To say the whole school was on high alert was an understatement. The students - including the teachers- were whispering about Sheriff Swan's daughter. "Isabella," Eric had muttered to the group of guys lingering behind us.
We were in the quad area, seated on one of the few tables sheltered under the school's roof. I rubbed my hands together, studying my notes. There was a rumor that Mr. Varner was giving out a pop quiz in Trigonometry class. Over my dead body, I was going to fail.
Angela rubbed my shoulder, trying to give me warmth as we both knew I was the one that usually got cold. I tried to avoid using the only heat pack I had left in my bag. Her attention was on the conversation with Jess about the new girl's car. Angela and I came a few minutes after Isabella had arrived. So we didn't get to see her and all her glory.
From Jessica's point of view, we didn't miss much. From what she was going off on, the girl wasn't special. "She's pretty average for someone from Phoneix." She snorted, flipping her hair over her shoulder while glancing at Mike. I didn't have to look up to see him wink at her as she giggled before continuing.
"Well, maybe she's a kind girl? Give her a chance." Angela said. It was against her nature to dislike anyone. However, it wasn't against mine. I narrowed my eyes at Jessica, "Insecure much?" I mumbled, flipping through my notes.
Jessica smacked her lips together, her tone of voice offended. "I just don't see what's so different about her." She nodded in the direction of the front office behind Angela and me. Isabella was inside getting all the information and a welcoming speech from the office secretary.
We can hear the loud chatter of Tyler complementing Isabella's looks. "She seems pretty special to them," I noted, glancing at the guys who seemed to be in their own bubbles. Jessica huffed as Angela tried to appease Jessica. Lightening up the mood and changing the topic to something else. I returned to my notes, listening in and responding when necessary.
"What do you think?" Angela asked. I looked up, blinking at the two. "About what?" I asked, dumbfounded. I knew I couldn't hide that I wasn't listening in, and I wasn't ashamed, as Jess huffed. Her patience for me running thin these days. I rolled my eyes, hearing the bell ring.
'Thankfully, luck is on my side.' I thought, quickly shoving my books and notes into my bag. "You'll be eating lunch with us, right?" Angela asked, getting up from her seat as well. I bit my bottom lip eyeing her and Jessica, who was now waiting for her on the side while flirting with Mike.
I didn't want to eat lunch talking or in this case, hear Jessica's ongoing rants but seeing Angela's pleading look, I knew she also didn't. I nodded, and Angela mouthed a quick thanks before dragging Jessica from Mike and towards their building for class.
I quickly made my way to Mr. Varner's, the rain sprinkling down not helping me.
After Trigonometry's pop quiz, I felt at ease for Government. A weight had lifted off my shoulders when we got our quizzes back. Mr. Varner was impressed with Edward and me. Claiming it as a tie.. again. No matter how well or awful I did, Edward Cullen was in the same boat as myself. Which at times rubbed me the wrong way. 'Was he trying to make it seem we were cheating?'
The rain had stopped sprinkling, which only left the chilly winds and icy floor. I made my way up the flight of stairs to get to my next class. I can recall his grin, looking at the quiz as if hearing my thoughts of how threatened I felt at that moment. We made eye contact - although briefly - his golden eyes gleamed with mockery. It almost felt like he was letting me tie with him. Which, of course, irked me. As quickly as the feeling came, it dissipated.
My stomach bunching up in knots, causing an overwhelming feeling of vertigo. A similar feeling crept up my skin whenever I thought about him. I quickly grabbed onto the railing as I lost my footing for a second. My train of thought was interrupted as I almost fell backward. My heart slammed itself against my ribs. 'Close call.' I thought, glancing at the steps of the stairs I had taken.
A disaster waiting to happen for us ungraceful individuals. I narrowed my eyes at the step that could have been my downfall. 'Literally.' The cold is only nice when I'm not in it.
Regaining my composure, I cautiously made it into class. My seat was empty, waiting for me. Next to my empty seat was someone I never thought I'd meet. "You must be Isabella."
I took my usual seat at the front and sat next to her. It was weird having someone as a partner now. "She gave me a small smile, "It's Bella." She corrected.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I'll remember that."
I cringed inside. 'How awful. She's going to be correcting a lot of people today."
From the looks of it, Bella kept to herself and tried her best to be nonchalant about starting new. Unfortunately, for her, this was Forks. Everyone was talking about her. Whether it be for her transferring in the middle of the year or her looks.
