Chapter 1 : FIRST SIGHT

(Mid-day Moon)
Susan Sone
2009

First Sight


This was the time of the day when I wished I were able to sleep.

High school! Or was purgatory the right word? If there was any way to atone for my sins, this ought to count toward the tally in some measure. I had only begun to grow accustomed to the tedium and insomnia that filled my days. I tried to remember the last time I had slept, but urgh! those human memories were so blur and insignificant when compared to the memories that I had, ever since I was converted to a vampire.

I stared at the humans in the cafeteria - so fragile. There were so many of them, yet, not one would speak to me or my siblings. Was it just because we are pale white? Talk about racism still existing!

Rosalie and Emmet were thinking about the ‘nice-time’ that they had had last night. Yuck! If only I had the power to somehow exclude these two from my mind. But, I guess this was how God intended for me to pay for my sins - by listening to their lewd thoughts.

Oh man! Shez hot. I could have distinguished Mike Newton’s thoughts from the other end of the world – what with the sheer volume that would put a blue whale to shame.

My focus immediately shifted to the reason for his sudden excitement today and I could see in his thoughts, the 'new girl'.

OH Mama!! Was all that I could think, the moment I saw her in Mike’s thoughts. She was some babe! I couldn’t help but gawk at her through Mike’s eyes. She walked ever so gracefully towards Jessica Stanley(who by the way, had a huge crush on me last year) who was sitting across the cafeteria at her usual table. The new girl’s flowing brown hair moved like the waves caused on a pond, when one threw a stone into it; her chocolate brown eyes swooping through the room, probably searching for someone as beautiful as her – I am sure she must have had no success at that.

Then, as she looked back at Jessica, she gave her the most wonderful smile that I’d ever seen in the decades of my existence as a vampire ( I am not quite sure about the smiles that I saw as a human, because, like I said, those memories are kinda blur and distorted ). Her teeth - beautifully arranged - glimmered flashes of lightning between her two full lips. I was momentarily blinded by the shimmer that directed at me through the distance that separated us. I wondered if her flawless teeth could possibly be real. Maybe she broke her real set of teeth in a childhood accident or something and her parents got her new ones fitted.

Just then, the worst possible thing happened. I could never have imagined my whole existence to come to a stand still, but it just did. My hands turned into a fist and questioned God for inflicting this punishment upon to me - A punishment that would most easily qualify for the worst that I could ever have encountered. She had stopped smiling. The world held no meaning for me anymore. I felt an urge to run off to Italy and bring my life to an end. How could I ever live in a world where she would not smile all the time? Where I would be devoid of the perfect set of teeth running under her delicious full lips? Just HOW would I ever be strong enough to sustain this pain?

But then I thought of Carlisle, I thought of all the things that he had taught me over the years. Carlisle, my foster dad – a vampire-man who had taken care of me ever since I had transformed, he had treated me like his own son, along with his ever so loving wife Esme. They, together, had made many sacrifices for me over the years. And, me running off to Italy to get killed, would devastate them completely.

None of their other four kids held any importance to Esme and Carlisle. I had found this out through my special gift to read people’s mind. I had once heard Esme thinking of somehow running away with Carlisle and Me, to Alaska, leaving the other four – Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emett – to fend for themselves. She never really liked them as much.

Carlisle wasn’t fond of the other four either. He thought of them as a liability; a social embarrassment. What with, Jasper trying to kill everyone in sight; Alice predicting everything that would happen – thereby killing away all the fun and suspense in life; Rosalie – who would go on and on about her looks, her skin, her hair and her ‘sexy’ legs and finally Emett – phew! Carlisle and Esme hated him the most, he would get so ‘involved’ with Rosalie at night time ( if you know what I mean ) that he would break every piece of furniture that would come in their way. I mean, agreed that we are rich and all, but, shouldn’t he atleast consider ‘doing’ Rosalie somewhere else? Some place where he wouldn’t cause as much of damage?

If I ever ended up killing myself in Italy, Carlisle and Esme would have no reason to stick together with their remaining four kids. They would probably abandon them here in Forks and run off to Vegas. It was me who was holding the family together. I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.

So I decided to reconsider my plan. I could try live in a world where ‘she’ didn’t smile all the time. I would have to learn to do that. For my family, for my family. I kept repeating to myself.

Alice could easily read my expressions and Jasper sensed the aura around me turning into a deep pink – which obviously referred to love.

I could read both their minds. Alice was curious to find out who this person was, who had made my aura turn pink, while Jasper – the blood thirsty vampire that he is – could only relate deep pink to deep red which in turn related to blood (Could this blonde freak think of anything else? Ever?)

Who are you thinking about? Alice questioned me through her mind. Her voice was easily distinguishable. She had a vague nasal voice, something resembling to my own. I cant remember myself having a similar voice before the transformation. So, I happily conclude that the reason for a weird nasal humm in my voice is because an improper transformation. All Carlisle’s fault, not mine.

“The new girl, I just cant stop thinking about her”, I muttered, in a high pitched voice that would only be audible to the dogs around cafeteria or to one of those Quileutes, down at La Push.

‘Shez Chief Swan’s daughter. Her name if Isabella Swan, but she prefers being called Bella, she thinks that shorting the name would make her famous among the other kids in school.’ Alice replied to my unrestrained fascination to the new girl.

Bella – I thought to myself - what a perfect name for such a perfect girl. How could someone ever be so beautiful and flawless. I liked the way my tongue twisted and tangled when I spoke her name out loud. “Bella” I uttered. “Wow, her name is so beautiful.”

“Jessica Stanley is going to talk about us to the new girl” Alice spoke, loud enough only for the five of us to hear. “Lets see what people think about us these days. Have they started to like me.... I mean us? I cant wait to know if I ... I mean we, have been good enough to finally be called ‘cool’ by one of those humans”. By now it was beyond obvious that Alice had some serious insecurity issues.

“ Those are the Cullens” Jessica finally spoke, her voice sounded like one of those unsuccessful news readers – monotonous and droning. “They moved down here from Alaska-” Her voice broke, we all quickly turned to see what the problem was.

The new girl had her palm right in front of Jessica’s face. She spoke nice and clear in a voice that would ring in my mind, like a thousand bells, for the rest of eternity, for the rest of my existence.

“ I don’t care about those pale things, they don’t even qualify to be called humans”. She was so... right! I couldn’t believe it! How could someone possibly be so incredibly beautiful and in intelligent? I thought I was falling even more in love with her.

---to be continued---