Sweatshirts are a great creation. I love them. They do wonders for me. I love their warmth and softness. How they comfort and conceal me at the same time. But they are the bane of my mother's existence. And if I can't manage to sneak out of the house this morning, I might just lose my favorite hoodie.
Today is my first day of school and I want to make it on my own and without the usual fuss. So I showered last night to not make much noise in the morning. Messy ponytail will never get approved by mother, which is why I am carefully treading down the hall to make it out the door. The muffin and banana in my backpack will be my breakfast, so no need to take the risk to go to the kitchen and runn into her. I carefully step on the spots of the floor where I have memorized will not scream when I step on, while hugging my backpack to keep it from bumping into anything.
Finally reaching the front door knob, I slowly turn it praying to the gods that the door won't make noise as I cautiously begin to open it. I look behind me for signs of life. Should I worry that I hear nothing? I would any other morning, but I am almost home free, so I dare not jinx myself. I manage to slip out the crack of the door, and I begin to close the door with the care I take when playing Operation with my sister. I will win this morning. I will escape. I turn and begin to go dig out my keys from my backpack finally taking a breath as I take my last few steps to my freedom.
Suddenly, I feel a tight grip on my arm, making me howl in surprise.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to avoid me."
"MOM!!" I scream. Of course it would be her. I should have known she would have tried to kill me by fright. Being my mother, she wouldn't let me leave or let pass the chance to have a good laugh at my expense. I know better now than to put up a fight, so I turn on my heal and head back to the house.
"Oh, honey. You should have seen your face. Which by the way, did you not put any lotion on this morning? How many times I have told you how important it is to put on some lotion…" she begins the rant and I begin to tune out. Guess there goes my morning. And now I definitely will have to go to school with my sister. Scratch that, there goes my day.
"Please don't walk out with me. Let's not let people think we came together." Rosalie begins, while checking her lipstick in the mirror. With her styled blond locks, make up applied and polar opposite in dress than me, I doubt anyone would associate us as family. While I look like my father, with dark eyes and dark hair, Rosalie takes after mother with the blue eyes and blonde hair, along with the sense or like I say obsession with fashion and appearance. Where I hide in my clothes, Rosalie likes to show as much skin as possible. She loves attention and is loud, and I like to be left alone and not seen.
"Well we both have to go to the office to pick up our schedules, Rose. What do you want me to do exactly?"
"Duh, wait here for a while then go into the office. It really isn't that hard, you know," she tells me a dramatic roll of her eyes. I really hope she takes Drama and puts her theatrics to good use.
"Rose, people never think we are related anyways. So can I just go in and get this over with. You know if I'm near you I have a better chance at not being noticed. Besides, we are in different grades so you won't be in any of my classes for the rest of the day. I'll be lucky if I get any classes with Jasper as is," I complain. Jasper is our cousin already attending here. He has been a bright spot in the move to Forks. He and I have always been close even though we have been limited to his summer and holiday visits to Phoenix. Jasper is more like a best friend than a cousin, but appears to be related to Rose more than to me, with the matching blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Even better Bella. Just text Jasper and have him meet you out in the parking lot and then take you to the office. Please don't be difficult. Do this for me. Let me have this." Rosalie always knows how to get me to say yes. Being the obsession of my family's constant hovering over me and "my condition", Rose has often been ignored or left out of their thoughts. I always felt her pain at being overlooked. They don't mean to hurt her, but it always had. Problem was the trouble she finds herself in when she talks me into letting her have her way.
I take a big breath, shake my head and tell her, "Fine, Rosie."
"Thanks Bella. You are the best, really. I love you, you know. I just want to stand on my own. You understand right? I know you do. Right?"
"Yes Rosie. Don't worry. You're right. I would feel better with Jasper at my side. Can you text him for me?"
"Nope. He's already here." As I pull into a parking spot, I see Jasper smirking at me against the wall. Well, maybe the day won't be as bad as I thought.
"Are you really in all those classes?" Jasper always complained about college prep courses, so I find myself hard to believe he will be in most of my classes. That and Jasper always has a habit for tall tales. He loves to see how far he can take his story before I call bull on him. While it's a favorite past time to see how creative his stories get and if I can sniff out truth from crap. I was worried starting a week late, would give me classes I wouldn't like.
"Yes, sugar. I'm not lying. No Jazz story here. I just don't have the teacher prep and that garbage of AP Physiology. Yuck. Why are you torturing yourself with that? But we will end the day together in Photography," he drawls out to me while slinging his arm over my shoulder. Jasper always had such an easy going disposition. Nothing ever seems to worry him. Even when his family gets drama with his father, Jasper is cool and in control.
