Part 1.
I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!
Dreading her first day at a new school, and fearing for her life, Bella drives slowly along the icy roads of Forks on her way to one of the few big buildings in town, the high school.
Charlie had been gone by the time she woke up. For someone determined to rehabilitate his troublesome teen, Charlie didn't hover around her much. Without parental supervision, ditching school would've been ridiculously easy—that is, until the word spread like wildfire in this tiny town, even if its moisture levels register at damp and murky. And on a wintery day like today, icy.
Once she has successfully navigated herself to the school parking lot, Bella turns off the roaring engine of her new-to-her ancient truck (she has to admit, an incredibly endearing and thoughtful gift from her dad). Before heading in, she rests her head on the steering wheel and takes in slow breathes—some meditative breathing Renee had taught her awhile back.
On any regular day, Bella would love to be a wallflower. Observing from the sidelines, not garnering any attention for herself. She strives for plainness, because she finds it grants her some degree of invisibility, which she adores. Nothing feels more secure than being left alone in peace. She likes to be a little fish in a big sea—like she had been in Phoenix. At Forks high school, she will be the opposite. Fresh meat for an otherwise starved for excitement population of teenagers. Unnervingly visible and on display.
The major thing getting her out of her truck and heading toward what looks like the school's main building is the knowledge that once she survives her first day, the next day will be that much easier, and the next, and the next, until she can—hopefully—eventually blend in with the herd. How bad could the first day be, really?
Turns out, pretty bad. But Bella misses this premonition.
The morning goes as you might expect—new student is welcomed by school secretary and given her schedule, toured around by a bubbling, extroverted student council-type, forced to introduce herself woodenly at the front of every classroom, until she is then chauffeured to the cafeteria to sit with other eager students acting as guides, keen on interviewing her as if she was a visiting celebrity, rather than one of their peers.
The agony of being put in awkward positions all morning long has tried Bella's patience and grated her nerves. It's the first time she's come close to actually regretting her actions of the previous years because they've led her to have to endure this moment.
In fact, seeing as most of the classes here are behind her Phoenix curriculum, she's found herself bored in many of the classes. Instead of paying attention or taking notes, she's found herself doodling absentmindedly with her mind drifting toward reflection.
She thinks back to the final incident that led her here ultimately: breaking and entering her school building to take—well she hadn't decided what exactly before she was caught. She'd been there for the thrill of it. The school break-in happened to be her third offense—and after her second, she'd gone on probation, so she'd really run out of road with her chances. When the school didn't press charges and she was only expelled, Bella knew it must've been pleading from her mom and the teachers that liked her (after all, she was still a good student in many respects).
Now, sitting in the lunchroom next to her chipper guide Jessica, and an equally chipper guy named Mike who's been a crushing clinger since her first class, Bella wonders if she told them about her arrests, community service, fines, suspensions, and expulsion, if she could scare them away so she would have some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, though, chances are that would only make her more attractive to them as the current spectacle of the season.
To be totally honest, Bella is freaked out by being the center of attention. Her whole skillset of, you know, stealing stuff, relies on being stealthy, sneaking and going unnoticed. Even if she wanted to mess up her new start and clean slate, she doubts she could because no one looks away from her for a second!
Coming out from her fog of distraction, Bella hears, "I would love to interview you for the school newspaper." This is coming from Eric, who has been shooting angry looks at Mike for claiming the seat next to her. On Eric's other side, the most zen and quiet at the table—therefore earning Bella's favor—is Angela. All of them are now looking at Bella, waiting to hear her answer.
"I don't think that's really necessary. I'm boring." Bella protests weakly.
"No way! You're like, so interesting." Mike chirps in.
"We want to know everything about you, new girl." Jessica insists.
"If she's uncomfortable, maybe the interview can wait." Angela replied, coming to Bella's grateful defense. Bella's nerves are calmed slightly by having a clear ally who will assist in turning the attention away from her.
With the subject closed, Bella is free to notice movement out of the corner of her eye. A group of students enter the lunchroom. A regular occurrence, of course, but these students are different—they are captivating. Bella senses that she isn't the only one whose attention is drawn by the group—as if my magnetic force, most eyes in the lunchroom are drawn toward their direction as they head to their table.
"Who are they?" Bella near whispers, as she observes the mesmerizing group. There are five of them—three boys, two girls. They all look different—one guy is super big and bulky, the others are lean and lanky, one girl is Barbie blonde, while the other looks like a brunette Tinkerbell. Yet there is something so similar about all of them too—perhaps that they are all freakishly good-looking. Like sculpted out of marble, Roman statues level of good-looking. And they all share the feature of golden eyes, which Bella has never seen before. What is in the water here in Forks?
"Oh, them? Those are the Cullens." Jessica responds, her eyes trained on the group too.
"They're not from here. They're like, super rich and super close together. As in, some of them are together. It's weird, but not as weird as you might think. Dr. Cullen, their dad, super-hot by the way, adopted them so they're not all related. But still, isn't it strange to date your step-sibling? Emmett and Rosalie are together, and Jasper and Alice. Edward is the only one that's… single."
Jessica's wince on the word single makes Bella think at one point Jessica tried to make Edward be less single and it hadn't gone her way.
The Cullens initially appealed to Bella because they had the magical effect of drawing attention away from her, but now she finds herself even more intrigued. Here is another group of people who seemed extremely not-Forks-like, like her.
So she is captivated, deep in thought, staring straight at them, when the one Jessica named Edward looks directly into her eyes as if he knew they were talking about him and his siblings. Fire immediately pervades her cheeks as Bella blushes and tears her eyes away, looking down at her lunch tray.
"Bella, Edward is looking right at you! Staring even!" Jessica declares, much too loudly for Bella's taste. What if Edward overheard? Embarassing.
