No ownership here! Thanks to Kyilliki for beta-reading this: you made it better. As always, knowing that people enjoy my writing makes everything worthwhile. This chapter has been slightly updated to clean up some writing mistakes and ensure continuity.

I woke to the sound of my alarm angrily blaring much too close to my head. Blearily, I rolled over and hit what was probably off but might have been snooze. Why was my alarm on? I hadn't heard that sound since… since school.

Right, it was Monday, and I was about to start the second half of my junior year at Forks High. The weekend had passed much too quickly for my taste, and the dreaded day had arrived.

I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, debating whether or not I could get away without showering so I could close my eyes. My alarm decided the question for me by going off again. I hit the off, briefly considered throwing the whole thing through the window, then decided against it and dragged myself out from under the covers.

A hot shower improved my mood dramatically, and by the time I was downstairs in the kitchen I was feeling tentatively optimistic about the whole thing. I scarfed down some cereal with rice milk, threw on my heavy coat, grabbed my book-bag, and headed out to the truck.

I had made the short drive twice already, once just to scope the place out and once to get my class schedule and a map of the small campus, so I wasn't worried about finding it. I arrived in the parking lot with eleven minutes to kill, so I put in my earbuds and turned on something really peppy to try and hype myself up. It worked a little bit.

By the time I climbed carefully out of my truck, the parking lot was nearly full. Students (the majority of them in clothes that didn't look nearly warm enough) milled about, talking in groups or hurrying towards buildings.

My first class of the day was English, which actually sounded exciting. I filed in with my peers, carefully avoiding eye contact as much as possible. There was a rack for coats, though not many coats were actually there, since apparently I was one of a select few who were dressed appropriately for the weather.

The teacher announced that we were going to be starting on Frederick Douglass' autobiography, appropriately titled My Bondage and My Freedom. As he launched into a brief summary of the book's contents, I took the opportunity to peek at the reading list, noting with relief that it was fairly standard as far as American literature went. I spent the rest of the class studiously taking notes, relaxing gradually in the comfort provided by the familiar academic exercise.

The bell buzzed sharply and I started at the intrusive sound. Too jumpy, I criticized myself, sweeping my notebook and pens into my bag and levering myself out of my chair. All around me people were hurrying in various directions or lingering for a brief chat. I checked my schedule as I started walking toward the door.

Oof! My forward movement was sharply arrested as I ran smack into someone in the aisle. I glanced up over the top of my papers hurriedly, cheeks heating in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry!"

"No, no, don't worry about it," the boy said. He was Asian, a few inches taller than me, and had a pleasant smile that was immediately calming. "You look a little lost—can I help?"

"Oh, uh, I'm looking for Government, Ms. Jefferson, building six?" I had circled all pertinent parts of my itinerary on my map, but somehow I'd managed to shove that into my bag with the rest of my things.

"I'm headed in the opposite direction, but if you walk out with me, I'll point you to it?" he offered, gesturing towards the door.

"Uh, sure, thanks."

"I'm Eric," he said as we walked outside. "Eric Yorkie."

"Eric," I repeated, glancing at his face to try and connect the two in my mind. "I'm Bella Swan."

"Chief Swan's daughter?" We had stopped on the sidewalk at this point, and people were pushing past us.

"Uh, yeah. You know him?"

"Sure, everybody knows Chief Swan. He's good people." Eric flashed his charming smile again and I found myself smiling back. "If you're his daughter, you must be good people too. That's six," he pointed at a building that looked no different from any of the others. "Good luck in Government!"

"Thanks!" I half-waved as he turned and hurried in the other direction. I was officially acquainted with exactly one person. "One down, three hundred fifty-six to go," I muttered to myself before dutifully heading off in the direction my new friend had indicated.

Government was uneventful. I estimated that they were about three lessons behind where my government class in Phoenix had left off, which meant that I could spend my time alternating between doodling and supplementing the notes I already had.

I remembered to hang onto my map at the end of class, and so was able to find my way to Trigonometry by myself. The girl across the aisle from me came in almost tardy and smiled at me as she hurried to her seat.

"I'd like to welcome a new student to our ranks," the teacher announced after a preliminary greeting. I slumped a little lower in my chair, a lump rising into my throat at the words. Being singled out in class was the last thing that I wanted.

"Miss Isabella Swan," he continued, "recently of Phoenix, Arizona. Wave to the class, Isabella."