"Don't worry so much Bella. I have your back. I won't let your day get bad. I'll even keep an eye out for Rosie to help you out. But you need to accept that you can't save her all the time. You need to take care of yourself and not be so worried about everyone else, especially if you want to keep to your plans for the year."
As usual Jasper is right. I do need to keep my focus. I have plans to earn my freedom. I want the constant hovering to stop. I want control of myself.
Mother always tells me, "It's best not to make plans. They never go right. Best to fly by the seat of your pants. "
Me, I'm a planner. I am so tired of things going wrong. I have enough in my life that is unpredictable and out of my control.
Plan One. I will do great in school so I can go to college. A far away one. I want to be able to leave the house and be on my own. I am determined to be a burden to no one. I will take care of myself. And college will be the start of that…well as soon as I can get in.
Plan Two. No Distractions. Friends are unnecessary. They ask too many questions and want to get to know you. Then they might know too much. Boys out of the question as they were even more trouble than friends. From what I have seen, they are so complicated. They seem to always want attention or to be all over you. So, definitely not part of the plan. I have Rose and Jasper, so I really don't need anyone else.
But life likes to mess with me, so it makes my mother right.
"Just put the corrected papers in this basket after you enter the grades on the spreadsheet," Mrs. Counts instructs me. She seems like a nice teacher. Mrs. Counts whose teaching assistant I will be during the year teaches English and journalism.
We spent most of the time getting to know each other, before she got called away to the office. She let me leave to the Library for the remaining time. She points me in the right direction and heads off to the office. I was thankful for the free time, as I wanted to explore the Library. Plus, I told Jasper I'd meet him by it before lunch, so this will save me some time. Now I will get to do so without a crowd, which is a good thing. Don't want to run into anyone who may try to talk to me. I successfully avoided having much contact with my classmates, much to my relief. I don't want any attention. While I can be myself with family, I find it hard to overcome my shyness with strangers. I have very anti-social habits, much to my mother's intense disappointment.
The Forks High School Library is not an impressive library, but one feature has instantly won me over. A whole wall of glass is at one end, which has a great view of the field and forest bordering it. There are some very comfy looking chairs facing out, which I am eager to try out. I can't wait to find a book and take a seat with that peaceful view. I only have a limited time left, so I opt to get help from the librarian to find out where I will find my favorite books. As I approach the information desk in the corner, I notice that no one is there. I just find a small triangular note card with cursive writing next to a bell. "Ring for assistance"
"I could help you if you want," a quiet smooth voice speaks near my ear startling me.
"Oh, you scared me. I don't want to bother..," I start to say as I turn but stop as the words get stuck in my throat. The voice belongs to a pair of green eyes, hidden behind a dark frame glasses. I notice his cheeks have a small blush to them, as his hand nervously pulls at his reddish brown hair. He's absolutely beautiful. I have a strong urge to stroke his cheek. What's wrong with me!
"It's no bother really. Just thought I would save you the trouble of getting Miss Price out here. I would normally avoid her. It's too early in the morning, and I think she needs more caffeine to be helpful at this hour," he rambles on. "Are you new here? I haven't seen you and I think I would remember someone like you."
I just can't find my voice to answer. I'm not quite sure what to make of what he's said. Plus his features are so distracting. He's tall with an athletic build, which seems in contrast to his glasses and manner of dress. He continues to stare at me with those emerald eyes. I feel my cheeks burn with the intensity of his stare. I want to answer but I can't. Wait, I want to? His eyes begin to widen and cheeks are burning stronger than mine I think.
"I'm sorry. You probably want to be left alone. I didn't mean to be pushy. It's just I couldn't stop myself. You're so pretty and I wanted you…No! Don't' mean that. Wait, I mean, you are pretty not that I wanted you," his eyes widen even more.
"Wait, that's not what I meant either. I want you so much. NO!" Now he is really pulling at that hair with one hand and gripping the shoulder strap of his bag tightly. I think that blush might cover his whole body at this rate.
" I-I-I just… I normally don't have this diarrhea of the mouth. Oh…I don't mean to sound gross. I just… I don't know,…just wanted service …I mean me service you…. Wait, was that gross too? I should stop, just rambling here. I'll just go now." He promptly turns and practically runs out the door, leaving me there with my mouth open.
What just happened? Who was that? But more importantly, why am I fighting my body to go after him.
A/N: Let me know what you think so far....