Disclaimer: I own nothing. Twilight belongs to SM. I wish I owned it, but I don't. I do, however, own an iPod Touch that I'm pretty much addicted to.
I strolled down the streets in my blue stilettos, noticing the glances I was getting. My brown hair flew behind me, waving in the wind. I knew exactly what was going through everyone's thoughts. 'Why is a girl in designer clothes and wearing heels in a small town like Forks?' I was new in town, having just moved here three days ago. I, Miss Bella Swan, was a new teacher at Forks High School. Moving from Seattle to this small town was a major change for me. I had always lived in a big city with my mother, Renee. My father, Charlie, lived here in Forks, which is why I applied for the teaching job. They must have been desperate, because they hired me without a person – to – person interview. I guess being the Police Chief's daughter had a perk, after all.
I walked into the small store that held all the school supplies I needed. Since school started in a week, I decided it was time to get some important, basic classroom items, like pens, paper, and whiteboard markers. I breathed in the smell of the paper and ink as soon as I stepped in, seeing that the supply store doubled as a bookstore.
"Hi! My name is Alice. Is there anything – Oh. My. God. Your shoes! So cute!" A girl squealed. I looked up from my list only to look down at her. She was extremely small, almost like a pixie, with short black hair and deep blue eyes. Her face was smattered with freckles and she wore a giant smile on her face. She looked like she was 16. "I love them! But why are you wearing heels just walking in town? Especially such nice ones. You should be protecting those!"
I laughed. "Thank you! These are my walking heels. I'm a major klutz, but I walk better in heels, believe it or not. I've spent hours training myself. I could trip over air without heels. I'm Bella, by the way."
"Are you new? Or just stopping in? I've never seen you in Forks before, and I've lived here my whole life."
"Yeah, I just moved here a few days ago from Seattle."
"Really? What brings you to Forks?"
"Alice! Stop being social and get to work!" a blonde woman who had just popped her head out of a back room said. "You know we have stuff to do." She looked at me. "Oh. Who are you?"
"I'm Bella. Just moved here. I'm the new teacher at the high school, so I stopped by to get some supplies."
"Oh! Hi! Sorry, I thought you were one of Alice's friends. Even though she's in college, she seems to think people can drop in during work. I'm Rosalie, by the way," the woman said. She stepped out and I got a full view of her body. She was even more gorgeous. Her body was exactly the opposite of Alice. Where Alice was short, Rosalie was tall, about 5'10". She could be a model with her body. She had a perfect hourglass figure, and I'm positive she made guys drool over her. I felt plain and boring next to her. "What supplies do you need?"
"Oh, you know. Just the normal things. Pens, paper, pencils, Expo markers, and tissues. Stuff like that."
"I see. Alice will help you. I'm sorry in advance for her insane talkativeness. It's always lie she's on a caffeine buzz. Let me know if you need anything else," she said as she retreated to what I assumed was her office. I smiled and waved a goodbye.
"You said you're a new teacher at Forks High? My brother teaches there. He's the music teacher and the football coach. My boyfriend works there, too. He teaches history and coaches basketball. What are you going to teach?" Alice asked as she led me around the store.
"Physics. I love the subject and decided I wanted to get other students to love it as much as me. It was that or English, and I don't enjoy reading shitty essays too much," I laughed.
"Totally understandable. What are you wearing for the first day? You need to give those students a look that makes you cool and a major TILF, but that you won't take any shit from those miscreants."
"TILF?"
"Teacher I'd Like to Fuck. Come on, Bella, get with the program," she mock-scolded with sparkling eyes.
"Sorry. Guess I'm not doing too well on the whole 'cool teacher' thing so far. I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with the whole TILF thing, though."
"And why the hell not?"
"I'm too plain, Alice," I said, stating the obvious. "It's whatever, though. Better to have their attention than to have them daydreaming about me," I shuddered. I couldn't have my students thinking inappropriately about me. I couldn't have anyone thinking about me that way, especially at this time. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
"You're such a liar! Trust me; you have TILF written all over you. Right Rose?" Alice screamed.
"What?" Rosalie asked when her head popped out once again from the back room.
"Isn't Bella going to be a major TILF?"
"Fuck, yes! You're going to knock them all down. There will be some very dirty thoughts going on in their heads about you."
"Please don't say that," I said as I squeezed my eyes shut. The flickers behind my eyes caused me to wince.
"Bella? Are you okay?" Alice asked me softly.
"Can I get some water? Please? And a pen and paper?" I choked out as I felt the panic start to overtake me.
"Yeah, of course. Come over here and sit down," Rose said as she sat me down and thrust a pen and paper at me.
