nod.
"If you ever need another blanket, let me know."
A nod.
"I made us some eggs and toast. I'm not the best cook, but Cora's giving me cooking lessons."
A smile and a slight shrug.
"Do you drink coffee?"
A shake of the head and the hint of a laugh. "Do you?"
"Black, yeah."
"Typical cop."
Charlie burst out laughing, causing Mariella to smile slightly, accepting a cup of cocoa as it was set in front of her.
After they'd finished eating their breakfast, Charlie wheeled Mariella out to the car, helped her into the front seat, and put the chair in the trunk.
"You nervous?" he asked as he drove.
Mariella nodded. "I'm used to big city life."
"Ah. Everyone knows everyone here. It's not so bad, once you get used to it."
"Cora mentioned that."
"You'll be fine. If you need anything, text me or Cora."
Mariella nodded, turning her face towards the window and staring out as if she could see.
Charlie turned on the radio and kept it on a low volume, keeping an eye on the road and on the girl beside him.
He didn't know much about her past. All Cora had told him was that she was in an unsafe situation and needed to get out of it. He had asked if there was anything illegal going on that he needed to be aware of, but Cora had insisted that even if she did have all the answers, it wasn't her story to tell. It had bothered Charlie, but he wasn't about to ask Mariella to divulge her entire life's story. He had no authority over her. She wasn't related to him in any way, and she was an adult. It would do him no good to try to force her to talk. For now, he knew the best thing to do was to let her get settled, and if she wanted to talk, maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't. Either way, he would be there to listen.
Charlie pulled into the parking lot of Forks High, got out of the car, and held the wheelchair steady for Mariella as she maneuvered herself into the seat. He grabbed her bag from the back of the car and slung it over the back of the wheelchair. He pushed the chair and its occupant up to the main building and entered, approaching the school's receptionist and greeting her with a warm smile.
"Chief Swan," Mrs. Cope said, beaming at the man.
"Hi, Shelly," Charlie greeted. "This is Mariella Carpenter."
Mrs. Cope turned her attention to Mariella and smiled warmly. "Hello, dear. It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Mariella replied automatically.
"All of your papers are filled out and just need your signature," Mrs. Cope said. "I have them here, if you're ready to sign them?"
Mariella nodded.
Mrs. Cope pulled out a stack of papers and shuffled them, searching for the required pages. She clipped them onto a clipboard and handed it to Charlie, along with a pen.
"Okay," Charlie said, pulling a chair next to the wheelchair. "How do I do this?"
"Just show me where to sign."
The pair set to work signing the papers, Charlie dating them when required. Once they had finished, Charlie handed the papers back to Mrs. Cope, who took them and put them back in the folder they had come from. Once finished, she turned her attention back to Mariella.
"Chemistry is full, so we put you in junior year Biology II. I hope that's okay."
Mariella nodded. "Chemistry wouldn't be easy for me anyway."
Mrs. Cope nodded in agreement, withdrawing a single sheet of paper from the folder. "So, your first period is Psychology," she said. "Second is English. Third is Statistics. Fourth is Gym. Then lunch. Fifth is Biology. And sixth is Art."
Mariella nodded. "Thank you."
"Do you need a copy of your schedule?"
"Couldn't hurt to have one," Mariella said, extending her hand.
Mrs. Cope placed the paper into Mariella's outstretched hand and gave her a warm smile. "Good luck. Come see me if you have any trouble with any of your classes."
Mariella nodded, smiling slightly as Charlie turned the chair towards the door and headed out.
Mariella drew in a deep breath, allowing the cool breeze to fill her lungs, hoping it would help her ease some of her anxiety. It didn't. She was here, in a new school, halfway through the year, with people she didn't know. Why? Because it was unsafe to remain where she had been.
Logically, she knew this. She knew this place was safer for her. But logic and irrational thoughts didn't often get along in her mind.
