Californian Experience

BPOV

"Bella, you have a letter!" My mom called from downstairs. I ran down the steps two at a time, before slipping off, but I managed to catch myself with the banister.

"Careful, Bella!" Phil said from the couch.

I went into the kitchen and my mom pointed to an envelope on the table. I saw an insignia on the return address and tore it open. It read.

To: Bella Swan

Congratulations, you have been chosen to receive a full academic scholarship to our school! We hope that you will accept our offer to attend our prestigious school, West Coast Academy. You would be a very welcome asset to our student body. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

W.C.A.

"I got it, Mom! I'm in!" I jumped with joy.

"Oh, that's great, Bella. I knew you would get in." She hugged me.

"Let's celebrate!" Phil walked in and patted me on the back.

The school was only twenty minutes from my humble house, so I decided to live at home and commute everyday. It had been my dream ever since I moved to California to live with my mom and her boyfriend to go to that school. The only problem was the cost. It was a wealthy school full of rich families. It was definitely not my crowd. If I had any doubt whether I would fit in, it was increased as I pulled my ancient truck into the parking lot of shiny new convertibles. I parked in the corner far away from the cars worth more than my life twice over.

If I hadn't know any better I would've thought I walked onto a runway rather than a hallway. Everyone was in designer duds, from their heads to their toes. I really wished this school had a uniform, that way, I wouldn't have to compete with the girls. As I was walking, I saw a bronze god. He glanced at me and it seemed like everything was in slow motion. Reality decided to hit me hard and I slammed right into a locker.

"Ow!" I rubbed my forehead.

"Are you okay?" The owner of the locker asked as he offered his hand to pull me up.

"Hello, locker. Nice to meet you too." I said sarcastically when I was upright. He chuckled lightly. "I'm fine. Thanks…" I started.

"Bryce." He finished. "You're new." It wasn't a question.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Most people tend to avoid getting attacked by metal doors."

"I should have watched where I was going. Oh, I'm Bella, by the way."

"Sweet name." He complimented.

"You too. Very surfer-esque."

"Nice guess." I grinned. "We should hit the waves sometime."

I grimaced. "Considering my luck on land, I don't think adding water into the mix is a very good idea."

He laughed again. "What's your first class?"

"Trig." I answered.

"I'd walk you, but my class is on the opposite side of the building. Just keep going down this hall and make a left, it should be the first door on the right."

"Thanks, Bryce."

"See you around, Bella." He jogged away.

I followed his directions and found the class easily. I settled for a seat in the back. I didn't want to draw anymore attention.

"Did it hurt?" A boy next to me asked.

"A little, I mean, the locker was made of metal." I answered.

He laughed. "No, not that. When you fell from heaven."

I looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Does that line work?"

"If it doesn't, I have plenty more." He responded. "I'm Kyle."

"Bella." I said with a nod. I turned my attention to the teacher but saw from my peripheral, that Kyle was flirting with a girl on his other side. I shook my head with disgust.

Next was English. This was my favorite subject. Everyone else seemed to hate it. I was the only one paying attention. A few girls were filing their nails and some boys were playing poker. Is anyone at this school normal? I had a free period next and I decided to spend it outside in the sun. I grabbed a novel from my locker and sat against a tree in the courtyard. There was a slight breeze that gave me a whiff of the sea air. I sighed in contentment.

"Heads up!" Someone yelled.

I looked up to see a basketball headed my way. I ducked and heard it strike the tree I was up against.

"Sorry, Bella!" A familiar voice said.

I opened my eyes to see Bryce picking up the basketball. "Do I have to be injured every time we meet?" I joked.

He chuckled. "Do you wanna play with me and the guys? We could use another player."

"I don't know." I murmured. If I was near the ball, I would have a bigger chance of getting hurt.

"Come on, it'll be fun…" He begged. I hated when people begged, I always gave in.

"Fine." I set my book down and jogged over to the courts with Bryce.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw the bronze haired god under the hoop.

"Guys, this is Bella Swan."

"Hi."

