I took a deep breath as I wrapped my thick scarf around my neck and pulled on my coat. I struggled to lift my arms high enough to put my hat on. ‘Damned British weather’ I muttered, frustrated. Mum laughed quietly behind me. I turned around and scowled.
“It’s not funny, you know! It’s freezing here! Just cause you’re all unruffled by bad weather! “I complained.
“Renesmee, you know it was a necessity to come here. Everyone in Forks would’ve realised that the whole family, except you, weren’t aging. It’d be too dangerous. “
My mother’s words were tainted by a side of pain. To leave Forks meant she had to leave Uncle Charlie, and I knew how much that hurt. Feeling guilty, I gave up.
“Yeah, I know. Still, did we HAVE to pick the rainiest city in Britain?”
Mum laughed her twinkly laugh.
“And I thought Forks was bad!” she chuckled.
I smiled a little at that. Both Dad and Mum were always telling me stories about Mum’s human days; it was almost impossible to think that my Mum was once as clumsy and bad-luck-prone as they made out. But I knew it had to be true; my Jacob had said it as well.
Suddenly my Dad’s voice appeared at the doorway next to my mum.
“Ness, you’ll be fine. Secondary school will be good, you’ll fit right in, don’t worry!”
My mum caught up within a sixteenth of a second.
“You know, if anyone could pull off that uniform, it’d be you!” she added.
I made a face and looked down. Another negative of Britain, along with the weather, is that they made us wear a uniform to school. Luck would have it that the school I was attending had the ugliest uniform ever. A knee-length grey skirt, grey socks, grey jumper. It was all grey, grey, and grey; to match the weather.
“Well, it’s time to go now! Ready?” Dad seemed excited, and I knew it was because he knew going to secondary school for the first time was a big thing for me. I followed him out to his Volvo, and got in. I knew perfectly well why Dad was so excited.
I thought back to my childhood memories, and remembered the boy Naheul. He was one of my kind; a half-breed. He was frozen at 27, but his sisters were frozen at different ages, the youngest 14. There didn’t seem to be any pattern. Uncle Jasper and Carlisle had been trying to find out an estimate at what age I’d be frozen at, and found that it’d be the age I fully matured. Then I’d be frozen in that state. That meant I’d have to retake school again, and again, and again. The thought made my head ache.
I was snapped out of my little world as the shiny Volvo rolled to a stop.
“Okay Ness, we’re here. Now... you remember what you have to keep in mind today?” he asked.
I sighed.
“Yes! It’s hard not to when you, Mum, Uncle Jazz, Uncle Emmett AND Auntie Rose all keep reminding me!”
He raised his eyebrows at me and put his hand forward. Seeing as I couldn’t talk as low as my vampire family, I’d have to show him that I knew, in case any humans were listening. I touched his hand, and showed him all the rules. Don’t run too fast, don’t kill anyone, and don’t ‘show’ anyone anything. I said it in my head sarcastically, hoping Dad would get the point.
“And have fun” my dad whispered. And then louder, “Okay, time to get going then!”
We both stepped out of the car, and hurried through the rain towards the door marked ‘Main Entrance’. I smiled in relief as we made it through the doors and into the warm, dry office. Then, I looked up to see every single pair of eyes in the room focused on us. I blushed in embarrassment, and shuffled after my Dad, who didn’t seem to notice the staring eyes.
“Hello, m-may I help you?” the front office lady stammered.
“Yes, please, I’m here with my daughter, who’s starting here today.” My Dad replied smoothly.
The lady’s eyes sapped to me, and they widened even more. I met her stare, and the looked down, fumbling with some papers. She pulled out the one she needed, and squinted through her rimmed glasses.
“Oh yes... Runnismee? “ She struggled to pronounce my name.
“It’s Run-nez-may” I corrected, blushing a deep red. ‘Thanks a lot, Mum’ I thought mentally, and I saw my Dad fight a smile.
“Oh, I apologize. Well, if you’d both like to take a seat, and I’ll get hold of your college head. “

She gestured towards the seats at the other side of the office and we went and sat down. An awkward silence hung in the air, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. A boy, probably about a year or two older than me, was sitting on a chair at the other end of the room. He was lounged back in his seat, but was openly staring at me, mouth slightly open. He had an odd expression on his face, but I recognised it. Back in Forks, it had been the expression of all the boys.
I stole a glance at my Dad, and realised he was sitting blot upright, his fists clenched. Surprised, I touched his hand, and put through my confusion. He shook his head ever so slightly, so I dropped it. I had a feeling it was something to do with the boy at the other end of the room though, because that’s who my Dad’s furious gaze was targeting.
I turned to look at the boy myself. He had dark brown hair which he kept shaking out of his eyes, and I noticed, with my amazing sight, that his eyes were a startling shade of blue. He noticed me watching, and smiled. I smiled tentatively back, and his face seemed to light up. My dad cleared his throat next to me, and I looked at him, annoyed. Just at that moment, a lady walked through the double doors, stopping short when she caught a glance of my Dad.
“It’s Renesmee Cullen, yes?” she asked, composing herself. I nodded, and she motioned for us to follow him. I glanced once at the boy, and he winked quickly at me. I blushed, and my dad’s arm led me away briskly.
