Caitlin and I were heading to the dining hall for breakfast the next morning when two girls ran up. After quite a lot of squealing and hugging, Caitlin introduced us.

"Girls, meet my favorite new roommate, Nessie. This is Selena and Abbey."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you."

"You, too!" Abbey slipped her hand into the crook of my elbow and we all started walking again. Despite the matching uniforms we were all wearing, these girls stood out. Selena was wearing an array of necklaces that were so long they reached the middle of her skirt. She had a flowery scarf tied up in her wild black hair and her nails were painted dark purple with a tiny skull and bones on the thumbnail. Abbey looked perfect, like a doll. She wore a checkered headband in her perfect blonde locks and pearl earrings. She was so polished that if I didn't know better, I'd think she was a vampire. "Finally! It's about time we got some new blood around here," Abbey said.

My stomach growled when she said the B word. I had had a few sips from my emergency blood bag this morning while Caitlin was in the shower but it wasn't enough to slate my thirst. I could only hope that my human breakfast would tide me over until I could sneak away and hunt.

Caitlin stepped up to walk beside me. "We've all gone to school together since first grade so getting a new student is pretty exciting."

"And impressive," Selena said. "It's really hard to get in if you didn't start in elementary school." She peeked her head between us and grinned at me. "Did you bribe someone?"

Before I could answer, Abbey shooed her away. "Ignore her. She thinks she's funny." Selena slunk back behind us but she didn't seem upset. She was staring around, as if she'd never been here before. I had a feeling that if these girls went to any other school, they wouldn't be friends. They had that chemistry that suggested they'd been together for too long to try anything else.

The dining hall was remarkably similar to the four other high school cafeterias I'd eaten in in my life except for the gigantic stone fireplace at the front of the room. I followed my new found friends to the line of students holding plastic trays while waiting for their turn to be served breakfast. Caitlin handed me one with a plate and a fork. "The hash brown casserole is a culinary masterpiece of breakfast food. The eggs aren't eggs at all but egg-like substance that come in a carton and the pancakes are made with barley wheat."

I dropped the spoonful of eggs I was about to place on my plate back into the large warming tray and instead hefted a massive serving of hash brown casserole onto my plate. I took about ten pieces of bacon and six sausage links and tried to strategically cover them with the casserole. I didn't want anyone to see how much I consumed on a daily basis. It wasn't normal. There had been a rumor about me suffering from bulimia at my last school because someone had observed how much I ate and how much weight I never gained. I had been warned repeatedly by my whole family about being careful of what and how much I ate in front of others.

Once our trays were piled high with food, we made a beeline to a table in the corner. There were three boys sitting there when we approached and they stood up when they saw us coming.

They all took turns hugging Caitlin. I could tell that she was getting emotional and I had a feeling these boys were Aaron's friends. Abbey and Selena exchanged more platonic greetings with the guys and then dutifully sat down as Caitlin was ushered around between all of them. When she pulled away from the last guy, she sniffed and wiped her face before turning to me. "Boys, I have someone I want you to meet."

They all looked at me and the combined force of their stares almost sent me reeling backward. I had never gotten so much attention from the opposite sex at the same time before.

"New girl," said the boy that still had his arm around Caitlin.

"Her name is Nessie," Caitlin said.

"Really?"

"It's short for Vanessa," I explained.

"I'm Carter." The boy with his arm around Caitlin turned to the rest of the table and pointed out his friends to me. "This is Will and Marshall."

"Hi guys," I said with a little wave.

"Hey new girl," Will said. He gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the table from him. "Take a seat."

"Alright." I sat down. Will watched my every move. His eyes roved over my body although what he was admiring, I couldn't be sure. The uniform was not form fitting. I could see Abbey and Selena watching the exchange closely. I suddenly felt like I was at court to be judged by the king.

"Where are you from?"

Forks, Washington. "Canada."

"Why did you come here?"

To get away from my vampire parents. "The academics."

"Did your parents send you away?"

I sent myself. "No."

"Did you do something wrong?"

For a half-human, half-vampire, I am boring. "No."

"What are you going to study?"

Mind your own fucking business. "Music, literature, maybe art history."

"Are you single?"

"Are you?"

I was definitely being interviewed. After just a few minutes with these kids, I could tell that I was at the popular table. People were watching us, wondering who I was and how I had garnered a seat there. I couldn't hear their whispers but the inflections were loud and clear: How did she climb so high so fast?

At one point during the relentless litany of questions peppered at me, Caitlin nudged me on the arm. She winked at me and then looked at Will and rolled her eyes. Immediately, the questions stopped. He smirked at her before leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. If he was the King here, Caitlin was Queen.

Will lifted his juice glass and everyone else but Caitlin raised their glasses. "To New Girl," he toasted.

"May she be well received," Caitlin said. Will shot her some nasty side-eye and a silent battle of power commenced. Slowly, staring him down, she tipped her glass to her lips and drained the whole thing without clinking it to his glass. "Let's go, Nessie." She strode purposefully from the room while the rest of our tablemates watched in shock.

