The sun shining through my window woke me up, and I groggily remembered it was my first day of school.

"Bells?" Charlie called up.

"I'm up," I called back, sleepily.

I rubbed my eyes and climbed out of bed. In walking across my room to my closet, I saw my reflection in the mirror. Ugh, I looked gross. I pushed and patted my hair down, trying to fix it, but it was still a knotty mess. I would just brush it later.

I opened my closet, and picked out clothes. My favorite comfy jeans and my favorite blue three-quarter sleeve shirt. My first day at my new school. Well, I hoped wearing my favorite clothes would make it at least a little more bearable.

I threw my notebooks and pens in my backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and went downstairs. Charlie was having his coffee and watching the news in the next room. I grabbed a bowl and made some cereal, trying to prolong going to school.

"Well, Bells. I hope you, um, have a good first day." Charlie said quietly as he dumped the rest of his coffee down the sink and put on his vest and gun for work. Charlie was never good with the sweet dad stuff, but I appreciated the gesture just the same.

"Thanks," I mumbled and I stirred my cereal around.

He just nodded and said a brief goodbye and that he'd see me after school and work, then left for work.

I don't want to go to school, I thought. And then I got a brief moment of déjà vu. I shook it off, figuring I just dreamed something like that the other night or something. I never remembered my dreams anyway. Well, except the good ones.

Part of my reasoning for not wanting to go to school was my childhood friend Jacob. I had just moved here with my dad last week, for a permanent stay. My mom had a new husband, and well, I just figured I'd leave them to themselves. But before this had happened, I usually came here every summer, till I was thirteen, to spend time with my dad. He had usually taken me on boring fishing trips with Mr. Clearwater, or to work with him, where I would sit at his desk and read while he did other stuff.

But a few times while we were at the lake fishing, Mr. Black came too. He was in a wheelchair, so he didn't come very often, but when he did he brought his son, Jacob. We had fun while our dads fished. Jacob and I would play in the woods, make mud pies, or tell stories to each other. He was my friend, because you know how it is when you're little, anyone who you play with is your friend. Mr. Clearwater had a daughter my age, but she was nothing like me, and didn't want to play with me. She said I was weird.

Last week, when I arrived Billy—Mr. Black had told me to call him Billy now—and Jacob came by to greet me. And Jacob and I had smiled at each other remembering our childhood. And instantly, we were friends again, but now that we were older, it was that more mature friendship.

Yesterday Jacob called to see to wish me luck on my first day. But I was confused because he would see me today, my first day, wouldn't he? I asked about it, and Jacob told me he didn't go to my school, he went to school on the reservation. Instantly I was saddened, and tried to make light conversation to hide my disappointment. When we had hung up, I cried a little. It just would have been nice to have a friend at school.

I guessed I couldn't put off going to school anymore. I locked the front door behind me, and went to start my car. On the same visit as when I first got here, Billy had given me his old truck, as he couldn't drive anymore, and Jacob got his permit. It was an old rusty red truck, it couldn't go fast, and when you started the engine, anyone in a ten-mile radius could hear it. I loved it.

I waited till the engine heated up, so I could turn the heat on, then made my way to school. There were only a few cars in the parking lot. But I needed time to find my way around the school anyway. My first class was in building four, so I slowly walked that way, as I memorized the map.

I went to sit down, and noticed there was already someone in there using the computer. My shoes were squeaky from the wetness outside, so he heard me and turned to see who it was. He was blonde and had big blue eyes. He then stood up and walked over to me; he was tall too.

"Hi, I'm Mike," he extended his hand, "You must be the new girl, Isabella."

I shook his hand and corrected him, "I prefer Bella."

"Bella." He said nodding his head. "So, uh, how do you like school so far?"

I chuckled under my breath, "School hasn't exactly started yet."

"Oh." He reddened a little, "Right. Uh, well, it's, uh, your first day, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'd be happy to show you around, or help out, or if you need someone to talk to." He smiled and walked back to the computer. I think I heard him mumbling something about "embarrassing". Then the classroom started filling up. Some kids made their way over to say hi, and some just looked at me, confirmed I was a new student by asking someone else, then sat down in their regular seats.