"What is his problem?" Mike protests, assuming the position of her unwanted personal guard dog.
"They are so cool and mysterious." Angela comments dreamily.
"Enough about the Cullens! Let's talk about the beach trip I'm planning." Eric insists, trying to draw back the attention of the girls and guys.
By this point, though, the bell rings. Bella risks a look up from the safety of staring at her tray to see the space empty at the table Edward had been sitting at. She is left wondering what that was all about and if she'll see Edward again before the day's end.
A small part of her—the part of her she was supposed to leave back in Phoenix—quietly, but insistently, speculates: wouldn't the Cullens be the perfect targets? She considers herself a moralistic thief. She'd never steal from family or friends or people who don't have much. Most of Forks is made up of working-class families—of no interest or temptation to her. The Cullens, on the other hand… they have the looks and means of wealth. What kind of niche and expensive art collections might their mansion hold?
As she heads to her next class, Bella drags her mind away from that line of thinking. She'd promised to Charlie she would try. So here she is, trying.
She can only try so hard though, and can she be blamed for failing if pushed to the brink? Her biology class that afternoon unfolds events and consequences out of her control.
The class starts innocently enough. Bella walks in, expecting the usual—awkward introduction, seat assigned, getting on with the lesson as usual, yada yada yada. Bella has been looking forward to biology because it is the second to last class of the day, one of the final hurdles before she gets to go home, a sweet release for her anti-social heart.
But then disaster strikes. The teacher assigns her to sit next to the only other student without a lab partner, none other than Edward Cullen himself, star of her thoughts and daydreams in the class periods since lunch.
At first, her heart thrills, excited to sit next to the statuesque, bronze-haired, ridiculously handsome Edward. Her heart chills—though—when she approaches the desk only to see Edward glaring right at her with furious, nearly all-black eyes. If looks could kill, she would be dead in a second the way he's looking at her.
When she sits, he slides away and scooches his seat to get more distance from her. He angles himself so he's turned away from her, giving her the coldest of shoulders.
Bella's thoughts echo Mike's comment from earlier: what is his problem? Did she do something wrong? Does he dislike her for some reason? Does she smell? Does his family have a feud with the Swans that she doesn't know about?
If she felt uncomfortable being noticed by everyone around her before, now it is agony. Even though Edward refuses to look in her direction as the class goes on, she can sense how at attention and tense he is because of her. Everyone else in the room feels the vibe too. When the bell rings, Edward rushes out of the class so quickly he practically blurs in her line of vision. In his dust, Mike wanders over again. "Seriously, what is that guy's problem?"
Mike chatters on as they head down the school hallway, but Bella's head is spinning and nowhere near paying attention to what Mike is saying. Why was Edward so antagonizing to her? It's not like he said anything rude to her, but his eyes said everything he didn't. They were angry, accosting eyes. What had she done to him? Nothing! What kind of person makes someone else feel so unwelcome?
After Mike chivalrously deposits her at the admin building after the final class of the day, detested gym, Bella heads into the office to submit her new student slip (signed by all of her teachers, proof of the perfect attendance Charlie requested).
On her way in the door, she catches phrases of a conversation she doesn't immediately make sense of. "Change . . . biology class . . . not seventh period . . ."
Simultaneously, a gust of frosty wind pushes past her, and she has to exert extra energy to push the door shut against the breeze. She shivers as she looks around her.
And there he is. Edward. Leaning against the counter, looking deep into the entranced secretary's eyes. Shivering in the cold draught's wake. Or is he quivering? He seems to be shaking with anger, if his face is any indication—looking over his shoulder to look directly, knowingly at her—as if he'd known it was her that walked in before he even turned to see her standing in the doorway.
"Forget it." He hisses to the secretary, once again speeding out of the room, avoiding Bella as fast as he can. The door bangs loudly when it wooshes shut behind him.
The secretary blinks slowly, and when she opens her eyes, they are clearer and more conscious than before. "How can I help you dear?" She asks kindly, as if she hadn't just witnessed a weirdly hostile scene seconds before. Bella doesn't have the heart to ask her if she minded a student bossing her around like that. Instead, she hands in her slip to be approved dutifully before eagerly racing (carefully, due to the ice) to her car to escape the first day.
On her way, Bella spots the Cullen siblings off to the side in the parking lot. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett are all huddled together, talking with serious looks on their faces. Has Edward talked to them about the incident? And the second encounter? But Edward is nowhere to be seen. They then hope into their—very nice, expensive cars—and peel out of the parking lot.
Driving home, Bella rolls her windows down slightly to let the freezing air assist in clearing her head. She needs to think straight. Why is she so alarmed by one guy—just one guy!? Why let him throw off what was otherwise a completely average first day? So, not everyone is going to like you in the world. That's normal! She resolves not to have anything to do with Edward moving forward. She will ask for a new seat in class the next day and that will be the end of things.
Bella doesn't want to give any more attention to this completely unnecessary drama. She's here to tolerate a quiet, slow, uneventful life in Forks for the next couple years before an ultimate escape to independence. She just needs to bide her time, tread water, peacefully and uneventfully.
It's only later, as she's preparing dinner for herself and Charlie, that the seductive thoughts return and she muses: yes, the Cullens with their designer clothes, luxury cars, and dramatic attitudes would be good targets. Especially Edward with the way he's treated her so coldly for absolutely no reason. If she wanted to steal again. If…
Postscript: You might've noticed I leaned into the "vampires can magically persuade people" ability from Vampire Diaries in this chapter. Like I said in the prologue chapter, I like to mix and choose lore from different sources to make my own personal favorite vampire concoction. A bit of a mixologist, if you will