Chapter Three: New Friends
Once Alice had changed back into her school clothes, she pushed Mariella towards the canteen, Edward walking at her side.
"Would you like to sit with us, Mariella?" Alice asked, as they entered the food line.
Mariella was about to answer, when someone sprinted up to them, the sound of their pounding feet the only warning she had.
"Hi. I'm Jessica. You must be Mariella."
Mariella nodded.
"Perfect," Jessica said. "Then, you can come sit with us."
Mariella was caught off guard when her wheelchair was suddenly grabbed from the side and dragged forward, causing her to be thrown off balance. She steadied herself as someone grabbed the wheelchair from the other side and brought it down with a slight thump.
"Jessica," Alice said, voice quiet. "Why did you do that?"
"So that Mariella could come sit with us, obviously."
"Did she say she wanted to sit with you?"
"No."
"Exactly. You didn't even ask her. You just assumed."
Jessica shrugged. "Mariella, do you want to come sit with us?"
Mariella hesitated, looked towards Alice, and shook her head. "I'm sitting with Alice and Edward today," she said after a few moments.
"You sure?" Jessica asked.
Mariella nodded.
"Maybe some other time then," Jessica said, turning and walking away.
"Well, isn't she just lovely," a familiar baritone said from behind them.
Mariella turned, recognizing the sound of Emmett's voice, and smiled.
"You okay there, Mariella?" he asked.
Mariella nodded.
"Do you actually want to come sit with us?" Alice asked. "You can say no. You won't hurt our feelings."
"Probably should, in case Jessica comes back."
"Good idea," Alice said. "Let's get our food and I'll take you over there."
Mariella nodded. Once they had their food, Alice brought her over to a table and paused.
"Where would you like me to place you?" she asked.
"By the wall," Mariella said immediately.
"Why?"
"Just cause."
"Okay. You can sit across from Jasper."
"There," Edward said, once he had moved one of the chairs out of the way. "You can set your tray down now. Straight in front of you. Down a little. There."
Mariella gave Edward a brief smile, setting her tray down on the table. Alice pulled out the chair beside her and took a seat, Edward on her other side.
"Okay," Alice said. "Guys, this is Mariella. Mariella, you know me, Edward, and Emmett, but let's go around the table, so you know where we are. Obviously, I'm next to you."
"And I'm next to Alice," Edward said.
"Hey, Mariella, my name's Jasper and I'm a country boy," Emmett said in a very poor attempt at a southern accent.
Mariella's lips twitched as she fought back a laugh. Emmett's accent was absolutely horrendous. She could do better but wouldn't.
"I don't sound like that," someone, presumably Jasper, said from in front of her, his voice low and smooth with no hint of an accent.
Emmett roared with laughter. "Don't you?"
"No."
"But you could."
"So could you. Though please, don't do that again. That was bad, Emmett."
"I thought it was pretty good," Emmett said with a shrug. "What do you think, Mariella?"
Mariella couldn't fight the smile this time. "It was bad, Emmett. Really bad. Where, exactly, was that supposed to be from?"
"Texas."
Mariella shook her head.
"Let's see you try," Emmett said.
"No. Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on!" Emmett practically whined. "Please? It'll be amusing."
"You're assuming I can even do an accent."
"Can you?"
"I won't."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Mariella."
"Emmett."
"Please?"
"No."
"You're no fun."
"Thank you."
Emmett roared with laughter again. "I like you, kid. You're fun. Rose, say hi."
"Hello, Mariella," came a feminine voice from Emmett's left.
"Hi."
"Hello, Mariella. I'm Jasper. Sorry about my brother. He's a bit… much."
"You could say that again," Edward muttered.
"Oh, trust me, I will," Jasper said.
"He only thinks I'm a bit much because he's not as funny as I am," Emmett said.
"Don't worry, Emmett, I think you're funny," Mariella said.
"Funny looking," Jasper muttered, smirking at Emmett.
Mariella let out a quiet laugh as she unwrapped her burger and took a small bite. It wasn't bad, considering this was school food after all. In fact, it was quite good.
