Hey guys, LaBellaBella here again-that's to those of you who've never read any of my stories before and/or my profile before. I just want to tell you three things before I go on with the story (I know it's annoying to read long author's notes, but too bad. I do it sometimes). One, I want to get the dumb disclaimer out of way, so here it is: THE ACTUAL STORY THESE CHARACTERS COME FROM DO NOT BELONG TO ME (cough Stephenie Meyer cough), SO SUCK IT! Now, secondly, I am aware that this is the second AU I've written. I like them, okay? And finally, I really hope you enjoy this story!

Ha ha. Now read!

"Miss Isabella Marie Swan! I would hope that you're pondering something worth while, because I have calmly repeated myself three times and have yet to get a coherent answer from you."

My head snapped to attention, making the large pile of neatly stacked books tumble to the floor. I winced inwardly as a particularly heavy one dropped onto my foot, but quickly regained composure. I hurriedly scrambled to pick them up from around my feet, biting my lip as I wondered what my punishment would be like.

Shoot, this would get me into so much trouble...

I looked around for the fifth book, the one that didn't seem to be on the floor with the rest of the others. Ugh. How far could one medium-sized, bright cherry-red dictionary have gone from the top of my head? It wasn't under the table, or near the rest of the girls' feet, or anywhere across the length of the cream-colored carpet of the study.

I soon found, however, that it was right in front of me, being handed over patiently by long thin fingers. "There you go," a calm voice answered, almost soothingly. But I knew that voice anywhere and it was not one that spoke of serenity.

I looked slowly up into the cold blue eyes of Miss Carpenter, somewhat sheepishly. I prayed that the reprimanding I was sure to get would be a brief one; though I wasn't sure that would be so, considering this was a "reoccurring problem".

"Miss. Swan." She spoke as if it were two separate sentences.

"Y-yes?" I could hear the other girls snickering behind me, their skirts ruffling.

"Please stand up straight when you speak. You seem a lazy brat."

Gosh, now the others were really laughing-and I mean straight out, in-your-face guffawing. Wasn't this school supposed to teach them appropriate manners? Remembering what Miss Carpenter had just told me, I straightened my shoulders. I was trying not to cringe as she pushed her tight face inches away from mine. "Yes ma'am."

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, Miss Swan, do you have anything to say to me and the other girls? I'm sure they're quite upset that you had to disrupt the entire session."

I sighed. There was definitely no way around this.

There never was.

Miss Carpenter wasn't exactly what I'd call a kind woman. Actually, that was an understatement. She was probably the most unbearable, uptight, self-centered, snotty woman I knew...save a few girls in my own classroom. But I'd always supposed that it was why they chose her for this job. After all, who but this woman could keep a group of rowdy adolescences to maintain proper behavior? Who but this woman could teach them to be like their upright ancestors, to respect their elders with the utmost respect? Who but this woman could have absolutely no feelings, consideration, or kindness towards another human being?

I thought about all of this as I made my apology.

"I sincerely and totally apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I completely understand that, by yet again allowing myself to daydream during class time, I have interrupted the education of my fellow classmates and students. I take responsibility for stealing away the valuable time that could be spent on enriching our minds to their greatest extent. I am deeply sorry, and vow that I will not continue this act of indecency."

Although Miss Carpenter gave me a hard glare, she knew that she could milk my punishment for no longer. She grudgingly went back to her lesson and started around the room, placing more books on the girls' heads.

I was off this time, but who knew what would happen the next time I unexpectedly started to daydream?

Throughout the rest of the three hours, I tried not to doze off again. It was hard, though, for the combination of the deathly boring lesson and the not-so-quiet whispers of the girls around me made it hard to concentrate.

Ding. Ding.

In that moment, every single pony-tailed head shot up, soon to be rushing out the door. I, myself, was included in that group, and rushed to gather all of my books; I wanted to be out of here as fast as possible. No, I needed to be out of here as fast as possible. And with that, I tried to sprint out the door, unnoticed.

But of course, we all just can't get what we want.

"Why, hello Lella-Bella!" I heard the shrill, annoying voice from beside me as I ran. Maybe I can ignore it, I thought, and kept my pace at a run, not slowing down. But the voice continued. "Hello? Mellsie Bellsie?" A slight panting, now, as if the voice was having a hard time keeping up. "Wait...Bella...stop...running!"

I smiled. "Go away, Lauren."

Lauren Mallory finally sped up a little, only to stop right in front of me. She was blocking my way. "Oh, Bing-Bong-Bella, why such hostility? I mean, after all of these years, I thought we were friends! I suppose not, though..." She faked a depressed look and sighed.

I fought the urge to laugh-since when had we ever been considered friends?

A chorus of giggles erupted from behind me. As I turned to look, I found that we weren't alone. Many of Lauren's cronies were just catching up, trying not to look out of breath. Two of them, Jessica and May, suddenly strutted over to us, grinning. They each went to one side of her as she continued. "But I suppose it's for the best, then. I mean, a gorgeous girl of upper class such as myself shouldn't be caught dead hanging out with a poor, homely girl that can't even pass finishing school." She smirked, and looked expectantly to May and Jessica, who in turn snickered loudly.