“So, are you Renesmee’s father then?” she asked, a bit nervous.
“Yes, I’m Edward Cullen.“ he answered
“I’m Miss Longford, but please call me Annie. Here is Renesmee’s planner and timetable,” she handed me a small book, and a piece of paper, then continued. “Well, we are delighted to welcome Renesmee into our school. If you ever need to talk to us, please feel free to contact me” she said.
We had come up to a door, painted a dull shade of green. Was anything bright in this school?!
“Well, this is Renesmee’s tutor room, and her mentor is waiting to have a chat with you!” She gestured towards the door with a smile, so we walked in.
All the eyes in the room snapped to me and my dad. The girls eyed my Dad, whispering behind their hands, and the boys watched me, jaws slack. I blushed again, looking down shyly at the floor.
“Morning Miss Longford. And who is this?” A man stood at the whiteboard asked, smiling at us. He had a nice, friendly smile, and I immediately liked him.
“This is Renesmee Cullen, and her father. She’s the new girl in your mentor.” Miss Longford told him. I cringed internally. I hated those words. The new girl.
“Ah yes! I’m Mr Warner, your tutor. Come Renesmee, and introduce yourself!” he beckoned me forward, so I walked towards him, and faced the staring eyes of the class.
“Erm... Hi. I’m Renesmee” I said, awkwardly. I glanced at my dad, and saw he was struggling to stifle his laugh. I glared at him, and he smiled innocently back. With my attention back at the class, I realised they were waiting for me to continue.
“Um... Well, I’m 13...” I continued. What was I meant to say? I looked blankly at Mr Warner, who smiled at me warmly, before turning to the class.
“Does anyone have any questions that they’d like to know about Renesmee?”
My stomach turned slightly. This would be worse.
Every single person in the room, (apart from Dad, Mr Warner and Miss Longford obviously,) raised their hand. I blushed and looked at my feet.
“Don’t be shy Renesmee! Just point at someone, and they’ll tell you their name.” Mr Warner encouraged. I looked up reluctantly, and scanned the room. Most of the girls were watching my dad out of the corner of their eye, and some of the boys seemed a bit eager to be chosen. I decided to start safe, and then choose the less safe options. A boy who had is arm half-up and was just watching me with a curious look in his eye, was sitting at the back and I decided he didn’t seem too risky.
I felt it was rude to just point, so instead I said “Um, the boy at the back, blonde hair.” He put his hand down, and smiled.
“Hey Renesmee, I’m Ed. I noticed you have a cool accent and I wanted to ask, where are you from?”
I answered “I was born in Forks, in the USA.”
Ed grinned at me, and I smiled back. I answered a few more questions about what I like to do in my spare time, my favourite singers, when my birthday is, and other typical questions.
Mr Warner grinned at the end of the Q&A, and thanked the class for their questions. I was a bit more confident in myself now; the class were all friendly to me. I looked around for my Dad, but realised he’d already left.
“So, Renesmee will need someone to help he get around school, any one in Year 9 want to help?” Mr Warner asked.
Ed, a redhead called Amelia, and two other kids whose names I’d forgotten put their hands up. I smiled to myself; they didn’t hate me! Mr Warner chose Amelia and Ed, and asked them both to give me a tour of the school instead of their first lesson. Right on cue, the bell rang, and everyone got up.
Amelia and Ed walked towards me, but Amelia was closer so she got to me first.
“Hi! I’m Amelia, if you’d forgotten. Welcome to our school! Let’s see what lessons you have...” I could tell that I’d have no problem keeping up a conversation with Amelia. She took my timetable and studied it as she led me out of the class room, Ed following behind.
“Amelia, give the girl a chance to get a word in!” he laughed. I turned to look back at him, and he grinned. “Don’t worry, she’s always like this. She could talk for England if she wanted to!” he joked.
Amelia seemed totally oblivious to what Ed was saying.
“Awesome! Renesmee, you have English, PE, French, Drama and Geography with me, so I can take you there.” She gushed.
We were standing outside now, and the wind cut into my cheek. I pulled my coat even further around me in an effort to keep the cold out.
“Can I have a look then? “ Ed asked, reaching out for the timetable. Amelia handed it to him, then turned to me and started talking again.
“So, it looks like everyone loves you already!” she said, and I shrugged.
“I don’t know, I thought they were just being nice, seeing as I’m new and all.” I replied.
“What? No, no way! They all like you. I don’t blame then, obviously, because you’re stunning and everything, and you eyes are so cool, and your accent!” Amelia was talking so fast that I struggled to catch what she was saying.
“Renesmee, one this one occasion, Amelia’s not talking rubbish. About everyone liking you, I mean.” Ed said, walking up beside us. “I’ll prove it. You know in the row in front of me, there was a boy with the brown hair?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, well that’s Daniel Davies, and he don’t like anyone. Well, that’s what everyone thought, because he never talks to anyone or goes out. But he asked you a question.” Ed finished dramatically. The look on his face was so satisfied that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Anyway, we better get on with this tour!” Ed said, laughing as well.