{&& so it Begins., tag: Bella // anyone

[Edward Cullen]

It was the first day of classes. Move in day had gone relatively smoothly, so Edward hoped that thread would continue here and now. But really, it was anyone's guess what might happen. What if all the students hated Forks Academy? What if so many of them dropped out that the place had to be closed for good? Well, project failed and it would be time to start a new one, he supposed. There would be no use dwelling on it. When one lived forever, it was pretty simple to just leave one thing behind and move on to the next. After all, he'd been doing that for decades. He couldn't even count how many times he'd gone through high school. Too many, probably, but it kepts things normal. When they started out as high school kids, the Cullens were able to live in one place for a longer amount of time. Upon graduation, if there had been no mishaps to cause them to move before then, they would leave for 'college' and go start over somewhere new. It was hard at first to leave a place, especially if he had grown fond of it, but Edward managed to let it go and focus on the new place. It was just the way things went.

This time was different, though. This was HIS school, sort of. He and Carlisle had planned it, financed it, built it, staffed it... Carlisle had even used the false name Richard Masen as benefactor of Forks Academy, playing off Edward's human surname. Edward was proud of the school, and wanted it to thrive and succeed as a superior institution renowned for its academic brilliance and its unparalleled sense of community. It was supposed to be a place where all types could live and work together in harmony. This was a hidden reference to the Cullens' wish to fit into society. If humans and vampires could exist peacefully, then why not people of all races and personalities? And so it was that Forks Academy for the Gifted was about to start its first official day of the fall semester.

Oh, I hope I didn't forget that class list...

I can't believe I'm actually here! It's so exciting!

Alright, time to get ready to win that scholarship.

Damn, this place is huge! How am I going to find anything?

Books...so... heavy... I'm so out of shape...

Edward sat on a cold stone bench in the courtyard, the thoughts of a hundred others running through his mind. High school students, no matter where they were or where they came from, would always have the same first-day-of-class jitters, it seemed. He'd heard them thousands of times. Panic, excitement... It was strange the way different people reacted to the same stimulus. Still, it was old news to him, and he shook his head as if to clear his mind of the constant stream of voices. Ha, as if that were possible. They were merely dulled to a low roar, and Edward took the opportunity to glance at his own list of classes. He had memorized it already, of course, but it looked more human if he had the list. First period, English Literature, second, Calculus, third lunch... His junior year schedule. Things he had studied time and time again. Sitting through lectures was monotonous, but at least his bored, spaced out look would no be out of place in a classroom full of teenagers.

He glanced up. The sky threatened rain, as it usually did. Alice had said it would storm this week. This was good. No missed classes on the first week of school. Being absent every time it was sunny was annoying, even though the break in the tedious schedule was nice to have. It made the humans suspicious when they noticed, and that was never good. A bell rang from the tower above the administration building. Edward got up, grabbing the black backpack from beside him on the bench as he did. He headed for the main entrance of the Academy, walking swiftly but at a human pace much like the other hurried students around him. His topaz eyes sent one more glance towards the grey sky before he stepped into the hallway, anxious to see what this day might hold.

[Bella Swan]

About three things Bella Swan was absolutely sure; first, Forks was cold, second, her body did not enjoy the cold and third, if one more person gave her a funny look, she was going to snap. It was as if the teens of Forks had never seen a human being before. She had no doubts that the school was full of super-humans as she eyed them passing her by. Some of the girls wore such simple clothing, and the guys? GUH. She wished that Forks Academy had a hall for their mothers to be so that they could scold the boys for wearing tank tops to wrestle in. They were going to die of pneumonia.

Grumbling to herself, Bella stumbled her way over to lean against the wall just outside the entranceway to the main building. Her gloved hands weakly pushed their way through her backpack in an effort to find the ever elusive class schedule she had been given the day before. When she finally retrieved it, the frail looking girl squinted from behind her scarf and hood to make out the room number of her first class Shakespearean Literature. A small chill went down her spine that caused a twitch to take over her body. Wincing in embarrassment, Bella ducked her head and shoved the crumbled paper back in her bag. It was an exaggeration of the truth, but she couldn’t help but feel like the world’s eyes were on her; waiting and watching.

