Race to the Top

Chapter 1

I was silently laughing at my parents while they read obliviously in their room. The thought they knew everything. They even sent servants into my room every 15 minutes to make sure I was still here. I could just hide my escape plan until they left. Tonight, I was going to escape through my three story window.

Tying one last sheet to my 'rope', I threw it out the window and listened to the satisfying thwack as it hit the side of our three story house. Securely tying the other end to the base of my bed, I quickly slipped out of my window and slid to the ground below.

Running the quarter-mile to the main road, for our front yard was large and secluded, I let the wind whistling through my ears erase all thoughts in my head.

Arriving at the bus stop, I hopped onto the 8 o'clock SCAT bus. The driver revved his engine then winked at me.

I shuddered. An old man was hitting on me. Again. I was even dressed modestly! My auburn hair was down and gently waved to the small of my back. My dressed went to mid-thigh with a high collar to protect my neck from the August breeze.

Disgusted, I shoved past him but I could still feel other stares following me. I swiftly sat down in the back of the bus and took out my phone. Of course I had a text from Alice, my best friend.

"R U coming?" She had texted me.

"No srry. My parents wont let me," I quickly texted her back.

"haha since when has that ever stopped u?"

I smiled. She was right, of course. But I didn't want to hang out at The Club, the number one place to on a Saturday night. Not a Sunday night. I sighed. Alice was clubbing with a couple of friends like she did every weekend night.

My phone buzzed again.

"well, ok. I guess ill c u 2moro then," Alice texted after acknowledging the fact that I was not coming. I would probably have to pick her up at 2 in the morning.

I remembered the first time I went out to The Club with Alice. It was a wet night, with the rain pounding on the umbrella the driver held over us.

Alice's black hair was still perfectly curled, where as mine had already started to fall back into its standard, gentle waves because of the humidity.

"I don't want to get my hair wet. My curls are already coming out," I had whined to Alice. She just told me not to worry, I still looked hot. The driver put the umbrella more over our head, so I was still dry when we arrived at the door.

"Welcome ladies. Come on in," the door man said with a smirk. Most girls who left the club were stumbling and drunk, clinging to whichever guy that was dragging them out with an expectant grin.

I hid my grimace. I only came because it was Alice's birthday and she literally begged me. At least, that was what I kept telling myself. I was curious to see what was at Alice's favorite place to make her go there every Friday, Saturday, and most Sunday nights.

And it had nothing at all to do with the fact that I was defying my parents and sneaking out for the first time. It had everything to do with that.

We danced to the booming music that shook the floor and I tried to hide my discomfort. I watched my friend down a third drink. I refused all alcohol. I stayed away from the men who were laughing boisterously and had the stale breath of beer still hanging to their every breath. Alice had no problem with it. She would sidle up to them and let go. When we finally left, she could not even stand straight.

She had lost count of the number of drinks she had downed. I had drunk nothing and my mouth was dry. We had spent three hours there. I was only 13! Alice had just turned 14. I felt dirty, as if my innocence was lost. I saw things that I had not wanted to see at the age of 13.

Of course, I had never stepped foot into that club again. But I still would sneak out of the house on a daily basis. My parents were always furious when I got home.

That particular night, I had told them the truth. Not because I was the honest sort- I was not. But because I wanted to see their faces when they realized that their innocent little angel was clubbing for the last 3 hours, after sneaking out of the house under their noses. I laughed and swept my hand through my hair; it was already straight now. Then I stumbled over to the elevator as it slowly descended to the ground floor. As I watched the doors shut, I thought I saw a glimpse of pride in my father's face and one of regret in my mother's. But I was tired and was probably seeing things.

The bus lurched to a stop. I glared out the window as I heard the loud, booming music. I came here almost every night. Standing up, I walked down the steps. The bus driver winked at me. I almost gagged.

I quickly walked down the empty sidewalk to my favorite place. The sky glittered with the millions of stars. I saw the familiar oak tree that stood beside my bench; I saw it as my guardian angel. I passed the sign that said Swanville Park. It was generously donated by my father, Benson (or Ben for short) Swan.

I trailed my hand over the plaque with the engraving of my name, Bella Swan. It was donated in my honor for my 16th birthday. But I knew the real reason; my father was running for senator again.

But I forcefully shoved that thought out of my mind. I came here to think and escape the hectic life of my father and the hysterics of my mother.

Feeling the cool metal of the bench reminded me of when I was six and sitting on my father's lap. We were in Yosemite, sitting in the national park, watching the sun fall behind the red rocks of the canyon.