He introduced them one by one. The big burly guy was Emmett. The tall, less muscular guy was Jasper. The bronze head was named Edward. And there was Kyle, who I had already met, unfortunately.

"Now we can play three on three." Bryce stated.

"Jasper, Emmett, and I will be shirts." Kyle said with a smirk. "That makes you three skins." He looked pointedly in my direction.

Edward and Bryce took off their shirts to reveal their rippling muscles and six pack abs.

"You don't have to take your shirt off, Bella." Bryce declared.

"But how will we know whose team she's on if she's wearing a shirt?" Kyle asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I removed my white polo as the guys all widened their eyes in shock.

"What? I have a cami underneath. It's nude color. Is that skin enough for you Kyle?"

He huffed. He honestly didn't think I would get naked for him that easily, did he? Bryce and I smirked.

"Let's play." Kyle grumbled.

To my displeasure, Kyle guarded me. He touched me whenever he got the chance, he even fouled me purposely. I was getting fed up with his antics. I stole the ball from Jasper and Edward kept Emmett at bay while I made a lay up.

"Girl's got skills!" Emmett commented.

Bryce high-fived me while Kyle stood with his mouth open.

"You're gonna catch flies." Jasper told him.

My team won in the end. "You didn't tell me you could play ball!" Bryce attacked me after we finished the game.

"You never asked!" I laughed. "Did you see Kyle's face when I made that slam dunk?"

"It was priceless." He gasped out.

"We made a good team," Edward said as he caught up with us.

"Yeah, we did." I smiled.

"You should come to my party." He mentioned.

"What?" I asked oblivious to the social scene.

"I always throw at party at the beginning of the year."

"Oh. Um maybe."

"Here's the information." He handed me a slip of paper with his address and phone number on it. "You'll need to wear this." He said as he handed me a dog tag that said VIP on it.

"If I go." I mended.

"I'll see you there!" He winked and ran towards Emmett and Jasper.

"So are you going to go?" Bryce asked as he leaned down to pick up my book.

"I don't think so."

"But he gave you a personal invite!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Edward Cullen is the most popular guy in school. Everyone wants an invite to his parties. Girls fawn at the sight of him, trying to get VIP status. It's your first day here, and you have an in with the school's royalty." He explained.

I was stunned at the information he was laying on me. I had never been popular in my whole life. I was always the quiet, shy, smart girl.

"So I should go?"

"At least make an appearance. I'll be there." He tried to persuade me.

"I'll think about it."

I spent History dwelling on whether I should go or not. I didn't want to insult the great Edward Cullen, but I knew I would be so out of place.

"Hey, you dropped this!" A small girl with short, spiky black hair said as she handed me the dog tag Edward gave me earlier. "Oh! You're a VIP? I haven't seen you around, are you new?"

"Yeah. I'm Bella Swan."

"I'm Alice Cullen!" She chirped. "Are you heading to lunch?"

"Yeah." I smiled.

"You have to sit with me!" She demanded.

"Um, sure, Alice." She seemed nice enough.

She pulled me to a table in the center of the cafeteria. I recognized Emmett, Jasper, Edward, and Bryce there. There was also another girl there. She was hands down the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

"Bella, you've already met my brothers and boyfriend. This is Rosalie."

"Hi guys. Hi Rosalie." She smiled back. I took a deep breath. The whole room seemed to stop as I took my seat at the Cullens' table. I blushed at the attention. I took a look around before everyone resumed their conversations. I understood what Bryce had said about being royalty.

"You'll get used to it." Bryce whispered.

I giggled. "I hope so."

"So, Bella. What are you planning to wear to the party?"

"Jeans?"

She gasped in horror. "I need to inspect your closet right away! You. Me. After school. Your house."

"Can I come?" Rosalie asked.

"Um, you guys don't have to do that."

"Nonsense! I need to see what you have so I can make a shopping list." Alice reasoned.

"I can save you the trouble. I don't have anything nice. Just jeans and a few shirts."

AN: Review! I don't own Twilight. Check my profile if you want this story to continue.