***THANK YOU everyone who commented! I know it wasn't much to start out with, but I just wanted people to get the general idea before I indulged into the rest of the story! Enjoy!!
The weekend flies by quickly, I run around trying to stock the kitchen as best I can and check out the local library and their depleted stock of books. I take a mental note to look online to see where the nearest bookstores are shuddering at the thought of having to drive my car anywhere far with how high the gas prices are rising.
My alarm clock signals the start of Monday and I cover my head up hoping that maybe all of this is a dream. Jocelyn and I stumble around each other in the bathroom, not really sure what the other is doing. Our routines are all messed up and we have never had to share a sink before. Finally I just give up and head down for breakfast; nothing really seems worth it anymore.
Jocelyn and I are eating cereal at the table when we hear a huge rumble of an engine pull into our driveway. Charlie had left early for work and had not mentioned to us anyone who should be stopping by. I head to the front window and peak out the curtains. Charlie is sitting in the driver's seat of a faded rustic red 50's styles truck. It's full of curves and has a front full of iron that would do damage to anything it could hit and leave me unharmed. He waves me out and I grab my coat yelling to Joce that Charlie is here with a truck.
"Dad?" I ask trying to remind myself not to use his first name.
"Hey Bells, I know it's not much but an old friend of mine, Billy, Billy Black you remember his family from La Push. Well he mentioned to me a few months ago that he wanted to sell this thing and I know you don't have a car, so if you don't mind driving it around it's yours till you find something better."
I let out the first smile in weeks and try to make it extra big for Charlie. Not only did he buy me a car but he said more words to me in one breathe than he has since he first showed up in phoenix after the accident.
"No way! Thanks dad, this is great! Really I love it"
Still smiling I head up to the cabin of the truck and take a look around. There is no radio but that could be fixed. The tan interior is faded and I can smell tobacco and gasoline faintly although I can tell Billy tried to clean it up as best he could. I can't help but fall in love with it, it is perfect. A couple of seconds later I hear Jocelyn run down the steps and she hops in the passenger seat, impressed with the old truck too. Charlie is blushing now and he smiles at both of us admiring the truck.
"Uh girls" he stammers to get our attention
"I left my cruiser at the office to drive this up. If you can drop me back off you should make it in time for school if we leave now."
We both run back inside and grab all our things. Piling back into the truck, its fits three people comfortably in the front and I let Charlie drive us to the station so I can get used to where I am.
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Forks High School is about the size of my elementary school in Phoenix. It looks like a mini subdivision, with matching red bricks and lawn manicured just so. And with less than 300 students I can see there is no reason for it to be any bigger.
Almost all the cars in the parking lot are older and used besides a silver Volvo and purple mini cooper, mine is still the oldest and loudest though as we pull in. Heads aren't exactly turning but I can tell that all eyes are on us. Jocelyn and I scurry into the main office and fill out some paperwork before the woman hands us our schedules. I say a quick goodbye and good luck and head off in the opposite direction to my first class.
The rooms all look the same, surprise, and the teachers are helpful and friendly. I didn't miss any work over the summer in my first two classes and they go by quickly, a review over what they learned last year and what we are going to be covering this year before they let us out in the big world. Everyone is of course a buzz with the news of the Chief's daughters moving into town and although they all seem friendly I can't help but feel like a side show you pay ten cents to get into at a carnival. Most of them are nice enough to walk up and introduce themselves and then talk about me behind my back at least and I wonder if Jocelyn is receiving the same welcoming. When third period finally comes I feel like two days have already passed and I sigh relief that I can finally be in a class I love. My English was given four books over summer to read and since I arrived before the bell, the teacher Ms. Powell tries to catch me up. Out of the four books I have already read three and I lean back as she tries to stack all four on top of my notebook. My back brushes up against something cold and hard as a rock and I turn quickly wondering what boy I must have run into. But everyone is sitting; everyone but this girl, who can't be more than 5'2 and looks like she weighs no more than a 100 pounds, everything about her is petite. I zone out watching her walk to the back of the class. She is so elegant when she walks it's almost as if she is gliding across the floor. She turns her head around looking at me and right before she sits she winks at me. She has dark brown almost black hair that lands around her chin and spikes out everywhere perfectly. And her face, her face is pale almost a stone color and it makes her warm honey eyes stand out even more. I never in my life have seen someone so beautiful and time suddenly comes swooping back as I see a hand wave in front of my face. I blink a couple of times and realize the room has gone quiet and everyone is watching me intently.
"Isabella, are you ready to take a seat, I think I have covered everything"
"Bella" I answer and stutter a yes, my cheeks already flushed bright red. I scan the room for a seat and I can't believe my luck when my eyes land on the only empty one next to her. I quickly stumble my way through the aisle and take a glance in her direction. Her amused expression pleases me for some odd reason and I almost feel proud to have put a smile on her face.