That's basically how the rest of my day went. Most of the same kids were in each of my classes. This one girl I sat next to in three classes, I learned her name was Jessica, walked me to lunch and introduced me to her friends, which happened to include Mike. I sat with them, and they asked me millions of questions about where I moved from and my family. They really wanted to meet my mom, were perplexed that I moved from Arizona, and said my dad was a good policeman who really understood kids. And when I mentioned Jacob, said they knew a few kids from the reservation, and when it got warmer we would go to the beach there. I smiled at the thought of hanging out with both sets of friends.

After school, I did the homework my new teachers had assigned. It was all stuff I had already covered in my old school, so it took no time at all. My dad wasn't home yet, and I didn't know what to do. I tried to watch TV, but nothing really caught my interest. I kept thinking about my day.

Then, I sprung up, and figured out what I wanted to do. I would call Jacob. Maybe him and I could hang out for a bit, and maybe Charlie and I could have dinner there tonight.

I picked up the phone and dialed the Black's house number. On the third ring, someone picked up and said, "Hello?"

I immediately recognized it as Jacob's voice. "Hi Jacob! It's Bella."

"Bella! Hi. I was just working on my car—"

I cut him off. "Your car?"

He laughed a little. "I don't mean to sound smug or anything, but I'm building my own car, yeah."

"That's cool. When do I get to see?"

"Well, you could come over right now if you want."

"That's what I was hoping you'd say. See you in ten minutes."

He laughed again, "See you Bella."

I was excited to see Jacob. But before I bolted out of the house, I wrote a quick note to my dad. It said: "Dad, Went over to the Black's. You should come meet us. Maybe dinner there? Bells".

I slammed the door behind me, climbed into my car, and made my way to Jacob's.

As I ran up the path to his porch, small snowflakes began to fall, making his front yard crystalline. I knocked on his door, and he was there in seconds.

"Bella!" He smiled and pulled the door open wider to let me in.

"Hi Jake." As I looked at his tall figure I wondered how he got that way, because Billy was so short. Jacob had beautiful black hair that hung low and grazed his shoulders. His tan skin was taut over his lean muscles.

"Hey Bella!" Billy called from another room.

Jacob and I walked in that direction and found Billy watching TV. He wheeled toward us. "Hey, so what are you kids going to do?"

"I thought I would show her my car."

Billy looked in my direction. "His idea?"

I laughed, "No actually. Mine. I didn't know Jacob built cars." I threw a smile in his direction.

"Well, it's his first," Billy said.

"I only need one." Jacob said. "It's not like I'll open a car service."

"With the way, you can fix cars, you should." Billy said and rolled into the kitchen.

"Oh, Billy, I left my dad a note to come by after he got home from work."

"You guys want to stay for dinner?"

I smiled, "I was hoping you would ask."

Then Jacob tugged lightly on my arm and pulled me outside. The snow was falling heavier now. There was an awkward building in his backyard. It looked as though several sheds had been pushed together to create a garage. As we walked in I saw a mass of metal, which looked vaguely like car, with metal parts strewn everywhere.

"Sorry for the mess." And like Vana White, he held his hands out to show the car. "Ta da."

It was a Volkswagen Rabbit—I saw the name and symbol on the back end of the car. I walked around it, taking it all in. "It's great. You did all of this?"

"If you mean the mess, yeah. When I bought the Rabbit, it looked like a hunk of garbage, but it was cheap, and I figured I could tinker with it. Didn't know I'd get this far, or that I could even get it running." As if to prove it, he leaned inside and turned the keys that were already in the ignition. The engine roared, though nowhere near as loud as my car.

I smiled. "That's great."

He then tried to explain about this problem he had had with getting the engine to run, and I was with him, up until he started using car part names and words I didn't understand. I could tell he was really into it, so I let him go on, thinking I understood every word.

Then we heard a car pull up—I think his story was almost over—and he went to the big open door in the front of this shed/garage to see who it was. He turned back to me, smiled, and went outside. I followed and there I saw him avidly talking to two kids with the same russet skin tone. One was tall and lanky, the other short and muscular. They then turned and walked toward the garage.

When they were under the cover of the roof, Jacob introduced me. "Guys, this is Bella."

"He-ey, Bella." The tall one said, eyeing me up and down. Jacob smacked him in the back of the head and rolled his eyes.

