The first day of school always entailed a lot of house keeping. Or at least, it did in my previous experience. Turns out when there are only three students and the same teacher is teaching every subject, there is not much general housekeeping to go over.
"Good morning everyone. Welcome to Room 315, seniors. Now lets get started, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves and share one thing they're looking forward to this year." Ms Kay said with a beaming smile on her face, caught up in the excitement of the new year. I heard the blonde girl let out an irritated huff. Same blondie, same.
Ms Kay seemed to hear her annoyance as volunteering. "Why don't you get us started?" she asked, pointing at blondie.
"Fine." Her voice practically bubbled with venom. "I'm Rosalie, Rose. And I guess I'm most looking forward to this year being over." She said her whole spiel without looking at anyone. Her gaze trained entirely on the doorway, as though the angered tone of her voice was directed entirely at someone unseen in the distance.
"Fine enough…who's next?" Ms Kay's gaze caught mine. Damn. I'm sure I visibly winced. Public speaking had never been my forte.
"I-I-I'm B-Bella." I choked on my own words. At least there were only three people in the room while I was embarrassing myself. I was supposed to say something I was looking forward to but my mouth had clamped shut after the embarrassment I had just suffered. I sat on my hands and looked down at the table.
"Wonderful. And last."
We all looked to the far corner of the room. The dark haired girl was still looking out of the window, oblivious to everything else.
"Alice," Ms Kay uttered. "Would you like to introduce yourself? And tell us something you're looking forward to?"
We all looked at the girl in the far corner. Silence filled the room, anticipation. But she barely seemed to acknowledge that Ms Kay was speaking to her. If this were any other class. A regular class I should say, then I would have expected Ms Kay to raise her voice, or clap to get Alice's attention. Instead she just smiled warmly at her, and carried on with introducing the semester's curriculum. We would start the day with English, then Math and History before lunch, after which would be our science lessons or Geography and then Art, depending on the day. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was surprised at how varied our classes were, especially offering art, as we were not in one of the art classrooms, and as far as I could tell there were no art supplies in the room.
"Now then, I know its only the first day back, but lets get started with class. In English this semester we will be focusing on 19th and 20th Century British and American writing. We will be starting with the oldest text, which is Persuasion by Jane Austen." Ms Kay headed to the cupboard behind her desk and took out four copies of the book. "Now don't be too concerned, its not the longest book in the world, or even in this class. I'd like for everyone to try to read the first fifty pages by Wednesday, and get to at least page one hundred and twenty-five by next Monday."
Ms Kay walked around the room placing a copy of the book in front of each of us as she spoke. I had read the book once before, I could foresee no issues with the reading, I'd read longer books in less time.
After the books were distributed, Ms Kay began the lesson, giving us a brief overview of the period in which the text was set, common themes in literature at the time, that sort of thing. I sat and made notes as she spoke, keeping myself busy. Forcing myself to focus really. My meeting with the principal last week was still fresh in my mind. I couldn't disappoint Charlie and flunk out. I had to do everything in my power to concentrate and focus and do well.
It seemed like no time until the bell was ringing signalling that first period was over. I folded my book and set it to one side. My schedule listed ten minutes in between periods. I figured I would take the break to relax. Ms Kay took her coffee mug and left the room, no doubt on her way to grab some more coffee from the teachers lounge.
Swing girl, I mean Alice, was still just staring out of the window, as she had been for the entire class. The blonde girl, Rosalie, stood up from her desk then. Her hostility earlier had me questioning why she was even in this class, she seemed well adjusted enough. It was only as she turned from her desk and headed toward the door that I noticed her swollen belly. She's pregnant. My internal monologue told me.
Unfortunately she caught me looking at her. Well, staring, I was definitely staring. Her eyes pinched together in anger.
"Take a picture, B-b-b-bella, it'll last longer." She spat at me as she left. I didn't say anything back, only looked down at my desk in humiliation. So much for making friends on my first day.