"Daddy, what are those bright dots in the sky for?" I had whispered into the cool, September air.

"Darling, those are stars. They are millions of miles away. See this one? It's called Orion. And these three together are called Orion's Belt." He pointed to them as he said their names.

"Why doesn't he just get pants that fit him? And how did he get up there?" My father's booming laughter echoed off the trees.

"Honey, not everyone can afford a personal tailor like we can." He said, still chortling from my comment. "But I don't know how he got up there. What do you think?"

A man in a business suit came up to us then. He looked very official, with the tight set of his mouth and the hidden secrets that laid his eyes.

"I think that you, Mr. Benson Swan, would make an excellent state senator," he said. My father moved me from the warmth of his leg to the cold metal of the bench. The difference was almost painful.

I was about to complain, but the glare that the man in the business suit soon shut me up. And I knew that my father was waiting to hear this news. So I sat quiet, like the good little girl I was. But I had most definitely not expected him to get up and leave me to talk with the man in a more secluded area.

So I was sitting there, cold and rejected. But then I looked up at the stars with my newly found information, and watched the way Orion's belt glittered in the sky. Sitting there completely still, I waited for my father to come back.

And now I was sitting here, looking at the Jaspere stars while my mother and father were arguing over some inconsequential detail of the large Swan household. It was nothing new.

I sighed. My phone said it was 8:45. I hopped up and went to the SCAT bus. When I finally got home, it was 9 and the butler greeted me with a wary look. I knew I was in trouble. But I was in trouble every night, so it was nothing new.

Hoping to escape the tirade I was likely to get, over which my parents would begin arguing over, I slipped into the kitchen, looking for bread and butter, a simple, fulfilling meal. But luck was not on my side. My mother was at the foyer and was furious, but, though she hated to admit it, proud. With the new alarm system, security system and servants watching over me, I had still managed to escape the confines of the house.

"Where were you? What do you think you were doing? How did you manage to leave this house?" She ranted on and on and on about the time and the dangers. I knew the dangers of being out at night alone, but I had the police on speed dial and the park tended to be empty.

My mom's shrill voice snapped me back to reality. "Are you going to tell me where you went? Hello? Are you even listening to me?"

"Mother, relax. I'm fine. Anyway, where I went is none of your business," even though I knew that it was, but I was never in a million years going to admit that.

"Where do you go? You can't keep sneaking out at night. It's dangerous! Do you go different places each night? I don't understand you!" my mother wailed. But then her face hardened.

"Do you know what this is doing to your father's image? What if you get raped? Then I will be the one taking all the blame. If the media finds out that we can't even control our own daughter! I can see the headlines now! 'Swan, unable to control his daughter can't control a city'. My image will be ruined! I'll be the laughing stock at the Ladies Book Club! Richard! Richard! I need my pills!" She was gasping by the end of her speech. I patted her sympathetically on the back.

"Don't worry mom. Richard will take good care of you." Smirking, I scrambled to the elevator and it quickly took me to my room on the 3rd floor. I slammed the door and looked at my room. It was silent except for the shouting below.

I opened the window and stuck my head out. The cool air felt good on my face. I walked and opened all the windows in my room and turned left towards my bathroom. The gold lined mirrors and large marble bathtub were a little too extravagant for me. But we had lived in this house for 5 years, and I got nothing short of the best.

I wiped off all my makeup and looked at my plain, pale face. It was empty. My bright green eyes glowed with indignation. My silky hair that my mom insisted I get deep-conditioned monthly now crackled with life from running.

Stepping into the shower, I let warm water run down my back and into the drain; with it, went my worries. At least, for the moment.

When I was ready for bed with my teeth brushed and my Victoria's Secret pajamas on, I turned out the light.

I stumbled over the steps that led to the platform that held my king sized bed. The silk comforter was folded back, inviting me. Climbing under the soft sheets, I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to find me.

When it did, I could only feel myself falling, my stomach dropping and my eyes burning. When I finally landed, there was no one there to catch me.

I awoke to the steady beeping of my TIMEX alarm clock. Six o'clock. I groaned and flipped onto my stomach, smacking the 'off' button. My widows were closed, which meant that Faith had closed them while I slept. We never got along, so I assumed she closed them just because I wanted them open.

The day seemed humid to me, but I could have cared less. I put on the customary school uniform- the white collared shirt and the grey and blue plaid miniskirt. The matching tie was pre-tied so I just pulled open the loop, slipped my head through, and tightened it. Then I slid into the 3-inch heels that were also part of the Hemingway High School's dress policy. We were now sophisticated school girls. With blisters on our feet.

