After the night full of nightmares, I was utterly exhausted. I ignored my alarm for a few minutes, but I eventually rolled over and turned it off. I was not excited nor ready for my first day of school.

I changed clothes quickly, not bothering to shower as Charlie was already in the shower. That was something I took note of. If I wanted to shower in the morning, I would have to wake up earlier. I didn't like the thought of that either, but I was left with no other choice. At least I had showered last night.

Once I was dressed, I took Atlas out. He went quickly again conveniently. I thought it would take more time to adjust to this environment for him, but he didn't seem bothered or confused at all. He acted as though he had always lived in such an environment. How strange.

I led him back up the stairway and into my room. I grabbed my backpack from the bed and threw a few pens and notebooks into it. I didn't have my schoolbooks yet, so it felt almost empty. I threw it on my back and grabbed Atlas's vest. "Time to get dressed, buddy." He stepped forward and I slid the vest over his head and buckled it. I was not at all thrilled to be the new girl, especially because having a service dog brought extra attention.

Charlie was out of the shower by the time I made my way downstairs. He looked at me, his eyes still sleepy. "You ready for your first day?"

I laughed a bit underneath my breath, but he didn't hear me. "I'm as ready as I can be."

That seemed to be enough for him, and he turned back towards his breakfast. It looked like cereal. That was my choice of breakfast as well most days. I hated cooking in the morning. I had a feeling though that for lunch and dinner, I would be cooking a lot.

I leashed Atlas and then walked out the door, tossing a good-bye at Charlie as I left. Atlas and I stood for a second, looking at the red truck. I realized quickly that Atlas was too big for the backseat. He was easily ninety pounds, and the backseat was small and cramped. I opened the door and set my backpack in the backseat. I walked around the car and opened the passenger door and queued Atlas to get inside. He jumped in without a problem. The passenger seat would be his then.

The drive to school was short, shorter than I was expecting. Which I guess I should have expected considering how small the town was. I found a spot to park easily, and then I sat in the car, watching the other students as they walked by. Every person that passed investigated my truck. I guess they really weren't used to change. I looked at Atlas, hoping he would give me strength, and then I opened the driver's door and stepped out. The humidity hit hard, but there was no heat. It was a strange feeling, a wet feeling. I immediately disliked it.

I stepped around the car and opened the passenger door. Atlas sat on the seat, waiting for permission to exit the car. I smiled slightly, then grabbed his leash. "Come on, Atlas."

We walked slowly to the office where the secretary gave me a slip of paper to have my teachers sign. It seemed simple enough, so I didn't complain.

My first class was English with Mr. Mason. I found the building easily, and I tried to slip in quietly, which didn't work. I tripped entering the building, and everyone's head turned my way. I blushed as whispers started, and I knew I was being discussed. Atlas brushed my hand lightly with his nose, and I was grounded. I looked around the classroom, seeing an empty desk in the back. I quickly strode there and sat down, Atlas immediately lying down at my feet.

"Welcome!" Mr. Mason said, clearly talking to me. I slouched a bit in my chair, as I was instantly uncomfortable. "This is Isabella Swan, and she will be joining our class." He stood there for a second in awkward silence, but then immediately moved onto the lesson. He didn't say anything else regarding me or Atlas, which I was surprised about, but at the same time, I was extremely grateful.

"Hey," a voice to my left whispered. I turned my head slightly, looking at the source of the voice. Sat next to me was a good-looking boy, with blue eyes and blond hair. He had a kind of baby face, but his eyes seemed warm and inviting. I was yet again uncomfortable. I was used to receiving attention from Atlas, but not myself. I was a boring looking girl. Brown eyes, brown hair, pale skin.

I looked back to the front of the classroom before looking toward the boy again. We had caught the attention of another boy in the front of the classroom. It was an Asian boy with greasy hair. "Hey," I whispered back, surprising myself. Where did that confidence come from?

The blond boy smiled. "I'm Mike Newton. Hopefully we have other classes together. This class tends to be pretty boring."

I nodded my head, but didn't answer. We were studying Othello, which isn't something I would consider boring. But I guess I'm not exactly a normal teenager. The blond boy kept turned toward me, waiting for me to turn back and continue conversing with him, but I didn't. I wasn't the greatest at social cues, but I did know that we weren't supposed to be talking in class.

The class didn't last long, and as soon as the bell sounded, Mike got to his feet. The Asian boy approached us then. I hadn't even had a chance to stand up yet. "Hey, I'm Eric Yorkie." I looked a bit closer. The Asian boy wasn't my type of attractive, but he wasn't ugly. He was tall, over six feet, with brown eyes and pimples.

"What's your next class?" Mike asked, his eyes boring into me.

"Uh." I glanced down at my schedule. "I have government next. With Mr. Jefferson."

"That's my next class too!" Mike exclaimed rather enthusiastically. "Let me walk you to your next class."

"Oh, okay," I replied, getting to my feet and gripping Atlas's leash. He got to his feet as well and went to stand on my left side. Mike stared at Atlas as if he hadn't noticed him before. His mouth formed an 'o' and he took half a step back. Maybe Atlas looked small when he was laying down? Standing now, it was obvious he was a large and rather intimidating looking dog.

"He won't bite me?" Mike asked hesitantly, still seeming a bit shocked.

I laughed. "Not unless you deserve it." I smirked, and the joke seemed to go over his head as he continued staring and said nothing. "No, he won't bite," I clarified.