I took a sip of the water that Alice had brought to me and closed my eyes while picking up the pen. My hand started scribbling, my choice of therapy when I panicked. As soon as the pen dropped from my hand, my eyes flew open to see the two women staring down at me, worry etched into every detail of their faces. I looked down at my drawing and groaned. I had drawn a very familiar eye and wrote the word 'gone' over and over all across the page. I stood up despite protests from Alice and Rosalie, and then walked out of the store. I pulled a lighter out of my pocket and lit the paper on fire, watching it spread. When it was fully burned, I returned back into the store.
"Bella? Are you… okay?" Rose asked, repeating Alice's earlier question.
"I am now. Thank you."
"What… happened?" Alice questioned in a small voice.
"Please, I can't talk about it. Don't make me," I whispered.
"Of course we won't." An awkward silence fell.
"Get my mind off of what just happened, please," I begged.
"You never answered my earlier question," Alice piped up after a second.
"What? I said I was fine," I protested with a confused tone.
"No, silly. What are you wearing for the first day?"
"Oh, right. I'm planning on wearing a gray pencil skirt, short sleeve blue ruffled top, and black peep toe heels. Sound okay?"
"Perfect! Hair?" Alice squealed. I'm sure even dogs were deaf now because of her high pitch.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that yet. I suppose in a curly ponytail or just down and curly." Alice studied me.
"Curly ponytail. It'd look more professional. Plus, my brother loves necks."
"What? What does your brother –"
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Alice, stop trying to set your brother up with someone. She just moved here! I'm sure she's not looking for anyone to date right now, anyway. She might not even be single!"
"I'm single. But, no, I'm not dating anybody for a while. At least," I said quietly, wincing again. They obviously took notice.
"Alice, help Bella find the rest of what she needs. Then we need to close up early. Emmett comes home today. For good," Rose almost yelled in excitement. It was the most emotion I had seen from her.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry for keeping you. I can come back tomorrow if you want to close up now," I offered.
"No, no, no, it's fine. I promise," Rose smiled. Alice led me to the back where the paper and the pens were kept.
"Who's Emmett?" I whispered.
"Rose's fiancée. He was in the army, fighting in Iraq. He got shot, right above the heart and almost died. He also tried to save one of his friends, and he did. The army let him go with a Purple Heart. Rose was so scared when she heard Emmett was hurt. I've never, ever seen her like that before. She just sat there in shock until she heard he was okay. She's so excited he's coming back. They've been together since high school, and they were supposed to get married this past summer, but he got deployed. She was devastated on the day the wedding was supposed to be taking place."
"Oh, that's so sad! He's okay from being shot, though?"
"Yeah. When Rose and Em talked for the first time, she was so scared, but also… mad in a way? Not really mad, per se, but she yelled at him for scaring her. The big oaf told her, "Babe, you know I'd never let anyone but you take my heart" and she burst into tears. Poor guy didn't know what he had done. She yelled at him again to never scare her like that again. He promised he wouldn't and that when he got back, he would make sure Rose had the wedding of her dreams."
"Aww, he sounds so perfect!" I sighed.
"Back off, Bella. He's mine," Rose laughed as she walked out of her office. I had finished paying by this time and was just chatting with Alice. We moved to the door to leave.
"Don't worry, Rose. I wouldn't dream of taking anyone's man away from them."
"Good, 'cause then I'd have to put you on my hit list."
"Hey, Bella. Do you want to go out to dinner or something tonight? I know we just met, but I have a good feeling about you," Alice explained excitedly, interrupting Rose and I.
"How about tomorrow? I'm still getting settled in and all."
"Perfect!" Alice beamed. "There's this awesome restaurant in Port Angeles that we can go to. It's a really little bar, but they have the best greasy burgers."
"Sounds good. Should I just meet you here, around 7? Then I can follow you there."
"No, silly Bella! I'll be picking you up from your house!"
"Are you sure? You don't have to do that, you know," I said in a rushed voice.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine! I'll even get Jasper, my boyfriend, to come! Rose, invite Emmett to come, too. It'll be his 'Welcome Home' meal. And you know Angela will be delighted to see her most dedicated customer back."
"Okay! He'd love that," Rose smiled.
"Wait, won't I be like a fifth wheel?"
"Nope. Edward, my brother, always comes, and it's fine. We're not all lovey-dovey in public. We're just like a big family. We practically are, anyway. Jasper is Rose's brother, and Emmett's my cousin."
"Way to go, dating in the family," I laughed. Rose was starting to get fidgety near the passenger door, her anticipation of seeing Emmett growing. "I'll let you guys go get Emmett. I can see that it's killing Rose. Thanks for all the help! I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
"Wait! Bella! What's your number?"
"369-4205. Why?" I heard my phone's ringtone blaring from my pocket for a second, and then it shut off. I opened it to see one missed call. As I looked at the number, Alice spoke up.
"Now you have my number, and I have yours. Text me your address so I can know where to pick you up tomorrow! See you later!" Alice said through the car window as they drove away.
