The Cullen family would visit the hospital on occasion. They donated their time to the children's ward. After spending time in Serafina's town, they realized children were very innocent. They didn't have the instinctive fear of themselves that normal humans tried to ignore. They saw nothing wrong with the Cullens. They were just a beautiful group of people. And who doesn't like beautiful people? The Cullens couldn't use their abilities to play with them like in Texas, but they could still play with them like normal humans. They all had different areas where they liked to donate their time.
Esme and Rosalie loved to donate their time to the volunteer baby cuddler program. They initially didn't feel they could benefit the babies much due to their lack of warmth, but they were pleasantly surprised when they found they could feed, rock, swing, and swaddle the babies. Since their turn into vampires, they were gifted with enchanting voices. So, although they weren't trained or had any actual talent for singing before, they could sing well enough now to at least soothe babies with their voices. They used that skill to assist with their cuddler duties.
Serafina and Alice would spend their time with the children in daycare. They babysat the children so their parents could spend more time with their sick or injured siblings. They would also join the other groups on occasion to assist.
They knew Jasper wanted to help, too, but being in a hospital was always tricky due to the blood. Thanks to their father, they knew their sense of smell was enhanced enough to smell illness. This was something Carlisle used to assist with his medical practice. He had fine-tuned it to help with diagnosing when needed. For the others, they just knew something was wrong. They found that if Jasper assisted children with more severe illnesses, it was enough to overpower any scent of blood. Also, the emotions around them were enough to allow his compassion to win out. But Emmett and Edward usually stayed with him anyway, just in case. They felt it was more rewarding to help these particular children regardless, so they never complained.
People's perception of them was relatively positive when word spread of how the Cullens spent every other Sunday. However, considering they still never really spent time with any of the townsfolk, they were still a big mystery they all wanted to try their hand at solving. They wanted to ask Dr. Cullen or Mrs. Cullen for group outings, but the intimidation factor was off the charts. At least, that's what they chalked up that bit of fear they typically got when too close to them. They didn't know it was their body's natural instinct to flee the predator in their midst. They could only ever muster compliments when near them before hightailing it back to their friends. They eventually tried to glean whatever information they could from their children about their Cullen classmates. But they never got anything of substance. They only got their children's thoughts on them, not many facts.
The only Cullen they had juicy information on was the newest member of the Cullen family, the beautiful and tall brunette. She had a run-in with Chief Swan on her first day of school. Since then, she had regularly been seen wandering the town during school hours. Typically, before lunch. Not every day, but enough for everyone to believe she was the only imperfect Cullen.
At the grocery store, when they attempted to bad mouth this imperfect Cullen within their gossip circles, their whispers about how she seemed to be a bad egg could be heard but were immediately put to an end by Chief Swan himself, "She's not too bad. She is a little headstrong, but she has a good heart. She volunteers with her family and visits the old folks home once or twice weekly to visit Mr. Barker and Mr. Payne. Yeah, she shouldn't be cutting classes at that time, but at least she's doing something constructive instead of destructive. Plus, you all know Mr. Barker and Mr. Payne have no relatives to visit them, and they usually scare off everyone who tries to volunteer to spend time with them. She can tolerate the two and them her, which is already a miracle. Serafina and her family aside, even Dr. Carlisle has been a God send to the hospital. You should stop gossiping about their family and be grateful they decided to try their hand at small-town living." He scolded them before he finished purchasing his frozen microwaved dinners and left. They apologized to his face, but even his defense was soon spread across town once he left.
Everyone was curious about the Cullen situation. Parents weren't the only ones interested. Two and a half months into the school year, the student body thought they figured the Cullens out. Suppose they ignored the obvious: intelligent, rich, and gorgeous. They were pretty sure they solved the rest of the mystery.
Emmett was friendly but oblivious. He walked around everywhere with a smile. But it was never aimed at anyone in particular. He worked very hard in class. He enjoyed participating in group activities but never picked his partners. He would wait for groups to be assigned. One instance with Emmett that everyone remembered was when the P.E. coach tried to talk him into playing football on the school team. Emmett refused because his mother said it wasn't safe. When the coach told him he needn't worry about his safety, that he should toughen up. Emmett got a serious look on his face as he explained that it wasn't his safety his mother was concerned about. That he tended to forget the extent of his strength. He accidentally demonstrated his statement by destroying a basketball passed to him with his bare hands. The coach was frightened by the sight and stopped trying. His physique, face, and personality were a big draw for most girls for Emmett. He didn't notice. Emmett was deemed intimidating but ultimately a nice guy.
Alice was also friendly but odd. She smiled at everyone and was always the first to raise her hand in class to answer questions. And she was also a big supporter of the group activity. People were sure she had ADHD or needed to cut back on her coffee, one or the other. Although she was all over the place most of the time, she tended to zone out often during class or even in the halls. She would also randomly change her appearance from the sweet girl next door with her smooth pixie-styled hair to a fashion diva with exaggerated makeup, outfits, and spiked hair to where she looked somewhat fierce. Then, she would giggle and ruin the illusion. They dubbed her weird.
