mon. 23 january, 2006
…
The days following I started emailing Alice about my nightmares, just hoping that she read them even if she didn't respond, but my emails never went through. I still emailed her though, I told her how I was feeling, what I did that day which was always school, work, homework and spending time with Dad. My nightmares, of course. Mom never emailed and I never emailed her, nor has she called yet. After a couple of weeks of searching for a house in La Push, Dad found one on the outskirts of the village, he got a storage unit for Renee and Bella's belongings and then we were moving into the new house. I had managed to redecorate the brown wood paneled walls with 60's wallpaper with my posters, my dresser I had to give up unfortunately since my room was too small but the closet had built-in shelves so it was a win-win. I was able to keep my desk and I had it tucked at the end of bed and two feet away from the closet and a single window next to the closet.
It didn't take long to get unpacked and situated over the weekend, the change of scenery hasn't made me scream or have nightmares. I wondered how long this would last as I showered for my first day at a new school, in a town I didn't know much about, we visited the beach over here a couple times when I was like 4. I brushed my hair and toweled dried my hair the best I could and dressed for school. I pulled on my beige long sweater dress with brown and black stripes around the wrist of the sleeves, it was a thick cardigan type of fabric and a pair of black leggings. I pulled on a thick pair of socks and pulled my hair back into a low ponytail, since it decided to rain like it was coming out in buckets, the sheeting rain washing away the light snow that fell yesterday evening. I gathered up my new notebooks and folders and stuffed them into my backpack, I grabbed the truck keys and left my small bedroom.
Dad was already gone for another day of work at the station and search parties, I made a cup of coffee and some eggs with oatmeal. I finished my coffee and filled my dishes with water to clean them after school, I brushed my teeth and rinsed my face and washed my hands. Nervousness of the day and in new surroundings was starting to get to me and rioting with the caffeine. I went back to my room when I forgot deodorant, I snatched up the perfume I haven't used in a while from my desk and left my room. I stuffed the perfume into my bag and put on my boots, I pulled on my parka and backpack.
Finding the school was easy with Dad's instructions the other day, the parking lot was half full when I arrived, I inhaled sharply to get my nervousness under control. I gave myself a pep talk as I walked through the parking lot to the smaller school than Forks High, La Push Central. The building had two levels and a long rectangle with a slight arch at the entrance, there was another road towards the other schools with signs. The elementary and intermediate buildings. I found the main office as soon as I walked in and it was to my left and written in blue, white, black and neutral gray colors, the inside was bright compared the dark wood exterior. It was a nice change from Forks yellow and white, and it looked better with the outside contrast of rich green earthy tones.
The lady behind the desk was an older Quileute woman with long beautiful black hair, she had glasses perched on her nose, and she was looking through papers and typing on the computer keyboard. I walked up to her desk and smiled politely nervous, she looked up at me with her eyes and continued typing.
"Good morning," I greeted, clasping my hands together.
Her chin raised, she smiled kindly, "Good morning. How can I help you?"
"I'm starting today. My name is Celestia Swan." I replied widening my smile to my eyes as an attempt to chase away my own nervousness.
"Oh yes," she looks down at the papers in front of her. "I was just going over the rest of your information and schedule. It'll be a few minutes. You can take a seat right over there and I'll call you."
I nodded and looked over my left shoulder to the three chairs against the wall. I walked over and pulled my backpack from my shoulder, and sat down in the last chair furthest to the right. I waited patiently and focused on quietening my raising anxiety. I looked over my schedule as I left the main office, I looked through the papers she gave me and headed off towards my locker. I walked through the hallways full of banter and laughter sporadically and found my locker, I hung my parka up and I looked around to see what the deal was with backpacks and books. Kids had books and backpacks, so I put my backpack on and closed my locker, I headed towards my first period class. I expected to have some trouble or even be late to my first class but with the small size of the school it was easier than I thought it was, the teacher was at the door thankfully and pointed out my desk.
Math was my first period of the day, awesome. It was hell. The bell rang once I was settled at my desk, I looked around the room quickly as the teacher walked in and spoke out to the class with enthusiasm. Most of the kids were Quileute, I was one of the few pale faces and other kids of ethnicity, either way I felt oddly relaxed and hopeful about today. The morning went smoothly, and I didn't have too much trouble finding my classes. I wasn't expecting to make any friends either, and I didn't try to make any either. Fourth period was Health, and I wanted to shoot myself, but I only had it once a week on Mondays, Tuesdays fourth period is Art, Wednesday fourth period is Foreign Languages, Thursday fourth period is Civil Economics', and then Friday's fourth period is gym. I was dreading Fridays now too.
