Sophomore year.

The year one should care about, but no one really does because nothing much happens in sophomore year. Well nothing significant at least.

The boys' testosterone levels increased; they got taller, more pimply, more attitude.

Girls develop more quickly, so that wasn't too significant, as it's just another day for us. But some of us are late bloomers.

It takes a special trigger before one actually develops.

Dad and I were sitting on the couch watching movies, him sipping on a can of beer and me drinking grape juice from a spineless wine glass, because I wanted to feel classy. We were watching the Men in Black movies, the second one had come out almost three years ago and we were re-watching the first one.

At least we were until we heard a knocking on the door.

Dad gave me a questioning look that said, 'You expecting anyone?'

I gave him one that said, 'No, are you?'

He placed his beer down on the coffee table and I placed my glass down to and crouched behind the couch as he picked up his shot gun, but placed it against the door side so it couldn't be seen as he opened the door.

It was only percaution as there have been some (very few thanks to my dad) home robberies and some random people selling things (sometimes they'd get too adamant). Dad felt safer with it and I didn't feel the need to question it

"Hello?" Dad asks the person at the door.

I couldn't see this person, but it was a male sounding voice, and (I assumed) he was pretty loud.

"Are you the guardian of Maiara Leidyanne Baptiste?" The man asks.

"I'm her father, Charlie Swan."

"I'm Adam Wong, a representative of deceased, Maiara Baptiste."

I shot up from the couch at the mention of my mother's name and got a good look at the guy. He was a middle aged Asian man, with gray hair with little flakes of black here and there. He was dressed in a business suit with dress shoes to match, the only thing that really stood out about him was his tie, which was black but had colored floral patterns.

In his right hand, a brief-case.

I now believe that all lawyers carry the stereotype, that is, the briefcase.

"May I come in?" Adam asks, after making brief eye-contact with me. Though I couldn't see it, I'm pretty sure dad gave Adam a look over, seeing if he could be a harm to me or him. When he deemed him safe enough, he opened the door wider and let him in and placed his gun against the wall.

I got up from the couch and dusted the Dorito dust off my hands, and made my way over to the men occupying the kitchen.

I stood next to dad, as I held my hand out.

"I'm Maiara."

He gave me a warm smile, when looking closely, you could see there was an underlying sadness in his eyes.

"I'm Adam Wong, but please feel free to call me Adam." He said shaking my hand.

"Please have a seat Adam, you want anything to drink?" My dad asks, going to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle.

"I'm okay, thank you. I simply want to discuss the will of Nayan Baptiste to the person she left it too, I won't take too much of your time, I promise."

Me and dad shared one more look, before joining Adam at the table.

He picked up the briefcase and pulled out a manila folder holding some documents that were labeled ' .'

"These were your mother's assets and properties that she wanted to give to her next of Kin, but she specified you, her only child." He said handing us some of the papers in the folder.

My dad whistled at the fact that she owned some property in Florida, and had about ten grand saved in retirement.

"What was it that..." I trailed off because I don't think I've said this so often. "That my mom used to do?"

"She was a pharmacist in California."

"Then how did she meet my dad, here?"

"Your mom was born here and left for graduate school in California." This time it was my dad who answered.

It was the first time in a while he's talked about my mom.

"We were friends in high school. She really loved biology and chemistry, it was the classes she did the best in."

"Yes, well, because Maiara is only 16 as of yesterday, November 14, she will need an adult who has the status of guardian, to cosign with her, and after doing so, all property and assets will be under your name, until Maiara is 18 and then it will fall under her name after signing some papers.

"However, should you not want these properties, then it will go to the bank and everything will be salvaged or tossed."

I looked over the documents as he said this and I was surprised at how many homes my mother had; two in Massachusetts, one in New York, one in New Mexico, one in Michigan, two in Texas, another one in Vermont, and one in Washington.

It was actually a 40 minute drive from here.

He explained to my dad that the properties were all payed off and we wouldn't have to pay for anything except for utilities and lights, but that would practically be nothing as there is no one living in them, and the spots they were in made great for vacation spots.

Honestly my dad and I heard enough and I hopped into my room, brought out some nice fine tipped pens with the expensive ink, and handed my dad one (Adam laughed as he had some nice ball-point pens in his suitcase for us to sign with, "but those work, too" he mused) And we both signed it.