Jasper was not friendly. He hardly smiled. He typically grimaced as though he was suffering significantly just being in school. And although he never glared at anyone, there was always tension when people were close to him. People suspected he might be a germophobe. He didn't want anyone getting too close to him physically. He could even perform some pretty exciting acrobatics to avoid near-contact moments. He was also smart but never volunteered information unless asked by the teacher. Everyone usually gave him a wide berth. He seemed like he could snap at any moment. Jasper was called risky.
Edward was another not-so-friendly Cullen. He was another who hardly smiled or, strangely enough, would smile at nothing when the room was silent. It was as though he were in the present conversation but also as though he was not. He did everything perfectly. But he seemed cocky, as though he didn't expect anything less from himself. That confidence and perfection brought him many admirers, but he held himself as though he were unattainable. Edward was classified as the good kind of cocky with a nice head of hair.
Rosalie was stunning but cold. She didn't like anyone, and everyone knew it. If anyone even tried to approach, it was as though invisible spikes appeared on her. As though she were ready to attack. She didn't have to do anything. Most of the time, she didn't even look at them. She would hold her head high and look through them as though they didn't exist. Some could argue that was even more painful than if she were to lash out physically. People avoided her instinctively, like her twin. But they couldn't help but sigh at her beauty. Lingering glances would fall on her, whether in class or the halls: the boys and the girls. High school was a time when teens began to question themselves. She brought many questions to several girls. It didn't help that aside from being the goddess-level beautiful. She was also top in her class and even good in shop class. Rosalie was regarded as the Ice Queen.
Serafina was different from the others. Neither friendly nor 'other' like her siblings. She didn't seem to care one way or the other about the students. She would interact if they tried, but she didn't usually initiate. In class, if she were interested in the topic, she would participate. Otherwise, she wasn't even paying attention. And that was even if she was in class at all. The first half of the day was iffy for her. But to the administration, she was surprisingly always present for lunch and the two classes immediately after. They didn't know why. If they asked the student body, they would find she was only consistently present because Rosalie was also in those classes. She was the wild card. They didn't know how to classify her.
Due to Serafina's aloof attitude to everyone, some would get brave and speak to her occasionally. She didn't mind and would answer normally. Not too chipper like Emmett or Alice. And not with condescension or attitude like Edward and Rosalie. They still didn't approach Jasper much, so they didn't know how he would react to speaking to them. But Serafina usually stayed cool, calm, and collected in conversation. But she was tricky. When they would attempt to get information from her about her and her family casually, they would always leave the conversation having realized that they told their whole life story to her and got nothing in return. Ben Cheney jokingly said it was like she was using Jedi mind tricks on them all. Those who understood the phrase were quick to agree.
One thing the students learned quickly about Serafina, though, was not to make her mad. Some could swear they could see a fire in her eyes when she was angry, and she was surprisingly strong for her size. How did they know? Simon Burke. Captain of the football team and school 'player'. He had approached her a month after their arrival in the middle of the cafeteria. He had seen how the other Cullens reacted to people. Serafina was the most approachable Cullen and very beautiful. So he stopped her and looked her up and down while licking his lips, nodding in appreciation. This was during lunch, and Serafina was returning to school and was on her way to meet her siblings. They watched from their table. Edward already had a glare on his face as he watched. The others knew from that look that it wouldn't be good.
Serafina raised her brow, "Yes?" she asked.
"Now baby, you don't look like a dyke. You're too pretty to be one of those butch bitches. Now, I think you're just confused. If you get dicked down right, I'm sure that can fix you." He said as he stepped forward, "This is where I come in."
He didn't lower his voice at all. The entire cafeteria heard. Rosalie was furious but didn't make a move yet, waiting to hear from Edward if she needed to stop Serafina from murdering the idiot. But she debated letting it happen and apologizing to her parents afterward. Edward gave her a stern look as he looked at his sister. Serafina's eyes flashed in her anger. But she shut her eyes immediately and pinched the bridge of her nose as she breathed deeply. She felt Simon take another step.
"She said she's got it," Edward said under his breath.
But their table groaned because they knew exactly how she would take care of it when they heard her following words.
"If you touch me, I will beat the shit out of you," Serafina said as soon as she felt that approach. His alpha male type always took that as an invitation for some reason. She did it on purpose to lure him into her trap. Now, she gave fair warning; there were witnesses who could attest to that, and she wouldn't be punished too harshly for defending herself at this point.
