***Secrets Revealed 2***
It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie ha never gotten over my mum. It made me uncomfortable. Not to mention it's not healthy. I believe he should have begun a process of elimination, just to help him move forward. All these things Renee had done to the house and all these reminders of her really aren't helping him.
I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket – which had the feel of a biohazard suit – and headed out into the rain.
It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately, as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.
Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled of tobacco, gasoline and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I wasn't expecting.
Finding the school wasn't difficult, although I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be Forks High School, made me stoop. It looked like a set of matching houses, built with maroon coloured brocks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?"
"What kind of school did she go to?" Edward remarked, obviously shocked.
"I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading FRONT OFFICE. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.
Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly coloured flyers taped to it's front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple T-shirt, which immediately made me fell overdressed.
The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.
"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me.
She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could."
"Definitely a martyr," remarked Edward, frowning.
"When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I lived in one of the fewer lower-income neighbourhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out."
Rosalie scoffed.
"Yeah, yeah, Rosalie. I know you would love to drive your car to school," replied Edward, rolling his eyes to Rosalie's unspoken comment.
"Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.
I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me."
At that comment, Emmett let out a loud booming laugh. I covered my ears, and Carlisle waited for him to settle down so that he could continue. It didn't seem to take that long, with Jasper's help. Edward seemed to find Bella's comment rather depressing, since his frown seemed to have deepened some.
"I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.
I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.
Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black '3' was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.
The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-coloured blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least I wouldn't be a standout here.
I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name – not an encouraging response – not to mention rude, and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was hard for my new classmates to stare at me from the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything."
Edward smiled at her remark. Well obviously, since they're meant to be together, they would have similar interest. Obviously hearing my thoughts he scowled a little, but he was apparently still happy since he couldn't help but smile.
"That was comforting… and boring."
"Tell me about it," Edward sighed.
"I wondered if my mum would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.
When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me."
"I'm presuming its Eric," wondered Jasper aloud.
""You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.
"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three seat radius turned to look at me.
"Where's your next class?" he asked.
I had to check my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."
There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.
"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely overly helpful. "I'm Eric," he added.
I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."
We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.
"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.
"Very."
"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"
"Three or four times a year."
"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.
"Sunny," I told him.
"You don't look very tan."
"My mother is part albino."
He studied my face apprehensively, I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humour didn't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm."
"Well no offence to her, but it wasn't a very funny joke. I'll have to teach her a few good ones or give her some pointers or something, cos that was sad," insisted Emmett.
"We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.
"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.
Edward hissed at the book and I had to admit I was a little smug at how, obviously, his affections for Bella were growing.
Carlisle chuckled lightly before continuing.
"I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.
The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.
After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver then the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map.
One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.
We sat at the end of a full table, with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them."
"Hmm, that will only make things more difficult for her. But I guess she has been introduced to a lot of people," sympathised Esme.
"They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.
It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them."
"Oh, oh, I bet that's us!" Emmett and I both yelled, mine coming out in more of a squeal. I sat bolt upright as Emmett seemed to lean closer towards Carlisle in anticipation.
"They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking and they weren't eating, thought they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them."
"Hmm… she seems a little too observant. Most humans would simply look at us then turn away quickly, since instinct tells them to. I hope she doesn't observe too much. I would be detrimental to her safety," worried Edward.
"Don't forget our safety. I don't want to have to move again if too many people find out about us, all 'cos of your little girlfriend."
"Don't worry Rosalie. It will not lead to that!" I was frustrated with her and her over worrying.
"They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without a fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.
"Oh great! See Alice?" she's noticed something else already.
I simply rolled my eyes at Rosalie's unnecessary concern.
"They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big – muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark curly hair."
"Oh yeah, that's me," Emmett boomed, raising a fist into the air.
"Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blonde."
"That's my Jasper." I leaned into him, placing my head on his shoulder.
"The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-coloured hair. He was more boyish than the others,"
"Ha ha ha ha ha. Gee she got you to a tee Eddie-boy," Emmett croaked through his laughter. He was now holding his stomach, head bowed over the table top, and shaking from uncontrollable laughter.
"I told you Emmett, don't call me Eddie or even Eddie-boy!"
"Jasper, I think now would be a good time to intervene," I whispered into his ear.
It didn't take long for both of the boys to settle down enough for Carlisle to continue. Esme mouthing a silent thank you to Jasper, who nodded in response.
"He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.
The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit to her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back."
