Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters, I just like playing with them.

My new truck rumbled through the parking lot as I drove to school for the first time. The clouds were promising rain, and I was thankful to have it, despite the stares of the other students as they watched me behind the wheel of the behemoth. As I crossed the parking lot, it felt like the eyes of every student were boring into me. Chancing a look up, the first two pairs of eyes I found were none other than Alice and Jasper. Their features perfect like expertly sculpted marble. There was no judgment or laughter in their eyes, it was something more like concentration, like they were trying to figure something out. Two of their siblings were standing on the other side of the car, but Edward wasn't there. I quickly looked down again and wondered what was going on with this family. Did I do something unintentionally to upset them?

"Bella!" I heard the gentle voice of Angela ring out from the sidewalk. Mike was standing with her, and they waved me over. I allowed myself a small smile, and a little bit of hope that I might actually make a couple friends here in Forks.

"Hi!" I couldn't help but grin.

"We thought we'd walk to first period together, if that's ok?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure, I'd like that."

"So how was the rest of your day yesterday Bella?" Mike asked.

"It was ok."

"Did you get a new truck? I thought I saw you walking yesterday."

"Yes, my father bought me a truck. I can't believe it. I never thought he would, but it makes sense with all the rain here that it's not practical for me to walk everyday." I allowed a little excitement to bubble over, because it truly meant a lot to me that he had given me this little piece of freedom.

"That's really cool." Mike grinned brightly. "So how far did you get with Romeo and Juliet last night?" He asked me.

"Almost finished." I ducked my head.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like to read. Whenever I have free time, I try to sneak away with a book." I blushed.

"I do too." Angela looked up at me with a smile.

Mike rolled his eyes and then leaned in closer to whisper. "If you guys promise not to say anything, so do I." Angela chuckled softly and he winked at us.

We entered the classroom and found three seats together. We pulled out our copies of Romeo and Juliet as the rest of the students filed in. It was then that I noticed the little dark haired Cullen, Alice, had come into the room. I certainly remembered that she hadn't been in the class yesterday, and wondered what her sudden appearance meant. She moved down the aisle with unearthly grace, almost dancing. She gave me a warm smile and took a seat in front of Angela on my left. I looked questioningly at Angela and she just shrugged. The final bell rang, and Mr. Mason took his place in front of the class. We were in for another day of reading the play out loud. Class passed by relatively slowly as half the students were disinterested in the words they were reading, making it unbearable to listen to some of them. When Alice took a turn, I almost gasped in surprise at her musical voice, and Mike raised his eyebrows at my surprise. I was beginning to see why this family kept to themselves and why other students were quick to label them as freaks. There was definitely something otherworldly about them.

Again I walked to lunch with Jessica, and sat at their table. I took a seat next to Angela and across from Mike, and I couldn't help but notice that Jessica, Lauren, and the others distanced themselves from us and sat together at the far end. It momentarily dampened my mood, but I reminded myself to be thankful for what small blessings I had, one being that Angela and Mike were still sitting with me and had gone out of their way to talk to me so far.

I understood, truly I did. Religion is such a personal thing, that it makes people uncomfortable. It's easy for the other students to just ignore that part of their lives, but when you throw someone like me into the midst of them, the visual reminder is disconcerting. The way I dress is like a flashing billboard reminding them constantly of whatever they may, or may not, believe in. It makes it hard to get to know a person when their beliefs are literally worn on their sleeve. It's like a big black mole on the end of a person's nose, making it impossible for you to look elsewhere or stop thinking about it. So while it made me sad sometimes, I certainly understood. I guess I would even go so far as to say that it hurt more, knowing that I did not fully share the same beliefs as my father, yet I was forced to dress the part, so to speak. The other students really didn't even get a chance to know the real me, because they had already made their judgments from one look. I didn't completely reject my father's faith, I just interpreted the message differently. Every parent has rules for their children, and they make them with the best interest of the child in mind. Some parents give a curfew, my father insists I dress modestly, among other thing. It's all in how you look at it. I learned a long time ago that sometimes you have to accept your lot in life and work to make the best of it or to change it. There were small blessings every day that made even the worst Sunday bearable.

I chanced a look over to their table, and found Alice smiling at me again. Jasper sat beside her with his arm around her, his eyes flickered over to me briefly, and then back to her. At least they didn't look angry with me, but I still felt intimidated. The other two didn't seem to have any interest in me whatsoever, but they were usually too involved with each other anyways. Edward still wasn't there, and I have to admit I was a little relieved after the way he acted yesterday.

Mike and Angela were talking about a new CD that just came out. "Have you heard it Bella?"

"Um, no. I don't really listen to much music." I replied, ducking my head.

"Well what kind of music do you listen to?" Mike asked.

