Flightless Bird
By: EJJCullen
I silently cursed myself when I opened my eyes to see the clock display 5:38 am. I rolled onto my back with a huff, knowing I had lost out on an additional 22 minutes of much needed sleep. After a few deep breaths, I flung the covers off me, sat up and switched the alarm off cursing again that I had to be awake at this hour. I headed to the bathroom to start the process of brushing my teeth and showering.
When I returned to my room freshly clean and my wet hair wrapped in a towel I glanced at the clock realizing that I still had another 5 minutes before my alarm would have gone off. I should have just got back in bed and slept the day away, but knowing dad, there was no way he would have let me. Turning to the outfit I lay out the night before I pulled on my jeans and tugged the towel from my damp tendrils to lug my shirt over my head.
Deciding to use the extra time I now had, I blow dried my hair out straight and used a curling iron to create some sporadic ringlets. After a swipe of some bronzer and eye shadow I applied a layer of mascara and finished my look with some nude lip gloss. I tugged on my boots and grabbed my backpack off the desk chair on my way out. Once down stairs I shoved a frozen waffle in the toaster and went about looking for some items I bought yesterday in preparation for my first day of school. The toaster popped as I tossed a few pens and two legal pads into my backpack. I wrapped the waffle in a paper towel and snuck a few bites while grabbing a bottle of water, my wallet and the keys to my new truck. I stopped at the front door and looked in the mirror.
"My name is Bella Swan, I am from Portland Oregon, I am a senior in high school, my dad is named Charlie, and he is an independent contractor..."
I repeated my mantra the short ride from the house to the school, and sat in the truck reapplying my lip gloss using the visor mirror before taking in my surroundings.
Forks High was set back on a lush green hill and consisted of five buildings, and much like the rest of the town, was surrounded by woods. There was a small building at the edge of the parking lot with a sign reading "Administration". In there I would have to hand in my registration forms and get my class schedule. Once again taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stalked off in the direction of the small, brick building.
As I was approaching the door to the Administration Office, I glanced over my shoulder and saw the shiny, silver Volvo from yesterday. The faculty parking lot was full, but the student lot only had a few cars, my truck, and the Volvo. The windows to the Volvo were tinted, but I could make out the outline of someone in the front seat. Deciding to brush it off, I pulled open the door and entered the office. It was pleasantly warm inside and filled with faculty and staff going about their day. Some teachers were retrieving mail from their slots hanging on the wall, a few were congregated around both the copy machine and the coffee maker.
I approached the well worn wooden desk and was greeted by an older woman with glasses that dangled from a string hanging around her neck. She had a cardigan wrapped around her shoulders and was filing some folders into a large metal filing cabinet.
"May I help you dear?" she called, looking up at me with a sweet smile.
"Um, yes, I am Bella Swan, and today is supposed to be my first day." I said holding up the folder of registration forms.
"Oh yes!" she said, closing the filing cabinet with a bump from her hip and walking up to me. "I can take those dear. Have a seat while I get your schedule together." She indicated a row of plastic chairs that lined the far wall as she turned towards her desk with my forms.
The office continued to buzz with conversations and movement that I barely registered his presence until he was seated two chairs down from me. It was definitely the Volvo driver, but the man for yesterday looked nothing like this. He was wearing a pair of black boots, some dark jeans, and a gray shirt I could see at the bottom of his black North Face jacket. His hair was a messy mop of brown and his eyes were a startling green I realized as I quickly looked away being caught looking him up and down.
"Mr. Cullen?" The receptionist called.
"Yes Mrs. Cope." He replied still looking at me. I had tilted my head away creating a curtain of hair to hide behind, but I could still feel his eyes on me. He shuffled his feet as he stood and walked over to the desk. Mrs. Cope handed him a manila folder and said "welcome back." He nodded politely and disappeared through the glass door as quietly as he had come in.
"Miss Swan?" Mrs. Cope called to me.
"Yes?" I said, turning my head from the glass door back to the receptionist.
"This is your schedule," she held up a manila folder, "do you want me to have someone show you around?"
"No!" I practically shouted, grasping the folder. "I mean, I'll be fine on my own." It was already going to be awkward being my first day and all, I didn't need the added attention of the school Audio Visual geek parading me around.
"Well, good luck dear and welcome to Forks High."
Escaping the office, I turned up the sidewalk in the direction of the main entrance to the school. Off to the side I saw several picnic tables and just my luck, Alice was sitting on one of them waving me over. Groaning internally, I trudged over to her and gave her a polite smile.
"Hi Bella!" She screeched, practically bouncing with excitement. "Mind if I take a look at your schedule? Hopefully we have some classes together!" I handed over the folder and she opened it enthusiastically, scanning the class outline intently.
"Wow, you're in almost all honor classes." She said. "Oh wait! We have lunch and history together!"
"That's great." I said, actually meaning it. Lunch was always the worst part of the first day of school. "I guess we can eat together, if that's ok." I really wanted to avoid the whole embarrassing sitting alone or worse yet, having to join a table full of students for lack of empty ones.
"Oh of course! As long as you don't mind my brother tagging along." She said with a slight eye roll. "And there are a few other people that I sit with, but there is plenty of room, and you can meet the rest of my friends!"
"Perfect," I said, leaning against the table and retrieving my bottle of water from inside my backpack. I took a gulp as I watched Alice's eyes drift from my face to something over my shoulder.
"Oh, here is my brother right now." She said, jutting her chin out to indicate her brother's approach. I capped my bottle and tossed it back in my bag as I slowly turned around to meet Alice's brother.
"Morning Alice," he said as I was turning.
"Morning Edward."