I sat on the right side of the room when you walked in, at a empty group of five desks in crescent moon shape in the corner, just like the other groups. I observed my surroundings of babbling students, and noticed the class was filled with different grade levels, I could tell by the facial features and body structures of the other students. There were instructions written on the chalkboard, we were learning about different types of eating disorders today, I opened the textbook to the page listed on the paper on the desktop in front of me. I skimmed the questions and the textbook. I felt the presence of bodies and looked up to a trio of boys talking about their plans for after school, they were Quileute. Two of them were tall like early basketball players and the other was shorter and burlier with short cut hair. One of the tall boys were thinner with shin length hair, and the other was gangly muscles and long black hair past his shoulders.
He was really cute. I looked back down at the textbook and assignment before he looked at me. They sat in the empty seats and there was still one of them that was empty. I looked over the increase of volume from students laughing and gabbling, some kids were glancing over but the others were bantering and fooling around. The bell rang, the class started settling down and the teacher walked in.
"Alright you hooligans." A lean teacher with a thick head of brown hair and a persona of a fun, but responsible male teacher. He smiled brightly, and he was handsome. If I had to be honest, he scanned the room as he walked over to the desk in the front of the room. "Let's get started—Hello." His eyes landed on me and he smiled wider. "You must be Celestia Swan?"
I cringed at the attention landed on me, "Yeah. Celeste, please."
He chuckles, "Okay. It's okay, kid. We won't hurt you."
"Not that much," One of the boys in the other groups joked, giggles from girls around him but his light eyes were on me and he was smirking.
"Alright." The teacher said as the room started to get rowdy. "Celeste, come here. Hey, work on the assignment. Don't start." The teacher looked at one of the boys in the group.
The boy he was talking to, threw his hands up in surrender as his friends chuckled and giggled, "I didn't even do anything."
"Just a warning."
I stood up from the desk and walked over to the teacher's desk, I clasped my hands nervously and he looked up and handed me some papers. The block on his desk had Mr. Elliott carved into the wood.
"Have you parents sign that and bring it back to me in the morning, okay?" He asks and I nodded taking the papers from him.
I walked away from the desk back over to my own and sat down. Mr. Elliot turned out the lights to play the video documentary on eating disorders.
The documentary started playing and it was created three years ago, I glanced over at the three boys to my right, when I caught slight movement from my peripheral, I looked down at the burly one passing me a note. Shock and surprise ran through me and my fingers shook a little with nervousness as I took the note inconspicuously. I folded the note open quietly and read what he written.
He wrote 'Hi'. Simple
I wrote 'Hi' back and folded the note back up, I glanced around the room and no one was paying attention.
I passed the note back over, the tallest boy was sitting closest to me, he passed it over. I looked back up at the tv, I didn't watch the TV like I was supposed to, I couldn't focus on it. The note was passed over and I unfolded it.
'So, you're the girl everyone's been talking about today.'
What? That's embarrassing.
'Everyone is talking about me?'
I passed the note back. I looked around the room, the boy with short hair whispered to his friend when Mr. Elliott was glancing over with scrutinizing eyes. The note wasn't passed again, Mr. Elliott walked around the room aimlessly a couple times preventing any note passing. Even though the assignment wasn't due until the next class and not necessarily meant to do in a group but the boys immediately turned to me once the instructions were given.
The burly one who started the note passing, smiled at me impish, "Hi there."
My eyes widened at the smile, the intention of it, "Hi." It was only polite to respond and smile back, writing down an answer for the second question out of ten.
"I'm Quil Ateara," he greets his smile widening.
"Celeste." I replied, crossing my leg over my right.
"You're pretty."
"Ugh, stop please." The boy with shoulder length hair pleads quietly and I had smiled at his reaction.
"Weren't you just flirting with Brianna?" the tallest boy inquires; he looked a little irritated.
"Shut up, Jake."
"Relax, back there." Mr. Elliott advises from the front of the room.
"See what you did." I looked between the boys as the short one glared at the one next to me.
"That was all you and your loudmouth." He responses with causal ease.
"Oh please." The last boy scoffed, "It was the both of ya."
The three of them started bickering like old ladies and I soon started giggling at their interactions, I had to cover my mouth as I finished the assignment. I learned their names through their bickering as I worked; Jacob or Jake, Embry, and Quil, I glanced up at them every now and then as they worked. I corrected them three times with their answers as they discussed out loud.
The bell rang, I walked out of the classroom with my belongings and walked towards the cafeteria. I stopped by the pin board with flyers. My eyes found Bella's missing person flyer; I had picked the photo since it was the most recent when we had taken pictures with her camera from Mom, it had been the only picture that she would take and she took one with me and Edward. I was in this picture but my face had been blurred so there wasn't any confusion. The hole in my chest burned and twanged with pain. I closed my eyes for a second and inhaled through my nose, forcing the following thoughts away before they could produce. I should have been expecting to see her flyers around.
"Are you okay?"
I turned to Jacob's voice, I covered my expression before I met his eyes once I craned my head back, "Yeah." I looked back at the board.
