Prologue
"Can I give you a hand with that, Bella?" Angela asked me as I struggled to climb the stairs to our second-floor apartment with my final load. The box was heavy, full of books I couldn't bear to leave at home, although I knew the drive was only a little more than three hours away.
"No, I'm good," I called over my shoulder, moving my hands to readjust my grip carefully. My fingers slipped, the box threatening to fall from my grasp and tumble back down the stairs, but I was able to throw myself forward enough to drop the box on the step, my body hunched over it to keep myself from slipping backward. My ribs smarted, and I bet there would be a bruise before long.
"Uh-huh," Angela muttered, helping me up and taking one end of the box, indicating I should do the same.
"I'm not weak, you know," I said, complying as we made our way up the stairs.
"No, you're not weak," Angela agreed. "But you should be more careful. This box is ridiculously heavy. What do you have in here? Cement blocks?"
"Just some books," I mumbled as we entered our apartment, shuffling over to the back bedroom of our three-room suite.
"Don't you think you'll be too busy reading textbooks to bother with anything else?" asked Angela, sounding skeptical.
"Literature major," I shrugged by way of an explanation. Angela went back outside to grab some more of her own boxes and I carefully pushed my heavy box of books closer to the built-in shelves on the wall opposite my bed.
The room was a bit smaller than my room back home in Forks, but it was private, which meant I wouldn't have to deal with Angela or Jessica bringing their boyfriends in and distracting me from studying with their public displays of affection. And yeah, I had to share a bathroom with two other girls, but it was better than the single room dorms which required you to use the community bathroom. I shuddered at the thought.
"I think this is the last one, Bells," Charlie said as he entered the room with another box of books.
"Thanks," I said, indicating where he could place it. We stood in awkward silence for a moment, neither of us quite sure what to say now that the task at hand, bringing all of my stuff into my dorm, was finished. Charlie and I had never been very good at conversing for the sake of it, but the unspoken words hung in the air before us. We would miss each other and the comfortable home we had together, we would miss the space we gave each other while still always having someone there for us. I would worry about him and whether or not he was taking care of himself, and if he felt lonely. He would worry that I wasn't being social enough or that I'd get hurt and he wouldn't be close enough to help.
"I'd probably better head back," said Charlie, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Alright," I said, stepping forward and briefly putting my arms around him in a hug. He placed a quick kiss to the top of my head before he pulled away. "Drive safe, Dad. I'll see you next weekend."
"You don't have to come home every weekend," he said. "You're going to be pretty busy with your classes and friends."
"I know," I said. "I'll see you soon, Dad."
As soon as he was gone I got back to work organizing my room, placing books on my shelves, making my bed, and putting clothes away in the small cupboard beneath my window. I could hear the faint sound of music coming from Angela's room, but otherwise, it was quiet. When Jessica and Angela had suggested rooming together at the University of Washington, I'd been extremely hesitant. I was here on a scholarship, and the last thing I needed was to be distracted. I couldn't afford to let my grades drop.
So when I'd discovered that Hansee Hall had a 24-hour quiet hours policy, I knew that was the only possible way the situation could work for me. Add to the fact that the building was the oldest student dorm on campus and looked like it had been transported out of the pages of a Bronte novel and I knew it was meant to be. It reminded me of what I'd imagined Thornfield Hall from Jane Eyre to look like before I knew what actual gothic architecture was, so I couldn't have been happier with the situation.
"Jess is here," said Angela, sticking her head into my room.
I nodded. "I'll be out in a minute." I wanted to finish up with as much organizing as possible, as I knew Jessica and Angela would want to walk around campus before classes start. I wanted to be prepared as well, so I grabbed my class list, planning to stake out the location of each of my classes so I lessened the chance of getting lost tomorrow.
"Holy cow," Jesicca was saying to Angela as I walked into our small common area. "I just saw the hottest guy I've seen in my entire life."
"You always say that," I said with a slight roll of my eyes and smile a knowing smile in Angela's direction.
"No, I mean it this time," said Jessica, her hands moving animatedly. "He had this windswept hair look and these dark eyes. Yummy."
"Does he live here?" Angela asked curiously.
"I don't know, I just saw him when I was walking over from Mike's dorm. I wonder if he lives in Haggett Hall as well."
"Hey, do you need any help with your boxes?" I asked. "I'm almost finished setting things up in my room."
"Yes, please," said Jessica. "Then we can go check out the cute ice cream shop nearby."
"The ice cream shop right by Haggett Hall?" asked Angela knowingly.
Jessica shrugged noncommittally. "Is it? I hadn't noticed."
#
An hour later we were trudging around campus, searching for the classrooms on my list while Jessica whined about how spread out the campus was.
"Can't you just get lost and go to the wrong class on your first day like everyone else?" she asked, her sugar high from the ice cream we consumed finally wearing off.
"No way," I said. "The last thing I want is everyone looking at me like I'm an idiot who can't even read a sign."
"But everybody does it," said Jessica. "It's like a rite of passage or something. And besides, college is different from high school. There are so many people, there's no way anyone will remember you as the girl who went to the wrong class."
"Knowing my luck," I said. "That's all anyone would know me for."
"There are worse things," said Angela, glancing over my shoulder to read my class list. "I think that one's over here, by the communication building."
"Thanks," I said, verifying my list. "That's all of them, I think."
"Good," Jessica sighed. "Because my feet are killing me."
"You're going to have to get used to all the walking, Jess," said Angela.
"No, I'll just get one of those motorized scooter things. This is ridiculous."
"I think I'm going to turn in early," I said as the girls started making plans for dinner. "I want to finish putting my room together so I'm really ready for classes in the morning."
Jessica sighed and I knew she was irritated with my lack of desire to explore campus and find hot guys to flirt with, but that really wasn't my scene. I'd never been one to stay out all night or shirk homework in lieu of hanging out with friends. Not even Jacob, despite his being my best friend, could tempt me with a bonfire at the reservation if I had an English paper to finish.
"See you at home, Bella," Angela called good-naturedly as I turned to head back to our dorm. I waved a hand goodbye and hurried back, wanting to take a shower and get settled before the girls got back. Sharing a bathroom with two other girls was going to be a challenge, I knew.
A brisk breeze blew, picking up the few leaves which had already fallen from the trees which weren't perpetually green, reminding me that it was now officially autumn. Despite the fact that I hated the cold, I longed for a change. I felt a restlessness I couldn't quite explain, a longing to finally begin, although I couldn't quite put my finger on what or how.
I was probably just nervous about my first week of classes. After that, everything would fall into place. I hoped.