He reached to cup her chin, and as soon as that contact was made, her eyes snapped open, and her hand that was once signifying her frustration was now gripping his hand. She jerked it back, causing him to twist his body to follow the movement as he exclaimed in pain, "I warned you," she whispered into his ear with a sadistic grin.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he shrieked in his panic. She kept his arm behind his back, straight up in the air, with her other arm applying pressure to his head, pushing it down. With enough pressure applied, she could easily snap his arm.
"I'm debating whether I should break your arm or not," she said as though it were obvious. The other students began their whispers about how she was crazy. A few ran to get an adult.
"You can't do that! Help!" he called to his teammates. They began to inch forward but didn't know what to do.
"Nuh uh uh," she tsked, "If they step closer, I definitely will break your arm. But I think you play football or something? From what I heard, the team is so-so, but you are the best of the mediocre team, right? It would be a shame to be in a cast the rest of the season." She pouted.
"Stop!" he yelled at his teammates to stop their movements, "What do you want? Let me go!"
"Atta boy, first, apologize for what you said to me and my girlfriend," she said—turning him to face her family's table.
"I'm sorry!" he quickly yelled.
"I don't know, I don't think that sounded sincere, did you, baby?" she called over to Rosalie.
"Sounded a little forced," Rosalie played along, "I think he can do better." She said with a smirk.
Her siblings only rolled their eyes at the dramatics between the two. But they didn't make a move to stop it. If they let Serafina finish, they would be bothered less throughout the school year. It would be due to fear, but they were okay with that.
"I'm so sorry for what I said! I swear I won't bother you two ever again! Please, for the love of God, tell her to let me go!" he yelled to Rosalie.
Rosalie shrugged as though it would suffice. Simon couldn't see from his angle, so her silence frightened him. He was about to start begging again when he heard Serafina say, "Lucky for you, my baby is merciful. I would've made you beg some more and still broken a finger on your left hand as a little reminder to never fuck with me again," she said. Finishing her handling of him by slamming him face down on the table. It wasn't hard enough to knock him out. But enough to be dazed, he stumbled to his teammates, who ran to help him. Her show finished just before the doors to the cafeteria opened, with several teachers entering.
Simon quickly pointed the finger at Serafina, repeatedly shouting that she was a psychotic bitch. Whining and complaining that she almost broke his arm and demanding she be punished.
"Is this true?" Principal Greene asked while looking at Serafina.
She had her arms crossed at this point, "I warned him not to touch me. He still did. It was self-defense." She calmly answered, "This whole lunchroom can tell you."
He sighed in exasperation but looked to the students he knew were good and honest, in his opinion, and called the two in question to his office for statements. Parents would need to be called. This would be a big deal.
After getting statements from multiple students, hearing both sides of the story, and enduring the threats and intimidation attempts from the Burkes to himself and the Cullens. All while the Cullens sat stoically, waiting for them to finish. He had his verdict.
Due to the circumstances, the young Mr. Burke was the instigator. The young Ms. Hart claimed self-defense. With the evidence, all he could do was suspend both. Due to the excessiveness in Ms. Hart slamming Mr. Burke's face into the table after all was said and done, she earned a single-day suspension, while Mr. Burke's comments and actions earned him a whole week's suspension.
When the Burkes threatened legal action and even called the police in so they could press charges. He surprised them by throwing it back at them, informing them that they were wrong and Serafina had the right to press charges if she felt she needed to. The Burke family paled at the thought. But when Chief Swan turned to Serafina and asked her and her mother if she would like to, the Burke mother nearly had a heart attack while the father apologized for his son's behavior. He gave his son a meaningful look that caused Esme to frown. But she calmly looked to Serafina to see how she would proceed.
"Not necessary. I'm sure Simon here learned his lesson. Right Simon?" she asked.
He had a look of fear from how everything changed so suddenly against himself. He knew he would be punished when he got home. But if she pressed charges, it would be much worse. He took her olive branch and agreed. He thanked her repeatedly while Chief Swan merely said his goodbyes.
After dismissing everyone from his office, Mr. Greene sat down and reflected on what had happened. He heard everyone's statements. He had a clear picture of what happened. He could only think of Mrs. Cullen's words, "My Serafina doesn't start fights with her classmates. But she will finish them." Oh, how right she was. He hoped this incident would paint a clear picture to her classmates that she wasn't someone to be trifled with. He had a headache just thinking about the paperwork he would have to complete in the coming days.
-----A.N.
Cool to ignore. Not relevant to the story.
Thanks to the people who gave your feedback on my random concerns. I don't know why I got all bummed out and started questioning things. But you're right. I'm just gonna keep going at my own flow. Hopefully, we're not still at this story all next year, but who knows? I still don't have a clue what I'm doing. I write this randomly throughout the week, so I apologize for any mistakes. I think we're fine! We're going strong, and we're gonna get through it together! I promise we'll finish this book! The only thing that could stop me is this computer. But it's still going strong too! So we should be good. ;)