Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter six of "Into the Shadows." This chapter introduces Tyler and Lauren. Though Lauren never appeared in the Twilight movies, I decided to have her in this fic. I felt it would be a good idea. Stay tuned for chapter seven.

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Chapter 6: Not-So-Quiet Class

Clouds covered half the midmorning sky above Forks High School. Trees dipped and swayed in the wind in which their leaves rustled loudly. A house flinch sat on the roof. Another one flew in and landed next to it. They chirped to each other. The first finch spread its wings to fly downward. Its companion mimicked its movements.

The finches came to a window and landed on the windowsill. They looked inside to see fifty-year-old Brian McMurray grading papers as he sat at his desk. He happened to be Caucasian and was somewhat tanned. He was lean and rather short for a man. He had no hair on his head whatsoever. His eyes were light blue. His face contained some wrinkles.

Brian looked around his large classroom as his students worked on equations using the FOIL method. It had twenty-four desks that were arranged in six rows of four each. Five desks were empty. The wall above the blackboard contained a strip of paper with numbers on it. The other wall contained the same. He returned his attention to grading.

Edward jotted down an answer to an equation at first desk in the second row. He looked up, seeing Brian pop a strip of gum into his mouth. He observed his teacher chewing it. He peered out of the corner of his eye at Bella, who sat behind him. She erased an answer she wrote and did another one. Alice was to the left of him while Jasper was behind her. Edward shot a glance toward Mike and Tyler, whom both sat in the second and third desks in the fourth row. He turned to his girlfriend and siblings.

"Psst," Edward whispered.

"Edward, we should not be talking," Bella said seriously as she looked up along with Jasper and Alice.

"We don't want to get detention," Jasper added.

"Carlisle and Esme won't be happy if we do," Alice said while pointing her pencil at him.

"I know. I just can't stop thinking about this weekend's camping trip," Edward said, smiling. "I am looking forward to it."

"We are too," Jasper agreed. "It will be nice to be surrounded by nature."

"We are surrounded by nature at home, but it is even better when you are actually outside," Alice said, giggling softly.

"I can't help but wonder how many people have nearly been hit by bald eagles flying too close to their heads," Jasper said, tapping his pencil against his temple.

"Who knows?" Bella said, giving a shrug.

"The only thing that will suck about this camping trip is Bella won't be there," Edward said sadly.

"Don't worry, Edward. The weekend will fly by. You will be back home with me," Bella assured.

"Time is nothing to immortals," Jasper said as he tapped his pencil on his desk. He laid it down before emitting a snort. "In ancient times, they barely noticed it passing."

"With the inventions of sundials and clocks, immortals can observe it passing," Alice commented truthfully. "Sometimes, it slows to a crawl. Other times, it just flies."

"Dad once told me the years fly by as you get older," Bella added, chuckling to herself. "It already feels that way for me."

"Bella, is that a gray hair I see?" Edward joked while taking a strand of her hair.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha," Bella grumbled sarcastically and pushed his hand away. She laid it on top of his chair. "That was so funny that I forgot to laugh."

Edward took Bella's hand into his, a small smile crossing his lips. He kissed the back of it twice before giving it a very gentle pat. Jasper and Alice snickered, causing them to look their way.

"You might as well glue your lips to Bella's hand. You can't stop kissing it," Jasper teased.

"For sure," Alice agreed.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up."

"No, you shut up," Jasper retorted playfully.

"You need to lock your lips and throw away the key," Alice said while pointing her finger at Edward.

Bella shook her head rapidly. "No way. You and Jasper need to lock your lips and throw away the keys, Alice."

A clearing throat came out of nowhere. Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice looked toward Brian, who tapped his fingers on his desk. Their teacher tilted his head somewhat, his eyes narrowing at them. He ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth twice.

"Edward, Bella, Jasper, Alice, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Brian asked.

"No, Mr. McMurray," Edward responded.

"We don't," Bella admitted with a shake of her head.

Brian folded his hands and laid them on top of the desk. "Good. Please, stop talking and get back to work on your assignment."