'Jessica is a liar.' I concluded, scanning the unknown beauty. Bella wasn't the ideal Arizona beauty, but she definitely was pretty.
'That explains it.' I thought, glancing at the few guys who kept on eyeing her. Many students kept talking about her, which confused me since many people would have gotten over the new students by now.
Not Bella - her hair was long and luscious, the dark contrasting her pale complexion. It worked well; her heart-shaped face was clear without a blemish to spare, and her big brown eyes reminded me of Hershey kisses - the ones Ang and I would sneak out of mom's office during the holidays. Her lips had a blue hue. 'she's cold.' I realized.
It makes sense, Washington wasn't known for the extreme heat like Arizona, but it was definitely an extreme change of weather and temperature for her. Reaching for the heat pack I had saved for later. 'she needs it more than you.' I reluctantly thought. I placed it on her desk as our teacher started the lesson. "Here, it should help with the cold," I muttered.
She gave me a questioning look before eyeing the pack. "It's a hot pack," I whispered. She took the pack in her hands, confused.
'I'm pretty sure Arizona knew what hot packs were.. Right?' I thought. I quickly took it from her tearing the packaging, shaking it a little, and handing it back to her. The pack starting to become warm.
She was happily surprised and, from the looks of it, grateful. We kept to ourselves for the rest of the lesson. Bella didn't mind the lack of small talk as I was too focused on jotting down notes. As the class ended, Bella seemed comfortable enough to whisper a few words I would have missed during my note-taking. I would flash her a small smile as thanks, returning to my work.
"So, is everyone in Forks usually welcoming?" She asked.
She didn't seem to appreciate the attention. Something I was used to - especially during church. I shrugged, eyeing the students that were muttering and waving at Bella. I gave her a slight grin. "You'd be surprised. It's a small town, so word travels fast."
That didn't ease her mind. I sighed, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. Angela was the better twin when it came to comforting others.
"Don't worry too much about it. They'll get over you." She huffed with a puff of smoke escaping her lips. Her warm breath clashed with the cold.
"I sure hope so," she muttered.
It was weird talking to someone that I didn't grow up with. I've grown accustomed to not needing to talk about myself or do the whole small talk. However, Bella wasn't a Forks native. As far as I was concerned. She struggled with finding topics to talk about, which made me feel at ease.
'It's not just me.' I assured myself. We continued our small talk before departing to our respective classes.
Taking my usual seat at the lunch table. I didn't think I'd see Bella until the next government class we shared. Assuming she'd prefer to eat in solitude. 'I know I would.' I thought with envy.
Hearing Jess's constant talk about the town was helpful, but most of the time, it was mindless rambling. I sighed, looking around for Angela. She should have been here by now. I was about to ask Eric, who took a seat nearby when I spotted her chatting with Bella.
"Isabella," Jessica said with disdain. She had stopped mid-rambling once she spotted Angela with her.
They both took their seats at our lunch table. Bella sat across from me as Angela sat in between Jessica and me. "Ellie, this is -"
"Bella. We've met." I interrupted, taking a quick sip of my drink. It didn't take long for Bella to eye Angela and I so closely. Her eyes widened in understanding. "You're twins." It wasn't a question, more like an observation that only fueled Jessica to snort at the obvious.
"Of course they are. They're identical." I rolled my eyes. Although Angela and I share similar features, you could tell us apart - my face is sharper, whereas Angela's is softer. Apart from the prominent- glasses or lack of- our thick black hair is always differently styled.
"Don't worry about it," I shrugged. "Many people don't realize we're twins until we're in the same vicinity." I flashed her a genuine smile before eating my lunch.
Angela had gotten her camera out - the one the school provided and took a photo of Bella. The light was harsh and too bright for all of us that weren't aware of what she was doing.
Angela quickly apologized, blushing at her impulsive action. "Sorry, I needed a candid for the feature." Bella gave her a wary smile.
I continued with my lunch, watching Eric abruptly get up. He seemed confident in what he was doing. Something he usually never was. His shaggy black hair covered a little bit of his face as he tried to copy Mike's laid-back catwalk. It didn't work. If anything, he looked more like a child copying his dad.
I crinkled my nose in disdain at him. He leaned over Bella's shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Angela. "The feature is dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again." He snapped. It was uncalled for, especially since Angela was doing what he had asked her to.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself in check. I knew Angela hated making matters worse. I on the other hand wouldn't have a care in the world to call Eric out, but I knew I wouldn't be the one affected by my retaliation. Turning to Bella, Eric continued, seeming unfazed by his uncharacteristic performance, "I got your back, baby."