My makeup was sitting innocently in their container on the bathroom counter. But I wanted to skip it today. So I smiled and attempted sneaking out after brushing my teeth.

When I reached the ground, my mother was waiting for me as the elevator doors opened. I was surprised; she was never up before seven. She must have been up for a while; she had a full face of makeup on.

"I'm not surprised you forgot to put your makeup on. You look like you just woke up from someone's bed. Though that's never going to happen anytime soon. No boys like you. And if you don't put makeup on this instant, than no boys ever will!" She never stopped saying this. It was like she wanted me to wake up pregnant in some boy's bed. Though a lot of boys would love it if I did sleep with them.

So I just trudged back up to my room, taking the marble staircase this time, to do the myriad number of steps it took so I could finally leave the house. I remembered the first time my mom had told me I could wear foundation and the such. I had been so excited. Now, I rued that day with all my heart. Having to wear concealer every day did nothing for my self-esteem and even less for my appreciation of my mother's efforts. The only thing that kept me sane was that I knew my mother was trying for me, not against me.

I took one last look at my face that now had 3-inch long eyelashes, glossy lips, and chocolate brown eyes that held all my sorrow brewing beneath their otherwise cheery surface. But I held my head up high and knew I should be thankful that I had a house and food.

Nearly the age of 17, I could drive myself to school. And that was something I was a strong advocate for, a battle that I had chosen to fight. And win. Having the privilege to drive myself to school was one I cherished. I refused to be driven around in a limo.

I drove a shiny white Ferrari, which was a step up from the black limo that my mother was driven around town in. But it was nothing new in this city, because I went to Herrington High School, the top ranked school in the country.

When I arrived at school, Alice was already waiting for me as I parked in the parking spot I claimed on the first day three months ago. She loved the life of a rich prep school girl; everybody did. So I was the only whiny girl who hated the money and fame of a famous father.

"Oh my god! Did you see them? Have you seen them? Well, a singular them. I mean him!" Alice's high-pitched voice squealed in my ear before I had even taken two steps.

I faked interest. I really didn't care. "Who?"

Before my best friend could say anything, a freshman walked by and complimented me. "You look really good today Bella. You always do." She blushed and waited for my reply.

"Thanks Cassie," I didn't see how she could say that. Everybody wore the Jaspere thing every single day! "So do you," I complimented her patiently. I flashed her a smile that was professionally whitened and was all over the covers of the local tabloids.

She giggled then rushed over to meet her friends that were waiting for her under the archway labeled 'freshmen'. And then I turned to Alice.

"Sorry, you were saying?" but Alice has ADD, though she vehemently denies it.

"See, you are the Queen Bee! Everyone wants to be your friend. You always say that you're not. But you are. Anyway, how do you know that freshman's name?"

I sighed. "I know every student's name, at least, in high school," I corrected myself. "They are always talking to me in the hallway even though I can't stand half of them! And the boys are even worse-"

Alice interrupted me, "Yeah, Erik won't leave you alone." She smirked because she knew I couldn't stand him.

"Shut up Alice!" I playfully shoved her in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" She was seriously asking me.

"Just get on with what you were saying," I demanded

"Can't. Look whose coming this way!" she giggled then bolted through the doors labeled 'juniors'.

I turned to see Mike and Erik making their way to me. I already rejected them as kindly as I could last week and now they were back. I guess I should not be so nice then.

"What do you guys want?" I spat at them.

Smirking, Mike said, "Oh, we were wondering if, maybe, you and your friend Alice would like to go on a-a date with us?" he turned the statement into a question, unsure.

I did not want to do this to them. They were nice enough boys. But I really had to get them off my back.

"I didn't know you and Mike were a couple. Congratulations!"

They turned bright red, "No! No, not like that!" they stuttered.

"Oh, then I'm sorry. If you're implying that I go out with one of you and Alice goes out the other and see a movie," I trailed off suggestively.

"Yes, yes! That's exactly what we mean!" Mike exclaimed, excited.

"Sorry, can't. I'm busy. And when will you leave me alone? I'm not your girl! And I'll never say yes to you!" with that, I huffed off into the junior's hallway, leaving the boys standing dumbfounded at my rejection. Which I couldn't see why; I rejected them every time they asked me.

But as I was rushing into the doorway, I bumped into something. Hard. Looking up, I scowled. A tall male model stood in front of me with sandy hair and piercing green eyes. I nearly gasped.

"Why are you standing in the door like that? Someone, like me, could be trying to get to class without running into someone," I snapped at him.