I grabbed a biscuit off my plate and scurried to catch up to her, not wanting to be left alone one minute at the table with Will and his minions. I grabbed her arm when I reached her. "What the fuck was that?"

"I hate him."

"Yeah, I don't blame you but could you elaborate?"

"He's just so….argh!" she screamed. "He thinks he owns this place because his daddy donates a ton of money and he's captain of the lacrosse team and he's just always been so smug and irritating."

"I think you put him in his place when you refused the toast."

"I wish it were that easy. He'll be the same arrogant bastard by lunch, trust me." We walked toward the main building, a beautiful brick structure that had real ivy growing on the sides. The courtyard was dusted with fallen leaves that crunched beneath our shoes. There were a few people milling around in the courtyard and they were all watching Caitlin and I as we walked together.

"So…are you the most popular girl in school?"

"No," Caitlin sighed. "Just the most tragic."

"Because of Aaron?" I asked, gently.

She nodded. "Will was his best friend."

"What?"

"And he's my ex step-brother."

"Shut up!"

She shook her head and chuckled. "The divorce was finalized over the summer." She gave me a look. "My life is a soap opera."

"I'm sorry. Or should I say congratulations."

"My mom isn't as devastated as she was when her second marriage fell apart so I guess we could call this a win. Big settlement and she got the Hamptons house."

"Good for her."

Caitlin laughed again but this time it was bitter and cold. "Yes, she does set quite a shinning example for me to emulate." I must've looked horrified. She waved her hand, as if to brush it off. "Forget it. I use sarcasm to cover open wounds."

"Which therapist told you that?" I asked.

"The first one," she chuckled. "Welcome to the disturbed lives of privileged youth."

She pushed open the door of the classroom building and let me walk through first. I followed her down a hallway and to the door of our first class, which happened to be Early American History with Professor Hot Stuff. Caitlin stopped outside the door and grabbed my hand. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Whoa, don't be so hasty. You need to prepare for this moment. Fix your hair and freshen your lip gloss because you are about to enter into the presence of the most divinely beautiful creature ever crafted by God's hands."

"David Beckham's in this class?"

"No and I can guarantee that after one glance at Professor Black, David is going to look like that gremlin thing from the Goonies in comparison."

"Poor David," I fake pouted.

We walked in just as the bell was ringing. Students were shuffling around, taking their seats and opening their textbooks and laptops. The sound of shuffling papers and smell of old textbooks washed over me. I loved it. There's something about the beginning of school. The dreaded and expectant excitement. The possibility to reinvent oneself. I felt at peace. After the disaster known as breakfast, this was familiar. I was smart. This was a classroom. I belonged here.

I followed Caitlin to the front of the room. "Professor Black?"

His back was to us. "I'll be with you in a moment."

Caitlin looked a little disappointed but she pressed on. "But, you have a new student."

He sighed and dropped the papers he'd been sifting through. I held out my hand as he turned around and smiled. "Hi, I'm Nessie."

He didn't take my hand. I dropped mine. He didn't say Hello or Welcome or anything. His mouth was opened just enough to make me think he might speak but he didn't. He just looked at me and then he kept looking at me until it was so awkward that I had to look away. My face was flushed. Despite the situation, it was impossible not to notice how attractive he was. He was tall and muscular, with skin the color of creamed coffee and eyes as dark as midnight. Those eyes engulfed me. I could have drowned in them. I glanced at Caitlin. She shrugged and then waved her hand in front of the professor's face. "Are you okay?"

He finally blinked and shifted his focus to her. "I'm fine. Thank you." His voice sounded rough, like sandpaper rubbing on concrete. "Embry," he said over his shoulder. A friendly looking guy came over to us. He inclined his head to the professor. "I need to make a quick call. Please start going over the syllabus and I will return in a moment." He looked at me again and our eyes connected like magnets. "Also, please find Nessie a seat."

"Sure boss." The guy smiled and handed us each a packet of papers. Then he glanced anxiously at the professor again. "You okay, Jake?"

He was loosening his tie. "Make sure they get the imprinted version." Embry's eyes widened to the size of globes. His head swiveled back and forth from the professor to me for a few seconds, like he was watching an exciting tennis match. "Okay."

The professor nodded and fled from the room.

"Did he mean printed?" Caitlin asked.

"As opposed to not printed?" I countered.

"Don't worry. You girls have the right one. Why don't you take a seat and we'll get started." Embry faced the class and called us all to order.

Once we got to our seats, I whispered to Caitlin. "Okay, he might be insanely gorgeous but I bet David Beckham is nicer."

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"Is he always like that?" I asked.

"No, he's always super nice. He's the kind of teacher that remembers what you were doing over summer vacation and asks you about it."

"So he doesn't eye grope every female student that walks through his door?

"Oh my God! He was totally eye grouping you!"

"Caitlin!"

"No, I promise. He's the epitome of nice and normal. He's brilliant and he always wins teacher of the year and everyone loves him." Her eyes went back to the front of the classroom, where the professor had just reappeared. He was chugging down a water bottle. "Maybe he's just having an off day."