My cheeks were burning. "Mostly classical, and a little bit of folk, old stuff though."

"I like classical too." Angela added. "Do you play an instrument or anything?"

"A little piano." I smiled. "How about you Mike?"

"No, I'm more of a sports guy." He winked. "I do enjoy music of all kinds though, but I can't say I really like classical, but it can be soothing sometimes, I guess."

Our little trio shared a quiet moment and I nibbled on my apple.

"So Bella." The sound of Lauren's voice filled me with dread. "Why did you move here? I mean, wouldn't you have fit in better in Utah?" She had a smirk on her face.

I tried to ignore her, but I knew the feeling of the blush that immediately stained my cheeks. It gave me away every time and I quickly looked down. Don't say anything, it'll only make it worse.

"Lauren!" Mike chastised her.

"Oh give it up Mike. Honestly, why are you wasting your time? It's not like she'll ever let you into her pants."

Jessica couldn't hold back her giggles. "Don't you mean skirts?" Lauren snorted at the new joke.

Mike's expression turned hard, his jaw clenching. He was looking at me, and I could feel him silently pleading with me to look at him. I took a deep breath and raised my eyes to his. "Ignore her." He whispered sincerely.

I nodded and looked away from the table, breathing slowly trying to keep the tears from welling up. It didn't matter how many times this scenario played out, it still hurt, and I always had to struggle to keep the tears from falling. They'd jump on any weakness like a bunch of hyenas. Suddenly, I felt a wave of calm and confidence washing over me and I knew I would be able to maintain control. As I took one last cleansing breath, my eyes passed over their table again. Alice was watching our table, her jaw clenched much like Mike's. Jasper was holding her hand firmly, but he was looking at me with almost a tender expression on his face. He gave me an ever so slight nod, and then turned back to Alice, the other two at her table were watching her as well. This was getting odd. All of that lasted no more than half a minute, and I turned back to the table. Everyone seemed to be watching me expectantly.

"You're just jealous he's not trying to get into yours, Lauren. Not that there's much of a skirt there to get into. Really, you might want to borrow one of mine sometime, it leaves much more to the imagination. Guys like a little mystery." I flung back at her. I am so going to hell.

I stood up, praying that I could at least make a graceful exit. The look on Lauren's face was priceless and I didn't want to screw this up. I turned on my heel and stalked out of the cafeteria without so much as a stumble. Maybe someone was watching out for me for once. As soon as I got outside the doors, I headed for the wall and leaned against it, letting out a heavy sigh. It didn't take long for Angela and Mike to join me, huge grins plastered on their faces.

"That was great Bella. Good for you for standing up to her." Mike's eyes were bright with excitement. "And you're right. She's been trying to get into my pants since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately for her, I'm not like that."

Angela pulled me into a hug. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah." I chuckled silently. "I feel great actually, but I just can't believe I said that." A giggle escaped.

"She totally deserved it. Don't feel badly about it at all. Promise?" Angela smiled as she held me by the shoulders.

I nodded as the bell rang. "I guess it's time for class." All three of us left the building and Mike walked part of the way with us to Biology.

"See you in gym Bella!" He was still wearing a huge grin as he waved and jogged off to his class.

Biology passed slowly. I couldn't help but wonder what the problem was yesterday, I wanted to believe he was just sick, but I could not shake the feeling that the rest of his family was watching me for some reason. But why would they be? As the bell rang at the end of class, I was filled with dread. Gym was next, and it was definitely my least favorite class. Today would be the first day I had to wear my uniform, and aside from that, I was sore and clumsy.

I found a locker in the girl's locker room and put my bag in there after I pulled out my clothes. The rest of the students wore shorts and t-shirts, but my uniform consisted of ankle length stretch pants and a knee length skirt. The t-shirt was modest enough that I could at least wear that. The other girls changed in the middle of the room, but I took my pile of clothes and headed over to one of the bathroom stalls. I could feel the stares of some of the other girls, and hear a couple snickers. I shrugged them off. As I turned around to close the stall door, I saw Alice following me. I paused, wondering if she wanted to talk to me, but she just smiled and held up her uniform, going into the stall next to me. This was starting to unsettle me, did my father hire people to watch me? Surely he'd never stoop that low. I finished changing and headed back to my locker, more snickers as the girls saw what I was wearing. Oh well, nothing I can do to change it. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...

"Hi! I'm Alice." A high trilling voice startled me. The little dark haired girl was standing a couple lockers down putting her things away.

I'm sure my eyes were round as saucers. "Hi...I'm Bella."

"I know." She flashed me a grin. "My schedule got changed, so now I'm in your gym class."

"And English too."

"Right! So are you ready for class?" The girl was vibrating with excitement.

