Chapter Two
One week later
The week had flown by quicker than I thought it would. Friday was the last day before school let out for winter break and we were all more than ready for the vacation. Alice was planning to drag me out Christmas shopping for the fourth time already because the last three times had been unsuccessful in her quest to find something spectacular for Jasper. I offered to drive to school today so that we could head straight to the mall instead of having to go home and now I was waiting for Alice to finish getting ready.
"We're going to be late you twit!" I called up the staircase as I twirled my keys around impatiently.
"School doesn't start for forty minutes and it takes ten to get there you idiot!" she called from the bathroom we shared.
"IF YOU'RE NOT DOWN HERE IN FIVE MINUTES SO HELP ME-"
"Edward Anthony, stop threatening your sister right this minute!" my mother scolded as she shoved a plate with two pieces of buttered toast and a bottle of orange juice into my hands. "Eat your breakfast. Now your father and I won't be home for dinner, so there's a casserole in the fridge. All you have to do is preheat the oven to 350 and just warm it up until the fried onions are crispy alright?"
"Yeah mom," I said, kissing her cheek before turning back to the stairs. "Ali come on! I have to turn in a library book before school starts."
"Alright, alright. I'm coming!" Alice answered, flitting down the stairs with ease, then standing on her tip toes to kiss our mother on the cheek as she was handed a piece of toast and a cranberry juice. "Love ya mom."
"Love you too sweetie. You too, Edward. Have a good day at school kids." She followed us to the door as she did every morning and waved as we pulled out of the driveway.
"So, today's a big day, eh?" Alice asked before we arrived at school.
"Big as in trekking across the mall serving as your own personal butler?" I joked, earning a slap to my right cheek. "Ow! What the hell Ali? I'm driving!"
"Someday you're going to admit that deep down inside you love our shopping excursions. And as excited as I am about shopping in Port Angeles, I was talking about the new girl. Today's her first day," Alice sang.
"And?"
"I told you I have a feeling about her," she whined.
"Is this your way of saying your psychic?" I asked earning another swat.
"I'm not psychic I just have really good intuition, and I'm intuitive to your boring life. The second that Rose brought up the new girl, I got gooseflesh," Alice said seriously. "What do you think that means?"
"Um, that there was a draft in the cafeteria… or someone walked over your grave?" I asked sarcastically. The smack that was issued for my smart mouth this time hurt worse than the others combined, but luckily we were already in the school parking lot so it didn't cause an accident.
"You're such an asshole, Edward Anthony!" Alice growled at me as she jumped out of the car and stomped her way to the entrance of the school. I had just gotten out of my car and grabbed my book bag when I heard her footsteps falter. "AND DON'T THINK THIS GET'S YOU OUT OF SHOPPING!" she screeched earning a couple of laughs from the few kids that arrived early. I've said it once.. the kids in this school were used to Alice's antics.
I ignored the embarrassment and walked towards the entrance of the library, flipping through the book I had borrowed last week to make sure there weren't any pieces of paper that belonged to me.
"Isabella, I know this is tough for you, but I'm sure you'll fit right in sweetie," a woman's calm voice soothed.
I stopped walking and looked over to find an older woman talking calmly to a pale, almost sickly looking, teenage girl. Her dark mahogany colored hair was pulled into a knot at the back of her head, looking as if it hadn't been brushed today, and her clothes hung on her body like curtains, hiding any hints of a figure. Her dark brown eyes looked sad and almost haunting as she stood staring at the woman talking to her while she balanced on one foot using crutches for support.
I concluded that 'Isabella' was the new girl since I've never seen her face before and no girl in school had a cast on her leg. New kids weren't very common around here, so a new face definitely stuck out for a while, and Isabella's face was definitely noticeable because behind the yellowing bruise on her left cheek, she was striking.
"Go on Isabella," the woman said gesturing to the entrance of the school.
I was frozen on the sidewalk, taking in their interaction. Isabella looked down at the ground, not making any motion to move as the woman pleaded quietly.
"I'm going to be late for work sweetheart. Please."
The doors of the library burst open and a couple of kids trickled out, causing Isabella to jump and look over, catching my eye. I offered her a kind welcoming smile, trying to hide the embarrassment of being caught staring, and was horrified by the glare I received. Hatred in its purest form stared back at me. I flinched and turned, shuffling into the library as quickly as I could to get away from the piercing stare.
With shaky hands I placed the library book in the drop box and hurried off to first period, glad for once that I didn't share the class with any of my friends. I sat in the middle of the first row as I did every day in English, waiting for the bell to ring and for class to start. I kept my head down looking over the project that was due today: a book report on the latest book we had read together as a class.
I had been looking over my words for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors when the door swung open unceremoniously, grabbing my attention. The new girl, Isabella, stood there attempting to hold the door open and at the same time shuffle inside using her crutches. Part of my brain told me to remain seated, that this girl already hated me enough that helping her would probably result in her shoving one of her crutches up my ass or down my throat.
