By the time the Ferrari had pulled into the school parking lot and been turned off there was barely a person on the premises that was not staring. Alice, surveying her surroundings, took in a hundred or so students clustered into various sized groups around the parking lot. Bella was not amongst them but her blonde friend was. Everything was damp from a recent downpour and beyond the car park were some stairs leading up to the large red brick school building. All eyes were on her.

"was the Ferrari too much?" she wondered to herself.

Deciding the best way to handle this sort of situation was to act as if she hadn't noticed they were all staring, she gracefully stepped out of the car, shut the door and glided over to the building keeping her eyes straight ahead. Nevertheless she listened in amusement at the furious whispering springing up behind her as she walked.

"phwoar,"

"have you ever seen anyone like her before?"

"new girl?"

"is that an actual Ferrari??"

"loaded for sure!"

"so hot!"

The last comment she rather hoped was directed at her and not the Ferrari. She was fairly accustomed to this type of reception whenever she went into a town for shopping or supplies but never to this extent before. She inferred that the school environment must be a particularly strong breeding ground for gossip.

Alice found the office and ten minutes later was walking out with some forms and a class timetable. The hallway was crowded with students clamouring for their lockers in preparation for the first class of the day. It seemed their initial reaction of silence around her had reversed and now as she passed the students closest to her seemed to suddenly burst into yelling, laughter, fits, fights and squeals. She tried to smile politely but their uproarious behaviour was too loud for her sensitive hearing and their excitement quickened her pulse making her throat ache with thirst.

"Why on earth am I doing this again??" she thought to herself before practically running into her classroom to escape the chaos of the hallway. Most the students were already settled inside and as she burst into the room every face turned on her in surprise. That's when, for the first time, Alice looked right into the eyes of Bella.

Gasping in surprise, she quickly looked down ashamed of her ungraceful entrance, and rushed to an empty seat in the back. She looked at the girl next to her and noticed she had the name Lauren written overly neatly on her.

Alice's head was still reeling from the chaos of the hallway and the closed in classroom of 25 humans was only making her thirst worse. Not that she was tempted to attack anyone. The worst of it was coming from this Lauren girl as she was closest. Alice lifted her seat from underneath her and moved it as far away as possible while still sitting at the desk. Lauren glared round at her, clearly offended.

"Crap Alice, could you stuff your first day up any worse?!"

The class dragged on without Alice hearing a word that came out of the overweight, balding middle aged teacher's mouth. The one time she actually looked up he actually looked like he was putting himself to sleep. Clearly a man dedicated to his job.

The rest of the time she spent looking at the back of Bella and the boy she was sitting next to daydreaming. Even so, she had to fight the urge to run for the hills and get away from this tasty teenagers. The bell couldn't come soon enough. She followed the crowds into the lunch room.

By the time she entered Bella had already been welcomed into a big table of students. Alice recognise Angela, Lauren, the blonde from the dress shop and the boy Bella had sat next to in class. There were no seats left and besides the only looks that came her way were not welcoming ones. Lauren was recounting the incident from class.

"yeah, did you see her, oh my god she was like practically falling off her effing chair. I mean… what a freak. She's a nut job for sure! Ugh"

Alice swallowed. Sometime this whole super hearing gig really overrated. She held her head up and did her best strut over to an empty table in corner. She sat down and pulled a book out of her bag pretending to be engrossed and completely oblivious to the fact that so far she had absolutely zero friends. Really, all she was thinking about was Bella over there thinking of her as the 'freak' new girl and how much she had screwed this whole thing up. How would she ever get meet Bella when she was always around her friends. And even if she did, why would Bella become friends with her. Alice shook her head dumbfounded at how far she'd let this fantasy go. She felt stupid and dejected. She would never get to embrace Bella, smell her hair, hold her hands around her waist, the hip bone pushing into the heel of her hand. She would never feel their breasts pushed together in a hug or the softness of her neck as she kissed it. Not that she was sure she wanted to… but even if she did, now it seems she would never even have the chance.

Alice looked up and the lunch room had emptied. She hadn't even noticed

"Well this is it, the perfect time to get out of this hell hole and this whole ridiculous idea" she thought as she stood up to head for the car park.

As she did Bella came back into the lunch room. Alice looked up and their eyes locked for a second time.

"Oh hey" she said. "I forgot my bag." She motioned to her satchel still under the table

Alice merely smiled and continued her way towards the door. She didn't want to make it any harder to forget Bella than it was already going to be.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" Bella asked. It seemed to Alice that God must be playing some cruel trick on her.

She took a deep breath and turned to face her. "Uh, I was just going out to my car. I think I might go back to my old school" Alice said.

"Oh, really? But you've only been here half a day. I know how you feel, it wasn't so long ago that I was the new girl. I found it hard at first too… actually I still find it hard. I guess high school is never easy" Bella said.

"You find it hard? But you fit in perfectly, you seem like the most popular girl in school" Alice said

" Yeah well I get along with people… but I guess I just don't really relate to them that well or something. I feel different, you know?" Bella asked

Alice smiled. "trust me, I know what its like to feel different."

Bella smiled back. Alice's stomach fluttered. They looked into each others eyes and Alice could tell that Bella knew she really did understood.

"Sooo don't go yet? maybe I could show you around?" Bella asked.

"Umm… okay!" Alice's face lit up and she suddenly felt happier than she had for a long time.

"Well I have English now, what do you have?" Bella asked.

"I have English too" Alice couldn't believe her luck. Two classes in a row with Bella!

"That's great, lets go then, my name is Bella by the way, what's yours?" As she said it she scooped up Alice's hand and they walked down the hall swinging their joined arms and laughing and smiling and their newfound friendship.