Much to my delight, lunch was over and my fifth period was about to start. I don't know about Bella, but I couldn't take anymore of that Jessica girl. Man, was she a talker. Also to my delight, I was alone when I walked to Culinary Arts. Bella and I wished each other good luck when we departed. Once I approached the classroom, I took a deep breath and went inside with my head held high. I was surprised to see Alice and Jasper in the back of the room, at their own kitchen station. I was also surprised to see Alice smile in my direction and offer a small wave. I hesitantly waved back and peered to Jasper. He, of course, was giving me a strange look, making me slightly uncomfortable. Shifting my attention, I approached my culinary teacher and gave her my slip that proved I went to all my classes. After she signed it, she directed me to sit at the back of the room...

I realized she was pointing me to Alice and Jasper. After thanking my teacher, I slowly made my way towards my new culinary partners. As I got closer, I was startled to find how beautiful they both were. Alice and Jasper looked out of this world, pale and almost mystical-looking.

I smiled and offered my hand to Alice. "Hi, I'm Annalise."

Alice glanced at Jasper, almost like asking for permission, before accepting my hand in a surprisingly strong grip. I was shocked to find her hand so cold.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you, Annalise," Alice greeted, her voice just as charming as her looks. "I'm Alice, and this is Jasper. He's a little shy."

"Nice to meet you both." I was mesmerized by how dark their eyes appeared, like onyx.

Before we could say anymore, the teacher addressed the class, announcing we were going to make red velvet cake, one of my favorites. Alice, Jasper, and I quickly discussed who should be executive chef, and I was voted it since I was the new student. We put on our aprons and started gathering the ingredients when Alice decided to ask where I was from, but I had a suspicion that she already knew.

"Phoenix, Arizona."

"I've been there a couple times. Long time ago." She said as she started mixing the batter. I watched her spin her wrist really fast, for some reason fascinated. I realized she was still talking and I only smiled and nodded. Jasper didn't do much, only stood behind Alice, never once in my space, almost as if Alice was his shield from me. I couldn't help but stare at them, they were both so ethereal. Soon, the cake was in the oven and Alice went quiet, staring off into space. Jasper was at her side, intensely pinning his black eyes on her. I didn't know what to do, so I subtly pulled out my cell phone and checked on any new messages. When I glanced up, Alice still looked like she was in a trance so I looked back down and texted Bella, Are you doing ok? Almost instantly, I received, Honestly, I don't know. I was about to respond before the teacher suddenly appeared, making me slightly jump and I quickly tucked my phone away.

"How's everything going over here?"

To my delight, Alice answered for all of us, "Wonderful. We just put the cake in the oven."

The teacher nodded in satisfaction and left us. We were back to silence. For some reason, I didn't know what to say. Usually, I was pretty talkative but for some strange reason, I couldn't utter a sentence. Finally, the cake was done and it was almost time to go by the time we iced it. When I went in for the bite, Alice and Jasper just watched me expectantly. The cake was soft and fluffy and slid down my throat. It was extremely good. I asked if they were going to have some, but Alice explained they weren't hungry and that I could take all the cake home.

Class was over and I waved them goodbye and went off for my last class for the day. I hate to admit it, but Jessica was kind of right; Alice and Jasper were kind of weird. Not as a bad way. But something was a little off. I just wasn't quite sure what it was yet. The last class of the day went slow but when it was finally over, I practically ran out of class and met Bella outside the main office.

"Hey," I greeted her.

"Hey," she smiled.

I touched her shoulder. "How was the rest of your classes?"

She seemed distracted as she responded, "I don't know. Kind of weird. You?"

"Same."

We were about to step into the office when we noticed Edward Cullen standing there, talking to one of the administrative ladies. Standing closer to him, I realized he was much taller than I expected. And he also seemed aggravated.

I listened briefly and realized he was trying to change classes but the lady was insistent that every class was full. I glanced at Bella, noticing the look of disbelief on her features. Edward seemed to notice he wasn't alone and slightly turned to see us standing behind him. It looked like he was in pain from the way he was hunching over. His eyes most startlingly were blacker than night.

"I guess I'll just have to endure it." He snarled to the poor lady and rushed past us, knocking into my shoulder without an apology.

"Rude." I muttered. I turned to Bella, "What the hell is his problem?"

"I don't know."


I'm so sorry I took so long to update. Truth is, I lost inspiration and hit a major writer's block. But I'm hoping to get back on track. Also I want to apologize for the short filler chapter. If you guys want, check out my Pinterest lostleo719 and you'll find some dedication boards for Annalise and our future Jacob/Annalise pairing. As always, thank you for reading and feel free to leave a review to let me know your thoughts :)