But the other part, the part that was raised by Dr. Carlisle and Esme Cullen, the gentleman part, had me up and rushing over to the door to hold it open for her. She made no notion to thank me as she hobbled past me and towards the seat closest to the door. As she passed, I was engulfed with a mouthwatering scent of honeysuckle and rain. I fought the urge to talk to her as I closed the door and walked back to my desk.
Unable to focus on proofreading of my paper, I stared at the top of my notebook, trying to keep from looking over at Isabella. I failed more than a few times and each time I looked over, her head was bowed, staring at her slightly shaking hands that sat on the top of her desk.
She had a large bandage wrapped around her right wrist that looked to be dirty and stained as if it hadn't been changed recently. I watched as her eyes would close slowly and her head would lower towards her chest. Just before her chin touched she would startle awake and repeat the process tiredly as if she hadn't slept in days or weeks. The bell rang shrilly, causing the both of us to jump and gasp at the same time, before the door opened and students started filing in one by one. Mrs. Huggins called roll call, earning a 'present' or 'here' from each student until she reached the bottom of the list.
"Isabella Swan?" she called.
The entire class looked over to the new girl sitting in the front corner of the room. Her head was now lowered, her chin resting on her chest and her eyes closed.
"Isabella?" Mrs. Huggins called again. The boy sitting behind Isabella lightly kicked the back of her chair, and everyone watched as she startled awake, raising her still shaking hand.
"Are you alright Miss. Swan?"
Isabella made no attempt at talking, instead she nodded before returning her gaze to her hands sitting on the desk. Mrs. Huggins didn't even try to include the new girl into the class's conversation over our latest project.
My eyes would gravitate towards the girl every few minutes as different students talked about the complications they faced with writing their papers. She looked so tired, but was trying to stay awake, leaning her bruised cheek against her hand as she turned towards each student as they spoke.
"Mr. Cullen, did you have a problem with your paper?" Mrs. Huggins asked, diverting my attention from the silent girl a few rows away.
"Um... huh? No. No problems," I stammered, checking out of the corner of my eye and sure enough Isabella was staring at me the same way she had each of the other students.
Five minutes before class ended, Mrs. Huggins walked over to Isabella and whispered something to her. She then walked over and held the door open while Isabella hobbled out of the room.
When the bell rang, I rushed to my locker to grab my Economics book before heading to the one class I shared with my little sister. Entering the classroom my heart dropped when I realized my seat next to Alice at the table closest to the door was now occupied by Isabella Swan. Frowning, I sat behind the two, upset that Alice made no attempt to address me. Alice was bouncing in her seat as she talked extremely fast to the girl, who remained completely silent, only nodding or shaking her head a few times to indicate that she was on the same page as Alice. The warning bell rang and Jasper slid inside the classroom right as Mr. Bush came out of his office. Jazz looked around until he noticed me, sending a wink to Alice before sitting down in the spot beside me.
"Someone stole your spot Ed?" he whispered as Mr. Bush called the attendance.
"Yeah, it's alright," I mumbled, partially glad that I didn't have to sit in my assigned seat today. "Alice can torture someone else for a change."
"Shut it Eddie," Alice hissed from in front of me.
"Or what?" I jested.
"Or I'll make you go into Victoria's Secret with me to pick something out for Rose's Christmas present, that's what," she growled, immediately shutting me up.
I had ventured inside that store once, and only once, and never plan on going in there again. Alice thought it was hilarious how the female workers swarmed me asking if I needed assistance, while I stammered and practically ran out of the entrance. She jokes that she found me an hour later sucking my thumb in the food court, when really I was in the Apple Store checking out a new iPod. Her word against mine.
I noticed Isabella's shoulders shake slightly with silent laughter at our small banter, and I smiled at the thought of making her happy. This was the first time Isabella looked remotely happy, or even the first time she actually showed emotion, today.
Like in English, Isabella was dismissed five minutes before everyone else, and when the bell rang, I rushed to Spanish to meet up with Rose. Hoping that because Isabella seemed mute she wouldn't be in an elective that was based solely on rolling R's and conversing with the other students, I was clearly disappointed when I saw that she was sitting beside Rose in the back corner next to the exit of the classroom. Sighing, I sat on the other side of Rose.
"'Sup Ed?" she asked, then motioning to Isabella. "Have you met Isabella yet?"
"N-no I haven't," I stammered nervously, waiting for another death glare from the aforementioned. Surprisingly she looked my way and gave me a kind smile. At least it wasn't another death glare, so I gave a small smile back.
Spanish blew by quicker than I thought, and before I knew it, I was watching Isabella walk out of the class room. Sighing, I stood up and gathered my things slowly once I realized what class I had next. Rose smiled wickedly at me as we separated, me off to the science building, her to study hall.
"Have fun with your new biology partner, Edward," she said with a wave. "I'm sure you'll have loads to talk about."
Great
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