A/N: I just wanted to clear up a couple things first:

1) Corpus Christi, the place Bella will take her anatomy courses at, is not a real research center.

2) I don't know a thing about Oxford or their medical programs, so don't count me for accuracy.

3) And lastly, I'm not and never will be a doctor. If there are a few inconsistencies or innaccuracies, I apologize. I will, however, do my damnest to research and check up on everything I write down. Everyone makes mistakes though, right?

So this chapter is the whole set up, nothing too extremely exciting happening. But it needs to be done :).

I know, it's a little short, but intros have never really been my thing. I'll try to have the second chapter up asap. Thanks to all the readers!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything

Oxford Medical School Interview:

"Well, Isabella Swan, I see you've taken a rather ambitious approach and applied to Corpus Christi. I wish you good luck, though I doubt you'll need it."

I looked directly into his aged, brown eyes magnified behind his large spectacles. Maintaining eye contact always guaranteed you a decent interview, a lesson my mother taught when I was younger. "Why thank you, Mr. Williams."

He smiled in response, his wrinkled skin shifting with his expression. "You have outstanding reports, excellent grades, and high praises from all of your teachers. There is no doubt that you are a smart, capable young student. I've had you in many of my classes over the years, and I can see firsthand the potential you harbor."

I forced a slight nod, acknowledging his comments in failed gratitude. I've always been a little uncomfortable with such praises, even from a kind, elderly professor like Mr. Williams, who has been my ultimate guide throughout these undergraduate courses. He acts almost father-like, in a professional way, and I was lucky he was performing the cursed interview rather than a stranger. His gentle appearance instantly put my nerves to rest.

"Forgive me, but what I want to know is why a young, attractive woman such as yourself would choose this. Out of all Oxford's offered graduate majors, why medical school?"

This was a very valid question. Oxford medical school is the most challenging medical program offered within the entire continent. Every student at Oxford knew that out of the 100 people enrolled into the program, only 10 make it out. This meant that I had a 10% chance of surviving the courses, let alone the constant stresses and daily anxieties. Most of these formative medical school years would be spent slaving away from day until night, many times longer, and not to mention the endless pressure I would no doubt receive from both peers and professors. Failed exams and papers would be common among most students, no matter the amount of hours used to study. It was essentially a living hell, and you had to be passionate about the material and sciences in the extreme if you wanted a mere chance. What possible reason could I, Isabella Marie Swan, have to enter into the medical field?

"Well, I've known I wanted to be a doctor before my four years at Oxford. I've always had this…this passion for working with people, but more precisely, a desire to help them. Diseases are a very concerning issue, not just in Europe, but all over America, my homeland, and across the world. I always knew I had this calling deep inside me to use medicine, to form cures in order to help these populations. Anyone can learn the facts that are covered in medical school, but my dream is to connect with others when they are most vulnerable and be their advocate." My answer was so well practiced, so skillfully played that not even Mr. Williams, a wise, insightful lecturer, was able to detect the lie.

3 weeks later

Dear Ms. Swan,

Congratulations! It gives me tremendous pleasure to welcome you into the Corpus Christi Anatomy Program.

As a professor here at Corpus Christi, I know how extremely difficult it can be to gain acceptance to such prestigious medical courses; we only accept 15 prospective students in comparison to the 5,000 that apply. However, your numerous academic accomplishments in the sciences, particularly your dedicated studies in epidemiology, have proven that you will be an excellent addition to our curriculum. Your achievements have prepared you to pursue your career in the Corpus Christi tradition, rich in academic vigor and the commitment to the study of an abundance of scientific categories that relate to human anatomy.

Our location and history in the beautiful city of Rome offer rare opportunities for both unique experiences and an educational perspective that emphasizes the global population. Our goal as a research facility is to preserve and defend humanity through our extensive research and knowledge of the human body and to mold young, brilliant minds such as yourself. Students are expected to take the basics of all courses, including embryology, in-depth evolution, histology, cytology, pathology, epidemiology, and other categories in relation. While it is mandatory to take these courses, you may pursue further study in one area of focus for your career goals.

Corpus Christi is very privileged to have such an array of laboratory materials and knowledgeable doctors to pursue these interests, but the program's highest benefit is our supply of human bodies. We receive numerous consents from all over the world from people who wish to help our studies, a great advantage to our fellow professors and students. On that final note, I look forward to personally welcoming you to Corpus Christi and assure you that you will have a very rewarding experience. We are counting down the days until your arrival.

Sincerely,

Edmund A. Aro

President of Corpus Christi Anatomy Program

Director of Admission

"Well fuck."

My eyebrows rose slightly, questioning, as the tall, beautiful dark-haired Indian continued to thoroughly inspect the folded letter, scrutinizing and dissecting each sentence.