"One more thing to hand off to you, Ms. Baptiste-" I cut off Adam.

"I actually go by Swan-Baptiste"

He raised both of his eyebrows but said nothing.

"Alright, Swan-Baptiste, your mother also wanted me to give you these" He took out a ring that held 3 keys. "They are for the house that is here in Washington. For the rest of the keys, you will need to contact the bank that holds the houses, and provide them with this information..." He highlights the area for us, and hands dad the keys. "and they'll send you a copy of the key for the house.

"As for assets, you, Ms. Swan-Baptiste, can choose to wire it to your father's account or to your account if you have one, just choose one when signing the paper, and your father can sign directly under you."

I chose to give most of the money to my dad, because he usually just gives me money on the rare occasion that I do ask and I work at a bookshop 24 hours a week for 8 dollars an hour, so i can afford the small things. I believe I will be able to spoil myself a little with the remaining money I left for myself, and my dad's paying mortgage, so he could use it more than me.

He's smarter with money too. Give me a chance and I'll buy a small part of Disney-land just because I can.

Adam said some more lawyer terms and then said his good-bye's after shaking me and my dad's hands.

At the door he turned to look at me and my dad and offered us both a small smile, before looking at my dad. "She looks just like her mother." He says waving as he descends down the stairs. "It was good seeing you again, Charlie."

Dad says nothing, but gives Adam a questioning look.

"We went to the same high school, though I doubt you'd remember, I stuck with Maiara most of the time."

"Oh yeah, I remember" My dad says with a slightly awkward chuckle. I honestly doubt that, Dad says that high school wasn't something that he bothered remembering, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't too significant as most of the people he went to school with live around the corner.

Adam was an exception.

"Get home safe Adam." My dad says, and Adam smiles at the both of us before entering his car and driving off.

Dad shuts the door and puts away his gun, before making his way to the couch where I situated myself while he was putting away his gun. He take a deep breath and ran a hand through his short-cropped hair.

"Wow." He finally says after a moment of silence.

"Yeah." I said.

Dad was never really one for words, he was more of an action man than anything, so I passed him his beer and I sipped on my grape juice.

We both decided to discuss it in the morning, right now we just wanted to process everything that just happened , because it was a lot.

We finished the rest of the Men in Black movie, and as he was about to put the second one in, I finally decided to say something.

"Dad."

"Yeah?"

"Can we check out the house that mom left here."

Charlie took one more sip of his beer, reached in his pocket and threw me the keys.

"Go ahead kid, that's your mom, but i gotta work tomorrow 'cause I got a case." He pressed play, and Men in Black 2 started playing.

I used my dad's pickup to drive myself from Forks to Joyce, and after asking a few of the similarly few citizens where certain streets are, I finally found my mother's house.

It was a cottage actually.

It had a smooth stone trail path that separated into to paths, one to the door and one to the backyard. The house had tan stones on the outside walls, with a brick red chimney on its side, and a grey tiled roof. The front door had an awning that was riddled with vines. In fact the whole house was covered with it.

I got the key ring out of my pocket, and after testing out the three of them, the middle key was the one that opened the door.

When entering the house I had to cough and wave the dust out of my face.

"Jeez, how long has it been since someone dusted this place?" I wondered out loud. The house had three floors; the basement, upstairs, and the main area (the first floor). I first explored the main area. When entering, there was a stair case that led upstairs, but there was a hall that led to the kitchen which was also attached to a living room and a dining area. There was also a door in the kitchen that led to the backyard.

The kitchen wasn't small, but it wasn't big. I looked in some of the cupboards and saw dusty wine glasses and cups, as well as some pots and pans.

In one of the cupboards there was a wine bottle.

Now I don't condone underage drinking, but I was curious as to why all the older women loved wine.

"It's not like dad will find out, and I doubt a little sip will do anything." I thought out loud. I went to the cupboard with the wine glass, wiped out the dust with my shirt, and luckily, the cork on the bottle of wine popped out with an easy pull.

I poured a small amount, barely filling a quarter of the wine glass

"Salud" I said to no one.

It tasted the way rubbing alcohol smelt, but with hints of fruit and the way the earth smelt after it rained.

It was odd and I didn't know how to feel about it.