Mike seemed to take that to heart and clapped his hands together. "Okay, government. Let's go!"

I followed him through the hall and into the next building. This high school was quite strange. Many small buildings lined the campus instead of one large building. This definitely was not like Phoenix, that was for sure.

"This is the building," Mike said, stopping suddenly. I almost ran into him, but managed to stop myself. "It's Isabella, right?" Mike asked, realizing he should have asked this much sooner.

"Bella," I said. "It's just Bella."

"Bella…okay." He waved me toward a few empty desks in the back, and I went in sat down in one, Atlas laying down next to me, right between my desk and the desk Mike had chosen. He looked a bit hesitant again, and I choked back a laugh. Atlas looked at me, asking if I was okay with his eyes. I reached down and patted him on the head.

Government went fast, and the bell seemed to ring just moments after I had sat down, which I realistically knew was not true. Mike offered to walk me to trigonometry, and I agreed to it. It couldn't hurt to have someone show me the way to class.

Mike didn't have trigonometry, so he left me at the door. The start of class went about the same. The teacher made a small statement, the present students turned to look at me, and then there was more whispering.

"Hey," a voice whispered. Again?! I thought, turning to my left. I knew I shouldn't be surprised, but for some reason I was still frustrated. For these kids though…well, they weren't exactly used to new students. The girl who had spoken was smiling at me. She was small, a bit chubby, and had blue eyes. He hair is what caught my attention though. She had voluminous dark, curly hair. It was gorgeous.

I realized I was being rude. "Hey," I replied.

"My name is Jessica. You're Isabella, right?"

I sighed. "It's just Bella."

"Oh, okay! Bella then." She glanced down and then glanced back up. "What's the dog's name?"

I was surprised again, although this time I really knew I shouldn't be. But I was because Eric and Mike had mentioned nothing on it. I realized now that someone had already told them about Atlas. Oh god, was there a meeting on me or something?

"There was a meeting in the gym last week going over service dog do's and don't's, but I missed it. I swear I'm not trying to be rude." Jessica stared at me, and she definitely didn't seem sorry at all. I could tell she wanted to be friends, but I was a little put off. She confirmed my horror though, everyone knew about me not from gossip, but from an actual meeting. I hated to be the subject of attention. I felt very small and my thoughts were a mess.

"What is his name?" Jessica asked again, not getting the vibe from me that I was done talking to her.

I sighed and turned to her. "Atlas, his name is Atlas."

"That's a unique name," she said, and that was all she said about it.

She talked to me the rest of class, but rather quietly so the teacher didn't notice. I half paid attention to her myself, and I didn't respond much. That didn't seem to discourage her at all. She just kept going until trigonometry ended. It turned out that Jessica had Spanish with me next, and so I followed her to class. She continued to talk, but for the most part she entertained herself. I enjoyed the fact that she didn't need a reply to keep up conversation, but it was still a bit frustrating too. I never really got the chance to introject if I wanted to.

Spanish went pretty much the same, except no one new approached me. Instead, Jessica continued to chat with me. I noticed more whispers in this class, and that made me uncomfortable, but I assured myself that these whispers would die down once people got used to me and to Atlas too.

After Spanish was lunch, and I was not eager to be around the entire student populace at once. Jessica was still talking excitedly, and she led me to her table. I recognized Eric and Mike, but no one else. She told me all their names as I sat down, but I knew I wouldn't remember them. Jessica went on to introduce me, "And guys this is Bella. She doesn't go by Isabella. Just Bella. And this is her service dog Atlas."

"What does he do?" someone immediately asked, a blond with a sort of sneer on her face. Eric elbowed her and shook his head in her direction.

I blushed, even more uncomfortable. "Um, that's private." I said, shrinking in on myself. I was in no way comfortable enough to discuss Atlas's job. These people were practically strangers. The blonde girl gave me a mean look, and I blushed harder.

Jessica turned the attention away from Atlas and continued to introduce everyone who passed. I knew I wouldn't remember any of these names either. I glanced toward the back and noticed a table of students she hadn't discussed. They caught my attention as soon as my eyes landed on them. They were beautiful. "Who are they?" I asked quietly. One of the boys looked up and met my eyes, and I gasped a bit. How could he have heard me?! I looked away from the table and back to Jessica.

Jessica narrowed her eyes a bit, but she soon answered, "Those are the Cullens and Hales. Doctor Cullen adopted them all after some accident or something. I don't really know. But, they're weird. They're all together, like together together."

"They're not related," a girl interjected. I think Jessica had said her name was Angela.

"Yeah, but it's still weird!" Jessica insisted. "The tiny one, that's Alice. She's dating that boy that always looks like he is in pain. His name is Jasper. The blonde girl, that's Rosalie, and she is dating that big muscley guy. That's Emmett."

"What about him," I asked, moving my eyes over to the boy who had stared at me before.

"Oh, that's Edward Cullen. He's gorgeous, but don't bother. No one here is good enough for him." Jessica huffed, and I knew then that he had turned her down.

I listened to Jessica as she turned the conversation to homework, stressing that she couldn't screw up her next paper or she was in big trouble. I didn't realize how long I had been listening until the bell sounded. Atlas lifted his head and then glanced at me. I smiled slightly and stood up.

"What's your next class?" Jessica asked.

I glanced down at my schedule. "It looks like I have biology next."

"I'll take you there!" a voice exclaimed loudly. I looked and saw it was Mike. I agreed politely, letting him lead the way.