"I guess, though I'll warn you to stay far, far away from me. Me and sports don't go together too well and you're likely to end up injured if you're within twenty feet of me." I let out a little chuckle.

"Oh don't worry about me, I'm pretty good at athletics. How about I keep an eye out for you? Deflect any stray balls or badminton rackets?" She winked.

"Sure." I smiled tentatively. She'd see soon enough how much of a disaster I was in gym class. Maybe the coach would take pity on the class and let me do something else to earn my credit.

Alice walked beside me into the gym, and asked me to be her badminton partner. She didn't talk much, though you could feel the energy rolling off of her. She was nice, and sure enough I didn't injure anyone with my racket. Alice was good, and fast, which meant I didn't have to do much, which was definitely in the best interest of everyone in the gym. She followed into the bathroom stall beside me to change again, and walked with me out of the locker room.

"Thanks a lot for keep the damage to a minimum for me." I told her once we were in the hall.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She grinned. Alice looked over and I saw her boyfriend, Jasper leaning against the wall. They exchanged a meaningful look and she nodded. He smiled and walked over to us.

"Hi, I'm Jasper." His deep voice was like silk. Who are these people?

I nodded. "I'm Bella."

"I know." He chuckled. This school was so small I'm sure every single student here knew my name, and these introductions were getting repetitive.

"Oh hey, is your brother Edward alright? He looked like he was sick or something in class yesterday, and then he wasn't here today." I asked.

"Yeah, he was sick. He should be back tomorrow, it was probably just something he ate." They were both looking at me oddly, and the feeling of unease settled in again.

"Well I hope he's feeling better! I've got to get home now. It was nice meeting you both, see you tomorrow Alice!" I smiled brightly, maybe a little too brightly, and headed towards the parking lot. They followed shortly after me, and met their other two siblings where they were waiting at a huge jeep. The blond one that looked like a supermodel was watching me with a bit of a glare, but they all piled into the jeep and sped out of the parking lot. I took a deep breath and drove home, going over my mental checklist of everything that needed to be done tonight.

~~**~~

"How was school Bella?" My father asked as I came in the door.

"It was pretty good actually. I've already ahead in some of my classes, so the schoolwork isn't a problem." I hung up my coat, and switched out my shoes for indoor slippers. Then I headed up the stairs to put my bag in my room. "I'll be right back."

I came down the stairs and went into the kitchen, tying on an apron. My father came to sit at the kitchen table, while I fixed us both a glass of water.

"Have you made any friends yet?" He asked.

"Actually, yes. There's a girl named Angela, her father is the minister at the Lutheran church here. She invited us to attend of course. She's very kind and I think you would like her." I smiled softly, and sat down with him at the table.

"Maybe in a couple weeks then." He seemed thoughtful. "Anyone else?"

"One of her friends, Mike, sits with us at lunch, and he seems really nice too. There's another girl, Alice, who is in a couple of my classes."

He was giving me the look.

"I know the rules father, and it's not like that. You know you can trust me."

"It's not you I worry about."

"I know." If he wanted me to only associate with girls, then he should have put me in private school or a nunnery. It's unavoidable otherwise. "You know, if we joined a church, you might get a chance to meet some of the boys in town. You might find they aren't all as horrible as you think."

His eyes narrowed. "Well see about that when it's time. For now, just remember that while I may not be able to know your thoughts, He will."

"There is nothing wrong with talking." I insisted. "I know better than to think or do anything more. Sometimes I wish you would give me a little credit."

"Isabella!" He warned.

I immediately dropped my gaze to my lap. "Forgive me father, I should not have been disrespectful." Eight more months, just play the part and you're free.

"I forgive you. Now do your chores and start dinner." He stood up and laid his hand on my head. I don't remember the last time he ever hugged me, this was usually the extent of his affection.

"Yes sir." I whispered as I rose from the table. Tuesday was the day I cleaned the floors, so I went to pull out the broom and dustpan. The house would need more thorough cleaning since we'd just moved in. After I swept all the floors, I pulled out the mop and bucket and started mopping. At four o'clock I started the lentil soup, so it could cook while I finished the floors. After we ate dinner, I went upstairs to work on my homework. There wasn't much, Trigonometry problems, chapter questions for Government, and reading over the information for the lab in Biology tomorrow. When that was done I took my shower, and met my father downstairs for prayers. Tonight he asked me to lead, and he knew which prayer I would choose.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

As I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, I thought of all the things I had to be thankful for. In spite of everything, my father did love me. At least he didn't leave me behind like my mother had. School was not awful, and I had made a couple friends. I was alive and healthy, of sound mind and spirit. One day I would be free, and there would be no more Sundays with my father. It was with this last thought in mind that I fell peacefully into sleep.