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There was nothing special, nothing distinct about that cloudy Thursday morning.

Looking back on it, I wouldn't be able to remember anything out of the ordinary about my morning routine or the way the air smelled as I walked to my beat up old Toyota Camry. The teenagers milling about the parking lot of Forks High looked no different than usual.

But little did I know, my life would change that day.

My life would be altered irrevocably, and as I greeted my friends in the hallway of our dingy high school , I had no clue what was about to take place.

My morning classes passed without incident.

We were two weeks away from the end of our high school careers and no one wanted to get in trouble and risk not being allowed to graduate.

The only blip on the Forks High radar screen came from the rumors circulating about Jessica Stanley. Apparently, she'd slept with Tyler Crowley at a party a few months ago and now her clothes were fitting a little tighter around her midsection.

If you had asked me when I first arrived at Forks High who I would bet on getting knocked up, I would have said Lauren Mallory. But Jessica was a close second choice. She threw herself at every boy in school, desperate for attention. It figured that when a guy finally got past her annoying personality and slept with her, she would end up pregnant.

It looked like something out of a movie as Jessica walked to her locker. The crowds of students parted and everyone's voices lowered to whispers as they watched her. If Jessica hadn't been such a bitch to me over the two years that I attended Forks High, I might have been more inclined to feel sorry for her.

I grabbed my biology book from my locker and shoved it into my backpack before slamming the metal door shut.

My stomach growled softly as I entered the biology classroom. I was happy lunch was next period, I had made the unwise decision to skip breakfast and was paying for it now.

I wiggled my fingers in a wave as I passed my best friend Angela and her boyfriend Ben who were giggling and playing footsie under their lab table. Angela blushed and waved back with a sheepish grin.

I settled myself on my stool and frowned as Jessica entered the classroom. I had cursed every deity there was when I had been assigned Jessica as a lab partner. Not only was she a stuck-up superbitch, but she was dumb as a brick. I ended up doing most of the class presentations alone as she stood beside me popping her gum and twirling her bleach-blonde hair around her finger. Everyone knew that Jessica got Eric Yorkie, the resident geek of the senior class, to do all of her homework and in exchange, he got to sit with the cheerleaders at lunch.

Jessica looked dejected today, due in part to the way everyone was talking about her, I was sure.

I heard snickering behind me and I turned around to see Mike Newton snickering as Jessica adjusted her loose-fitting shirt again. I frowned at him. "Something funny, Newton?" His mouth fell open in surprise that I was seemingly sticking up for Jessica. "Uh, no. Not really, Bella."

I turned back to face the front of the room and almost missed the quiet "Thanks" that Jessica murmured.

I muttered a "You're welcome" and then pulled my textbook out of my backpack as Mr. Molina entered the classroom and closed the door behind him.

He quickly calls roll and everyone is present except for Edward Cullen. It doesn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Edward has always missed a lot of classes and we all wondered how he didn't get flunked out of school. Then he would make a presentation in front of the class and we knew why he wasn't. The boy was freakishly intelligent.

Mr. Molina handed out a pop quiz and there was a collective groan from the class. Mr. Molina was famous for his pop quizzes at Forks High. They always seemed to come at the worst possible times, like when you had skipped reading your chapters the night before and hoped you didn't get called on in class. I had read my chapters the night before, but was not any more excited than the rest of the class. Biology was not my best subject.

I sighed and pulled out my pen, hunching over my paper to begin.

Halfway through the allotted time for our quiz, there was a commotion in the hallway outside of the classroom.

Mr. Molina frowned in the direction of the door and then turned back to us. "Eyes on your papers, kids."

I tried to follow the teacher's instructions but it became increasingly difficult as shouts and loud noises continued to be heard from the hallway. A piercing scream caused Mr. Molina to stand up and move toward the door.

"Everyone stay in your seats. I'll be right back." He rushed out of the room and we were all left staring at the door in confusion and curiosity.

A few seconds later, a loud -–BANG-was heard and Ben gasped out an "Oh my God."

Mike's voice from behind me echoed in the silent classroom. "Was that a…a gunshot?"

Angela grabbed Ben's hand. "Maybe we should all try to leave. Go out the window or something?"

Jessica piped up from her spot beside me. "The video they showed at the assembly at the beginning of the year said that in case of an emergency we should stay in the classroom until further directions are given." I nodded, surprised that Jessica could remember the assembly at all considering she was making out with Tyler through most of it.

"They don't need a stampede of scared teenagers running all over the school. Let's just stay here until someone comes to tell us what's going…"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence because just then, the door to the classroom was thrown open and there in the doorway was Edward Cullen.

His eyes swept the room, stopping briefly on me. "Well, hello there."

He slowly raised his right arm from where he'd been holding it at his side and my heart stopped.

Jessica screamed and I heard the scraping of stools as my classmates dropped to the floor with their hands over their heads.

But me, I was frozen in place and Edward Cullen was pointing a gun straight at me.