I sat looking directly at the top of the desk. My cheeks hot with embarrassment.
"Don't worry, she's not always so abrasive." A soft voice spoke, making me jump.
Alice was still over in the far corner of the room, but now she was looking at me instead of at the trees outside. I flashed her a small smile.
"Thanks."
She nodded back at me. I wanted to say something else, keep the conversation going. But it had been so long since I made a new friend, I wasn't even sure how to. Besides, she probably wouldn't want to be my friend anyway. She was probably just talking to me to suss me out. Or just because it was the first day and there was no one else here. I laid my head on the desk and shut my eyes. I could not wait for this day to be over.

By lunch I could not wait to get out of that room. Ms Kay was lovely, but her smiley attitude was a lot to follow after a while. Especially when there was no one else really talking. I had felt Rosalie glaring daggers at me a few times throughout the morning, and Alice had resumed her vacant staring once class started up again. She hadn't tried to talk to me again.
As soon as Ms Kay dismissed us for our lunch period I bolted out of the door. No one else seemed in as much of a hurry to leave. I figured I would go and find a bathroom first, and then go and see what the food situation was. I was hungrier than I had been in a little while, no doubt because I was forcing myself to concentrate and doing so was using a lot more energy than I usually used.
I headed for the corridor which I had walked down this morning to get to Room 315. I thought I remembered passing a girls bathroom there somewhere. After the silence of our classroom, I was unprepared for the noise of the hallway. A class of what looked like freshman were just spilling out of one of the rooms, and their incessant chatter was deafening. The bathroom I remembered was a little way down the corridor, and I did my best to weave around people as quickly as possible to get there.
Thankfully there wasn't a line, and I ducked into one of the stalls as fast as I could. Silence at last. I pulled the school map out of my jean pocket where had stashed it earlier and consulted it before I left the safety of the stall. I didn't want anyone to ogle at me anymore than they were likely to. Looking at a map would draw attention. I didn't want that. I just wanted to get some food and then get through the rest of the day with as little fuss and drama as possible. That was the ideal at least.
After I was finished in the bathroom, I made my way toward the cafeteria. The whispering started the second I entered the room. I felt peoples eyes on me and overheard a few whispers of 'new girl' and 'chief Swan's daughter'. I walked toward the line to get food as quickly as I could, and desperately tried not to accidentally make eye contact with anyone.
I could still feel people watching me as I waited to order food. Was the room as loud as it had been before I came in or was I imagining that people were watching my every move like a hawk? I couldn't be sure, but the nervous feeling that enveloped me had my foot tapping and my palms sweating. When I reached the counter, I picked up a prepackaged sandwich, a banana and a bottle of water and headed straight to the cashier to pay. Once that was done I froze. There were no empty tables for me to go and hide at.
I stood there shifting awkwardly trying to find a free table or at least a table with a free spot and no one staring at me. No such luck though. I had hoped that I would be able to disappear into the background, but as I felt what was surely the eyes of the entire senior and junior class on me, I knew that wouldn't be the case. A short brunette with curly hair and a skinny blonde girl approached me, snickering.
"Hey are you Isabella Swan, the new girl?" They asked, although they clearly already knew the answer.
"Y-yes ." I managed to mumble, my eyes flickering between their faces and my own feet.
"So like did you skip school this morning or something? Get a free morning because your dad was the Chief of Police?"
I shook my head.
"No. I've been in school all morning..." my voice trailed off at the end.
"Huh. That's funny, because there are only 3 homerooms for seniors. And you weren't in mine. And Jess said you weren't in hers." The brunette nodded along at this. "And Mike said you weren't in his either..."
She smirked then, like I had fallen right into her trap or something.
"So like, are you pregnant or just crazy?"
"Look at her Lor, she's obviously a psycho. God, the school will be infested with them soon." The brunette eyes me with vitriol.