"I mean, I knew you were freakishly smart and everything, but just…damn." I knew exactly what she meant, as even I had questioned the authenticity of Aro's words repeatedly these past three hours. The parchment was, after all, an announcement of my acceptance into Corpus Christi. Corpus fucking Christi, for Christ's sake, the most pretentious and coveted medical program in all of Europe. Not only is it nearly impossible to even be considered for acceptance, its plain fucking unbelievable that Aro himself, a world renowned professor, had personalized the letter. This man, who developed the first vaccine for Hepatitis B and aided in the discovery in HIV, apparently knew of my interest and works in Epidemiology. The man who I've been idolizing since I was 11 years old wants to mold my brilliance. Un-fucking-believable.

Yes, it was a great accomplishment to know that I was Corpus Christi material, possibly my greatest yet, and to say that I was excited was the understatement of the century. I had worked practically my whole damned life for this moment, living and breathing medical studies even before my high school years.

I became incredibly driven at the tender age of 10, very unusually so for most children my age. While most children dreamed of cotton candy and lady bugs, I dreamt of shit like gaining acceptance into a prestigious college and earning the highest grades. I became an outcast in my middle school days, more interested in studying than communal contact. Most people accepted that fact, attributing my lack of social skills as an effect from my father's recent death. But my mother believed it was important to maintain a social life and have friends, and so I promised I would make an effort once I entered into high school, the fucking glory years. After I lost my braces and general awkwardness, along with some boob and ass development, I had no problem making new friends. I didn't exactly enjoy the immature, dense little boys at my school hitting on me, but that small tiff was soon rectified. As soon as the guys at my school realized exactly how hard I worked, namely the mention of the classes I was taking and my GPA, they ceased all flattery. They were intimidated, not enjoying the fact that I was smarter than them. I guess they disliked the reality that, even with all the money their daddies were investing in their school and daily tutoring sessions, I had the bigger brain. They were beat by a woman. So I may have been boyfriendless for a few years, but I did have the luxury of friendship. It was much more important than I realized, to be able to have that security, the comfort of knowing that people cared for you. Though, I did end up having to work twice as hard so as not to fall behind in my studies.

I was president of the chess, French, and Latin clubs as well as Habitat for Humanity, along with my assumed captain positions in both girls water polo and swim. I tutored underprivileged children at an orphanage every weekend, as well as volunteered at the local health clinic. In my spare time, when I wasn't hanging out with my friends, I was studying. Constantly. I was taking an overwhelming amount of Honors and AP classes, and I had an additional tutor that came in every Wednesday, giving me new, advanced work, preferably college level. It was tough shit, but I graduated with a 4.8 GPA, top of my class, the school valedictorian, and I was offered full scholarship to Oxford. I went through a shitload of struggles during my high school years, but it was completely worth it. It wasn't until I actually came to Oxford that I learned to breathe, a lesson taught by my best friend.

We started out as assigned roommates, and I hated the woman. She was always bitchy to me for no apparent reason, and being the nice, quiet person I was, I continued to take it. She was constantly messing shit up, throwing clothes around, not having a real care for tidiness, and being the neat and orderly OCD person I was, it was only a matter of time before I went completely apeshit.

"What the fuck is this?" I had asked when I walked in one day, already in a pissy mood from the B I had received on my genetics paper, holding up a gray sweatshirt strewn on my side of the room. It was a huge change from how I usually acted around her, going from barely having enough courage to say two words to her per day to calling her bullshit.

Her eyes widened in surprise, also noticing the obvious change in my manner. After a couple seconds, she shrugged. "What, did someone shove a stick up your ass or something?"

"Listen, Leah." I said her name with a spiteful twist, treated the word as a curse. "Either pick up your fucking clothes, or I'm throwing them out the damn window."

"Okay, shit, calm down, I'll get them."

She quickly snatched her clothes, "Who knew you had it in you?"

"Had what?"

"A bitchy side." She laughed a little in disbelief.

"I'm not-"

"Belle, you're a bitch."

I was about to tell her off again, but she held up her hands, a posture of defense. "No, take it as a compliment. Pushovers are annoying as hell."

I smirked a little. "Well, for what it's worth, I think you're a bitch, too."

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

We both smiled at each other, the beginning sign of a longstanding friendship. Needless to say, Leah managed to bring out my snarky side. I learned to not be so uptight about things, and I stopped being such a frigid person, in Leah's words. She managed to bring me out of my shell, and I've been a better person for it. I still worked hard as hell, don't get me wrong, but I learned how to take small breaks once in a while and have fun.

At Oxford I majored in Biology, minored in Chemistry, and will soon graduate at the top 5% of my class. And that brings me to the present, where I plan to attend Corpus Christi for the summer. I've worked my ass off for most of my life for my dreams. Dreams that were finally beginning to come true. This acceptance into Corpus Christi was my golden ticket, albeit not to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. This was my future.

I got in.

Holy shit.

I got in.

I snatched the sacred paper from Leah's hands, considering framing the letter so as to worship properly.