"Sorry. I'm new here. Edward Cullen," he said, his musical voice rang out over the screaming freshman outside.

I was in a bad mood. I could not help it, "Well watch where you're standing." And I brushed off my skirt and strutted to the other side of the long hallway that was lined with lockers and students beginning to arrive.

Realizing how mean I just sounded, I turned back to him.

"Sorry. That must not have made you feel very welcome. I was just having a really bad day." I apologized.

He looked up from his schedule and smiled. His teeth shone and his deep green eyes were sympathetic.

"Yeah, I heard your run in with that guy. Mike is it?" he had the nerve to be laughing at me!

"Yeah, Mike and Erik. They bother me every day." I averted my eyes to avoid his, which were suddenly wickedly amused. I did nott know what he was going to say, but I had the feeling it was not going to be something I liked.

"Humpf," I pouted.

Looking at the clock, I realized we were going to be late to class.

"We're going to be late. Where's your locker?" I asked him.

He looked grateful for my inquiry, "I'm in this hallway, I think. Number," he was shuffling through his papers and finally found it, "1118. You?"

"Considering that it's in numerical order, I'm right next to you," I said and started leading him towards the locker section we were in.

"Really?" he seemed excited again, "So, what's your last name?"

I would have liked for him to guess it, but he would only need to ask one person in this school and he'd soon have the answer.

"Swan. I'm Bella Swan, Senator Swan's daughter."

"No wonder you look so familiar!" I grimaced.

"I don't want my face all over the tabloids, but seeing how it's nearly election time, they'll use whatever they can against him."

"But aren't you a good daughter?" I struggled to keep my facial expression straight.

We finally arrived at our lockers, "Oh look, we're here. I've got to go to class. Mr. Mason would kill me if I was late again," and I scrambled off for class.

Edward's Point of View

I watched her stalk off toward class, nervous and awkward. But she was beautiful. Stunning would be more correct. It was so nice of her to stop and help me. Most of the other girls only asked me on dates or something. I think the word was to 'hook up.'

Anyway, I would have loved to ask Bella on a date, but it was probably too soon.

And what did she mean when she didn't answer my question whether or not she was a good girl? She seemed to be a good girl. But then a petite girl with blonde hair appeared.

"Oh my god, were you just talking to Bella? Bella Swan?" She exclaimed, excited over something.

"Well, yeah. There were words coming out of our mouths, right?" I asked sarcastically. Who was this girl and what right did she have butting into my personal life?

She sniffed. "I'm Lauren DeVaren and you were just talking to Bella Swan on your first day of school!" she squealed, the volume of her voice rose with each word she said.

"Point?" I asked, impatient. I didn't want to be late to class on my first day of school.

"The point is that Bella doesn't talk to anyone outside her group!" she screeched; Lauren was practically bouncing now.

"Wha-what do you mean? She seemed nice enough to me…" I trailed off, confused. Could that nice, beautiful girl really be-? But I stopped before I thought that. That's why I left Las Angeles. I hoped that here it would be different.

She looked at me with her eyebrows raised. "What class do you have first?"

I looked at my schedule. It said some teacher named Johnson. "Um, Mr. Johnson."

If she smiled any bigger I was afraid her face might crack. "Sweet, so do I," she said and led me down the nearly empty hallway to the classroom at the end of the hall.

When I entered, the female students looked me up and down and smiled, while the male students scowled. I could tell this would be a long year.

"Ah class, here is our new student, Mr. Edward Cullen. Please take a seat Mr. Cullen next to… Lauren."

As I made my way down the aisles, the girls suddenly sat up and stuck out their chest while the guys just slumped down in their seats and glared at me, daring me to look. But I was raised with morals and knew that it would be improper. So I kept my head up and plopped down next to Lauren, which opened the floodgates.

"So, do you play football? Well, it doesn't matter. Actually, it kind of does. So you know Bella right? Of course you do, you were talking to her. Anyway, she's like, the queen bee of the school. Totally hot. At least that's what guys tell me. And to her friends she super nice. She's actually like super nice to like everyone. But anyway, her best friend Alice is going out with the star quarterback on the football team. Cause she's the beta. So Bella has to top that cause

she's alpha. But she doesn't seem like she cares. She's not even going out with anyone anyway. Though I'm sure she has."

I asked, afraid of the answer, "Has she gone out with many people?"

"Well, yeah. She's kind of a slut. Well, not really. She went to The Club when she was 13. So I assume that she's gone there again."

"Are you good friends with her?" I inquired. She seemed to be all-knowing.

