Chapter 18, School Starts
I’d never seen Nessie so flustered. She must’ve changed her clothes four times. “Honey, you really need to get ready now. Esme has breakfast waiting, and you don’t want to be late your first day of school.”
“I know. I know. Just give me a minute.” This time she’d decided on her standard t-shirt and faded jeans.
I nodded my approval. “I think you’ll be more comfortable wearing your favorite clothes. You and Jacob walked over the campus yesterday. Do you think you can remember where your classes are?”
Nessie rolled her eyes. “That isn’t what’s worrying me, Momma. I’ve never been around so many humans. What if I do something wrong?” Her voice was rising in panic. I needed to get her to Jasper.
“Come on, honey. You’ll feel better after you eat some breakfast.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s not like Jasper can follow me to school, you know.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She’d seen right through my ruse. It wasn’t easy trying to raise a daughter as intelligent as Nessie. She really did know it all.
I smiled encouragingly. Edward slid into the room and kissed her on the forehead. He had been careful to keep his distance until he was sure she’d decided on an outfit. Nessie was developing and liked her privacy. I was hoping we wouldn’t have a fiercely raging hormone problem soon. I didn’t think I was ready to deal with an emotional teen and I didn’t think Edward was, either.
We rushed to the Cullen home and Nessie raced to the kitchen. Jacob had already finished his breakfast and was leaning against the kitchen counter. “Hurry up, slow poke. School starts in twenty minutes.”
Nessie sighed. “I couldn’t find anything to wear.”
Jasper sensed Nessie’s agitation and ambled into the kitchen. Nessie visibly relaxed, but she was right, he wouldn’t be following her to school.
“What—you have enough clothes for ten kids and you couldn’t find anything to wear?” Jacob had seen her closet. He wasn’t exaggerating.
She stuck her tongue at him. Jacob grinned and ruffled her curls. She grabbed a huge lemon poppyseed muffin with lemon sauce dribbling down the sides then headed out the door.
She stopped to kiss Esme. “Thanks, Grandma.”
Esme looked wistfully after her. “Have a nice day, dear. Good luck in school.”
Nessie nodded and headed out the door. We followed her out. She kissed Edward and me good-bye. I suddenly felt like I was joining in the routine of millions of other families across America, and I understood why so many Kindergarten mothers were in tears as they dropped their kids off. Only this wasn’t Kindergarten and my daughter was racing through her childhood in record time. My throat constricted with unshed tears.
I couldn’t say anything. My voicebox wasn’t working. Edward and I watched as Jacob’s Escalade disappeared down the Cullen’s winding drive. I turned and buried my face in Edward’s shirt. Tears wouldn’t come to my vampire eyes, but he wrapped his arms around me in the only comfort he could give. My baby was growing up. Even though I knew her future involved Jacob and I knew they wouldn’t ever be very far away, she’d never really be mine in the same way, and I was surprised by how much sorrow accompanied that thought.
Nessie
Sitting next to Jacob in the Escalade, I downed Grandma Esme’s poppyseed muffin. There wasn’t much she cooked that I didn’t like, but I was worried about the school cafeteria food. I wasn’t sure I could eat something even humans turned their noses at. I’d heard horror stories from the Quileute teens. But then, maybe they’d just been trying to scare me.
I snuck a quick look at Jacob. He seemed relaxed as he drove to Forks High. He’d promised he’d make my school experience a good one, but sometimes I felt a little… smothered.
I cringed at the thought. Jacob was everything to me. It’s just that, every once in a while, I wanted to try my wings a little. Between Jacob and Mom and Dad and every one of the Cullens, I never got to try anything they might consider… unsafe. And sometimes that meant I missed out on some fun.
I snickered as I thought about the cliff diving day. Mom and Dad had been horrified. I stared out the window. To be fair, Jacob had gone right along with me the minute I’d suggested it, but he’d refused to take me grizzly hunting on Friday. I knew as well as Mom did it was because he wouldn’t have been able to refuse had I asked for a bite of bear.
Jacob glanced at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh, I was just thinking about Mom and Dad’s reaction when we decided to go cliff diving.”
“Yeah. I kind of got the feeling they weren’t too thrilled. That was fun, though, huh?”
I grabbed his hand. He could steer with one. “It was. Thanks, Jacob. You’re the best.”