"Okay, alright, maybe its an adult thing." I said, my face scrunched up with the after taste and the feeling of alcohol breath. I wasn't going to drink more as I drove here and I'd like to think I'm a responsible woman.

It's a good thing I brought gum.

After shaking the taste of wine out of my head, I proceeded on exploring the rest of the house.

In the dining area, was a table that took up half of the room, and the other half of the room was an area where a cello and piano took up a corner, all of which was placed on a navy blue carpet that took all of the room. In the area where the dining room met with the living room, was a couch that faced a large wide-screen TV. The couch was also dusty but was in good condition. I hopped over and onto it, dust flying all around me, and I giggled slightly.

"There was absolutely nothing funny about that." I mused.

The living room didn't have much decoration, lamps on a stand stood on each side of the TV, little trinkets ornate the room here and there, and a rectangular coffee table with a vase that had wilted and very dead flowers in it.

I grew bored with the area so I made my way upstairs, through the door that led straight to the hallway.

It was only a flight of stairs to climb, which I was glad for as I wasn't the most fit person, and there were 20 steps to get through. Once upstairs the hall was small and I was greeted by four doors.

One door was to the bathroom, It had a bathtub-shower with a floral curtain on the rail. The walls were a very light blue hue on the bottom half with a tile line made of flowers that separated the blue-ish tiles from the plain painted white walls.

"Jeez, Mom really did love her flowers." I said tracing my hands against the flowers, passing the toilet and to the mirror that was on top of the sink. The mirror had wooden frames and was divided into three sections that could open. When opening them, I found old bars of soap and a hair brush.

When closing it, I got a look at myself.

I was wearing a navy green parka over a white and black thin striped shirt that I tucked into my slim-fit (skinny) jeans. I don't really wear make-up, just some mascara and a little eye-liner with a wing, it emphasized my brown almond shaped eyes.

I gave myself a big smile, with both rows of my teeth showing, causing my little right cheek dimple to pop out.

I laughed at myself and shook my head at my weirdness before leaving the bathroom. The room across from the bathroom seemed like the guest room as there wasn't any clothes or anything in it, but I didn't know as I don't know if my mom packed the house or anything like that before moving to her other houses in the country, but for now let's assume it's a guess room.

The room had a Queen sized bed in the center of it, and a vanity that faced a closet. It had a lamp on a stand next to the bed, and after hopping on it, I figured out I'd like to be one of the guest that was blessed with sleeping on this cloud of a bed.

After leaving this room, I went to the room next to it, and I was in awe.

I was in awe because it looked to be a baby's room.

My baby room to be exact.

It had a wooden crib and baby toys scattered everywhere, with baby things on the vanity that was placed next to the window.

I didn't have that many pictures of my mom and I, only three, but right there, on the window sill, were three pictures.

I walked closer and got a better look, holding the first one closer.

In the picture was a dark skinned woman, she was in the hospital and her wild curls were in a bun that seemed to be plopped onto her head, the way the lunch-lady would plop mashed potatoes onto a tray, only the woman's hair wasn't white and delicious, but her hair was dark and corkscrew curled, with strands of hair falling onto the baby she was holding.

She was smiling brightly showcasing pearly white teeth, and the baby looked at peace.

I knew this woman to be my beautiful woman.

I took the picture out of the frame, apologizing out loud to no one in particular for stealing. At least it felt like it, but I realized that the property was mine.

But my mother owned it first.

The other picture was the my mother, her hair longer, reaching past her chest, same curls and everything spinning me around by my arms.

"The hell?" I asked out loud when I noticed in the background Adam Wong smiling lovingly at my mom. It was the same way my dad would look at nothing when someone mentioned my mother, but I shook whatever that meant out of my head.

The final picture was me, my mom and another woman. The woman had lighter skin than my mom but was still darker than me by a few shades. She shared similar features with my mom and looked at a young me with a missing front tooth with the same look my dad looks at me when I do something cool.

Like the time I won the fifth grade spelling bee.

I just wished I remembered what I did to make her look at me like that.

I just wish I could remember that point of my life.

After pocketing that picture, I left the room, closing the door gently behind me, and I entered the final room.

My mom's room, I guessed.