"So," Alice said, "Mariella, what do you like to do for fun?"
Mariella considered the question, chewing her burger slowly, trying to figure out how much information to share. She settled on the basics.
"I don't do much. I listen to music and read."
"What do you like to read?"
"Anything and everything. Usually romance novels, sometimes mystery or fantasy, depending on if it's interesting enough. What about you?"
"Oh," Alice seemed surprised by the question. "I love to shop. And sing. Well, sometimes. I usually sing with Edward when he's playing the piano."
"He plays piano?"
"Yes. Very well, actually." There was pride in Alice's voice.
"What kind of things do you play, Edward?"
"The classics," Edward said. "Debussy. Mozart. Beethoven."
"Yiruma?"
"A few of his pieces, yes. Not many, though. You know him?"
Mariella nodded. "He's one of the few composers I listen to."
"What's your favorite piece?"
"Uh… River Flows in You."
"That's a great one."
Mariella nodded.
"I love Kiss the Rain," Alice chimed in. "Do you know that one, Mariella?"
Mariella nodded.
"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" Emmett asked, earning a glare from Alice and Rosalie.
Mariella nodded, smiling ever so slightly. "Sorry," she muttered.
"Don't be," Emmett reassured. "There's nothing wrong with being quiet."
"It doesn't help that you're in a new area, with new people, who you don't really know, does it?" Jasper asked.
Mariella looked up sharply from her food, eyeing Jasper warily, and shook her head.
"Have you met anyone you enjoy talking to yet?" Jasper continued.
Mariella shrugged. "No one's really tried talking to me. They have, but they…"
"Pry for information?" Jasper guessed.
Mariella stared at Jasper, her muscles tense, her anxiety rising. Here was another person that could read her—and well at that. This was getting to be too much, too fast.
What if someone was able to slip past her defense's and get information on her past? What if they told others? Told the whole school? The whole town? What if it got back to…
"Whoa, easy there," Jasper said voice softening. "It's all right. I didn't mean to startle you. Breathe."
Mariella felt herself calm at his words. She drew in a slow breath and looked down quickly, her cheeks growing warm again.
"Are you all right?" Jasper asked.
Mariella nodded.
"She's not used to people reading her," Alice said quietly. "Or, if she is, it makes her uncomfortable."
Mariella nodded slightly.
"That's understandable," Jasper said, voice still gentle. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"I'm okay," Mariella said, picking up her burger again. "Really, Jasper, it's okay."
"Jasper's our resident psychologist," Edward said with a slight chuckle.
"Clearly," Mariella muttered, before turning back to Jasper. "To answer your earlier statement, yeah, people keep asking about where I'm from, and they seem to not want to take no for an answer."
"Ah," Jasper said. "I'm sorry people are being so rude."
Mariella's lips twitched.
"Speaking of people who don't take no for an answer," Edward said, "Jessica's coming over."
Mariella tensed, setting down her burger, her anxiety, which was nearly gone, rising again.
"Hey," Jessica said as she approached the table. "I just came to see if Mariella changed her mind about sitting at my table."
Mariella shook her head.
"You sure?"
A nod.
"Okay," Jessica said. "Sorry about earlier. Grabbing your chair and everything."
"It's fine," Mariella said warily.
"Okay," Jessica said. "Well, I'm off to sit with my friends. I'll see if you want to sit with us tomorrow, okay?"
Mariella nodded slightly. "Sure," she muttered, her anxiety heightening even further.
"You okay?" Alice asked, as soon as Jessica had walked away.
Mariella nodded. "Yeah," she said.
"You sure?"
Mariella shrugged. "Um… what's she like?"
"Jessica?"
Mariella nodded.
"Nosy," Edward said immediately. "She likes to know anything and everything about everyone, and she will do whatever it takes to get that information."
"She loves gossip," Emmett added.
Mariella groaned. "Great," she muttered. "Just great."
"Is she in any of your classes?" Alice asked.