Jasper nodded at him. "Yes, sir."

Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice shifted their attention to their assignments. They proceeded to work on them. Tyler looked toward the quartet. She heard snickering and looked at Mike, who formed a big smirk on his face.

"What is so funny, Mike?" Tyler wondered.

"It happens to be hearing Mr. McMurray chide the Cullens for talking during an assignment. I never thought I'd live to see the day," Mike responded, putting his hands behind his head.

"I have to admit that is a little funny," Tyler said, chuckling to himself. "Of course, Bella got chided too."

"She might have, but it is nice to see the Cullens get reprimanded for once. They are such goody two-shoes," Mike said, rolling his eyes.

"It is annoying being a goody two-shoes all the time. I remember the time we stayed out past curfew playing video games at the arcade in Port Angeles," Tyler pointed out.

"Me too. Our parents were pissed when we came home past ten-thirty that night. They grounded us for a week," Mike said, making a funny noise. "It does not matter. We had fun, anyway. I dream of doing it again."

"So do I, but I do not think it will be anytime soon, especially since inservice and parent/teacher conferences are next month," Tyler commented while laying his arm on top of his chair. "It will be nice to have four days in a row off. Our parents had this back in their school days."

"I've been hearing this will be replaced by a week off from school. It will be called Fall Break. That would be even better," Mike said with pride.

A clearing throat caught the boys' attention. They glanced toward Brian, who had his arms crossed. He raised his eyebrows before narrowing his eyes at them. He licked his lips.

"Mike, Tyler, do you want share something with rest of the class?" Brian asked curiously.

"No, Mr. McMurray," Mike and Tyler replied with shakes of their heads.

Brian snorted. "Good. Please, get back to work. I do not want to send anyone to detention."

Mike nodded at him. "Of course."

Mike and Tyler picked up their pencils and proceeded to work on their assignments. Brian returned to grading papers. He blew a tiny bubble in his gum and popped it. He got it back in his mouth with his tongue.

00000

Thirty-year-old Kenny Mitts walked around his classroom. He happened to be African-American and was rather short for a man. He was lean, and his skin was somewhat dark. His brown eyes had bags underneath them. His face has so many pimple scars that someone could connect them to make a picture. His head contained no hair whatsoever.

Kenny looked around his large classroom. It contained fifteen tables. They were arranged in five rows with three in each one. Three tables were empty. The rest had two students sitting at each of them with the exception of four. Paint and water cups sat in front of the students. Pictures from various time periods hung on the walls. This included the Renaissance.

Kenny put his hands behind his back while behind his students in the last row. Each student looked at him and received a nod of approval from him as he examined their paintings and spoke about them. He went toward Emmett and Rosalie, who sat at the third table in the third row. He glanced at their paintings. The former's happened to be an American black bear. The latter's was a grizzly bear. He gave them an approved nod before smiling at them.

"Talk about your paintings looking good, you two," Kenny said.

"Thanks, Mr. Mitts," Emmett and Rosalie responded.

Kenny chuckled. "You're welcome."

"What I love most about art is people can unleash their creativity with it," Emmett said with pride.

"I can't argue with that. Some paintings are unusual. I have seen Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase. Have you?" Kenny asked with much curiosity.

"I have, sir," Emmett said while wiggling his eyebrows.

"I have too. It bears no resemblance to a person," Rosalie added.

Emmett cupped his chin in his hand. "It was said to be scandalous at the time it was painted."

"Mm-hmm," Kenny agreed. "People saw nudity as terrible in the 1910s. They believed it should be covered up." He rolled his eyes.

"What craziness," Rosalie muttered and scoffed irritatingly. "The nude form is beautiful. That can clearly be seen in Michelangelo's David."

"I can imagine someone trying to put pants on the statue because they were offended by seeing you-know-what," Emmett said with a snicker.

"That is even more craziness," Kenny responded. "Anyway, keep up the good work, you two."

Rosalie giggled. "We will."

