When lunch finally rolled around, I had a few friends, as Ari had promised. And Angela, a girl who would have the same Biology class as me, was shy and quiet like me, but nice.
"Oh, my God. Look, Bella, your sister is talking to Jasper Hale!" Jessica from my Spanish and Trig classes stage-whispered. Most of the people around us heard and looked where she was pointing, and where half of the cafeteria was already staring.
Ari was standing by a table that was occupied by only one other person, a blond boy that looked better suited to Hollywood than Forks, and was smiling amiably at him. Personally, I thought he looked a little tense, but after a moment, Ari sat down across from him, eliciting a shocked gasp from Jessica.
She put a hand to her mouth and said, "Nobody sits with Jasper, or any of the Cullens. They always say no. Wow. Does your sister have magic powers or something?"
"She has the magical gift of being stubborn, if that's what you mean." I lied to keep her psychic abilities a secret, sitting next to Jessica and all the while staring at my sister. Before two minutes had passed, she had Jasper listening to her, at least, if not talking with her as well. Leave it to Ari to bring a rise out of a completely apathetic person withing five minutes of meeting them.
Three others, two men and a woman, sat a few seats away, giving Jasper strange looks as he conversed with Ari. He appeared to ignore them completely, even flashing my sister a smile, one so brilliant it was hard to look at. I examined the others at the table, and was so dazzled by the lithe, bronze-haired boy that I nearly dropped my lunch tray.
After recovering from my embarrassment and the brief bout of clumsiness, I shakily mumbled to Jessica, "Who are those people?"
"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. There's Jasper, of course, then Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward. They just moved here from Alaska about two years ago." she responded eagerly, clearly happy to share the gossip.
I nodded attentively, and tried my hand at the subtlety my sister was so skilled at: "Which one's which?"
Jessica tossed her hair over her shoulder and whispered, "Okay, obviously, the blond girl is Rosalie, right?" I nodded. "She's with Emmett, the one who looks like a bodybuilder."
"So the redhead is. . . Edward?" I questioned, risking a glance at him, only to find he was staring directly at me. His dark eyes met mine, slapped me, and tied me to a figurative chair, from which I was unable to do anything but watch him. After a moment, he frowned and looked away; Jessica caught my arm. "Bella! Hey, are you listening?"
"Sorry," I muttered, blushing profusely. "What were you saying?"
She just looked between me and the Cullen table for a moment, then snorted, "Okay, stop right there, Bella. The Cullens don't date. Apparently, none of us are good enough for them. Seriously, don't waste your time."
I just nodded to placate her, and I spent the rest of my lunch hour sneaking glances at Edward, who was godlike in his perfection. How Ari could have walked up and talked to someone that beautiful without freaking out, I would never know. But I do know that that was the day Ari and I met the Cullens, in a sense. And I have never forgotten it, nor will I ever let it slip my mind in the future.
"Oh, my God. Look, Bella, your sister is talking to Jasper Hale!" Jessica from my Spanish and Trig classes stage-whispered. Most of the people around us heard and looked where she was pointing, and where half of the cafeteria was already staring.
Ari was standing by a table that was occupied by only one other person, a blond boy that looked better suited to Hollywood than Forks, and was smiling amiably at him. Personally, I thought he looked a little tense, but after a moment, Ari sat down across from him, eliciting a shocked gasp from Jessica.
She put a hand to her mouth and said, "Nobody sits with Jasper, or any of the Cullens. They always say no. Wow. Does your sister have magic powers or something?"
"She has the magical gift of being stubborn, if that's what you mean." I lied to keep her psychic abilities a secret, sitting next to Jessica and all the while staring at my sister. Before two minutes had passed, she had Jasper listening to her, at least, if not talking with her as well. Leave it to Ari to bring a rise out of a completely apathetic person withing five minutes of meeting them.
Three others, two men and a woman, sat a few seats away, giving Jasper strange looks as he conversed with Ari. He appeared to ignore them completely, even flashing my sister a smile, one so brilliant it was hard to look at. I examined the others at the table, and was so dazzled by the lithe, bronze-haired boy that I nearly dropped my lunch tray.
After recovering from my embarrassment and the brief bout of clumsiness, I shakily mumbled to Jessica, "Who are those people?"
"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. There's Jasper, of course, then Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward. They just moved here from Alaska about two years ago." she responded eagerly, clearly happy to share the gossip.
I nodded attentively, and tried my hand at the subtlety my sister was so skilled at: "Which one's which?"
Jessica tossed her hair over her shoulder and whispered, "Okay, obviously, the blond girl is Rosalie, right?" I nodded. "She's with Emmett, the one who looks like a bodybuilder."
"So the redhead is. . . Edward?" I questioned, risking a glance at him, only to find he was staring directly at me. His dark eyes met mine, slapped me, and tied me to a figurative chair, from which I was unable to do anything but watch him. After a moment, he frowned and looked away; Jessica caught my arm. "Bella! Hey, are you listening?"
"Sorry," I muttered, blushing profusely. "What were you saying?"
She just looked between me and the Cullen table for a moment, then snorted, "Okay, stop right there, Bella. The Cullens don't date. Apparently, none of us are good enough for them. Seriously, don't waste your time."
I just nodded to placate her, and I spent the rest of my lunch hour sneaking glances at Edward, who was godlike in his perfection. How Ari could have walked up and talked to someone that beautiful without freaking out, I would never know. But I do know that that was the day Ari and I met the Cullens, in a sense. And I have never forgotten it, nor will I ever let it slip my mind in the future.