He smiled contentedly and started to whistle my lullaby. Dad had composed it. It was Jacob’s favorite melody.
It didn’t take long to reach the parking lot. It was almost full. We really were running late. I’d have to go through my clothing search before I went to bed. I’d cut the time too close that morning.
I stared wide-eyed at the students streaming across campus. I’d never seen so many kids. I’d been in bigger crowds, of course. Mom’s graduation ceremony in June held an immense amount of people, but I hadn’t been required to interact with them. This was different.
The graduation ceremony was just a bunch of people watching someone else. Here, I had to fit in.
“Come on, Nessie. The first bell just rang.”
I took a deep breath. “OK. Let’s go.”
Jacob carried both our backpacks. They were almost empty except for a few mechanical pencils and a notebook or two. The teachers would be issuing books in class.
I was glad this was going to be a short day.
We slid into a couple of empty seats at the back of the class. The students turned to stare at the late arrivals, and I was uncomfortably aware of the fear emanating from all of them. Their eyes were on Jacob.
I always forgot how scary he looked to normal humans. He was almost seven feet tall and he was built like a body builder. He looked closer to a 25-year old than the 16-year old his license claimed him to be.
I smiled tremulously at the staring eyes. Jacob glared at them and they quickly faced forward. I had to stifle a laugh. Jacob was keeping his word.
The teacher cleared his throat. “I was just making introductions to the class. This is Beginning Mechanics.” He looked hopeful for a moment. “If your schedule doesn’t say Beginning Mechanics, you’ll need to head to a different class.” He paused a moment and looked expectantly at Jacob. It was obvious he thought Jacob had entered the classroom by mistake.
Jacob didn’t even bother to pretend to look at his schedule. Nothing was going to remove him from the only class we shared.
The silence was getting awkward. Finally, the teacher re-started his introduction. “I’m Mr. White. I’m the instructor for the Beginning Mechanics class. I want each of you to introduce yourselves to the class. We’ll start here at this first desk and go around the room. Tell the class your name and any experience you’ve had with mechanics.”
I listened with interest as the students introduced themselves. There was only one other girl in the class. Her name was Tammy Sorenson.
Nice name, I thought. She shared my bronze hair coloring, but her face was covered with freckles unlike the warm cream tone of my own skin. Her shoulder-length hair hung straight.
Most of the students admitted they didn’t have any previous experience.
Tammy said she’d changed the oil on her dad’s car. The guys turned to look at her in admiration.
Finally, it was my turn. “I’m Nessie Cullen and I haven’t ever even opened the hood of a car.” I didn’t mention that I’d watched Rose and Jacob plenty of times while they worked on engines. The guys laughed a little, but Tammy didn’t react. I might just like her.
Jacob was last. “I’m Jacob Black and I’ve put
a VW rabbit together from scratch.”
Mr. White glared at him. Obviously, Jacob was in the wrong class. Jacob glared back.
He knew he didn’t have any previous classes in mechanics. They couldn’t throw him out of the class just because he knew more than the teacher did. Mr. White’s gaze shifted first. It was hard to stare down a seven-foot-tall muscle builder even if you were the kid’s teacher.
Mr. White handed out the syllabus and the books. He explained his grading procedures and class requirements. The bell rang in the middle of his explanation. I quickly stuffed his papers and book into my backpack.
I could hear the whispers of the students as we left the class. “He’s huge.” “Did you see him stare down Mr. White?” “I’ll bet he’s on steroids.” “He looks too old for high school.”
Jacob could hear them as well as I could. He ignored them.
I wanted to bite them. I was surprised at the powerful emotion. I’d never wanted to hurt anyone before.
Jacob walked me to my next class. English. This should be fun. Not. I’d read most of the books Mom had been assigned for her college courses. I doubted the sophomore reading list held anything interesting.
I slid into one of the seats at the back while Jacob walked off to his own class. I’d be on my own until lunch. The next two classes were in the same building. Jacob didn’t have an excuse to escort me two doors down.
The teacher introduced himself as Mr. Mason, then handed out paper and asked us to write an essay on our summer vacation. Three paragraphs.
I rolled my eyes. I quickly pulled out my mechanical pencil. I was finished with the paragraphs in less than three minutes. I carefully looked over the page and made sure I hadn’t included anything that would give away our secret. I had written about my day at the beach and cliff diving. I frowned slightly. Do normal humans jump off cliffs? The Quileute boys do it all the time. Then I remembered they were werewolves. I crumpled up the page and started over.