I forced a smile—it felt more like a grimace—to my face and weakly obeyed him. He said something about hoping I was enjoying classes so far and he was sure everyone would do their best to welcome me, then moved into the lesson. I let out a breath I wasn't aware that I was holding and shook my head a little. The girl across the aisle caught my eye and smiled again, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly and tossing her mane of chestnut hair.

At the end of class she came over and introduced herself as Jessica Stanley. It turned out that we had Spanish together too, so we ambled in that direction, making awkward small talk. I found out that she was the oldest of four, and she expressed envy of my only child status. She also talked a lot about her new puppy. By the time we were seated in Spanish, I was sure that I would like her.

The minute Spanish was over, she was back at my side. "You probably don't know a whole lot of people here," she said, "so you should sit with me at lunch. I'll introduce you to some cool kids."

"Sounds great," I said. It was easy to agree with Jessica; she was a thoroughly agreeable person, if a little more bubbly than necessary. It was disarming and I found myself relaxing a little as we headed towards the cafeteria.

"Guys, this is Bella. Bella, these are the guys," she said loudly as we stopped in front of a large table with a broad assortment of occupants. I recognized Eric and a girl who had been in English and Spanish, as well as two boys from Government.

A welter of introductions followed. Despite my best efforts, I only managed to hang on to a few names—there was Conner, one arm draped casually across the chair of Lauren, the girl whose face I had recognized, and Tyler, one of the boys from Gov. I ended up sitting between Jessica and a really nice girl named Angela who let Jessica do most of the talking.

"What's it like in Phoenix?" Jessica asked brightly.

I took a bite of my pizza before responding. "Hot. Bright. Really… desert-y."

"Did you like it there?"

"Yeah, it was nice. I'll miss it, I guess."

"What was your favorite thing about it?"

I paused to think about my answer. There were a lot of things that I really liked about Phoenix, but my favorite thing? "Probably the landscape," I said. "It was really vibrant. No offense, but aside from all the green, Forks is… all the same."

"You're not wrong," Jessica agreed merrily, seeming very unoffended by my bluntness. "Living in a rainforest can be really nice sometimes, but it's really rainy."

"A rainforest?" I asked, curious. "I thought that was like, the jungle."

"This is the other kind of rainforest. Similar amount of rain, different kind of climate," she explained.

"Oh." I filed the information away. "Do you like it here?"

"Yeah, lots. You can't beat the PNW for scenery or people, even if the weather's a little bonkers."

"PNW?" I felt a little stupid asking, but I honestly couldn't come up with any explanation for what appeared to be an odd acronym.

"Pacific Northwest," she said. "PNW. You'll get used to the local slang pretty quick, don't worry."

"Yeah, probably," I agreed, going back to my pizza. Jessica seemed to understand that I was done talking and turned her attention to the other side of the table, chatting animatedly with the boy to her left and his friends.

I finished eating and got up to dump my plate in the trash, then headed back to my table to scoop up my belongings. I looked down at my map, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go next.

"What's your next class?" Angela asked kindly, glancing over at the schedule I was clinging to like a lifeboat.

"Uh, biology, I think," I answered, taking a peek at the slot immediately after lunch. I would have honestly preferred chemistry, but that class was already full. Biology it was, then.

"Mike could walk you there?" she said with a smile. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Mike is…" Drat. I knew I'd been introduced, but the generic name wasn't ringing any bells.

"He's the tall blond one, Seahawks shirt, other side of Jessica."

I nodded quickly. "Got it."

She smiled again before she turned away, tapping Mike's shoulder and whispering briefly to him in passing. He looked up, made eye-contact with me, and grinned cheerfully.

I smiled and waved back, a little shyly. The bell went off just then and in the ensuing chaos I found myself walking towards the exit, Mike at my side.

"Hey, Bella, right?" he said warmly.

I smiled up at him. "Right. You're Mike?"

"Last time I checked, at least." We both chuckled. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"No law against it," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why Bella? Why not Izzy or Isabella?"

I bit my lip. "You'll laugh."

"I won't, scout's honor," he promised solemnly.

"Bella Abzug was a famous feminist and one of the first female Congresswomen. I wanted to be just like her when I was little," I admitted, bracing myself for the inevitable 'are you a feminist? Eww!' comment that invariably followed my explanation.

"Woah! Should I start calling you President Swan, then?"

"No, I don't think I'm cut out for politics." Phew. Crisis averted. "She's still one of my heroes, but now I think I'd like to be a journalist… or maybe an ice-cream van driver. But probably the journalist thing."