"Um…" Mariella hesitated. "I don't know."
"Right," Alice said apologetically. "Sorry. I forgot you couldn't see her. What are your classes?"
In answer, Mariella pulled the folded schedule out of her bag and handed it to Alice.
"Oh," Alice said, looking over the schedule. "Oh, well, that works."
"What works?" Edward asked, leaning over to read the schedule. "Oh, that does work."
"Care to enlighten the rest of the class?" Emmett asked.
"We share the same classes as Mariella," Alice explained. "Jazz, you both have Psychology first thing in the morning. Rose, you have English with her. Emmett, Stats, obviously. Edward and I are in Gym with her. Edward is with her in Biology. And Jazz and I are with her in Art."
"That works," Emmett said. "If Jessica tries harassing you, Mariella, we won't let her."
Mariella smiled slightly, taking in a shaky breath. "Thank you."
"You'll be all right," Jasper said quietly.
Mariella nodded slightly, feeling the tension leave her body. "She unnerves me."
"She unnerves a lot of people," Jasper said.
Mariella nodded. "I don't like fake people, and Jessica seems fake to me. Does that sound too harsh?"
"Not at all."
"Really?"
"Yes. Don't worry, you're fine."
Mariella looked unconvinced.
"Lunch is nearly over," Edward said. "Are you finished eating, Mariella?"
Mariella nodded.
"You barely touched your food," Alice said. "Are you sure?"
Another nod.
Edward stood, collected Mariella's tray, and carried it off, followed by Alice and Jasper.
"Thanks for sitting with us, Mariella," Emmett said. "I'm sorry Jessica made you uncomfortable, but it was great getting to hang out with you."
"Jessica's a bitch," Rosalie said. "Just try to ignore her."
Mariella nodded. "Thanks," she said, as Edward returned.
"Would you like me to bring you to class?" he asked.
"If you don't mind."
"Not at all," Edward said, giving the girl a warm smile. "I'm going to pull the chair back from the table. Ready?"
Mariella nodded.
"See you later, Mariella," Alice called, as Edward pulled the chair from the table and started towards the cafeteria doors.
Mariella nodded, looking over her shoulder to smile at Alice.
"Mr. Banner," Edward called out as they entered the Biology classroom.
The teacher turned away from the blackboard, his eyes first landing on Edward, then on the girl in the chair he was pushing. Comprehension quickly crossing his face, he set the marker down and crossed over to the pair.
"Good afternoon," he greeted. "Mariella?"
Mariella nodded.
"Hi, Mariella, I'm Mr. Banner. Welcome to Forks."
Mariella nodded again. "Thank you."
Mr. Banner nodded. "You'll be working with Edward in this class. Edward, go ahead and move that chair out of the way, and I'll help you get Mariella settled."
Edward did as he was told and moved the chair out of the way, making room for Mariella.
"There," Mr. Banner said, once he had maneuvered the chair into position. "Mariella, how far did you get in Biology at your last school?"
Mariella fidgeted in her seat and gulped. "Um, we had a different class schedule than here. We had four classes a day, each an hour and a half long. The year was broken into two semesters. I only did two classes a day at the public high school, and then came back to the school for the blind I went to. I just finished the first semesters at my old school before coming here."
"So, you haven't had Biology at all this year?"
"Um.. no," Mariella said, her anxiety rising. "I… didn't have much of a choice."
"I understand," Mr. Banner said sympathetically. "Well, if there's anything I can do to help you, let me know."
Mariella nodded slightly as Mr. Banner turned and walked away. She groaned and shifted in her seat again, looking down.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked, noting Mariella's behavior.
"I'm an idiot," Mariella muttered. "I'm such an idiot. I should have thought of this. Should have realized. Should have planned better."
"Hey," Edward said. "Mariella, slow down. What do you mean?"
"I just… I didn't think about the fact that I'd be thrown in the middle of classes, without having done them. God, what was I thinking?"
"Well, from what I've heard, you didn't really have a choice in coming here. You needed somewhere to stay. You couldn't control what happened to you."