Kenny walked away while putting his hands behind his back. Emmett and Rosalie heard a 'Psst.' They glanced over their shoulders at Eric and Angela. They laid their arms on top of their chairs. They tilted their heads somewhat before pressing their lips together.

"We overheard you two talking with Mr. Mitts about Nude Descending a Staircase," Eric whispered.

"We've seen that painting ourselves," Angela said as she motioned toward her boyfriend and herself with her paintbrush. "We thought it was beautiful."

"We think the nude form is beautiful too," Eric added and smiled warmly.

"I remember The Simpsons episode called 'Marge Vs Itchy and Scratchy.' Marge led a campaign to censor violence in 'Itchy and Scratchy,' but she did not want David to be censored because she thought it was fine the way it was. She was called out for being a hypocrite," Emmett explained.

"It shows how everything would have to be censored if you demand it of one form of entertainment. Marge wished people would declare 'Itchy and Scratchy' as trash, but she understood some enjoyed it and decided to drop her protest," Rosalie commented.

"Many celebrities have been made fun of on South Park. Not a single one has ever complained about it. Some have even declared it a badge of honor," Angela said, giggling to herself.

"That show has not been that funny recently, but the earlier seasons are just gold," Eric said.

"In the days before TV, people had to entertain themselves in other ways. Their imaginations came in handy. They still do," Rosalie said and cleared her throat as she blinked twice.

"Why watch TV when you can pretend you are somewhere else?" Angela asked.

"Because TV is better than anything else is," a female voice said snobbishly.

Eric, Angela, Emmett, and Rosalie cringed at recognition of the voice. They turned to see Lauren, who sat at the third table in the second row. She waved her paintbrush in the air as if she were painting a mustache on Rosalie's face.

"Don't you know it is rude to eavesdrop in on other people's conversations, Lauren?" Rosalie asked annoyingly.

"I know that, but how can I not find out about stuff if I don't?" Lauren replied with a giggle.

Angela rolled her eyes. "You are the nosiest girl in this school. It is no wonder people's business gets around so quickly."

"The public has a right to know what is going on," Lauren commented, shrugging with a smirk.

"Your mouth is so big that you could fit Jupiter in it," Emmett retorted, shaking his head in disbelief.

Eric snickered under his breath. "You sure can."

"I have to agree with that," a male voice said.

Lauren looked up to see Kenny standing next to her table. She could see he had his hands behind his back and an eyebrow raised. She emitted a nervous chuckle before swallowing hard.

"How long have you been standing there, Mr. Mitts?" Lauren wondered.

"Long enough to hear your conversation with these kids. They are right. You do have a really big mouth," Kenny replied.

"I can't help it. I love to talk," Lauren said, sitting up tall and proud. "It is my specialty."

"Jessica is a chatterbox, but she is nowhere near as bad as you are. She does not go spreading people's business around. She knows she should keep her mouth shut about it unless she is told it is okay to say something to others," Kenny commented, sighing heavily. "You just tell everyone after you learn about a piece of news."

"Well, the public has a right to know," Lauren insisted.

"It might, but gossiping about stuff can cause grief for people involved. If I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut about people's business. That is unless they give the okay for the public to be told," Kenny pointed out matter-of-factly. "You could find yourself the target of gossip one day. You would not like that."

Kenny walked away as he ran his hand over his face. Lauren heard chuckling and glared at Eric, Angela, Emmett, and Rosalie. The quartet had big smirks on their faces.

"Mr. Mitts got you good," Angela said, giggling to herself.

"Oh, shut up, Angela," Lauren retorted and flared her nostrils. She pointed her paintbrush at her. "You need to keep your mouth shut."

Rosalie scoffed. "What a hypocrite you are for telling Angela to be quiet while you talk all the time."

Emmett nodded in agreement. "If I were you, I'd stop talking right now. Mr. Mitts will be on your butt again."

Emmett and Rosalie turned back to their paintings. Lauren glanced at her painting of a great white shark. She dipped her paintbrush in gray paint and spread it across the paper. Eric and Angela turned to their paintings of a lion and a tiger respectively. They proceeded to work on them.