This assignment was going to be harder than I’d anticipated. I thought back over the summer and realized that an awful lot of my experiences couldn’t be shared without revealing some supernatural ability.
I started over and wrote about my mom’s graduation. I couldn’t think of anything vampire-like in that story. I smiled.
“Papers, please.” Mr. Mason was gathering them up. He paused when he looked at my paper. I couldn’t see anything wrong. I tried to look through the paper and see what was attracting his attention. When I saw another student’s paper, I thought I understood. My elegant script didn’t look anything like it. He looked past the paper to me. “What’s your name?” He hadn’t gone through class introductions yet.
I closed my eyes a moment. I wished I had my dad’s abilities to read thoughts. It would’ve been nice to hear what he was thinking. “Nessie. Nessie Cullen.”
“Figures.” He muttered under his breath then went on to the next student and finished gathering the essays.
He droned on about the course syllabus and grading requirements and the papers that would be due during the semester. I couldn’t hear his monotonous voice. I was thinking about Jacob and what he was doing and whether or not his class was as dreadfully dull as mine.
“Nessie?” I started at the sound of my name and focused on Mr. Mason.
“Yes?”
“Do you need me to repeat the question?”
I nodded, a strange feeling of embarrassment creeping over me.
“What was your favorite book this summer?”
“All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan.” I answered promptly.
He looked puzzled. “I’m not familiar with that book.”
“It has the most beautiful paintings by Mike Wimmer.”
“Are you talking about a picture book?”
I nodded, not understanding the titters that were coming from the class. “It made me cry.” A couple of students laughed outright. I didn’t understand what was so amusing.
He cleared his throat. “I was thinking about a book that was a little more… challenging.”
I stared at him. “Isn’t the power in a book found in the emotion it creates?”
He looked startled. “I… suppose it… is.”
“Well, then,” I crossed my arms across my chest, “that was my favorite book.”
Mr. Mason stared at me a moment and then apparently decided it wasn’t worth arguing. He went on to the next student, whose favorite book was the Iliad.
I’d read that over a year ago, and it hadn’t touched me the way Patricia MachLachlan’s book had. I resisted the urge to snort. I didn’t think Mr. Mason would’ve appreciated it.
The final student was reciting their favorite summer book when the bell rang. I was relieved to escape the class.
The next class was Algebra II-Trigonometry. It was a college-prep class so I couldn’t skip it. I knew the basics, but math wasn’t my favorite subject. I’d never picked up Mom’s college-level math texts. They just didn’t interest me.
I might actually have to do some homework in this class.
Tammy, the student from my mechanics class, was sitting in the back row. I sat in the chair next to her and smiled timidly. She smiled back. “I haven’t seen you around before. Have you lived here long?”
I snuck a look at the teacher. The bell hadn’t rung yet, so I didn’t think it would matter if we chatted. “We just moved back from New Hampshire. My grandparents live here.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think I know them…”
“My Grandpa is Carlisle Cullen, he works at the hospital.”
“Your grandpa is Dr. Cullen?” her voice rose in disbelief.
I nodded. “I was adopted by his son.”
She shook her head in confusion. “I didn’t know Dr. Cullen had a son old enough to adopt…”
My brows drew together in concern. Have I said something wrong? I thought the adoption story was good enough to fool any concerned human, but Tammy didn’t look like she was being fooled. I hadn’t been around a lot of humans, but I did understand that most humans grew slowly over a long period of time. I hadn’t ever thought about the fact that my grandparents and parents looked young even for an adoptive family.
Ugh. Fitting in is going to be every bit as hard as I’d imagined.
“Dad is working with Grandpa at the hospital now. Maybe you’ll meet him sometime.” I smiled hesitantly at Tammy, then faced forward as the bell rang and listened as the teacher introduced himself. Mr. Varner. I wondered what kind of teacher he would be.
He had a similar routine as the other teachers. He handed out books and a syllabus then discussed the point system and the percentage of the grade that came from homework. He had the class introduce themselves. I was glad it was the name only, but it was a little awkward because, unlike the other classes, he’d asked us to stand as we did it.
It was my turn. I stood up and said in my clear, musical voice. “I’m Nessie Cullen.”
