Silence

It wasn't hard to find the school; you could find any place by driving down the one highway. The only thing that told me it was a high school was the sign out front. The premises consisted of a collection of identical houses with large numbers on the side to tell them apart. Trees and shrubs circle the property and conceal the true size of the school but even without seeing it, you could tell that it was small. What do you expect with a total of three hundred and fifty seven – now eight – students?

Everything was so different than Arizona. Instead of the yellows, golds and blues, the place was filled with soft greens and browns. It was a comfort to me as the enclosed feeling of anywhere you go gave me a form of protection.

Stepping from my safe haven in the form of a car, I made sure my hood was firmly pulled up over my head. I had no intentions of making friends here. I'd only be here till I'd graduated and then move far away. I didn't trust anyone. They'd all turn on me for some reason eventually.

All eyes were on me, or my car and then me. I realised why. All of the cars around me were old and tattered. Some were even vans. Mine was the newest by at least five years. Apart from one. In the corner closest to the school was a shiny, well-kept Volvo. As I walked past it, I saw XC60 on the back, but it didn't mean anything to me.

Whispers surrounded me until I stepped into the front office. I hadn't noticed how cold it was outside, but the temperature changed dramatically when the door closed behind me. The office was only small. There was a little waiting area with wood rimmed padded chairs. The floor was covered with an orange flecked carpet; notices and awards covering the walls and a large clock hung on the wall. As if there wasn't enough green outside, a cluster of potted plants were scattered around the office.

A long counter cut the room in half only to be cluttered with baskets of paper and brightly coloured flyers. Behind the desk stood three small desks, more tidy than the counter. A plump, red-haired woman wearing glasses sat by the tidiest of all desks. She was wearing a simple purple t-shirt and jeans. My worn out jeans and old hoodie felt out of place.

"Can I help you?"

I pulled my hood down and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'm Isabella Swan."

Informing her of my name, her eyes lit up in recognition. She nodded and rifled through one of the paper filled baskets.

"Here's your schedule and a map of the school. I got your doctor's note for gym, so you are welcome to leave after 5th period."

"Thank you."

I took the papers from her and pulled my hood back up as I left the office. It had started raining outside and the parking lot was empty. Despite the cold, I loved the rain. It was a refreshing change to the constant heat and sun. I would no longer have to be covered head to toe in sunscreen.

Glancing at my schedule and the map, I headed off in the direction of building 3. I ended up following two girls with raincoats tightly wrapped around them. They walked into the classroom I was going to and hung their coats up before sitting down at the back of the room. Everyone turned to watch me as I stood beside the teacher's desk.

Mr Mason gave me a reassuring smile and handed me the semester's booklist. I took an empty seat in the front corner by the window by a shy looking girl. She had long, light brown hair and matching eyes framed by glasses. During the lesson she introduced herself as Angela. I didn't respond but angled my chair away from her. I didn't like being rude, but I couldn't get close to anyone.

In fourth period trig I sat next to a talkative girl who didn't care that I didn't say anything to her. She seemed happy enough doing all the talking. She was there in my trig class as well. I had the delight of sitting next to her for another hour – note the sarcasm. This time she decided to invite me to sit with her at lunch. Even though she'd asked, I didn't have much choice in the matter as she dragged me to the cafeteria.

"Hey guys. This is my new friend Isabella. Make her feel welcome, she doesn't talk very much."

"It's just Bella."

I had to do something to stop them all from calling me Isabella. That name was worse than not talking. One of the guys had a cute baby face with pale blond hair gelled into messy yet organised spikes smiling at in a way that was way too friendly. He sat next to me and threw his arm around my shoulder.

"Hi. I'm Mike. Do you want me to show you round town after school?"

Shaking my head, he started to stroke the top of my arm. I felt more uncomfortable and shifted in my seat. When another guy, Eric I think his name is, sat on the other side of me, he too wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I had yet to eat anything but already felt like I was going to throw up. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and stood up slowly.

The whole cafeteria silenced as their eyes turned to mine. Only five pairs of eyes weren't on me. From the one glance I got of them, I could see everything I needed too. There were three boys and two girls; each completely different yet similar in subtleties.

The first was tall and well built- muscled if you will. I'd seen wrestlers and weight lifters on TV when Phil had been watching and this boy could rival their size. He had dark curly hair and dark blue eyes. Beside him was a tall girl. She was statuesque and stunningly beautiful. Her figure was the kind you saw on the front cover of a magazine. One look at her and your self-esteem plummets below zero. Her hair was much like Esme's, a golden colour that gently waved to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a violet colour veering towards brown more than blue.

To the left of her was a taller, leaner yet concealed muscled boy. His hair was honey blond; much like the girl's and Esme's but darker. His eyes were the same brown as theirs too. He had his arm wrapped around a small pixie like girl. She was thin with small features. Her hair was a similar colour to the first boy's as it was deep black, cropped short and pointing all over the place. You couldn't help but think that it was made to look that way.

I couldn't see much of the last guy as he had his back to me. He was lanky though, more lanky than the other two guys. His hair was an untidy bronze mess on top of his head. It looked as though he woke up and just ran his hand through it. With hunched shoulders, he leaned over his food and poked at it. He was the most beautiful of them all.

I noticed all of this in a split second before running out of the cafeteria. Everything was getting to be too much. It had been 5 and a half hours since I'd seen little Edward and I was worried.