"Christ, you'd think this was the Holy Grail or some shit."

"No." I shook my head. "It's better."

"Yeah, it is. I mean, 15 acceptances out of 5,000 applicants? Only 15 fucking acceptances. Can you fucking believe that?" Leah, although one of the smartest students on campus, liked to make use of colorful expletives. After rooming with her these past 4 years, it's no surprise that her sailor ways have rubbed off on me. "I mean, once you go through this course, you're basically guaranteed a spot with them after you finish med school. The fucking most sought after research center. How the fuck did you do it?"

"I'm a lucky bitch."

"No, you've never been lucky, but you are a bitch. I can't believe you're leaving me for Italy."

I laughed at her ridiculous pout. "Leah, it's just one summer."

She scoffed. "That's three whole months. Three fucking months that I have to put up with all these shitty, uptight 'parties' on our floor. Alone. While you'll be having the time of your life, meeting some hot Italian man to butter your toast."

"Butter my toast? Really?"

Before she could reply, my cell went off.

"It's your asshole brother." She said, handing my phone over.

"Em?" I shouted into the speaker.

Emmett was my brother, 27 while I was 21, 6 years older than me. He was the stereotypical, meathead, loveable big brother who chased off every guy he caught looking in my direction. He never had too many problems with my high school days, but as soon as I came into college, the guys changed. Older and more mature, these were no longer boys I was dealing with. They were men. Oxford was full of insanely hot, intelligent men from all over the world. And they were no longer intimidated by my intellect, they were attracted to it. I dated around and had a few relationships during these past four years, definitely not as boy crazy as Leah appeared to be, but they always remained somewhat casual. I never allowed for anything to get too serious because it would cause drama, and drama would be an ultimate distraction. I refused to let anything deter me from my studies.

Every time Emmet and his wife came to visit, he would be sure to give any guy I interacted with his signature "if you use it, you'll lose it" glare. Being the big muscled brute he was, he ended up scaring off a lot of people. The one time he came into my dorm, the first thing he noticed is that there were two males in the room, guys Leah had invited over with the intention of hooking up in order to make another guy jealous or some shit. She was a huge whore, but I loved her anyways. But as soon as Emmet realized there were guys in the room, he fucking shit a brick, ordering them out and threatening to chop off their manhood if they ever laid a hand on his innocent little sister. Leah was thoroughly pissed at my brother for pulling that, and she hasn't let it go since.

Even after all the cockblocking, I still loved him to death. He was the most caring guy I'd ever known, a contrast to his huge build, and he was the rock in our family. It was him that helped my mom through my dad's death, and it was him that held our family together, refusing to leave for college in order to keep my mom company. He became a policeman a few years later, claiming it was his calling to protect other innocent people, and moved to a nearby house. He even managed to save one woman from a bear attack out in the woods. The woman had gone camping with her family, but had gotten lost when she set out for an early morning hike. Emmet was hunting in a nearby area at the time and, hearing her cry for help, shot the bear down before the animal had the chance to rip the beautiful, blue-eyed girl to shreds. They've been inseparable ever since.

"Hey Bells, just wanted to say congrats to my little sis."

"How the hell-"

"Oh come on, It was obvious you'd get in. I remember you saying their response would come today, so I just thought I'd call to confirm what I already knew."

I laughed at his views. "Don't you think you're just a little biased?"

"No way. I mean, it's downright fucking creepy how smart you are."

"Aw, thanks." I replied in a sarcastic tone.

I heard a loud smack in the background.

"Damn Rosie, what'd I say?" Rosalie's soft voice was barely loud enough for me to hear, but I knew she was defending me, the good sister-in-law she was.

"Well thanks for the congrats call. Give Rose and mom my love, ok?"

"Sure thing."

"And be careful. We wouldn't want you wearing yourself out over writing too many speeding tickets."

He laughed. "I'll try, and Bells?"

"Hm?"

"Stay safe out there in Italy. I may send over some pepper spray. Don't let those smooth talking assholes with accents get to you, ok?"

"Will do, and whatever. I guess if it helps you sleep at night…" Right, like I would be stupid enough to let myself be kidnapped, or worse, fall for someone.

"I'm sending it first thing tomorrow. Later, Dr. Swan."

I laughed at my new name. "Buy Chief."

I threw my phone back on the dresser, collapsing face first into my pillows along the narrow mattress.

I was leaving.

In three weeks, I was leaving for Italy. I was taking the summer anatomy courses, and I was going into medical school to keep a job at Corpus Christi. It was finally happening.

"So how does it feel?" Leah broke the silence, drumming her finger nails along the keys of her laptop.

"How does what feel?"

"How does it feel to have the world at your feet?"

"I'll let you know when I get there." I still had a ways to go, but this summer I would finally be able to begin my path.

A/N: Thanks again for reading and it would be awesome if you guys could let me know how it was. Feedback is always appreciated :)