The students turned to look at me. The boys’ eyes widened, and I couldn’t think what I’d done wrong. I couldn’t remember ever feeling quite like that.
The girls’ eyes widened, too, but their look was more hostile, as if they viewed me as some kind of threat. I felt an unfamiliar blush swell up over my cheeks and sat down quickly.
I wished the floor would just open up and swallow me. I tried to think exactly why I was being forced into this awkward humiliation. I’d rather be home, but then I remembered Dad’s solemn words as he was explaining the need for us to fit in. I sighed. This was a sacrifice for the family. I could do this for them.
Tammy was next. She looked almost as embarrassed as I felt. I sent her a small smile as she sat back down. She smiled back. I had a feeling we were going to get along just fine. I’d never had a human friend before.
Mr. Varner passed out a sheet of paper. I looked down. There were some complicated algebraic equations to solve. I’d done a little math, but I hadn’t done a whole lo
t of algebra. I hoped I’d be able to figure out how to do these.
“This test will help me assess the needs of the class. Please do your best work. You have the remainder of the period to complete it.”
I glanced at the clock. We had ten minutes. I looked back at my paper. I was going to need a few more than that, I was sure. I bent over my paper and tried to enter the strange world of math. It was a struggle, but I managed to finish the paper just as the bell rang. I heard several pencils hit the desks. I glanced at the other students. They looked as intent as I felt. I wondered if anyone else had been able to finish the problems. This was going to be a challenging class. I didn’t think I’d be able to get away with any daydreaming.
Tammy sighed. “I think I forgot everything over the summer,” she quietly complained.
I nodded my head. “I know how you feel.” I didn’t exactly. My vampire heritage gave me photographic memory, but it seemed like the right thing to say. “What class do you have next?”
She made a little face, puckering up her freckled nose. “PE. Ugh.”
I made a similar face. It seemed to be expected. “Me too. I guess I’ll see you after lunch?”
“I was just heading to the cafeteria, too.” We gathered our books and papers and stuffed them into our backpacks then headed out the door. It seemed like a natural progression of the morning to be walking toward the cafeteria next to Tammy.
Jacob rushed to my side as I stepped out of the building. “Hey, Nessie. How were your last two classes?”
I rolled my eyes. “English was booooring. Math is going to be hard. How were yours?”
“I had computers. That was fun. My other class was Spanish with Mrs. Goff. It wasn’t too bad, but there weren’t any language requirements in La Push. I only know a couple of words—hola and sí.” He grinned at me.
I laughed then looked at Tammy. “Jacob, you probably remember Tammy from our mechanics class.” Jacob nodded pleasantly at her.
“Tammy, this is my best friend, Jacob. He’s like my big brother.”
She smiled at him, and we all walked to the cafeteria. It was early for lunch because of the short day, but we were getting the full lunch hour, anyway. The smell emanating from the open doors wasn’t appetizing. I wrinkled my nose in distaste.
Tammy nodded sagely. “I know. It smells awful, doesn’t it? It usually tastes better than it smells, though.”
I hope so, I thought.
Jacob led us through the line.
I carried my own tray. Nothing looked appetizing. I finally decided on an apple, lemonade, and a slice of pizza. After a moment’s hesitation, I added the accompanying small salad. Ugh.
“Good girl.” Jacob whispered. He’d been trying to get me to eat more raw fruits and vegetables. He thought it was the furthest thing from human blood available.
I was working on it, but it still tasted nasty.
As I turned away from the lunch line, I noticed all the students in the cafeteria were staring at us.
Jacob turned his fierce glare on. They turned back to their plates, almost in unison. He wasn’t someone to mess with.
Tammy turned to join us. I didn’t think she’d seen anything.
We moved to a table at the back of the room. The occupants slid over to leave a wide space around us.
Tammy didn’t seem to notice. Maybe she was accustomed to this kind of behavior. I’d never been treated like this. It bothered me.
I looked down at my tray, trying to decide which unappetizing item to start on. I chose the apple and quickly devoured it, leaving the core a neat hourglass. Jacob whispered, “Slow it down, Nessie.” He was quiet enough that Tammy didn’t hear.
I wasn’t accustomed to eating with humans. I slowed my eating down, remembering to chew slowly. It was awkward.
Jacob seemed to be relishing his food.