"Yes, I could have," Mariella said quietly. "You don't understand."
"Enlighten me then."
"No. Just… Shit!"
Edward smiled. "I'll try to help you out as best I can," he said. "You'll be all right."
"I doubt it," Mariella grumbled. "I seriously doubt that."
Before Edward could try to reassure her further, Mr. Banner called for the class's attention. Mariella turned towards the teacher's voice but couldn't help but think about the events that had brought her to where she was now.
Edward was right about one thing. She hadn't had much choice in coming here. Circumstances had made it impossible to continue living where she had been. And yet, what if? What if she hadn't left? What if she had stayed? What if she had remained where she was, and not said anything to anyone? What if she had just grinned and bared what she was going through? What if things hadn't been as bad as they had seemed, and she was simply being overdramatic?
No! No what ifs. She couldn't be thinking about this right now. Not while sitting in class, with people around her. New, unfamiliar people. No. She could worry about this later, but right now was not the time.
"Mariella. Mariella. Mariella."
Mariella blinked. "What?"
Edward frowned in concern. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Mariella nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"I had to call your name a few times before you answered."
"Oh," Mariella shrugged. "I'm okay. Sorry, was just thinking."
"Must have been some pretty intensive thinking there."
Mariella nodded, cheeks growing warm. "Sorry."
"No need to be."
"Right. What were you saying?"
"I was just asking you, if I described these images to you, would that help at all?"
Mariella shrugged. "It's worth a shot."
By the end of the class, Mariella was starting to develop a headache. Edward had tried to explain the concepts to her, and she understood some of it, but not enough to feel confident that she would pass this class.
"You'll get it," Edward was saying, as he pushed the wheelchair. "It's really simple, once you get the hang of it."
Mariella nodded slightly. She appreciated Edward's positivity, but it was doing nothing to help her quickly darkening mood.
"Oi, American!"
Mariella's head snapped up and she spun towards the voice, eyes wide. No. It couldn't be. Here?
"You," the voice said again, this time, closer. "You bloody American. Hi!"
Mariella felt a grin slide onto her face—a true, pure, joyful grin. "Saoirse!" she cried. "Is that you?"
"Last time I checked, you're blind, not deaf," came the reply. "That's still the case, right?"
Mariella laughed. "Oh, fuck off, you damn Brit," she said.
Saoirse grinned. "Hey, Edward."
"Hello, Saoirse."
"I can take her from here."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. It's not like I'm going to kidnap her or anything. Unless… Do you want me to kidnap you, Mariella?"
Mariella grinned. "Might as well."
Saoirse laughed as she took Edward's place behind the chair.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," Edward said, waving to the girls as he strode off in the opposite direction.
Mariella nodded.
"What do you have?" Saoirse asked.
"Art."
"Me too!"
Mariella grinned, the tension in her body slowly fading.
"When the bloody hell did you get here?" Saoirse hissed, as they reached the door to the classroom.
"Yesterday."
"And you weren't going to tell me?"
"I couldn't. I just got a new phone yesterday."
Saoirse frowned. "Why'd you leave?"
Mariella shook her head and put her fingers to her lips in a shushing gesture.
"That bad?"
Mariella nodded.
"Fair enough. Tell me later?"
"Maybe."
Saoirse nodded and pushed Mariella inside. "Oi, Ms. Tayam."
The teacher turned at the sound of her name, wiping her hands on her apron. "Hello," she greeted, waving the pair over. "Saoirse, and you must be Mariella."
Mariella nodded, smiling slightly.
"Excellent!" Ms. Tayam beamed. "Welcome to my class. You are free to work on whatever you'd like, but once you start on something, I prefer it if people stick with it until it's finished."
"Okay," Mariella said. "Um… Did they… tell you I'm blind?"
"Yes. Not to worry. If you need help with anything, let me know. We have places for painting, drawing, origami, clay, and knitting. Do any of those interest you?"
"I've worked with clay. Can I do that?"
"Of course."