"Cool!" Mike's enthusiasm seemed unfeigned, and I found myself relaxing even more. "My dad—he owns the hipster Cabela—says I'm a born salesman, but I'd really like to be a marine biologist."

"So, are you in it for the dolphins?" I inquired jokingly. "Or is it the sharks you like?"

"Seals, actually. Did you know that Mediterranean monk seals are among the most endangered species in the world?"

"I do now!"

"They're the rarest pinniped—that means seal—and there are under six-hundred of them left. Oh, sorry," he broke off, with a rueful smile. "I'm probably boring."

"No, not at all! It's always great to talk to someone who has a passion. Don't let anyone squelch it."

Relief was evident in his expression. "Thanks for not thinking I'm weird."

We had paused just in front of the biology room at some point, though I wasn't sure exactly when we had stopped walking. Mike pulled the door open with a flourish. "After you, m'lady."

I heard someone behind us choke and start sputtering. Embarrassed by the possibility of someone teasing us, I hurried through the door, head down just a little. Behind me, Mike asked someone named Cullen if he was okay and received a grunted negative and a request to tell the teacher that he wasn't feeling well. Maybe this Cullen had just started feeling sick, and it had nothing to do with Mike's goofy gallantry.

I caught a glimpse of an unusually attractive face as the door closed behind me, but the impression didn't linger for long as I sat down at the only table with a vacancy. It turned out that the other seat at the table was normally occupied by Cullen, whose first name I still didn't know. I was torn between being happy that I had a hot lab partner (other people seemed to get really excited about them, so I supposed I should be too) and annoyed that he'd suddenly bailed for no apparent reason.

We weren't doing any labs that day, so it didn't really matter anyway. I paid attention and took diligent notes as the teacher, Mr. Banner, discussed something that was probably really important but honestly just sounded really boring to me

The bell rang and Mike sauntered up as I cleared the top of my desk. I smiled at him over the top of my papers and he returned it cheerfully.

"Next class?"

"Gym," I replied, not having to check my schedule. I was halfway dreading gym; I usually ended up injuring myself at least once every semester, and I doubted that this year would be any different. My ankle throbbed gently as if to remind me that I'd reinjured it recently and had to be extra careful if I didn't want it to become a full-fledged sprain again.

"Me too!" The enthusiasm in his voice was entirely disproportionate to his discovery. "I'll walk you there?"

"Sure," I agreed, turning to head toward the door. On the way out I noticed that something had gouged a big chunk out of the edge of the doorframe, which I must have missed on the way in. Mike noticed it too, and raised his eyebrows a little. Apparently it hadn't been there before Christmas break. We spent the short walk to gym tossing back and forth ever-increasingly ridiculous theories about what had caused it, from vandalism to alien invasions, with the result that we were both a little out of breath from laughter by the time we made it inside.

I managed to survive all the way through the friendly basketball game that was going on by dint of staying as close to the outer edge of the proceedings as was humanely possible at all times. With my help (and my staying out of the way was definitely the most helpful thing I could do), my team handily won.

I ran into Jessica in the parking lot on the way out to my car and we stopped to chat a little more. She started pointing out people as they walked by, giving me their names and brief histories. I did my best to keep up with her rapid-fire explanations, but the only ones that really made an impression were two couples with a fairly unusual story.

"The big one is Emmett, the tiny one is Alice—they're Mrs. Cullen's cousins, I think, and the others are Jasper and Rosalie—Dr. Cullen's sister's kids," she informed me. "She sent them to live with her brother while she does missionary work in Africa or something. There's Edward, too, Mrs. Cullen's younger brother, but he's not here, which is weird because I thought I saw him at lunch."

"Cullen?" I asked, remembering the name. "A kid named Cullen went home sick from Biology. Maybe that's where he is."

"Maybe. Crap! I'm working today. I need to get going or I'll be late for my shift. See you tomorrow!"

The suddenness of her conversation shifts was giving me whiplash, but I didn't mind that much. "Bye!" I called after her as she darted off as quickly as she did everything else.

On my drive home, I thought over the things I'd learned so far. My social life was shaping up pretty decently, much better than it had been in Phoenix. Sure, there had been some moments where I'd felt like I'd swallowed a golf ball, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I'd done the whole 'starting a new school' thing several times before, after all. Maybe Forks wasn't going to be too bad.