"That's… your sister, right?" Embry asked.
They had noticed what I was looking at, I sighed, "Yeah."
And then I walked away, walking through the sea of students with the hallway loud with chatter and laughter. I can see the distinct doors of the cafeteria along with the drifting smell of food as I continued following some of the kids that had been in my morning classes. I grabbed onto the straps of my backpack as I headed into the lunch line.
I sat down at an empty section of a table around the middle towards the windows, the rain was beating against the glass at an angle, the small softly across my face. I worked on homework from the morning classes while I ate whatever they called it. I saw my health group through lunch when I looked up every now and then feeling eyes on me, I seen them during the change of lunch period, and in the hallways too. Jacob was in my next class and we were paired up for the English assignment incorporated with our heavy purple textbook, my backpack felt heavier than it would be at Forks High. I got a math textbook, an American History textbook, a Physics text book, the health text book. I still have Quileute History left, and we finished earlier than the rest of the class.
His skin tone was russet brown and it was such a different contrast compared to mine; my skin was as white as the piece of paper. His eyes lashes were long and fluffy, he was growing into a handsome young man and I had to force myself not to look at him. I thought over how stuck I felt when I would look at him, intense butterflies in my stomach and I swear I could smell his body odor. But he didn't stink, he smelt good, I crossed my leg over the other and doodled in my notebook for the remaining of the time. A couple minutes passed and the class started to murmur with voices and light movement.
"How are you liking La Push so far?" Jacob asks in his deep, husky voice, curious and casual.
I shrugged, looking up at him, "I'm liking it so far. No complaints."
Jacob nods and crosses his arms on the desk, he leans towards me a bit, speaking quietly, "Is Forks High like La Push?"
I shook my head, "Forks High is bigger. And yellow." I cringed and shook my head again.
He smiles, his teeth were perfect and white, "You don't like yellow?"
"Not really. Imagine graduating in a yellow gown." He made a face and I giggled lightly, "It's not very flattering."
"No, it's not." He cringed at the thought.
I giggled lightly again pulling the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands. The classroom rose from a murmur to neutral chatter, the teacher got up as a signal that everyone was finished. She collected the papers and returned to her desk.
"Keep the volume where it is. Stay in your seats." She instructs as she begins grading papers.
"How is the truck?" Jacob asks after a moment of us looking at each other for a brief moment.
I blinked at him in confusion, "My truck?"
"Yeah. Your Dad bought it off my dad last year, he said it was for you and your… sister."
"Oh." I was still confused for a split second, until I remembered the conversation with Dad when he came home with the truck after searching for months, and he went to La Push and he found the truck. He had met the guy who put it up for sale, I remember now that Dad said that the guys son had kept in good shape for the age, and would last a couple of years. We were always welcome to come to them instead of going to Dowlings. We never met them though, Edward had been out chauffeur once Bella and him were dating.
"Oh," I said again with recollection, "I remember now. Yeah, it's alright I guess. There's an engine oil light on though."
"Oh, come over after school. I'll change it. It won't take long, like fifteen minutes."
Dad would kill me if I went to a boys house. But it was for the truck, I considered it because the light has been on for a while and Dad certainly didn't have the money to take it Dowlings.
"Okay." I nodded.
The bell rang then.
"I'll meet you at the end of the day by the doors."
"Meet you there."
Jacob and I looked at each other when we walked in the same direction to our next class, we walked together halfway down the hallway to mandatory Music class. We looked at each other again as we both went to turn into the classroom. Did we have another class together?
"Are you following me?" Jacob smirks.
I shook my head, smiling, "I think you're following me."
Jacob shifted his books to his left arm, "After you." He says gesturing with a gesture to the open door with his right hand.
"Thank you." I replied, shyly.
"You're welcome."
I walked into the room and he walked in after me, I scanned the room and looked up to him for help at the near full room. Jacob looked around the room, he looked down at me as everyone started turning towards us, I followed Jacob to a near empty row of desks like a lost child. I hated this, I have never been the new girl before and I was glad Jacob and I had become acquainted because he was saving my life right now. I sat behind him in the last empty seat, this classroom was more interested in who I was with glanced and murmuring.
Jacob turned in his seat to look at me, "Can I see your schedule?"
"Yeah," I pushed the paper of my schedule towards him from resting on my English textbook.
Jacob picked up the paper and examined it, I scanned his face framed by his hair, "All of your classes from fourth period you have with me." He says placing my schedule back down and drawing a smiling face in the top corner. "It seems our friendship might be unavoidable." Sarcastic humor.
"Predetermined," I drew a Tic-Tac-Toe box in the other corner.
"She's quirky and competitive – a lethal combination—for a new best friend."
I smiled widely and we began a tic-tac-toe tournament until the teacher came in. I didn't know what to expect from my friendship with Jacob Black.