"Yeah," May chimed in. "I'll bet she couldn't even get the ugliest soldier in the entire army to pin her!"

They laughed.

"Or even Mr. Burns-and he's fifty years old!" Jessica blurted.

I was resisting the urge to slap each and every one of their pretty faces. What was wrong with them? How could they treat another human being like this? I could feel the angry tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to flow. It took all of my being just to keep the waterfall from bursting, from spilling over my bright red cheeks, cherry-colored from histerical anger and embarrassment.

But deep down, I knew they were right. Afterall, I was probably the plainest girl in all of Chicago, with unruly dark brown hair and matching eyes. My skin, although clear, was deathly pale, even with the hot summer sun. My cheeks always held a bright flush-and it wasn't even the pretty kind of blush. It just had to look like I was about to burst into flames, like I was a big tomato.

And I was up against one of the prettiest girls in my small town.

And she was. Lauren Mallory had long, flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. The only clothes she owned were tight and clung to her enhanced frame, aside from the uniform we were all required to wear at St. Mary's. But even so, men ravished her. She was a full-on, just-out-of-the-story-book seductress, and was never-and I mean never-turned down by a boy she wanted. They said she had been pinned about a thousand times.

It wasn't hard to believe.

But instead of clocking her, I simply walked away. I did not need to deal with her dumb antics right now; my mother had wanted me home in time for the distributing of chores.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Mary Anne?"

"Yes?"

"You'll be doing the laundry today. Remember to wash the lights and darks seperately-you know what happened last time. Oh, and don't forget to hang them exactly two inches apart from each other, as they won't dry properly if they get entangled."

"Yes, Mother."

Mary Anne, my eleven year-old sister, sighed and hurried off. She knew that the sooner she was done with the task, the sooner she would be able to take a ride to her best friend, Julianne's house. She had just recently acquired a brand new bicycle for her birthday three weeks ago, and was eager to show it off to everyone she possibly could.

My mother was walking slowly down the line of children, calmy instructing each one on what they were to do. I anxiously waited for my turn, not knowing what my own chore would be. Hopefully I wouldn't be caring for the chickens-it was undoubtedly my least favorite chore. They all seemed to hate me, and took every chance they could to peck and scrape my skin, or leave droppings on my skirts. It was annoying, and my mother knew how much I hated it.

"Leonard, you will be milking Minnie today. Be careful, she was in an awful mood when Dottie visited her yesterday."

"Yes ma'am."

"Bella?" My mother finally got to me, looking at me with warm eyes. Her voice was smooth, yet stern all the same. It was the way she always was; she figured that someone had to keep us children in line, and my soft-hearted father certainly wasn't going to be the one to do it.

I nodded, bracing myself.

"I want you to get your town dress out from the upstairs closet. You'll be going to the grocery store today, and I made sure that there was not one crease in the fabric. You do know all of the things we need, correct? There's the tape-the thick kind- to patch up the holes in the chicken roof, and some extra needles. We need some apples and chives-you know how all mine just love to die on me-oh, and we also could use some extra ale, to soak the apples in. I'm planning to make a pie, and I'm running low on anything alcoholic...oh, and-"

I laughed, cutting her off. "I know, I know. I'll get to it, mother."

She sighed. "Be careful. Who knows what can happen in such a busy place as Mahoney's?" She paused, thinking that through. "Oh well, at least you can protect yourself better than any of the other children. Your seventeen now, and can handle it." Now smiling, she reached in to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Now go get changed-before the crowd starts."

I grinned and ran upstairs.

My "town dress" as everyone in my family referred to it as, was actually very pretty, and even flattering on me. It was just about the only thing that hugged my body, and showed that I did, contrary to popular belief, have a figure. I didn't wear it often-I usually wasn't the one sent into town that often. It was usually my eldest brother Larry, but since he'd gone off...

I shook the thought off and began to change.

My mother had a strong idea that we should always look our best when going into town. She was a proud woman, and that was exactly why the pretty pale yellow fabric was sliding gracefully across my skin at this moment. It bore a floral pattern, printed with large pink boughs of freesia scattered daintily along the light fabric. It had a snow white collar, and showed a bit more skin on my chest than I usually preferred to bear.

I couldn't help but smile as I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Then, I had a thought.

Oh, why not? I argued with myself. If your going to act like you're pretty, just do it.

Hesitating, I pulled out the large pins that so carefully held up my long hair, making the large brown tumble cascade in gentle waves down my back. My hair was soft and almost tame at this moment, completing the alternate look of my usually-not-so-attractive self. Usually, I was so reserved, always keeping my chocolate locks away in a tight bun, wearing only loose-fitting outfits that covered up everything except my neck.

I was ready, though I had no idea what for.