"Here we are," Charlie said as they stopped outside a classroom door. "You ready, kid?"
Mariella shrugged. In all honesty, no, she was nowhere near ready, but she knew she had to do this. She had to continue with her life, and that meant she had to attend a new school, with new people, who were no doubt friendly and well meaning, but who would no doubt try to pry into her personal life. Then again, maybe they wouldn't.
Who was she kidding? Why wouldn't they! The natural human instinct was to get to know a new person. Learn about them. See if they were normal. And of course, having a disability didn't make matters any easier.
"Let's get this over with," Mariella muttered, realizing Charlie hadn't moved. Had he been waiting for her to say something before he brought her into the lion's den?
Charlie nodded, unseen by Mariella, as if answering her unspoken thoughts, and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and Mariella immediately wanted to hide. Sure, the warm air coming from the classroom was inviting, but that didn't stop her from wanting to simply curl up and pretend she didn't exist.
"Thank you, Emmett," Charlie murmured, pushing Mariella past the person, Emmett, holding the door open for them.
As Mariella was pushed inside, the noise from the class died almost immediately.
"Wonderful!" the teacher spoke into the silence. "You must be Mariella."
Mariella nodded.
"Hello, Mariella, my name is Mrs. Brown. Chief Swan, if you wouldn't mind bringing Mariella over to this table. Emmett, be a dear and move that chair so there's a space for her wheelchair."
Emmett nodded and moved the chair over to a corner of the room, then moved the one beside it to the side, creating a wide enough space for Mariella. Once she was settled, Charlie gave her hand an encouraging squeeze, then headed out of the classroom closing the door softly behind him.
"Okay," Mrs. Brown said. "So, since Mariella is blind—"
"What?"
The whisper echoed around the room, making Mariella even more uncomfortable. Had that bit of information not floated around the rumor mill? Great, this was just great.
"Blind," Mrs. Brown continued firmly, as if she hadn't been interrupted, "I want all of you to go around and introduce yourselves so that she can start to learn your voices. Mariella, we'll end with you."
Mariella gulped. She hated introducing herself to people, especially to complete strangers.
"Anna, start," Mrs. Brown said, gesturing to a blonde-haired girl.
"Hey, Mariella. My name's Anna, and I'm seventeen. Welcome to Forks."
Mariella nodded.
Mrs. Brown gestured to the boy sitting next to Anna.
"Hey, Mariella. I'm Keith. I'm eighteen. Nice to have you here."
Mrs. Brown gestured to the next student, then the one after that, and so on and so forth, until she got to Emmett.
"Hey there, Mariella," he said from beside her, "I'm Emmett Cullen. Welcome to Forks."
Mariella nodded to him, gulping. Emmett sounded… well… big. Maybe she was just being judgmental, but based off his voice—his deep, somewhat booming voice—he sounded big. That unnerved her, as much as she hated to admit it.
"Well, Mariella, that's everyone," Mrs. Brown said. "Now it's your turn. Tell us a little bit about yourself."
Mariella shifted in her wheelchair and gulped again, taking in a breath. "There's not much to say," she said. More like, there was not much she was willing to share.
Emmett laughed. "Oh, come on," he said with a grin. "Surely you have something interesting to share?"
Mariella shook her head.
"Do you like sports?"
"She's blind," someone called.
"So?" Emmett questioned. "Blind people can still like sports. They can play them too."
Mariella relaxed slightly at Emmett's defending words. It wasn't often that people realized that blind people were just like everyone else.
"So, you're telling me they put her in Gym too?" the same kid asked.
"I have no idea," Emmett said with a shrug. "Do I look like Mariella's keeper? Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Did they stick you in Gym?"
Mariella nodded.
"But why? You're blind."
Emmett scowled. "Just because she's blind, doesn't mean she can't participate in everyday activities."
"Yeah, moron," another student said.
Emmett laughed. Turning to Mariella, he said, "Come on, kid. You a sports fan or what?"