Bella seemed to tense up from the interaction between her and Eric. Sensing my icy gaze on him, Eric awkwardly smiled. Reverting back to his usual self. He rushed from our table and towards the lunch line with the rest of the guys. The conversation took a few seconds to continue from the newspaper article to something - or someone else.
Everything seemed to be going well till the Cullen family walked in. Many tried to hide their curiosity about them, but you couldn't escape the reality. The Cullen family were good-looking and always seemed to be the center of gossip - even though they kept to themselves.
I took notice of Bella glancing at Edward when he made his usual entrance after his siblings. she glanced a few more times at the family sitting farther away from the rest of the students. She tried her best to hide her curiosity, not wishing for any unnecessary attention to herself, but she seemed to have lost as she made eye contact with me,
"Who are they?" She asked. Jessica took advantage of the opportunity, snorting once more at Bella - as if mocking her for knowing so little. I rolled my eyes at the thought.
"They're the Cullens," Angela replied, kindly setting down her fork. Jessica leans in closer to Bella to add some more. "Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here two years ago."
I noticed Bella slyly glance at their table. "They usually keep to themselves," I added. Bella nodded, acknowledging what I had said as Jessica continued rambling about the family. I tried my best to tune out of the conversation. It was less entertaining than I had hoped to have Bella with us.
"The guy you keep glancing at," Jessica sneered, looking at where Edward was sitting. This grabbed my attention.
"That's Edward. He's totally gorgeous, of course, but save your time. He doesn't date. Apparently, none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him."
'Here we go again.' I sat up, leaning my elbows on the table and grabbing my fork. "No need to get upset over a few rejections." I teased - although seeming like a joke had an undertone of detest for Jessica's passive-aggressive comments. I took the last bite of my lunch before setting it to the side.
This causes Jess to throw a death glare my way, making me smirk at her as I take a sip of my water - this infuriates her more. She continued her ramblings, saying how this certain someone - Edward - thinks no one is too good for him. She snorts out of annoyance as she continues, "Like I care," she does.
I glance at the Cullen's table just as Edward looks over to Bella, who seems to get caught looking over. I smile, realizing the new girl might find Edward attractive. Angela had enough talking about the family and was able to switch the conversation.
It was only a few more minutes of eating and talking but it felt like an eternity once the bell rang. Jessica had added a few more ramblings about the Cullens some time ago - hoping it'd change Bella's mind from making any advancements towards Edward.
I didn't think it did, but I wasn't going to tell Jessica that. "Hey," I felt a tug on my arm, stopping me from continuing to class. "I'll see you after school?" Angela asked. She had let go of my arm fixing her glasses - Bella stopped next to us as Jessica had already left the room with Mike.
"Yeah, you're driving," I replied, raising an eyebrow at Bella before questioning her. "Did you need something?" I inwardly cringed at how rude I sounded. 'I definitely need to work on that.' I bit the inside of my cheek from saying anything that may come off as unwelcoming.
This deterred Bella for a second as she quickly looked at Angela before focusing on me. "I - uh," She paused, seeming to struggle with what she wanted to say. "Angela mentioned we had Gym together?" She asked.
Angela nodded, patting Bella's shoulder. "That's right, I'm sorry. I kind of offered you'd help Bella find the lockers for gym class." Angela gave me a guilty smile.
'Nope, I changed my mind,' I pursed my lips at Angela's need to help everyone. 'There was a good reason why I sounded rude.' I thought. It was like instinct, knowing when Angela would volunteer us or usually me to help. I sighed, tilting my head toward the direction we needed to take.
"Sure, I don't mind." It wasn't a lie, I wasn't going out of my way, and Bella wasn't annoying like the other friends Angela had befriended. Bella was okay. Angela left us waving bye before rushing to her class.
Walking next to Bella, I noticed her glance where we could see the backs of the Cullens. They were heading to their own classes - talking amongst each other. "I don't think that's a good idea," I mentioned to Isabella - Bella swan. "Jessica hates competition," I added.
We took a left turn, the Cullen family nowhere near us now. "I'm pretty sure she has nothing to worry about." She replied nonchalantly. I smirked, giving her a once-over, "I wouldn't be so sure about that." I pointed to the Auditorium where we usually had gym inside due to the weather.