But a brunette interrupted. We were whispering because class just started. "She wishes. Everyone knows about Bella Swan. She is the senator's daughter. Her mom's a semi-famous designer too. And all the guys like her cause, well, you've seen her. I'm Jessica by the way," she said. She could tell I was about to introduce myself but she stopped me before I could, "Yeah, I know who you are. Everyone's been talking about you."

Wow. Word spread fast. But then Lauren was called on for an answer and class droned on and on after that.

When the bell finally rang, I jumped out of my seat.

"Do you know where your next class is?" Jessica asked, beating Lauren to the punch. These girls were really helpful. Or so I told myself.

"Yes, I have gym next period, but thanks anyway," I turned to leave. But I heard shrieking behind me. "What?"

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh. My. God!" Lauren was beyond words.

"What? Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Well, you have class with Bella next period." She said suddenly nonchalant.

"Oh, really? That's cool. Hey, how do you know her schedule? Isn't that kind of stalkerish?" I asked, worried about her now.

"No. Everyone knows Bella's schedule. But don't worry, she's safe. Oh, and by the way, she doesn't go out with," she stopped, trying to find a word, "newbies. People new to the system. You're going to have to join the football team or something before she even gives you a second look."

I sighed and walked out the hall doors, across the grass to the large gymnasium. I was greeted by a large burst of cold air.

When I put my stuff in the changing room and went into the courts, I saw I was among the first out. I guess people liked to take their time. I had thought I was going to be late because I spent so long talking to Lauren and Jessica. I could tell they weren't 'in' the system but really wanted to be.

But I was disappointed. Bella didn't seem to be the type to be 'queen bee' of the school. She was too nice. But thinking back to her original comment, she could be mean. But she apologized. That counted for something, right?

My musing was interrupted by Coach Clappman. "Ah, I see we have our new student here. Here's your volleyball uniform. I'd give you a choice, but we're short on volleyball players. Go change and come back out." Then he started to hit on the two girls that were already there. Disgusting.

I saw that the uniform was a pair of baggy pants and a jersey with the name Cullen and number 6. When I was done changing, I went out, dreading it.

I was good at volleyball, but I didn't want to talk to or see Bella again. What I learned about her was enough. She was one of those girls. One of the girls that I wanted to escape from in Las Angeles.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't with me. She was in my class. But, at least she didn't notice me. She was surrounded by a group of girls excitedly talking to her. Bella was just standing there, basking in all her glory. She was smiling and talking about the new line that came out for Marc Jacob.

She looked up and saw me. She smiled so her eyes would sparkle, unlike the smiles she had for her friends. I must be seeing things. She does not have a special smile for me.

But I just ignored her and walked away. She looked confused, but one of her groupies dragged her back into the conversation again.

Coach Clappman blew his whistle and shouted, "Class, today we have a new student. He'll be on your team Janet. Begin."

Wow. I expected more time to warm up or something. But everyone got onto their teams. It was Janet versus Bella. I could not wait to see the look on her face when we creamed her team.

I was so naïve. I should have known that she was good at volleyball. Amazing at it.

She stepped up to the serving spot and shouted, "Serving. Zero to Zero," and hit the ball over the net so it hit the line at the farthest back of the court exactly. It was in but just barely. She smirked when my mouth dropped open.

"No hard feelings Cullen. You couldn't have gotten it anyway," she said over the net, her eyes clouded with hurt.

"Great Cullen! What did you do to her on your first day of school?" Janet hissed at me while the rest of the team openly glared at me.

"Huh? No-nothing!" I was uncomfortable with their glares. If looks could kill…

"Nothing! You call that nothing?" she pointed to the line where the ball had hit.

"I'm sure it was just a coincidence. There's no way she can hit the line every time." I said but the second the words were out of my mouth I knew they were not true.

"She normally serves it to us so we at least have a chance. And she's normally the last to serve. We all know none of us pissed her off. That leaves you, new boy."

"So? It's just volleyball. We can still try." I said, but I had the feeling that it would be hard.

Bella served the ball again, "Serving, one to zero," she hit the ball to the line exactly again. I was the only one who lunged for the ball. The rest of the team just stood there, impassive.

"Nice catch Cullen," Bella said while my team gave me glares that said 'see? I told you it was your fault.'

"Hey, what did I do to you?" I was mad that she was taking out her anger on me.

But some pixie with spiked blonde hair yelled at me, "Dude, you ignored her for no reason. Get that part? NO REASON!"

