Chapter 2 Summer is over, school is in

Bella shrugged her backpack up her shoulder. She smiled to herself as she thought about all of the new supplies Charlie had purchased for her at the campus book store. If it had a school emblem on it, she had it stowed in her bag. She knew that her dad was just excited and maybe he was making up for time she was with Renee and gone as a child. All of those years school shopping he had missed. She wasn't sure if she needed a UC calculator, scissors or paper weight but she was now the proud owner, and she couldn't forget her blue and gold plaid phone case.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, she opened the door to her first college class. It was nothing exciting, just basic college algebra, a freshman requirement. She was early so she could find a seat that suited her-not too close to the front or back, and where she could see the doors to know who was coming in. Yet, she didn't want to be noticed either.

"Howdy! Welcome, choose a seat right up front!" a large blonde man with horn-rimmed glasses called out to her from the podium. "Glad you are early, I could use a hand with these stacks of paperwork. If you could put one at each seat that would be just great."

"Okay," Bella muttered cursing herself for being the first one in this tiny classroom. This was a huge university and her first class had less than 50 seats in it…so much for remaining invisible. She got to work passing out the papers and headed to her seat right up front and looked over the information from her new professor, Dr. Dandy. She stifled the laugh because she was thinking it was "just dandy" that she got to help. On Wednesday, she would not be showing up until 5 minutes before class started so she could get a place in the back.

"Welcome, everyone!" Dr. Dandy announced as the clock showed 9:00, starting right on time. "I will be sending around a seating chart. This will be your new home for the rest of the semester. I like to learn all of my students' names and this way I can remember who you are by where you sit."

"Fabulous," a girl sitting next to Bella breathed. Bella chanced a glance and a small smile her way. At least she wasn't the only one unhappy with this turn of fate. "Hi, I'm Kathryn," she stated, pushing her sleeves up her arms and reaching to shake Bella's hand. Bella looked at her hand as if it were a snake, but swallowed it down and briefly shook her hand.

"Bella," was her short reply. She took out her shiny new notebook and pens ready for the day before her. She had chosen this after all. No need to be anti-social and avoid nice, normal people.

"Hey, Bella, Kathryn. I'm Luke. Nice to meet you, ladies. I hope you know a lot about algebra because math is my worst subject. I'm only here because my mom gave me the ultimate life guilt trip about attending college and how important it is to her, how I'd be the first man in the family to get a college degree, and I'd be a real role model to my younger brothers," he rattled on, not noticing the stunned expressions on the girls' faces.

"Hey, Luke," they both answered his little speech, glancing each other, then turning to face Dr. Dandy.

After class, Kathryn looked over at Bella and asked what time her next class was.

"Not until 11," Bella answered guardedly. Was she ready to make new friends? She wasn't sure, but clearly, her and Kathryn agreed about Luke and his loose lips.

"Would you like to go by that café outside and grab a drink and chat for a bit?" Bella bit her lip a little and smiled. She was in college now, it was time to start acting like it.

"Sure thing," Bella responded and followed Kathryn out the opposite door as Luke.

Kathryn was laughing hysterically as she imitated Luke's little speech about his mom's guilt trip. "He should get over himself, really. There are so many kids that want to go to college and can't. I know I am sure glad to be here. I hope he doesn't annoy me the rest of the semester," Kathryn finished with a chuckle.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Bella," Kathryn prompted as they sat around a small table outside the café, looking toward her and noticing the slight cringe as Bella thought about talking about herself. She knew this would happen, and prepared herself for the answers that held no allusion to the supernatural life she had been a part of for the last few years of her life.

"Well, I live with my dad, Charlie. My parents got divorced when I was little and I lived with my mom most of my life. My junior year of high school, I moved to live with my dad. We just moved here together so I could start college, and I wouldn't have to be in a new place all by myself," Bella puffed out her prepared answer, glancing over at Kathryn hoping she didn't ask for more details she wasn't ready to give. "How about you?"

"I don't have an exciting life story really. I grew up in Anaheim, both of my parents worked for Disney and I lived in the same house all of my life. I have an older brother, Matt, that I get along with and couldn't wait to get out on my own. So I'm living in an apartment, going to college," Kathryn said, looking to Bella as she visibly relaxed. Nice, normal friends. This was what she needed.

Bella glanced at her watch and realized she needed to be heading off to her first writing class. That was the class she didn't want to miss, even if it was just freshman college writing, all about technical writing and research papers. Not really Bella's kind of writing, but it was writing.

She stepped in only 10 minutes early for this class, not wanting another Dr. Dandy debacle. Thankfully, this class was an auditorium and she could easily sink into the shadows. She grabbed a seat and began reading the syllabus displayed on the screen at the front of the room.

After class, she headed back home. She was taking 5 classes this semester because she felt like she was behind already. Freshman college writing, algebra, economics, Spanish and the most dreaded class of all-speech. She was only taking it because it was mandatory. Charlie had laughed and said, "you only have to pass, Bella." Her answer to that had been an unladylike snort, as she imagined herself tripping and knocking herself out on the way to the front of the class.

All of their belongings had arrived, been unpacked, and new furniture purchased. Bella had painted her room a nice 'builder beige' last week and didn't miss the pepto-pink at all. She put her bag on her desk and opened her laptop. Renee would be upset that she hadn't been emailing her over the past week, not since they had arrived and Bella set her computer up. There hadn't been much to tell, so Bella hadn't bothered to email her yet.

Bella walked over to her dresser and changed into her comfortable sweat pants and t-shirt; even if they were holey, she wasn't going anywhere. Charlie had gotten the security job at a warehouse and was at training every day this week. As Bella sat down, she glanced at her email. Her heart stopped, there at the top of the list, above the 10 emails from Renee was an email that stopped her heart.

From: alice

Subject: Bella, we need to talk

(sorry, I don't want to accidentally use someone's real email)

Her heart climbed in her throat until she felt like she couldn't speak or breathe or turn away. What did she want? She had told her she needed time. Sighing, she hesitantly deleted the email. It hurt, but she could not face them yet. She clicked off a quick email to Renee, letting her mother know that her first day had gone well, and she'd had coffee with a new girl, hoping to appease her mom's worries. Bella closed her laptop and headed downstairs to put something together for dinner and pack away the memory of the email. There was no debate, she would not open that email and bring more worry into her life. Things had happened that could not be changed, and she was living her life going forward without looking back anymore.