My salad tasted like sawdust. I had a hard time controlling a grimace.
Tammy was eating quietly. I couldn’t quite read her human expression, but it seemed a little sad.
I remembered how she’d started our conversation in math. “Ummm. Have you lived here long?”
She looked up and swallowed the bite of pizza she’d just bitten off. “No. We moved here last year. Dad’s a nurse at the hospital.”
“Oh.” I wondered who he was. I hadn’t been out to visit the hospital.
It wasn’t a place my parents encouraged me to hang out. Maybe they thought the smell of fresh human blood would be too much of a temptation. I’d fed on donor blood exclusively my first week of life other than some futile attempts at getting me to try formula. I could clearly remember my whole life. From before my birth, even, and I could most certainly remember the taste of human blood.
I took a bite of the unappetizing pizza and washed it down with some lemonade. Probably remembering the taste of human blood while I was trying to devour my pizza hadn’t been a good idea. It tasted even more like dirt. I’d be hard pressed to finish.
Jacob had already finished eating and watched me intently. I smiled at him and was glad he couldn’t read my mind. He would’ve been horrified.
“What’s your Dad’s name?” I asked.
“Gerald.”
“Gerald Sorenson?”
She nodded, and I tried to remember if Dad or Grandpa had mentioned him. I couldn’t place him, so I pried for another clue. “Which department is he working in?”
“He works in labor and delivery.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t realized male humans worked as nurses with the new mothers. No wonder I hadn’t heard of him. Grandpa and Dad didn’t work over there. They worked in emergency surgery and general practice. They weren’t sure if the new mothers would be more sensitive to the natural human fear of vampires. I asked, “Isn’t that hard for him?”
She stared back. “Why should it be? Lots of men work as OBs.”
“That’s true.” I tried to act like this wasn’t new information. Obviously, I had a lot to learn about humans. Trying to change the subject, I asked, “Does your mom work?”
Her eyes filled with pain, and she said quietly, “She died about a year before we came here.”
Curiosity raged. I wanted to ask about her dead mother, but instead I said, “I’m sorry. That must be hard for you.”
She nodded then turned back to her tray. I noticed she had stopped eating and was merely pushing her food around with her fork.
I didn’t know what to say. I felt awkward. This human world was so different from my vampire world. I forced the rest of my lunch down.
“Good girl.” Jacob approved quietly.
“Thanks,” I whispered back. “It was harder than it looked.”
Jacob chuckled. “Some days are worse than others.”
He paused a moment, then whispered a reminder, “Don’t forget to act human in PE.”
I nodded then stood up to add my tray to the stack near the trash cans. I was happy I’d be able to report that I’d finished my food. Esme would be proud. She’d worked all summer to prepare me for that.
Tammy followed me, as did Jacob. We walked quietly to the gym. I wasn’t sure what to say to Tammy. The loss of her mother must’ve been hard. I tried to imagine my mother dead, and tears started a slow trickle down my face.
I had so nearly lost her. I had recently dredged up the memory when I was worried about Leah, so the subject was fresh in my mind.
“Nessie, are you alright?” Jacob’s voice was all concern.
I nodded, not knowing how to tell him my pain was for my friend and for something that hadn’t even happened.
He stared after me as I entered the gym, his furrowed brow displaying his worry. I wasn’t sure he’d ever seen me cry.
Tammy flashed a worried frown. “Are you ok, Nessie?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t really want to explain my tears were for her. I didn’t know if that was a normal human reaction or just a weird Nessie one.
It had been drummed into me from bir
th that I was the only one of my kind. Nahuel hardly counted. He was a guy and had been raised in the jungle. I’d never even met his three sisters, so they didn’t count, either. I blinked my eyes to dry the tears, brushed the wetness off my face, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.
I’d expected a teacher a little less… uh… round. He looked like he could lose more than a few pounds. I stifled a giggle. I felt strange. I’d never had such mercurial emotions.
He seemed to sense my perusal and stared at me while he was introducing the class.
“I’m Coach Clapp.” He was handing out the class syllabus and grading scale. “Participation is the largest part of the grade in this class. I expect everyone to participate, even if you don’t feel comfortable with the sport we’ll be introducing during the unit.”