The room was painted in tan, with a grey carpet under the bed. The bed was against the wall and covered in a burgundy duvet with two pillows that were Maroon. Next to the bed separated by a window was a vanity that had a jewelry box with a hummingbird on top. As I got closer, I saw that there was a little turning mechanism, so after giving it a couple of spins, the hummingbird started to spin and a little flower would pop in and out as the tune played. I smiled and stared at the cute little bird and the little flower (I learned it was a honey-suckle) and decided to look through the box. I opened the jewelry box and saw rings with varying metals and sizes. I saw nineteen rings in total and after pocketing fifteen of them I decided to wear the remaining four on both hands, on my first and ring finger. One ring was an inch long and was silver with the band being vines that curled around my first finger of my right hand. The one dawning my ring finger of that same hand was a simple copper band with a little crushed stones and crystals embedded. Those two were my favorite, on my other hand were simple plain gold bands with some type of stone on them.

In the last draw was a necklace, and just that. I felt around for anything else, earrings or more necklaces, since the first one was stuffed with rings.

There was only the necklace. It was a black string necklace that had a small white and lavender hued crystal wrapped intricately in the same black string that it hung on. I tilted my head and spun the crystal around getting a better look and feel of it, and while doing so I was drawn to it, and awed at the fact that a crystal or rock or whatever it was could be so beautiful.

I was snapped out of my stupor when my phone started ringing.

I flipped it open and saw that it was my dad. I pressed the green phone button and pressed the top part to my ear.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"Hey Lady, how's it going?" He asks, I hear voices and phones going off in the background.

"It's going good, mom left some jewelry that I'm finessing at the moment, I also found some pictures of when I was younger." I said putting the necklace on me, it's only when I look outside that I realized the sun is starting to set

"Alright, well it's getting dark, why don't you start making your way home. I'm getting chinese."

"Yes!" I cheer. He chuckles and I ask him how work is going.

"It's going good, there was a bigfoot finatic that came in today so that was fun."

"I bet that was." I laugh, we make really small talk for about two minutes before he said he had to go because Richard Evans was drunk again and causing trouble.

"Alright dad, stay safe." I said. "I love you."

"I love you too, kid, get home safe."

"I will."

And he hung up. I closed my phone and pocketed it, and left my mom's room closing the door gently behind me. Because the sun was setting, the natural lighting from the windows were starting to disappear and I was left with a reddish light that decorated the halls beautifully.

As I made my way downstairs I was heading towards the door, when I realized I didn't get a chance to check out the basement or the backyard.

I didn't think there was electricity running through the house, and the backyard led to the front so I decided the safer option would be the backyard. I quickly locked the front door and I ran to the kitchen, opening the door that led to the backyard and locking the door behind me before I got a good look at it.

Turning back around to face the garden, I was surprised at how the grass was still pretty green and wasn't dead. In fact the plant life that took up the backyard was still flourishing somehow, and it was beautiful. When I went down the stairs and stepped foot into the garden, I heard rustling. My heart skipped a beat as I wasn't expecting it, but when I looked for the source I couldn't see anything at first. After stepping closer to it, which was against better judgment, the trees rustled once more and finally it popped out.

A hummingbird.

"A hummingbird, at this time of day?" I asked out loud.

I stepped towards it, but the next thing I knew It flew right at me and I was suddenly falling.

I felt my body freeze and then burn and then freeze again. My eyes rolled at the back of my head and I could hear many many things. Things that were in languages I didn't know and very few things in the language I did know.

I felt myself scream, my voice going in different octaves and pitches, and my views changing from black to white, to red to lavender, to the sky and then to a face.

The face was someone I didn't know, but it didn't look friendly.

And when I blinked I had a moment of clarity, but I was still screaming and things were blurry.

The last thing I saw before I passed out were multiple white faces surrounding my body, and a man with wavy blonde hair reaching towards me.

Then nothing.

HIIIIII.

Sorry for no canon character interactions, there will be in the next chapter, I just wanted to get this baby started, and things will start to happen in the next chapter.

For those confused or anything:

This story is taken place a year or so before Bella enters the scene, and I decided to do so, so that in future chapters the interactions between my OC and the twilight characters make sense and are more natural, ya feel?

Anyway, thank you for reading.

I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT. I ONLY OWN MY OC AND ANY UNWRITTEN OR UNCANON DIALOGUE.