I looked at Bella. This was why she was mad at me? Because I ignored her? Rich, spoiled brat! But I knew she wasn't…she was so nice to me in the hall.

The next thirty minutes passed and Bella's team beat us twenty-five to zero. Twice.

Janet came up to me and said, "See, I told you she could hit it on the line every time," and then she pushed past me.

I almost groaned. Today was going to be a very long day.

I was right. When I found my way into Mrs. Benson's class, all the girls were glaring at me for upsetting their 'leader' and the guys were smirking.

"Don't worry man. She'll get over it soon. Oh, I'm David by the way. David Ackerman."

I smiled. Finally today was looking up. But then Janet took the seat in the back, leaving only one next to me.

"This is what you get for making us lose in volleyball!" she hissed in my ear as she passed me. I was confused. I didn't mind having an empty seat next to me. But when I saw Bella walking in, I understood.

She would have to sit next to me. And she, of course, did not know that it was Janet's fault. So she stalked in and plopped down in the seat, not even bothering to glare at me.

Taking out a sheet of paper, I wrote something down and threw it at Bella.

Hey I'm sorry about ignoring u. I had heard something about u..

She looked confused when she felt something hit her elbow, understood and rolled her eyes, and then read it. A flash of surprise crossed her face before she quickly scribbled something back.

What did u hear about me? Who told u? and do u rlly believe it?

Well, yea it seems kinda realistic…I think this girl called Jessica told me

Yea it was probably her. shes always wanted to be my friend but she was fake..plastic

And ur not? Not in an offensive way, but rnt u like, the 'queen B' of the school?

Haha no not rlly. im just rlly liked and ppl think they have 2 like me bcuz of my father. Alice is probably the Q B. bt I do do revenge and I like it…hehehe

Ohhh I guess that makes sense. Whats with the ignoring me thing and the vball thing tho?

Like I said, I like revenge. And u ignored me 1st and Janet was rlly getting on my nerves

Y? she got rlly pissed me 4 making u mad. What did u do? Ur rlly good vb btw

She wont leave me and Alice alone and she was hitting on my previous bf Jack I swear they were sneaking around. Btw, thx :)

Oh what happened 2 jack? I don't think theres any 'jack' here

Hahaha that was fun, anyway u havent been here long enuf 2 have met every1 tho this is a small school and I kinda ran him out of the school

I was suddenly frightened. Since he probably broke her heart, she ran him out of school? Wasn't that a bit…evil? If she ever gave me a chance to be near her heart, I had better be very careful with it. But I doubted that would ever happen.

She snatched up the paper from under my hand, impatient with my delayed response.

Dude I didn't do anything. I just ignored him so all my 'groupies' ignored him 2 so he didn't have any friends. Its cuz he was on the bball team and his team mates were going out w/ my friends so they told their bfs that they couldn't talk 2 jack or that they would dump them. I swear I had nothing 2 do with it

When I read it, I actually believed her. I don't know why, but she just seemed so…innocent? And she was nice. Before I could dwell more on it, the Mrs. Benson called on us.

"Ms. Swan, Mr. Cullen! Do you have something you'd like to share with the class?"

Bella spoke up, after looking up from her 'notes', "What are you talking about? We are merely passing notes," I was shocked. Was she really going to get us in trouble? Did she hate me that much? "about the material. We didn't want to disrupt your class so we did it quietly. I'm sorry."

Mrs. Benson was speechless. Then she turned her beaky face to us, "Of course dears. I'm sorry. Ahh, um, oh yes! This is a timeline showing…" she droned on.

My mouth had popped open. Wow, Bella was special. She smirked.

But then the bell ringed for lunch. We jumped out of our seats, eager for lunch. I followed Bella to our lockers. People stared at us. They had obviously heard about the 'fight' that we had. And the volleyball game. Oh well, I guess they had to be faster to hear about our 'makeup'.

"So, how's your first day going so far?" she asked as we idly placed books in our lockers.

I laughed. "Great. Well, with the exception of volleyball." She didn't even have the decency to look ashamed.

"It's a prep school. I will admit I have a lot of influential power though. With friends like mine, you don't need bodyguards. You need to get to the top or have connections. Now, you have connections." With that, she swept out of the room. I was stunned.

When she was nearly at the door of the cafeteria, she turned and asked, "You coming or what?"

I nodded and scampered after her. When we reached the doors, she held out her hand to motion me to stop.

"Walk next to me, not behind me. I want to give them the right message."

"And what might the right message be?"

"That you're a friend, not a groupie."

"Even the guys want to be a 'groupie'?" But looking over her body, I realized why.