He seemed to be directing his speech in my direction. Once again, I felt a strange desire to sink into the floor. “The girls’ changing room is at the south entrance, the boys’ is on the north. I expect you to change into your gym uniform promptly. You’ll have five minutes at the beginning of class. After class is over, you have eight minutes to shower and change back into your street clothes.”
My eyes grew wide. I hadn’t changed in front of anyone except Mom since my body had started to change into its adult form. My aunts respected my space. I didn’t really want to change in front of a group of humans. I shuddered.
As had happened in every other class, Coach Clapp asked the students to introduce themselves. All the students seemed to know each other already. It had taken me several classes to figure it out. I was suddenly acutely aware that all these introductions seemed to have been for my benefit. These people had all grown up together.
My eyes narrowed. Tammy had probably gravitated to me because she still felt like an outsider. She’d been here over a year. That must mean it wasn’t easy to be accepted. It seemed as though these human relationships could be difficult.
I looked uneasily at Tammy. She was staring at the floor. I wondered if she was thinking about her mother. I was afraid to ask.
“Your locker numbers are included with your gym uniforms. After I hand them out, you can find your locker and leave your uniform there. Please be sure to take your uniforms home on Friday for cleaning.” Some of the students laughed. I wondered who the reminder was directed at.
Tammy looked up when Coach Clapp approached. He was handing out the uniforms. They were sealed in plastic and marked with each student’s name. The registration papers had included sizes for the gym uniforms.
Coach Clapp didn’t hesitate as he handed them out. He seemed familiar with everyone. The only time he hesitated was when he approached us. Our hair was the same shade of red. I wondered if he was having a hard time remembering which one of us was Tammy.
A strange feeling of irritation rose up inside me, and I found myself angry at the humans for being so slow in accepting this girl.
I glared at Coach Clapp as he finally decided which one of us was Tammy and which was Nessie. He didn’t seem to notice. Once again, I wished for my father’s ability to read minds.
We didn’t look at all alike. My curls hung down to my waist. Tammy’s straight hair ended at her shoulders. Freckles liberally dotted her face. I didn’t have any. Her eyes were a pale blue. Mine were chocolate brown. How can he get us confused? Humans are odd.
We headed over to the lockers. I hadn’t ever worked a combination lock. I stared at it in frustration. Tammy had already stuffed her uniform into hers. She noticed me staring at the lock. “Would you like some help?” she asked.
I nodded then watched as she worked the lock. She explained the process. “These locks are kinda tricky. You have to clear them out first.” She spun it around a couple of times. Quietly, she continued, “Catch the first number then go around once to the left and catch the other number then spin the dial right once and then catch the number on the second spin around.” The lock opened. “You want to try now?”
I reached over and tried to repeat the process. The lock wouldn’t budge. I was sure I’d watched every move. She was patient and did it again. I watched carefully. When she did the left number, she missed it by a hair. I’d been too perfect when I’d done mine. “Try again?” she asked. Her voice didn’t show a trace of irritation. I wondered again about her mother. What had she been like?
I tried again and the lock opened. “Thanks.” I smiled at her. “I had digital locks at my last school.” I lied. I hoped there was such a thing. She didn’t argue. Maybe she thought New Hampshire was miles ahead of Washington in technology.
“What’s your next class?” Tammy asked me, looking hopeful.
“Physical Science.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed.
“What’s yours?”
“English. Mr. Mason.”
I nodded. “I had him this morning. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I’ve never heard such a monotone.” I grinned at her.
She grinned back. “I need a nap, anyway.”
“Well, it might be hard to sleep. Between his monologues he actually had a writing assignment and then a request to name your favorite summer book.”
Tammy groaned. “Great. Thanks for the warning.”
I smiled. “Any time.”
We headed out and walked in opposite directions. Jacob ran up and took my backpack for me. “How’d PE go?”
“Did you know we have to change in front of everyone?”
Jacob snorted. “It’s just the girls, Nessie.”
“I know, but still…”
He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll hardly notice after the first week.”
I had a hard time envisioning that.
“Science next?” he asked.
I nodded. “Physical Science… and you have math?”
Jacob looked disgruntled. “Pre-calculus. I’m gonna need a lot of help with that one.”
We’d reached the science building. Jacob handed me my backpack and walked off to his math class. I made my way to class. The classroom had tables instead of chairs. A table at the back of the room sat empty. I sat there.