"I'll be in the painting room," Saoirse said, bringing Mariella over to the clay table. "It's not far from here."
"Class, let's go around and quickly introduce ourselves, so Mariella knows who's all here" Ms. Tayam said, addressing the rest of the room.
Mariella let out an audible groan. Across from her, she heard a male voice mutter, "Mood though."
"Wade, you start," Ms. Tayam said.
"Hey, I'm Wade and I'm gay," came the same male voice.
Mariella smiled.
"Hey, I'm Seth, Wade's boyfriend," the boy next to Wade said.
"Soulmate," Wade muttered.
"That too."
Mariella grinned.
"Hello, Mariella, it's Jasper," came a familiar voice from beside her.
Mariella turned towards him and nodded, relaxing slightly, relieved to have another familiar person in the room.
"If you don't know me, I'm offended," Saoirse called from a few feet away, laughing.
Mariella grinned. "Saoirse, shut up."
"Oh, you going to make me, are you?" Saoirse said in an Irish accent, stepping out of the painting room, paintbrush in hand.
Mariella grinned and shook her head.
"Oh, come on," Saoirse said. "I know you can do the accent. Don't be shy."
Mariella shrugged.
"Is it because there's people?"
Mariella nodded, cheeks growing warm.
"Oh, who cares!" cried a feminine voice. "Mariella, I'm Angela. We won't laugh at you, promise."
"Yeah," came a male's voice. "I'm Ben. Come on. It'll be funny."
"Come on, it'd be bloody brilliant!" Wade said in a very passable attempt at a British accent.
"I don't know what to say," Mariella muttered. "Not to mention I'd feel like an idiot."
"Why?" Angela asked, "we're all friends here. No one's going to judge you."
"This class is very supportive of one another," Ms. Tayam said. "We do things like this all the time. Wade loves to speak in a British accent whenever he gets the chance."
"Only because the bloody American thinks he's good at it," Saoirse said with a grin.
"But I don't think I'm good at it," Wade said. "I know I'm amazing at it. Come on, you can't tell me I'm not."
"I never said you weren't," Saoirse said. "Only that you thought you were good at it."
"Is it wrong to be so confident in something?" Wade asked mockingly.
"I don't know, Wade," Saoirse said. "Is it?"
Wade grinned. "Well, I am confident in one thing," he said, winking at Seth, who blushed.
"Oh, get a room!" Saoirse cried, as a few of the class members groaned.
Wade smirked. "Hey, all I said was that I was confident in some things, you were the one who took it dirty."
Saoirse huffed. "I'll be painting. No one need me. Mariella, you're obviously excluded from that."
Mariella grinned.
"You can show us your accent whenever you feel comfortable," came Alice's familiar voice. "Though, considering you told us you couldn't do one, I have to admit, I am a bit curious."
Mariella shrugged. "Technically I said I wouldn't do an accent, not that I couldn't.
"Fair enough."
"Want some clay?" Seth asked.
Mariella nodded. "Yes, please."
"What are you going to make?" Wade asked, as Seth set a large chunk of clay in front of Mariella.
Mariella shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"You could make a wiener," Wade said. "I did. Ms. Tayam is putting it in the kiln today."
"No, I am not," Ms. Tayam called from the opposite side of the room.
"You're not?" Wade asked. "Damn, do I have to use my own oven?"
"You do realize that you would be using my oven, and my mom wouldn't appreciate you breaking it, right?" Seth asked.
"But I want a hard wiener," Wade hissed.
"We're teenagers, we wake up with…" He glanced over at Angela and blushed. "Morning… er…"
"Okay, children, that's enough," Ms. Tayam said. "Dial it down."
"I'll just cook it at the next campfire," Wade said. "Can I have my wiener back, Ms. Tayam."
Ms. Tayam eyed Wade before shaking her head and disappearing into the painting room.
"Well, that was entertaining," Angela said.
Seth grinned. "Hey, Mariella, are you okay with this conversation? We talk about this kind of stuff all the time."
"They do," Alice said.