Mariella found herself smiling. Whoever this Emmett kid was, she liked him. Well, as much as she could like any man right now. He didn't make assumptions about her, which was refreshing.
"I don't like sports," she said. "I don't play them either. Not anymore. I used to run, but…"
"Were you fast?" Emmett asked. "I bet you were fast. You look like you would be fast."
Mariella let out a short laugh. "Do I?"
"Yeah."
Mariella tapped her leg.
"Hey, no one said you couldn't bunny hop across a finish line."
Mariella grinned. "For long distance, I was fast. For short runs…" She shook her head.
"How old are you, Mariella?" Mrs. Brown asked.
"Eighteen."
"Where are you from?"
"Out of town."
"Yes, but from where?"
Mariella shook her head. The less information people had, the better.
"Oh, come on," someone said. "It's not that hard. Where are you from?"
"She's not going to answer," Emmett said, his deep baritone carrying across the room.
"But why?"
Emmett shrugged.
"It's just a place," the same student said. "It's not like she's being protected by the FBI. Her relatives died in a fire. Wait, relatives. Mariella, where are your parents? Are they dead too? Why did you move to Forks? Cora's your aunt, but why move here? Is she really your only family left?"
Mariella looked down at her desk, clenching her jaw.
"She doesn't want to answer," Emmett said, his voice hard. "Stop, Ryan. Now."
Silence. Absolute silence.
Mrs. Brown cleared her throat. "Well, wherever you're from, welcome to Forks, Mariella. I hope you enjoy your time here. All right class, let's get back to work. You have worksheets to complete. Emmett, if you wouldn't mind helping Mariella hers?"
Emmett nodded. "Sure thing."
Once Mrs. Brown had set the blank worksheet in front of her, Mariella looked up and turned towards Emmett, smiling slightly. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Emmett grinned, sliding the worksheet towards himself. "No problem, kid. People can be nosy here. And blind." He blinked. "Sorry."
Mariella grinned quickly before sliding her face back to a more mutual expression. "It's okay," she said. "You can say things like that. It doesn't bother me."
"You sure?"
Mariella nodded.
"Awesome. Ready to start on the worksheet?"
A nod.
Ten minutes later, Mariella had finished most of the worksheet with Emmett's help. There were a few questions she wasn't sure how to answer, but Mrs. Brown told her she could take the paper home for homework.
"Do you need help getting to your next class?" Emmett asked as he put his things away in his bag.
Mariella nodded. "If you could?"
"Sure. Who do you have?"
"Um… Gym."
"With Coach Clapp. Perfect. My brother and sister are in that class. They'll help you out. Come on. Autobots, roll out."
Mariella let out a snort of laughter. She had not expected that to come out of Emmett's mouth. She didn't know what she had expected, but that wasn't it.
Emmett grinned, waving to Mrs. Brown as they left the classroom. As they walked, people turned to stare at Emmett and Mariella, their eyes lingering on Emmett, who merely grinned at them in return.
"Here we are," he said. "Oi, Alice! Come here. Alice, this is Mariella, the new girl."
Mariella felt her cheeks grow red, but smiled, unsure of where to look.
"Oh, hi, Mariella," a clear, high soprano voice said from in front of her. "I'm Alice. It's nice to meet you."
"You too," Mariella said, another brief grin flashing across her face.
"Can you take her from here?" Emmett asked. At Alice's confused look, Emmett explained, "She's blind."
Alice grinned, then came around the wheelchair to take Emmett's place.
"See ya, Mariella," Emmett called. "Oh, and don't let people like Ryan try to bully you into answering questions. You're not obligated to answer anyone."
"Thanks, Emmett," Mariella called, raising her hand in a wave.
"I'll take you to Coach Clapp," Alice said, starting to push the wheelchair. "Oh, look, Edward. Edward, this is Mariella. She's new."