"Well, ok, so she isn't all that bad I guess," sighed Rosalie.
Edward. Trust Rosalie to change her opinions when it concerns her vanity.
Edward simply smiled in response to my thought.
"The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.
And yet they were all exactly alike."
"Oh wonderful," groaned Edward.
"Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite their range in hair tones."
Edward now had his face in his hands as he groaned even loader, "even better. The first time I see her or she sees me, and we're all thirsty."
"Don't worry, Edward, it won't turn out that bad. Although I am surprised she has already noticed this much," I remarked, "Normally, humans never even manage to look at our eyes, let alone notice the colour."
"They also had dark shadows under those eyes – purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.
But all this is not why I couldn't look away.
I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful – maybe the perfect blonde girl,"
Rosalie smiled smugly at Bella's assessment.
"…or the bronze haired boy."
Her smile faded, and I couldn't help but giggle slightly, which I changed to a cough when her eyes narrowed in my direction.
"They were all looking away – away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray – unopened soda, unbitten apple – and walked away with a quick graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging."
"Alice, that wasn't very subtle of you. Even if other humans don't normally pay attention, you should always keep up the cover," Esme chastised me, but I couldn't help but feel that I may have done that intentionally. I wanted her to notice. I must have already had a vision of her or something along those lines.
""Who are they?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.
As she looked up to see who I meant – though already knowing, probably from my tone – suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest perhaps. He looked at my neighbour for a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.
He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest – it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer. She really does notice a lot, doesn't she?
My neighbour giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.
"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.
I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy…"
Emmett sniggered, knowing exactly who she was referring to.
"…who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.
Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kind of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here – small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbour was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.
"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.
"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.
"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"
"Oh. They're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children."
"They look a little old for foster children."
"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."
"That's really kind of nice – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."
"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy."
"Correct. Some of the thoughts she has towards us are so bitter most of the time. Especially since I didn't show any interested in her. She really needs to get over that," Edward muttered the last comment.
""I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness."
Esme seemed angered by the comment as she added, "Don't any of you dare think I love you any less because you're not my biological children, understood? I love you all as if you were."
"We know mum. The same as we love you," Edward responded with a smile, as we all sped over to her and gave her a hug, with Rosalie and I adding a kiss to her cheek.
Carlisle continued with the story, now with his arm around Esme's waist.
"Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.
"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.
"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."
I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted."
"I guess she wouldn't know that we choose that, as well as prefer it," I stated.
"Not to mention, that's an odd combination of emotions to be feeling at any one time," added Jasper.
"Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.
As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation. It's amazing how she can assess all of that from one simple glance. But also, what were you so expectant about Edward?"
"I haven't got the faintest clue."
"Hmm, very well. Maybe if I continue, we will find out? "Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other student shad today – he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again."
"Edward! You of all people should be able to tell that she is uncomfortable already. What is the problem? She hasn't even done anything involved with us yet and you're already staring daggers at her," Esme was clearly not impressed by 'book Edward's' behaviour.
"I don't have a clue why I'm looking at her that way. I wish, as much as you, that I knew what was wrong," replied Edward exasperatedly.
""That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.
I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.
After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful – even the big, brawny one."
"Ha ha ha, now that's hilarious." Edward wasn't the only one laughing though. All the younger Cullens, bar Emmett were now laughing hysterically, since no one had ever referred to Emmett as 'graceful', even though it's a common trait among vampires.
"It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.
I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if id been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.
"Oh great. The only seat available in that class is at my table," complained Edward.
When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbour. In fact, all the tables were filled except one. Next to the centre aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.
As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face – it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.
I'd noticed that his eyes were black – coal black."
"Edward, seriously? What is up with you and those looks you keep giving her?" I asked him frustratingly.
"I already explained. I don't know what the 'book me' is thinking, so there is no explanation I can possibly give you, at this point. When I am positive in my assessment, I will be sure to tell you all. Is that alright with you?" Edward clarified in surprising calmness.
"Well alright then, I guess." I leaned back into the chair as I nodded to Carlisle to continue.
"Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.
I didn't look up as I set my book in the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, my favourite shampoo. It seemed and innocent enough odour. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.
I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I must admit Edward, this is strange behaviour from you. Even though you're thirsty, you have always shown great restraint. I wonder why you appear to be so effected by her?"
"I wish I knew. This is as peculiar to me as it is to all of you," Edward responded.
"I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked nest to his burly brother.