Mariella shrugged, rolling out her clay. "I don't care what you talk about," she muttered, focusing on her work.
"You sure?" Seth asked.
Mariella shrugged again.
"If you're ever not okay with anything we talk about, let us know," Wade said. "We'd hate to do anything that would make you uncomfortable."
Mariella nodded. "What are you making""
Jasper chuckled.
"What?" Mariella asked, turning to him.
"Nothing," Jasper murmured. "Nice subject change."
Mariella blushed.
Wade laughed. "I'm making a flower-shaped bowl for Jasper's mom."
Mariella looked confused.
"You don't know the Cullen's story?"
Mariella shook her head.
Wade turned to Jasper and raised his eyebrows.
"We're adopted," Alice said, dancing over to the clay table. "Esme couldn't have kids, so her and Carlisle adopted us."
"Oh," Mariella said. "Oh, that must be nice, having siblings."
"It's a blessing and a curse," Jasper said with a grin.
"Esme is a very kind woman," Seth said. "She lets us come over whenever we want."
"Dr. Cullen is great too," Wade said. "Best doctor there is."
"You're dad's a doctor?" Mariella asked Jasper, who nodded.
"Yes. He works at the local hospital."
Mariella frowned. Would she be seeing Dr. Cullen later today? Would he believe the rumors about her past and how she broke her leg? Would he be able to read her like his children could?
The thought of Dr. Cullen being able to read her terrified her to no end. If he could read her, he could get information from her, which would only lead to questions she didn't want to answer. Questions that would reveal way more about her past than she was comfortable sharing.
"Mariella, are you okay?" Ben asked, glancing over at the girl.
Mariella shifted in her seat and picked up her ball of clay. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Thinking again?" Jasper asked.
Mariella blushed and looked away.
"I'll take that as a yes," Jasper said. "Are you all right?"
Mariella nodded. "Just got a lot going on right now, that's all."
"That's understandable," Jasper said.
"You need a distraction," Wade said. "Let's have a dance party."
"That sounds like fun!" Alice cried. "Who's partnering with who?"
"Well, I'll take Seth," Wade said.
"Obviously," Ben said. "Angela, you're with me."
Angela grinned.
"Well, I'm out," Mariella muttered.
"Wait, why?" Seth asked. "oh, right. Wheelchair."
"We could push you around the room," Wade said.
"Let's not," Ms. Tayam said with a laugh.
"Aww, why not?" Wade asked.
"With how wild you can be, Wade, best to do that after school, in a large, mor open area."
Wade grinned. "Can we play some music at least?"
"Of course! Who would like to be in charge of the music?"
"I'll do it," Alice said with a grin. "Anyone got any requests?"
"Welcome to Wonderland by Anson Seabra," Wade said.
"Coming right up," Alice said.
"Boys, come here," Saoirse called.
"Which ones?" Seth called.
"You and Wade. I want your opinion on this."
"Oh, so you need gay approval, got it," Wade said, standing from the table. "I'll be right there; I'm just going to set my bowl on the back table so it can be fired."
"Do you need anything while we're up, Mariella?" Seth asked.
Mariella shook her head, pressing her fingers into her clay.
"What are you making?" Jasper asked.
"An angel. You?"
"I'm glazing a mug I made for our house."
"What color?"
"This one's a deep blue."
"Sounds nice." Mariella reached out, feeling around for something.
"What are you looking for?"
"A fork for scoring."
Jasper grabbed the fork and set it next to Mariella's hand. "On your right."
"Thanks."
Jasper nodded. "Are you sure you're all right, darlin'? You still seem a bit distracted."
Mariella nodded, barely registering that Jasper pronounced "darlin'" as "dah-lin'". "I'll be fine. Thanks."
"Of course."
Mariella nodded to herself and set to working on her angel for the remainder of the class period. When Wade and Seth returned, she tuned out their conversation as best she could in order to focus. Her anxiety was still quite high, but working with the clay helped, as did being in a class with such laidback people. Maybe, just maybe, things would turn out okay after all.