“I’m Mr. Banner,” the teacher introduced himself. “Welcome to Physical Science. Each student please stand to introduce yourself. To make things interesting, I’d like each of you to share your most memorable experience of the summer.”
I racked my brains for an answer. I decided our trip to Denali could qualify.
I listened to the students. Several had been in previous classes. There were only a couple I hadn’t met yet. It came with having such a small student body. We all had the same required classes. It would be hard not to run into the same people frequently.
There were a variety of answers. None of them talked about cliff diving. I was glad I hadn’t turned my English essay into Mr. Mason. Mostly the answers were about traveling to a variety of places. My Denali trip should sound like more of the same.
When I stood to introduce myself, I could hear the whispers. This had been the first class where the students were sharing tables, so they were more inclined to talk. “Wow. She’s HOT.” “She must be wearing extensions. No one’s hair looks that good.” “I like the way her hair curls.” “Do you think she’s wearing contacts? I’ve never seen that color brown.” “You’d think she’d wear something a little dressier for the first day of school.” Good and bad, I could hear the whispered conversations. It was a product of my vampire heritage.
“I’m Nessie Cullen.” I paused and hoped the whispers would stop. It seemed to work. Everyone was staring wide-eyed at me. I wished for that hole in the floor again. I continued, “My most memorable experience was when we flew to Alaska and saw the Northern Lights.” I sat down, and the whispering started up again. I wished I couldn’t hear them. How annoying.
Mr. Banner handed out the books and discussed his grading system. The routine was very predictable. I was glad when the bell rang.
My last class was Home Economics. I trudged acro
ss campus. Jacob caught up with me. “How was science?”
“Fine.”
He looked at me. “The first day is always hard. It’ll get better.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
I tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. “At least we only have one more class.”
“Any homework?”
“Not yet. The teachers have just been discussing class rules and grading systems. Not very interesting. I had some in-class assignments in math and English, but nothing I need to take home.”
Jacob nodded. “Cool. I guess I’ll see ya after school.” He patted my shoulder and headed off to his class.
I stopped and watched him disappear then moved toward the building that housed my home economics class.
The teacher stood up to introduce herself. “Good afternoon, students. My name is Mrs. MacMillan. This is the Home Economics class…” Her voice droned on and I thought about Jacob in his PE class. I wondered if the students were being rude and how Coach Clapp was going to react to having a nearly-seven-foot-tall student who looked like he could heft a car.
I jumped when she dropped my textbook on the desk. I’d been so engrossed in thinking about Jacob that even my vampire hearing didn’t help me.
She talked as she passed out the books. “The syllabus contains assignments for the semester. Much of your grade is on participation. We will be doing a large variety of in-class projects.” When she finished handing out materials and returned to the front of the class, she continued, “Please introduce yourselves and share what you plan to get out of this class.”
Well, this is a different twist. What am I planning to get out of the class? I wasn’t even sure what kinds of things this class was going to cover. I looked down at the syllabus and quickly scanned it. It looked like we’d be covering budgeting, balancing a checkbook, healthy lifestyles, cooking, creating menus, sewing, simple cleaning techniques and home repairs. Wow. That is a lot to cover in one semester. We won’t be spending much time on any one topic.
This class held a different group than had been attending the college prep classes. I didn’t recognize half the students. They were mostly girls, but there were a few guys. When it was my turn, I stood up and announced, “I’m Nessie Cullen.” The other students had pretty much taken every answer available. I thought it was stupid to be saying what I wanted out of the class, so I sat down.
Mrs. MacMillan raised an eyebrow. “Nessie, didn’t you want to say what you’re going to get out of the class?”
“Why should I? You have it written on the syllabus.”
The classroom filled with laughter. Mrs. MacMillan’s lips thinned into a straight line. “Isn’t there anything in particular you wanted to learn?”
“Not really.” I stared at her, stone faced. I was tired of playing these stupid games. I just wanted to go home.
Mrs. MacMillan stared at me a moment longer, then turned to the class. “I’d like you to read through Chapter 1 in your textbook and come prepared for a quiz tomorrow.” Everyone groaned. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was an unplanned assignment. She was punishing the whole class for my impudence, and everyone knew it. I could see it from the glares the other students were shooting at me. I was glad when the bell rang. I thrust my book and syllabus in the backpack and rushed out the door, almost forgetting to slow my pace to a human run.