"They'll let anyone in here these days." Blondie's upper lip raised in disgust as she spoke. "Come on Jess, we wouldn't want to catch anything from it."
I felt my stomach tense at their words and the colour drain from my face. My shock was evident to them, and it the exact reaction that blondie had been looking for. They both burst out laughing, making an exaggerated show leaning against each other, as if it was so funny that they would fall over. They weren't the only ones laughing, a couple of people at a nearby table overheard them and joined in.
"Come on Lauren," the short one said, eying me up and down like I was a mannequin in the shop whose outfit she disapproved of, "we don't want to catch whatever diseases she's carrying."
Humiliated, I couldn't stay in the cafeteria any longer. I had to get outside. Heading for the doors, I gripped tightly onto my lunch and hoped to whatever God there was out there that I wouldn't trip and make an even bigger ass of myself.
Safely outside the doors, I took a deep breath to calm myself. Tears felt like they were beginning to well in my eyes. I scrunched up my face, trying to keep the tears at bay. I couldn't cry. Not out here.
There were a few picnic tables occupying the grounds outside the cafeteria, they were sparsely occupied. But I could sense the disapproving gazes of the people out here. I didn't set down my lunch at one of the free tables. Instead, I found myself walking as quickly as I possibly could back toward the safety of the classroom.

The moment I stepped through the door I felt a huge sob emerge from my throat. The tears that I had so far managed to hold in slipped down my cheeks. I heard the door click shut behind me and my knees gave out beneath me. I dropped to the ground with a thud and pulled my knees up tight to my chest, crying into my arms, my sobbing tears shaking my entire form.
I didn't want to feel this weak, this vulnerable. I wasn't used to being an object of anyone's attention, in Phoenix I had been able to blend into the background of school. Everyone ignored me. I was used to dealing with that. The girls in the lunch room had somehow managed to confirm every negative thought or feeling I had ever had about myself.
I cried loudly with my head tucked into the crook of my elbow and my eyes too clogged with tears to see.
Utterly consumed by my sadness, I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt someone's arms reach out and embrace me. I blinked away my tears and saw that it was Rosalie who had wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. Behind her, Alice was crouched tentatively, a concerned frown splashed across her face.
I was so shocked that for a second I stopped crying altogether. Until my mind turned back to their cruel words and glares and laughter and a fresh round of sobs overtook me. Rosalie held me closer to her when I started, although the awkward angle and the crouching were probably uncomfortable for her, she didn't show any outward sign of discomfort. All she did was hold me tightly.
"It'll be alright." She said simply, before turning to Alice and saying, "We should have warned her not to go to the lunchroom."
Alice didn't reply. Or if she did, I didn't hear it. I pulled back from Rosalie's embrace and wiped my wet cheek with the back of my hand.
"I'm sorry. I've cried all over your shirt."
"Please, it's only water." She smiled. "Will you be alright to get up now?"
I nodded in response and picked up my discarded lunch before getting to my feet. Alice held out her had and to Rosalie and helped her up. Suddenly we were all standing facing each other. I felt stupid for letting my emotions overtake me like that, and shifted awkwardly.
"We were just eating lunch. Would you like to sit with us Bella?"
I nodded and followed Rosalie to the table. Alice took a seat at the table across the aisle, leaving the seat next to Rosalie free. I got the impression that the pair were not sitting as close before I came in.
I sat silently and opened the water. My mouth had gone dry from the crying, and I drank almost half of the bottle in one long series of gulps. After my outburst, I didn't really feel like eating much. I opened the sandwich anyway and picked at the bread, peeling pieces off with my fingers.
