Chapter 9: School

Nessie's POV

I groaned when my alarm woke me up the next morning. Nobody hated Monday mornings more than I did. In my opinion Mondays should be banned from existence. Especially when they occur after a three day weekend. I got out bed after hitting the snooze button twice. I didn't have much of a choice unless I wanted to be late to school. I got dressed and then poured myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

Then after that I left for school. By the time that I'd gotten there the parking lot was already full. Students had already begun walking into the building. So I did the same. Even though I hated Mondays I was happy to be back at school. I was happy for the distraction that school allowed. When I was alone I started to think about the future. When I thought about my imminent inent death in my future I became even more terrified. I'd spent the entire afternoon alone yesterday. My plans to seduce my boyfriend failed the moment I'd asked him to come over. He'd had a lot of homework to finish that was due today.

Oh well. I wasn't going to give up that easily. I'd try again today. There was talk that a bunch of new kids had started here today. From what I gathered it was the Cullen kids. Edward irritated me already. He'd given no explanation for why he'd pinched me so hard yesterday. I was sure there was going to be a bruise on my arm soon.

I slammed my locker shut harder than was necessary. "Jesus Ness whatever you're angry at you don't need to take it out on school property,"

"Damn Royce you scared me!"

He laughed. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you. But why do you look so angry?"

"No reason,"

"No reason? I didn't know it was possible to be angry for no reason at all,"

"What I mean is that-"

"I know. It's none of my business. But can you at least answer this. Why weren't you at the game on Saturday?"

I'd felt as if all the breath had been knocked out of me. "The game?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Yes. Baseball. Remember? The game you've loved for as long as you could remember. Then we have a celebratory victory party at my place afterwards. Is none of that ringing a bell?"

"Royce King V you're easily the most annoying guy on the planet," with maybe one exception.

"Yes. Yes. I know that. But can you just answer the question? Nobody could get ahold of you all weekend. The whole team and I were calling you and you never returned our calls. Coach Vargas is going to be so mad when he sees you later,"

"I'm sorry I just forgot,"

"Nessie are you alright? You love baseball and it's completely unlike you to forget about a game,"

"Yeah I'm fine," Even though Royce was my teammate and another very good friend of mine I found it much easier to lie to him then I did to Justin. Maybe it was because we hadn't known each other as long. Royce had moved here from Rochester, New York when he was 12 years old. He and his twin sister Sophie were so shy because they were new. I remembered when that was me. So I'd just walked right up to them on their first day and started talking to them.

Justin wasn't very fond of them. Referring to them as rich snobs from New York. It was true that they were rich. The King family owned a bank in Rochester that had brought the family wealth throughout the years. Their money was as old as Royce's name was. Okay, probably even older than that. Yes he did have a way of showing off his family's money sometimes but overall he was a nice guy. Sophie was a nice girl. In my opinion people shouldn't be judged by how much money they have.

"You sure don't look fine,"

I scowled.

"Fine I won't ask. Just be prepared for the wrath of Coach Vargas later," he laughed. I shuddered. Coach Vargas was not someone you wanted to cross.

I was on my way to class when I started coughing really badly again. For a few minutes it felt as if it were impossible to get air in my lungs. People walked by and didn't even glance my way as I struggled to breathe.

"Are you alright?" An unfamiliar voice asked. I glanced up and right away I knew the small girl was a Cullen just from her eyes alone.

"I-I think so," I said once I could breathe again. "Who are you?"

"I'm Alice and we're going to be great friends," she said as she hugged me. Were all the Cullens weird? I backed away slowly for this over excited girl. She'd looked as if I'd hurt her feelings. How could I have hurt her feelings? I shook my head. These Cullen kids were way to weird and it was probably best if I avoided them at all costs.

I almost had to run to my next class because thanks to my coughing fit I was running late. I made it just in time before the bell rang. Morning classes went by quickly without incident. There was at least one new kid in each of my morning classes so far. Even though I was actively trying to avoid them I couldn't help but look. They were all so different and yet so similar at the same time. There was Edward and Bella. Whom I'd already met. Alice the weird over eager girl from earlier. Then there were the ones who I hadn't met. The beautiful blonde girl who could put a supermodel to shame. I think Rosalie was her name. Jasper the guy who looked like he was in constant pain every time I saw him. Then Emmett. The big guy with the huge muscles. He was intimidating just to look at.

The strangest thing about them was the staring. Okay I stared at them a lot so maybe they just took that as an open invitation to stare back. But it was still kind of creepy and weird. Why were they so interested in me? I tried to shake off thoughts of the Cullen family as I headed to lunch. My plan to not think about the Cullens failed as soon as I entered the lunchroom. They were the first people I spotted. All six of them sat together at a table by themselves. Oddly enough none of them were eating the food they'd bought.

I tore my gaze away from them and focused on the array of food options in front of me. A chilie cheese dog and fries sounded perfect to me. I spotted Justin sitting by himself. Perfect. Maybe today I'd have better luck at getting him to come over to my house. Royce, Sophie, and a few other members of the baseball team waved me over but I shook my head.

Royce grabbed my arm as I was walking by. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to sit with us?"

"Not today. I want to sit with Justin. Royce if you like having your hand attached to your body I suggest that you let go right now. You know how much I hate it when you grab me like that," I hissed angrily.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

I sighed. Even though he was a good friend of mine he can be so exasperating sometimes. He hated being told no. It was his kryptonite.

"Is King bothering you?" for some reason Justin only referred to Royce by his last name.

"He's being slightly annoying. Yes,"

"I still don't understand how you can hang out with him,"

"Royce is a nice guy once you get to know him,"

"I know you have been saying that for the past six years about that rich snob. But I don't believe you for a second,"

I rolled my eyes. This was an argument we'd had many times throughout the years. None of us ever won it. "I think the Cullens are staring at you," he said once I started eating.

"They've been doing that all morning," I commented. "They're a strange bunch," I looked at all of them sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room.

"Yeah they seem to keep to themselves a lot,"

"Well that makes sense since they are new. I mean it's hard being the new kid. I remember. If it weren't for you I don't know what would've happened,"

"I'm sure you would've been fine,"

My stomach was in knots when I thought about what I wanted to do. My nerves had kicked into high gear. How do I ask this? The end of lunch got closer and closer and I still hadn't worked up the nerve.

"Hey Justin. Do you want to come over after school?"

"Sure. We can work on homework together,"

"Well," I gulped nervously. "I was thinking that we can do something other than homework," I was sure my face resembled a bright cherry right now.

"Oh you want to play video games then?"

I slapped my forehead. He wasn't making this easier. I was hoping he'd guess what I wanted without me having to say it,"

"No. Do you still have the condoms that were passed out in health class last week?"

Understanding lit up his face. "Oh," he said. "You want to have sex,"

"Yes you idiot I want to have sex,"

"Why didn't you just say so?" the smile on his face gave me chills. "Okay I can get to your place at 5pm. I'll tell my parents we are working on a school project,"

"Seriously? You'll do it?"

"Nessie I've wanted to do it with you since the day I learned what sex was. Trust me. I will be there,"

I got up. "Where are you going?"

"Well there's only two minutes left of lunch and I really have to use the bathroom,"

As I was walking I could feel that I was being stared at once again. When I looked at them I was met with a very angry expression from Edward. Bella had a mortified look on her face. Rosalie and Alice looked shocked. Jasper gave me a questioning look. Emmett was laughing. When he caught me looking at him he laughed even harder. Whatever was making him laugh must have been very funny indeed.

They were a strange bunch. I kept on walking.

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