ᶠᵒʳᵏˢ, ʷᵃˢʰⁱⁿᵍᵗᵒⁿ
ʲᵃⁿᵘᵃʳʸ ˢⁱˣᵗᵉᵉⁿᵗʰ ᵗʷᵒ ᵗʰᵒᵘˢᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵉᵛᵉⁿᵗᵉᵉⁿ
ⁱˢᵃᵇᵉˡˡᵃ ᵖᵒᵛ
After dealing with the bitchy secretary, Ms. Cope, I finally received my schedule and locker combination. It took much longer than it should have, causing me to be late for my first class after dropping off my daughter, Tatum, at the childcare center.
As the day went on, time seemed to fly by without anything interesting happening. In this small town, I had a feeling that I was the most intriguing thing they'd seen in a while.
With my gym bag slung over my shoulder, I made my way towards the locker room. As I entered the girls' locker room, all eyes turned to me, and I could feel the weight of their judgement. Ignoring their stares, I headed to an empty locker and began pulling out my gym clothes - a bold red and black ethika set that hugged my curves perfectly. I slipped off my current outfit, feeling the cool air hit my skin as I changed into my workout attire.
Once dressed, I laced up my crisp white and black Jordan's and tied up my hair in a ponytail to keep it out of my face during class. As I exited the locker room, the familiar scent of sweat and cleaning products filled my nose and I mentally prepared myself for another grueling gym session.
As I played volleyball with the girls, someone spiked the ball in my direction. I swung my arm to hit it, but my aim was off and the ball flew across the room, striking a guy in the back of his head. I quickly called for a time out and went over to apologize for my mistake.
"Hey, are you alright? I apologize for my poor aim," I asked him with slight concern.
"Yeah, just a flesh wound. No worries," he chuckled.
"So, you're the new girl, Isabella?" he inquired.
"Yes, I go by Izzy though," I replied.
"Well, nice to meet you Izzy. I'm Mike Newton," he introduced himself with a smile.
Before I could reply, a brunette girl interrupted our conversation and exclaimed,
"Wow, she's got a killer spike!" She then introduced herself as Jessica and we chatted briefly before gym class ended.
As we headed back to the locker rooms to change, Jessica invited me to join them for lunch. I told her I would meet them there after picking up some things first.
After changing and making sure I looked presentable, I gathered my belongings and left the locker room. I quickly placed my things in my locker before grabbing my lunch and heading to pick up Tatum.
When I arrived, I found her playing with a few young girls. She squealed with excitement as she saw me and tried to stand up. I picked her up and grabbed her lunch, informing her teacher that we would return after lunch.
Excitedly, Tatum told me about her new friends and what they were playing. Even though I struggled to understand everything she said, I listened attentively.
As soon as we entered the cafe, all eyes were on me and Tatum. But she was completely oblivious to the attention lost in her own thoughts, and I didn't pay much attention to the stares. I spotted Jessica and Mike at a table with three other guys and a girl.
"Hey guys," I greeted them as I approached their table.
They all looked up, their expressions widening in surprise when they saw Tatum in my arms. I simply sat down and placed Tatum on my lap, setting our lunchboxes on the table.
The blonde girl sitting at the table couldn't contain her excitement for Tatum and immediately began gushing over her. Everyone then took turns introducing themselves, and I learned that the blonde was named Lauren Mallory and her boyfriend was Tyler Crowley, a dark-skinned boy who played on the basketball team with Mike. Then there's the two Asian boys Eric Yorkie and Ben Cheney, and apparently, we were waiting for Eric's girlfriend Katie Marshall and Angela Weber who I'm pretty sure Ben has a crush on from the way he was describing her.
I proudly introduced them all to Tatum, and everyone seemed to like her except for maybe Mike and Jessica. It was strange because I didn't know what their problem was, but when I mentioned that Tatum was my daughter, Mike made a face and Jessica tried (and failed) to hide a sneer. Honestly, I don't care what their issue is, but they need to resolve it if they want to be around Tatum.
My baby doesn't need to be surrounded by negative energy, and I won't allow it. If they have a problem with me being a teen mom, then screw them. This small town mentality is ridiculous; so what if I'm 17 with a 2-year-old? Who cares?
Lauren asked to hold Tay after she finished eating. I agreed because Tay seems to like her, unlike Mike or Jessica whom she turned away from when they spoke to her. We chatted while we ate, and a few minutes later, a cute red-haired girl and a tall brunette joined us.
The red-head sat next to Eric, which must be Katie, while the brunette had a camera, so she must be Angela. She asked if she could take a picture of me and Tay for the school newspaper, and I happily agreed. Then we went back to our conversation, with me feeding Tay in between.
After about 15 minutes, I looked up and saw some pale students with golden eyes enter the cafeteria. I turned to look at Angela and Katie and asked about them.
Before Angela or Katie could respond, Jessica interrupted and immediately launched into gossip mode, much to my annoyance. "Those are the Cullens," she whispered, leaning in for effect. "They came here about two years ago." Lauren chimed in with a comment about how they keep to themselves.
"Yeah, it's because they're all...together," Jessica continued with a sly grin. "Like, together-together." She proceeded to point out each member of the group: Rosalie Hale, who looks like a model, is dating the big dark-haired guy next to her named Emmett Cullen who looked like he was on steroids (and Jessica isn't sure if that's legal); the small dark-haired girl is Alice Cullen, and she's dating Jasper Hale (who happens to be Rosalie's twin brother). I cut in sarcastically,
"So people don't normally move in together when they reach the next stage of their relationship?" Angela tried to defend the Cullens by saying that they're not actually related, but Jessica persisted with her gossip. Finally, I shut her down by pointing out that they already had the convenience of living together before becoming a couple. She awkwardly moved on to describe Alice as "super weird" and mentioned that she's dating Jasper Hale (again, Rosalie's twin brother).
As she talks, I take my time to observe them all. I don't see the conventional beauty that people claim Rosalie has; sure, she's pretty, but her looks are fairly basic. However, her fashion sense is on point. Emmett is massive, with a physique akin to a brick wall, which is definitely attractive to me. But I won't pursue someone already taken by another person.
Alice is petite and moves with a graceful ease, like a ballet dancer perhaps. Her small stature and short hair give off a pixie-like vibe. Then there's Jasper - tall and lean, with slight hints of muscle that suggest he plays some sort of sport, maybe baseball. He does have an air of discomfort or pain around him, but it could just be his natural demeanor.
My attention is drawn back to the conversation as Jessica begins talking about the final sibling, the bronze-haired boy with a boyish appearance.
"That's Edward, the only single Cullen. He's unbelievably attractive, but he obviously doesn't think anyone here is good enough for him," she says with a dismissive shrug.
I couldn't care less about her failed attempts to win him over; he's not my type at all.
Suddenly, I feel someone's intense gaze on me and I look up to see Edward outright staring at me. I furrow my brow in confusion and turn away from him. What is his problem? Why is he staring at me like that?