"That was Embry," then Jacob gestured the short muscular one, "This is Quil."

"Hey, Bella." Quil waved.

"Is your dad cooking?" Embry asked.

"Yeah," Jacob said slowly, "why?"

Quil and Embry then high-fived. "Eating here tonight!" they said together.

"What's so exciting about eating here?" I asked.

"Jacob's dad is the best cook. Well, besides Emily. But her and Sam are on their honeymoon right now." Quil answered.

"So, what's he making tonight?" I looked at Jacob and a grin.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Lasagna."

Quil and Embry high-fived again, and then began talking with Jacob about his car. I still didn't get what they were saying, but just then I heard a car pull up again. I looked out and saw it was Charlie's cruiser.

I still had my coat on, but it was starting to get really cold, especially with all the new snow falling. I met Jacob's eyes and motioned I was going inside. He nodded but kept talking to his friends. I hurried across his lawn, trying not to slip, and made it inside. I heard Billy and Charlie laughing, as I went to take off my shoes and coat. I joined them in the kitchen, sitting down at the small table. The smell of cooking pasta sauce and oregano filled the kitchen. It was so warm and comforting.

"So, Bella, how was your first day?" Charlie asked, looking at his feet.

"It was, you know, school-ish. Books, teachers, homework. The whole deal." I nodded impatiently, so he wouldn't ask anything more about it. Because if Jacob came in, and heard Charlie asking, he would start asking, and I would get sad. Just stay off the topic, for safety.

And soon enough, I heard loud laughter outside the back door, then three teenage boys filing in. They joined us in the kitchen, and there were a million conversations going on at once. All too soon, it got very hot in there, and I went out to the living room.

I examined it, and I liked the feel of it. The couch was soft and just saggy enough to slide into. The TV was big, but not too big to take up the majority of the room. And the pictures, oh the photographs, they were beautiful. I got up off the comfy couch, that normally I wouldn't even want to leave, to stare at the beautiful pictures framed around the room. There was one that intoxicated me; I couldn't stop staring at it.

It was a little boy sitting at a grand piano, his eyes locked in fixation, staring at the keys, while one hand rested lightly on the piano. The room around him was spectacular. It was big with bright off-white colors. Though through the tall windows, you could see rain in a downpour. But the colors inside the room, in contrast with the boy's dark features made the room seem warm and happy.

"That's me you know."

The voice came from over my shoulder. I was so last in the picture, that I had jumped, startled. I turned and saw it was Jacob. "That's you?" I asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. My mom took it. She took all of these." He was looking intently at the same picture I was. "This was at my aunt's house. It was probably about a year after that, that my mom died." He then broke his gaze on the picture and looked down at the ground.

I didn't know what to say. Bit I figured a hug could fix anything, right? I navigated my arms, under his and locked them around his waist, pressing my body firmly against his. He was warm, and smelled good—an earthy smell. He hesitated, but slowly then wrapped his arms around me. I felt him kiss the top of my head.

I then stepped away, because I heard Quil call us for dinner. I looked at him, and smiled a little. He took his eyes off the ground and met mine. He smiled. I then turned and led the way to the kitchen.

The food was so good, I ate way more than I should have. But I couldn't get enough of Billy's lasagna. We were all lounging around in Billy's comfy living room, feeling too full to move. I saw Jacob look at the piano picture a lot, but his mood wasn't saddened by it.

Charlie looked at his watch and noticed the time. "Wow, Bells, we gotta go. You have school tomorrow, and I have work. He went to open the front door, so he could warm up his car, but he immediately came back. "Uh, bad news. The snow has blocked your door. There's no way were getting out of here tonight. School will probably be closed anyway."

Jacob turned to me and whispered "You're sleeping here tonight?" obviously excited.

I was excited cause that meant him and I could stay up and talk really late into the night. We wouldn't have school tomorrow, so what was the harm?

"Charlie, you can sleep in the guest bed. It's a single bed, so I guess Bella can sleep down here on the couch. And I'll have the other boys sleep on the floor in here too."

"Hey, why do we have to sleep on the floor?" Embry called.

"Cause Bella's a lady." Quil said mockingly. I grinned and stuck my tongue out.