The young girl’s teeth chattered as she tightened her scarf around the lower portion of her face and shoved her body into the crowd entering the building. “Ow! ‘Scuse you.” Thankfully her pouty exclamation was muffled by her scarf. It would do little good to make enemies with a boy that huge so early in the year. Eyes wide, she watched the nameless jock pass by with wide chocolate eyes. In her awe, she did not realize that a small crowd had gathered and were waiting in agitated states to get into the building. On instinct, Bella flattened herself against the doorway and…five…four..three- oh, earlier than she’d expected. They pushed their way past her, chattering up a storm. Almost longingly she watched after the students; wishing she could have stayed in Forks and made such friends growing up. Life would have been so much easier if more than just the lowly Freshman (Jacob Black) was her source of companionship on campus.

{{OOC: Sorry it's so failtastic. }}

[Edward Cullen]

Woah, whoops, did I just step on that chick?

The well-known voice sounded through Edward's head, easier to pick out amongst the flood of other unfamiliar ones. He glanced back at the burly figure of his adoptive vampire brother and shook his head. Leave it to Emmett to trample some innocent girl on their first day of school. "Ow! 'Scuse you." Came a female voice from somewhere in the crowd. Edward shook his head at Emmett, laughing to himself at the girl's pluck. Her tone was clearly irritated, which amused him. It took some guts to stand up to a guy Emmett's size. She was probably some athletic girl who was used to playing it all tough. He couldn't see where the voice had come from though, and didn't pay much more mind to it as he followed the flow of traffic down the hallway.

He stopped to check out a corkboard covered in flyers and other various sheets of paper. Already people were tacking up sign-up lists for clubs and teams of all sorts. There were also postings for openings in student bands, study groups... It amazed Edward slightly that this place already seemed like a real school. It even smelled like a school. The mixture of the foggy air in Forks and the aromas of hundreds of teenagers, stress hormones, various kinds of junk food being carried around or snacked on, the wafting breeze from the dining hall that he could still smell from the open door. He supposed that these were all pretty good signs. He wondered vaguely where the rest of his siblings were, but didn't bother trying to locate their inner voices at the moment. Emmett had disappeared, and Edward figured it was almost time for him to do the same.

His first class was on the second floor and he still had three minutes to get there, according to his watch. So, Edward ambled at a leisurely pace down to the stairs and went up them, taking in the scurrying kids all around him. Their minds raced and he was glad to be free of stresses like they had, but also scoffed at how small things like getting to class on time could get humans so worked up. It wasn't like they had to be constantly careful not to get to places too quickly or too early, not to answer every question in class merely out of habit because the answers come so easily, and not to get too close to the other students in the school lest they figure out strange things about you. Having friends was hard when you were on your guard 24/7 so they never noticed the weird little ticks you had, like eye color for instance. Going back to school also meant hunting more often so that could be avoided and so none of them, especially Jasper, got too thirsty and was then forced to mingle with hundreds of delicious humans all day.

Edward made it to the second floor and headed down the west hallway. It was a little less insane here. The crowds thinned as mostly everyone was in their classrooms by now. The English Department always gave Edward some weird nostalgic feeling. He loved literature, which was his first class of the day, but also felt that the beauty of words and prose and novels of olden times were simply lost. Most humans today did not appreciate the works the way they once had. Hopefully it would be different here, he thought. The students at this school were chosen specifically for their minds or their talents. They would understand wouldn't they? Well, at least the ones specifically here for the literature and writing programs, he hoped. It wasn't even his favorite field- science was much more fascinating to him- but it was one that he greatly enjoyed and had spent much time poring over.

He paused to look out a window at the end of the hallway, in front of the door to his first class. It wasn't fully raining yet, but a thin sheet of mist was falling gently from the grey clouds. A girl shoved past him and went into the room, out of breath from hurrying up here. She'd gotten lost and was freaking out because her parents had said she would not be staying at the Academy if she didn't maintain a 4.0 GPA... Edward sighed, feeling pity for the girl not only for her stress but the fact he had just invaded her privacy unintentionally. He looked back out the window. The trees on the edge of campus rustled softly from side to side in the light wind. The woods were going to be an issue. Maybe students would stay out of them since it was wet and gross most of the time. Girls would, for the most part at least. If only those kids knew what dangers might lurk in the darkness of the forests. A frown crossed Edward's pale face as he mulled over that, momentarily forgetting he had only a minute to get into the classroom before the final bell rang.