I direct my head towards the board but my thoughts are no where near Dante's Inferno. Or maybe I was in my own hell, but since when did hell let angels in and when did I have feelings like these about someone my own age, let alone someone of the same gender. Not only had I never been interested in boys who were not only immature but feral but none of them had ever been interested in me but then again I wasn't the swooning type that played hard to get or dated a different guy every week. I had my books and my ability to speak what was on my mind, too independent and strong for a teenage ball of hormones. I had admired writers and teachers but none of them had ever made time stand still or make my body feel like an electric current was running through me. And never had I ever wanted to meet someone so bad I think I would give up all of my possessions just to learn her name. I catch glimpses of her through my hair that I had placed strategically over my shoulder for just this purpose. And every time I look she still has that amused expression I left on her from the beginning of the class and she seems to be paying attention as much as I am.
The bell startles me out of my thoughts and I jump out of my seat putting me eye to eye with the pixie like creature. My breathe catches because of our closeness and it almost looks like she is not breathing at all. What I thought had been a golden honey color are now darker amber and appear to get darker for the spilt second we lock eyes. Before I can take another breathe she is out the front door.
Fourth period is health and I finally meet someone I would consider a normal person, Angela, her quietness make me like her even more and she appears more interested in me as a person than why my sister and I all of a sudden showed up in Forks.
She invites me to sit with her at lunch and I feel relived with not having to do the whole new girl at lunch scene you always see in movies. The lunchroom doubles as the gym, which I won't have to find now for my last class of the day. I jump in line after Angela and I am happy to see that we also have the same tastes in foods. The table she leads me to is filled with some of the kids I had already met during the day. Mike a blond jock that actually seemed to have some personality behind his muscles. Jessica who seemed very involved with herself and with Mike, although Mike didn't seem to notice she cared. Eric who had a huge camera and loads of pictures to show everyone from his trip to New York and Tyler who was his best friend and would probably be decent looking if he brushed his long unruly hair.
The whole cafeteria is chatting about summer break stories and I appreciate Angela not asking questions and taking control of the conversation. She is still talking when her voice fades in my head and I am zeroed in again on the girl who seems to be floating into the gym with four others behind her. They are not quite as graceful as she is but they all have their flow to walking that I have never seen before, even in ballets that Jocelyn used to be in. They all sit down together, the chairs almost meeting together with their bodies. I finally remember Angela who was nice enough to invite me to sit and eat with her and I take my attention off of the group. But she also is entranced with the beauty that just graced our presence and I give her a questioning look.
"The Cullen's"
"Cullen's?" I reply
They were all related? It seemed at least two were enamored with each other.
"Yeah,…well actually the two blonds, Rosalie and Jasper, are twins and I think their last names are Hale but Emmett, Edward and Alice are Cullen's."
"Alice" I say
I guess it sounded more like a question that a statement because Angela continues talking about the Cullen's and how they were all adopted. I really try to pay attention to what she is saying, I really do but I can't seem to take any of my attention from Alice who is laughing at something one of the others had said. And almost as if she felt me watching her head turns suddenly and our eyes lock. Having thought about her all day I couldn't take my eyes off her, now that I actually had the chance to explore her face and I am surprised by myself that I am not embarrassed at all being caught staring. Her eyes seem to be back to the golden honey brown they were before and I see now that her skin is also flawless and she looks as if she was air brushed from a magazine. She licks her lips and that draws me to her mouth, her lips are tinted crimson and now look moist from the recent exposure of her tongue.
The bell ringing rips me out of my spell and I quickly look down breaking our contact and try to gather up my things. I lift my eyes to see if she is still at the table and the door next to my table closes scaring me. I turn to see who left and I can see her tiny head drifting away down the hall. How the hell did she move so fast?
The rest of my day flies by now that all of my thoughts are consumed by Alice. Her appearance, her mannerisms, it all has me completely fascinated and I can't seem to focus on anything else. I see Jocelyn up ahead heading to my truck, she is followed by two girls and I am happy to see she has made some friends already. There is a breeze picking up and a laughter is being carried by it that sounds like a melody. I turn my head to see who could be making that sound and I see Alice and Rosalie walking towards the purple mini cooper. The wind changes and carries her laughter away and her head looks around like she is looking for someone. My heart skips a beat when her face sees mine and the smile she had on her face seems to get bigger before she slips into the driver's side of the car. The mini is out of the parking space and pulling out into the street when I hear Jocelyn yelling my name.
I climb into the cab of the truck, and try to be sisterly by asking Joce how the first day of school went. I pretend to carry the conversation till we pull into our driveway, luckily Joce's cell phone rings and she answers it without even looking to see who was on the phone. I walk inside and head to the kitchen, intent on starting dinner.
Charlie comes home around five and we both let Jocelyn talk her way through dinner both of them complimenting me on the enchiladas. Jocelyn loved school of course and all the attention being the new girl offered. She was excited about her art class and I couldn't help but be reminded how much she was like our mother and how much I was like our father.
Please R/R :D:D:D