Again, Mariella felt her cheeks warm. She hated attention being brought to her. The more conspicuous she could be, the better. Not easy to do when you were blind and in a wheelchair.
"Hello, Mariella," Edward said, falling into step alongside the wheelchair. "It's nice to meet you."
Mariella nodded slightly.
"Coach," Alice called.
The man turned at the sound of his title, his eyes instantly landing on Mariella.
"Ah, Mariella," he greeted, striding over. "I'm Coach Clapp. Welcome to Forks. I have a uniform for you, but don't worry about changing today. Do you know when you'll get your cast off?"
Mariella shook her head.
"When you know, let me know. You can do some of your physical therapy exercises in here, if you want."
"Thanks."
Coach Clapp nodded. "You obviously can't run laps right now. After, we're playing volleyball. If I pair you up with someone, do you think you'd be able to play?"
"I can serve," Mariella said. "Not sure how well from the chair, but I can try."
"That's the spirit," Coach Clapp said. "Alice, go ahead and walk your laps and push Mariella. You'll be her partner today."
Alice nodded and set off, Edward by her side.
"Run, Mr. Cullen," Coach Clapp called. "You're not pushing Miss Carpenter. Get a move on."
Alice let out a giggle as Edward rolled his eyes and took off.
"So, how are you liking Forks so far?" Alice asked.
"It's nice."
"Where are you from?"
"Out of town."
"Obviously," Alice said with a giggle. "Are you from a big town? Small one?"
"Big city."
"Ah. So, this is a big change for you then."
Mariella nodded.
"How have you liked your teachers so far?"
Mariella shrugged. "Mrs. Brown made me introduce myself."
Alice winced and nodded sympathetically. "She does that. So, you met Emmett in class?"
"I sat next to him. He's your brother?"
"Yep."
"He's funny."
"Made you laugh, did he?"
Mariella nodded.
"Good."
"Why good?"
"I can see you're a quiet person, so I'm guessing having to introduce yourself to the class was very uncomfortable. It's good that Emmett was able to make you laugh. It probably helped ease some of the uncomfortable feelings."
Mariella nodded, shifting slightly. She hated it when people could read her. It made her very wary. If someone was good enough at reading her, they could, and would, figure out her past, and that was something she needed to prevent at all costs.
"You went silent on me," Alice commented. "You okay?"
Mariella nodded.
"You sure? Did I say something wrong?"
Mariella shook her head. "You're just… good at reading people."
"Ah," Alice said. "I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?"
Mariella shrugged.
"I'm sorry," Alice said sincerely. "I didn't mean to. I'm just really excited you're here."
Mariella turned in the wheelchair, eyes turned towards Alice, eyebrows raised. "Why?"
"I just see us being great friends. I mean, we're going to be partners in this class, so why not? I love making new friends."
Mariella couldn't help it. She smiled. Not a big smile, but it was still a smile. There was just something about this girl that screamed friendly. Nice. Kind. Fun.
And that scared her. Sure, she had friends. She had a best friend, in fact—someone she was very close with—but Alice Cullen was a complete stranger. A complete stranger she felt comfortable with.
Then again, was that really a bad thing? Was it really that bad to feel comfortable around someone new? She knew nothing about Alice. For all she knew, the girl could be an ass to her friends and family. She could turn out to be a two-faced bitch.
Somehow, that just didn't seem right. Mariella didn't know why, but she genuinely believed Alice Cullen was a good person. Perhaps she would make a good friend. Then again, perhaps she was wrong. She had been wrong before. Only it hadn't been a friend she had been wrong about. She had paid dearly for that mistake.
"You look like you're deep in thought," a voice said from beside Mariella, making her jump.
"Sorry," Edward apologized.
Marella nodded slightly.
"You looked like you were deep in thought," Edward repeated.
"Oh."
"What were you thinking about? Is everything okay?"
Mariella nodded.
Edward raised his eyebrows but left it at that. "Well," he said. "Let's go play Volleyball."