Lunch was a relatively quiet affair, there was really only the sound of chewing and the crinkling of packaging as we ate. Alice didn't speak at all. And I was far too embarrassed after my crying to give more than one word answers to Rosalie's brief questioning. I could sense her frustration at this, but I felt unable to open up. Crying in front of them had been one thing, sitting next to them for lunch another, but I didn't exactly feel up to sitting and making small talk as if nothing was wrong. The thought of conversation twisted my gut in anxiety and made sweat gather on my palms. I stayed just as silent as Alice, and sensing that I had shut her out completely, Rosalie got out her phone and played music from its speakers for the remainder of our lunch hour, her foot tapping along lightly to the beat,
The rest of the afternoon passed relatively quickly. We had art last period. Ms Kay produced a sketch book for each of us, and a set of drawing pencils. I had tried in every other period to stay engaged with what we were learning about, but after the stress of lunch hour, and with my attention span already pitifully short, I couldn't seem to bring myself to start anything.
Ms Kay noticed my hesitation.
"What're you thinking Bella? No ideas?" She asked quietly, crouching by my table to ensure that the others would not hear her. I nodded in reply. It seemed easier than admitting that I was utterly exhausted from the day.
"Not to worry. Why don't you go take a look at the bottom shelf of the bookcase. You'll find some art books there, and some on photography and a few with scientific sketches of animals. Perhaps one of those might pique your interest."
"I'll try." I replied, getting up to go take a look.
I found a book that was a catalogue of the birds of the south pacific, filled with richly coloured photographs and short descriptions of the birds and their habitats. I took it to my desk, and spent the rest of the period trying to appear awake as I flicked idly through the pages.
Finally the bell rang signalling the end of the day. I hastily gathered my things into my backpack and set the bird book back on the shelf. Then I stalled. The school was still heaving with students. I didn't want to run into those girls again. Not today, I wasn't strong enough. I returned to my desk and made a show of digging back through my backpack for something. Rosalie left, calling out a "See ya." as the door closed behind her to no one in particular.
"I'll see you tomorrow girls, have a lovely evening." Ms Kay left too.
It was just Alice and I left in the room now. I sat on my desk and fiddled with the hem of my jacket.
"I don't like leaving while its busy either." Alice's soft voice floated across the room to me. I smiled lightly back at her, agreeing.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I felt my phone buzz, a text from Charlie telling me that he was outside waiting. I glanced outside the room, and saw that there were still students milling about the school. 'I'll be out in a few minutes." I replied, before placing my phone back into my bag.
The simple task had distracted me. I hadn't noticed that the classroom door had opened.
"Hey Ali, you ready to go?" A voice called out. I turned at the noise and saw angry boy standing in the door way. He seemed to notice me at the same moment that I noticed him. Perhaps he had seen my movement out of the corner of his eye. He recognized me, a glare flashed across his face briefly, before he turned back to Alice and softened his features.
Alice grabbed her bag and shuffled silently toward him. They left together in total silence. Neither of them looked back as they left the room. When the door finally closed behind them, I let out a whoosh of air that I hadn't even been aware I was holding in.
I had hoped that school would be relatively uncomplicated this year. I needed it to be so that I would get through it.
Sadly, it seemed, it was going to be anything but.
When I got to the car, Charlie was waiting for me with a look of anticipation.
"How'd it go Bells? How was your first day?"
I shrugged, trying my best to play off my feelings. "It was fine. But I'm pretty tired."
Charlie accepted my answer, and pulled out of the parking lot. I lent my head again the window of the car, dreading the fact that I had to come back and do it all over again tomorrow.

A/N

Hello again.
I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited and alerted this story, and everyone who is still reading. I know its been a minute since an update. Truthfully, I've had the first half of this chapter written for a while, but the second part took a while longer to come to me, and headed in a direction I had not anticipated. But I'm happy with it, which is always a good thing as a writer.

I know that this story is quite slow paced, and not for everyone because of ths. With the current outline I have, its looking like this will hit between 30 and 40 chapters. If I can write them that is. I just want to say to everyone reading that I've not given up on this fic, although my other stories on here are all on a indefinite hiatus.

Until next time,
Liv