I walked back to my apartment, putting all of my new school supplies in a box by the door of things that needed to be taken in to my room. My stomach growled at me, and I realized how hungry I was for the first time. How had I not noticed the hunger pains in my stomach before this? I suppose it didn't help that I had skipped lunch. I went into my kitchen and threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave to help hold the hunger off as I decided what to cook for dinner that night. I chose to make breaded chicken and rice – simple but delicious. The phone rang in the middle of dinner, causing me to wipe my mouth with a napkin before answering.
"Hey Ch – Dad," I said, seeing the caller ID before answering.
"Hey, Bells. What are you doing?"
"Eating dinner," I said slowly. "Why?"
"Oh, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the diner. You've been here for a few days already, and I haven't had a chance to see my little girl. Avoiding your old man?" he laughed.
"No, of course not. I've just been busy getting settled in, Dad. I've been meaning to talk to you. I just… I don't know where the past three days have gone."
"It's fine, Bella. I should remember how long it takes to move into a new home. What about tomorrow night? Dinner at the diner?" I bit my lip.
"I can't, I'm sorry. I'm going out with some people to Port Angeles for dinner. I can cancel, though."
"No, it's fine. Who were you going out with?"
"The two girls from the shop in town that sells school supplies and stuff. Alice and Rosalie. Oh, and Alice's boyfriend, Jasper, and Rose's fiancé, Emmett, were supposed to go, too. But, Dad, seriously, I'll cancel."
"Edward wasn't going?" Charlie sounded surprised. I was surprised myself.
"You know them?"
"Bells, it's Forks. Everyone knows everyone. I take it Emmett's back from the war, then? I heard he got hurt."
"Yeah. The two girls were going to pick him up from the airport as I was leaving their shop. I'm cancelling with them, though. We'll go out to eat at the diner tomorrow. Okay? Just you and me," I smiled to myself.
"If you're sure. Whatever you want."
"Thanks, Dad." There was an awkward silence. "Well… I have to clean up from dinner and then finish unpacking everything. When do you want to meet tomorrow at the diner?"
"Is 7:30 okay for you?"
"Yep, it's perfect. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Night. Make sure to lock your door."
"Alright, Dad," I said as I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling. "Night." We both hung up, and I stood up to clean my plate. After I finished cleaning the kitchen, I decided to shoot a text to Alice to let her know the plans had changed.
hey alice. its bella. i… cant go tomorrow. going to dinner with dad instead. havent seen him since i got here so… doing that. want to get together another day though? mani/pedi?
Alice responded quickly to my text.
sure thats fine! i know the perfect place! ill txt you the details later!
I smiled, glad that she had taken my cancelling so well.
thats fine :] sorry to cancel on you :[ have fun with everyone else tho!
Alice texted back quickly saying that it was alright with her and that she understood. I sat down on my couch, too lazy to actually unpack, as I had told Charlie I would do. I threw in a disk of LOST, engrossing myself in the mystery of the island. As much as I hated this show and it's stupid, annoying, mysterious plot lines, I couldn't get enough of it. I must have dozed off sometime in one of the episodes, because the next thing I knew, it was three in the morning, and I was lying down on my couch. I picked myself up, turned off the TV and DVD player, and carried myself to bed, falling asleep right again within two minutes of lying down.
A/N: So… sorry this update took so long. As much as I'd like to be one of those authors that can write every day and update within, like, 3 or 4 days of a chapter, I can't. I've had 3 projects due this past week, and another this week that I've been working on. On top of that, I visited a college last weekend, so that kept me busy. Scholarship shit is keeping me on my toes as well. *sigh* Oh, the joys of being a high school senior.
The college I visited was KU (University of Kansas, not Kentucky as I've been asked by many people who live here.) It was… awesome. The campus is beautiful, the town is so cozy, and there's just a spirit in the school's atmosphere. I'm thinking seriously about going there. I'm just worried about leaving my family. I live in Western New York, so it's pretty far away. I have friends out there but… not the same. Does anyone have any experience with being far away for college? Want to tell me about it? I'll love you forever :]
Hopefully the next update comes sooner! I'll be writing as much as I can :]
Reviews make me happy. But I'm not going to beg. If you DO choose to review, it doesn't need to be a long review. Even a simple "good story. update." or a "you suck, stop writing" is criticism enough for me. :] If you DO have any tips, though, please share them so that my story is more… enjoyable (?) for the people reading. :]
Oh, and P.S. Thanks for the reviews/alerts! Unfortunately, I do most of my email from my iPod, so responding has been... hard. My computer had a virus, too, so I wasn't really allowed anywhere near it for a while. I kept having to take my mom's laptop hostage, and then I'd get in trouble. I'll do better to respond to reviews for this chapter, I promise! Pinky swear.
