Note: Wow! I was impressed - seven reviews for only one prologue! My best so far! Sadly, I've gotten 92 hits and 92 visitor hits but only seven reviews. PLEASE review - it only takes about twenty seconds of your time and encourages me much more than you know. Anyway, because you guys think that Dusk sounds promising, here you go! I hope it pleases!
P.S. I have changed this chapter a little bit to make it better. If it says in here anywhere that Edward is seventeen, he's not - he's sixteen. Jen is fifteen. Please let me know if you see any age mistakes.
REVIEW PLEASE! IT TAKES ONLY TEN SECONDS, AND EVERYONE CAN DO IT - EVEN NON-MEMBERS/VISITORS!
Welcome to Forks read the weather-worn, wooden sign stuck on the side of the street. Ah, Forks…AKA my personal hell.
Forks was a little town on the Olympic Peninsula and, to my greatest aggravation, the rainiest place in America. As a result, it was also the greenest. Green has always been an inescapable color for me - every time I look in a mirror, my eyes stand out front and center.
What a name, Forks. They might as well have called the place Butter Knife and been done with it. I mean, really - who names a town after cutlery? Hopefully, the founders were talking about a fork in the road. That at least would be less lame that being known for having the best utensils in all of Washington state.
I would have rather moved to Seattle. I mean, that's where Dad got transferred. Wouldn't it be much more convenient to just live in the city? Not according to Mom, it isn't. She had grown up in this tiny dot on the map and would rather have me experience staying in the suburbs since all I've ever known is Chicago.
So here I am - stuck here among squashy alien life forms until I leave for college. Perfect.
We finally pulled up in front of the new house, and I sighed. Mom had a taste for old-fashioned things. I normally don't mind her choices - I like some nineteen century stuff myself, but Victorian houses that are more like mansions? Not particularly, but whatever. I was used to sticking out, so I just dealt with it and stomped up the stairs to examine the rooms.
Our new home was extremely spacious, elegant…and empty. No need to dream about a White Christmas - I already had one inside.
No matter how beautiful the house was on the outside, its interior reminded me of a hospital, and I'd been there enough times to find the sterile environment eerie and suffocating. The first thing I'm going to do in Forks is paint my room blue - the color the sky should be instead of the omnipresent gray that is located only here.
I couldn't take it any longer, so I stepped out onto the balcony facing the woods in the backyard. Hey, at least my new bedroom had a view, no matter how depressing said view was.
I leaned against the rail, staring intently at the thick woods, once again marveling at how everything truly did seem to be green when a quick movement caught my eye. A twig snapped, and I swear that I saw a flash of white between the branches and leaves. I mentally shook my head. Forks really was making me go crazy.
"Edward!" called my mother from the first floor. "There's someone here I want you to see!"
Sighing, I went back inside and headed down the steps, wondering who could be here. I suspected that the visitor was one of Mom's childhood friends that she'd still managed to keep in touch with over the years.
Therefore, I was a bit surprised to see a man in a wheelchair and a dark-haired girl, probably about fifteen, both of Native American descent waiting in the entry hall.
"Hello, Edward. You probably don't remember me since you were only three when I last saw you. I'm Billy Black, and this is my daughter, Jen. My wife and your mother were best friends in high school," said the man.
"Hi," added Jen, smiling. I returned the favor…cautiously. I'm usually not over-friendly until I've gotten to know people better. "We - well, your parents - have something for you out front."
What could that be? I wracked my brain for a moment and came up empty-handed, so I shrugged and stepped onto the doorstep, searching with my eyes. There, parked on the street, was a brand-new, shining silver Volvo S60R. I was speechless. Thankfully, Dad spoke for me.
"We promised you a car of your own, son. I asked the Blacks to pick it up for you since we wanted it to be a surprise."
"It's great. Thanks," I exclaimed in gratitude. I'd always admired that specific Volvo, and now I actually owned one. Forks was getting better by the minute.
Feeling generous, I turned to Jen and asked, "Want to go for a spin?" Why not make a friend? At least I'd know one person here.
She grinned. "Sure."
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I broke the silence first. "So, do you go to Forks High?" I started with an easy question - something that would turn up in everyday conversation.
"No, I go to school on the rez," she replied, turning the radio on, the volume almost quiet enough to be background music yet, at the same time, perfectly audible.
"The rez?" I asked, confused.
"La Push - the reservation down at First Beach.
"Oh. That's too bad. I was kind of hoping for a familiar face tomorrow," I added to be polite. However, my words were sort of true. Being the new kid is like being offered up as fresh meat…or a shiny new toy, depending on the way you look at it. Either way, I wasn't exactly looking forward to tomorrow.
"Yeah, but the kids at Forks High are nice…with a few exceptions, of course," she laughed. "I promise - it's not so bad. Sometimes, living in a small town has its advantages."
"I highly doubt that," I joked back.
For the rest of the ride, we talked about ourselves. I learned that Jen was indeed fifteen and that her mother had died in a car crash when she was younger. All too soon, we had arrived back at the house. It had been a nice break from, well, life, and I was sorry that the experience was over. I'm usually a happy medium between being social and a wall flower, but Jen was easy to talk to. I knew that she was the sort of person you could hang with and let your worries melt away despite the fact that I'd only known her for about half an hour.
"Thanks for the ride, Edward. Take care of that car - it's the best Volvo out there. See you later."
"Bye." I watched Jen push her father to their own vehicle and climb into the driver's seat. First Beach. Sounded like a nice place to visit, excepting the overcast sky.
I shut the front door, and the cold blasted me. Well, at least I was used to the chill weather - Chicago was known as the Windy City, after all. I sighed. One adventure down, another yet to come. Tomorrow really was going to be an expedition, and not one that I readily wished to face.
This place is making me repeat myself. I swear that I'm going to end up mental before it's all over with.
Sadly, that's not something I can control. I'm stuck here…for now, at least, and I'm going to attempt to make the best of it.
Forks High, here I come.
Note: I hope this chapter pleases! I may not be able to update tomorrow because my mom is having brain surgery L and I have mid-terms coming up. I hope you understand. I was thinking about making sneak peeks, but my chapters are always subject to change, so I decided against it. Sorry if that disappoints. Also, sorry that this chapter is a little short, but I felt the need to cut it off here. The chapters seem a LOT shorter online. Edward may seem a little out of character, but keep this in mind: he's grown up in a different century and is, in reality, a teenager. He's upset that he's been uprooted and taken to some weird town that he's never heard of, so Edward's angst is understandable.