"Exactly."

And we walked into the cafeteria. It was amazing the effect she had on people. People who were weating and pretending to be gagging suddenly sat up straighter and girls started talking about clothes and shoes; guys began bragging about all the girls that they had managed to hook up with. Even the emo kids were making an effort to impress Bella.

"Wow, you have quite an effect on people," I stated, amazed.

She shrugged, "People want to be 'cool'," she made air quotes around the word, "and want to fit in, and they think that I'm the 'Queen Bee'," she made air quotes again, "so they think they'll talk about stuff I like instead of being themselves," she said matter-of-factly.

"Do you like what you hear?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, I've already heard it all. But if I really like a certain designer's line that's out, then I'll comment. But the guys, they disgust me. I don't care how many girls they've been with or what they've done with them. It disgusts me. Anyway, I'm saving myself for marriage."

Then she veered left to nearly empty table in the center of the room. The people at the table were all very preppy. They wore the uniform, but the makeup seemed professional and the hair accessories matched perfectly. Their smug expressions were on their faces as if they were born with them there. The only one that seemed truly happy, and she was a jittery girl with black hair.

"Hey guys, this is Edward. Edward, this is Alice," she pointed to the dark-haired girl with a blue headband that had an obnoxious bow on top, "Jasper," a large, muscular boy with blonde hair, "Rosalie," a beautiful Caucasian with gorgeous blonde locks, "and Emmett," a tall, buff guy who was probably on the basketball team.

"Hey man, what's up?" the guy named Jasper asked. He seemed to be the amiable sort.

"Hey," Rosalie said, questioning Bella with her eyes.

"Hey dude! You should, like, join the b-ball team with me! Dude that would be fun!" Emmett boomed.

"Oh my god! See Bella this was who I was talking about! This is the new kid! You know, you showed no interest when I talked about him, but now you bring him to the lunch table!" Alice practically screamed.

"Yea, I can't be interested in every guy you think is hot. Anyway, he seems nice enough. Now we'll just see if he's smart enough." Bella replied coolly.

The whole cafeteria was intrigued. Everyone at the table was oblivious. But then noise broke out like a brook from a damn. I caught some sections of the conversations.

"She lets the new kid sit at the table? But I've been trying to be her friend for 3 years now! Life is so unfair!"

"Wow, he is hot. No wonder Bella brought him to their table. This is the first time that The Five will become, like, The Six!" one blonde said.

The brunette next to her said, "I guess. She lets her previous boyfriends sit there, but they never last. But is she really going to go out with a newbie?"

"Edward my man!" I looked up. It was David, "Dude I didn't know you had connections here! First day and you sit at that table!" he tried to sound cool about it, but I could tell he was hurt. And a little jealous.

"No, I never met her before today. But I guess this is her way of making up for the volleyball thing," but David was shaking his head.

"You're wrong. Even she wouldn't go so far as to bring you to her table. I guess you're their new project. Hope you have the grades to stay in," then he left.

"Edward? Edward!" Bella shouted in my ear. I was startled and jumped.

"Finally! Anyways, I was thinking about having a party for you. Can you come?" Alice asked. I was shocked. They accepted me so quickly?

Before I could answer, Bella got up, "I'm going to go grab a bite to eat. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable," and then she walked off to the line, where people instantly let her go in front of them. But she refused and started talking with the little redhead at the end.

I pulled up the closest chair that was graciously given to me by some guy named Austin.

"How can you guys be so nice already? I just met you! Not like I object," I tacked on quickly. I didn't want them hating me. Image what Alice would do if she was worse than Bella…

Rosalie raised her eyebrows, while Alice hastened to explain.

"Well, we have The Three. Bella, me, and Emmett. We've been bffs forevs. Anyways, Rosalie here joined us recently. She was a project and we made her popular like us. Then she caught Emmett's eye and now they've been going out. Jasper here is just amazing for the part. He's the captain of the soccer team and star quarterback of the football team and he keeps straight A's. That's also a requirement. Actually, there's kind of a lot. Like, you've got to be hot, smart, sociable, sixteen or older-" she stopped when Bella came back. Her tray had an Evian water bottle and a box of pizza.

"Are you telling him the requirements?" she said, seemingly disgusted.

"Well, since you won't, I will," Alice snapped back, not missing a beat.

"People just think we have a list. We don't actually have one."

"Yes we do! Anyway, you've agreed with some of them. Like, we made the sixteen or older rule for you."

"And don't forget being smart."

"Yea, but the rest are true. Me and Emmett agreed," Alice said and shrugged.

