I went through my classes, as usual, the next day. Trig, English, Government, Biology, Lunch, Spanish and then Gym. Bella humiliated herself during Gym, hitting everyone and everything. After Gym, I followed Bella to the truck. Turns out the only thing Charlie can cook is eggs and bacon. So I assigned myself cook of the house. Charlie was more than willing to give me the job. So after school, Bella and I went to the Thriftway. It wasn't too far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway, like everything else in this town. The Thriftway was large, and Bella and I got back into our usual routine. When we got home, I started to unload the groceries as Bella went upstairs.

"Hey, Alex!" Bella called from her room,

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Mum e-mailed us!"

"What'd she say?"

"She wants to know where her pink blouse is and how school is!"

"Her pink blouse is at the dry cleaners! She was supposed to pick it up on Friday!" I started to make dinner. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in the marinade I had made earlier and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge. I leant against the kitchen counter as I flipped through Romeo and Juliet. When Charlie came through the door, he hung his belt up.

"Hey, Alex." He greeted,

"Hi, Dad." I replied, putting my book down as I continued dinner.

"Bella?" Charlie called.

"Hey, Dad." Bella called back, "Welcome home!" Bella bounced down the stairs,

"What's for dinner?" Charlie looked wary. Renée always liked to experiment while cooking and most of the time it was never edible.

"Don't worry, I'm making steak and potatoes." I told them. Bella helped me finish cooking while Charlie went to go watch something in the living room. When dinner was ready, I called Charlie into the kitchen to eat,

"Smells good Lex." He said.

"Thanks." We ate in silence for a while until Charlie spoke up.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" He asked,

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica." Bella said, "We sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice."

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid, nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here. How 'bout you Alex?"

"School's fine." I told him. There was a pause before Bella spoke again.

"Do you know the Cullen family?" She asked hesitantly.

"Doctor Cullen's family?" Charlie confirmed, "Sure. Doctor Cullen's a great man."

"They...the kids...are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school." Charlie surprised me by actually looking angry.

"People in this town." He muttered. "Doctor Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here." Charlie got louder with every word, "We're lucky to have him, lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature, I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should, camping trips every other weekend...Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk." I stared at Charlie from across the table, that is the most I've ever heard Charlie say in one go.

"They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive."

"You should see the doctor." Charlie laughed. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around." It was silent again. When we were finished, I washed all the dishes by hand, because we had no dishwasher, great. I did my homework after that, it wasn't hard. The following week was uneventful. It was usual for Charlie to not be at home on the weekend, and during that time I did my own thing. I finished my homework and cleaned up the house a bit. Granted Charlie lives on his own, he can't hold down the fort.

Edward Cullen didn't show back at school next week. Even though she tried to be subtle about it, Bella couldn't help but let her gaze linger on the Cullen's table before focusing on the rest of the world.

The following Monday, it was normal until we walked out of class. I met up with Bella and her friends as we exited the building. I smiled at the white that fell from the sky. "Wow…" Mike said, "It's snowing."

"Eww." Bella groaned, her face scrunching.

"You don't like snow?"

"No. That means it's too cold for rain." I snorted. Bella was kinda obvious with some things. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes. you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Bells, come on." I said, adjusting the beanie on my head, "We watched snow on tv as kids, and they've never been unique. They've always been like this." I stopped talking when a white ball of mush hit Mike in the back of the head. I followed the direction it came from and saw Eric walking in the opposite direction to where his next class was.

"I'll see you both at lunch, okay?" Bella said as she kept on walking. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

"I'll see you Bells." I said. I squeezed her shoulder gently before turning and walking to my next class. When lunch finally rolled around, I met up with Bella again as we made our way to the lunchroom. I scrunched my nose when five unique scents entered my nose. I gently nudged Bella who was frozen in front of me.

"Hello? Bella?" Jessica called, "What do you want?" Bella looked down, her ears turning red.

"What's with Bella?" Mike questioned,

"Nothing," Bella answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I frowned as I followed her friends to the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick,"

"Do you want me to take you home?" I asked softly.

"No." Bella replied as we sat down. I kept close to her as she slowly drank her soda, taking small sips. I heard laughing and I turned my head slightly to see the Cullens playing around. The boys were being nuisances while Rosalie and Alice lent away from them. My eyes flicked to my side to see Bella looking at the Cullens also.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded as she turned to see where Bella was watching. Bella dropped her head instantly. "Edward Cullen is staring at you." Jessica giggled

"He doesn't look angry, does he?"

"No. Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me."

"The Cullens don't like anybody...well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him." Bella hissed. I turned my head slightly and glared at Edward. I tuned out Mike's promises of a snowball war as I kept my attention between the Cullens and Bella. When lunch was over, I followed Bella outside and was happily surprised to see that it was raining. I bid Bella goodbye until the end of school and left for Spanish.