"It's Emmett and I Alice," Bella said, giggling.

"Oops, always getting that rule wrong."

I interrupted. "So, let's say that you," I looked at Alice, "wanted to go out with someone. Would they be allowed to eat here?"

"Yea, but they wouldn't be accepted unless we'd been going out for more than six months and my friends liked him."

"But why should your friends have the say? Shouldn't you?" I retorted.

"They're the ones who have to sit with him forever. But if I still liked him, I would just sit with him at a different table. We talked this all through. Well, Bella, Emmett and me. No grudges either. Like, if you're mad at someone, then you can't just say no cause your mad. You have to mean your response." Alice shrugged again, before taking some of the pizza from the box. She had made a mistake in her grammar again, but no one bothered to correct her.

"Okay, hold on. I have a lot of questions for you guys," I stated.

"Okay, fire away," this time Bella said it.

"Um, aren't you, like, worried about your weight? It's good that you're not and all, but a lot of girls I know are, so I assumed. And you're all sticks."

Rosalie replied, "No. Emmett and Jasper are star players and Bella, Alice and I go to the gym weekly. Anyway, why waste your life worrying about calories?"

Moving onto the next question. "Why do you have the rules and stuff?"

Emmett answered this time. "Well, we've got to have rules to keep people away. Or else everyone would want to join us."

"But why can't you just be, like, normal?" I was looking blindly for words, but they understood anyway.

Bella looked resentful and uncomfortable, but answered, "Mallory and Daniella were the Queens before. But they were total…brats," she said, smirking when she realized her word choice.

"And?" I was interested.

"Well, they ruled the school with an iron fist. You can't do this, you can't do that. They thought they could get away with everything. It got out of hand when they started sleeping with every guy and everyone, including half the guys wanted to, well, 'rebel'," she made air quotes. "Oh, they were blonde cheerleaders. But when I saw Mallory and Daniella in Mr. Barner's classroom, they were doing some…not so appropriate stuff. So when we had a…cat fight, I brought it up in front of the whole school. They were expelled and Mr. Barner went to jail. Nobody cared because nobody liked him or Daniella or Mallory. So everyone started attacking us to be our friends, then people started copying us and sooner or later we found ourselves here, at the top of the social ladder. This was three years ago. We never really minded," she said, but her eyes contradicted her statement.

But I understood why people thought Bella was the Queen Bee. She was the one who overthrew Lauren and Jessica, but she didn't think she was because her heart wasn't in it. She was only there for her friends.

There was a silence before a girl who was obviously Goth walked by.

"Bella! Oh my god, I was looking all over for you!" she squealed.

"Hey Matilda. You know where to find me, I sit here every day," she said as she smiled.

"Oh, yea. Well, I was wondering what I should wear to the party."

"What party?" Bella asked, pretending to be confused.

"You know, the one for Edward. Cause he's new and all. I heard Alice say something."

Bella glared at the girl Matilda. "Well, first of all, you shouldn't be eavesdropping, second, you shouldn't assume you're invited, and third, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Matilda cowered back. "S-sorry."

Bella sighed then apologized. "Sorry Matilda. Bad day. Mike and Eric caught me at lunch. Anyway, I'll myspace you the info, okay?"

If Matilda smiled any bigger, her face would crack. "Thanks Bella! See you tomorrow!"

"No, I won't. Tomorrow's Saturday!" Bella exclaimed.

Matilda laughed at her mistake. "Oops, my bad. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?"

I suddenly listened closer. I had wanted to ask if Bella was busy over the weekend. Oh well, I'd get an answer nonetheless, whether or not if I asked or if this girl asked.

"Stupid senator's party. My dad's inviting some congressmen and big people. I have to go and show off for them. Wish I didn't." Bella's eyes suddenly darkened and went flat. They were no longer the bright, sparkling brown, but a darker shade of jade that showed no emotion.

No wonder people were afraid of her. If she was like this when she was sad, what would she be like if she was mad? I hoped I would never have to see her mad.

But then the bell rang again and everyone rushed out to get to class on time. Bella was lost in the push of the crowd and I was lost standing by the table as people shoved by me. It was soon empty and I made my way down the hall.

This story will only have 2 chapters because this is my old school project that I decided to Twilight-ify and add. Sorry if they're mistakes; I skimmed it and edited the first half (22 pages and 8, 200 words)

I know they're really OOC too but....

So please review! If I get enough reviews/ feedback to continue, then I'll edit the second half and post it ASAP!

So, Please review and tell me if I should continue!

P.S. It's a pretty mellow story...