New Girl

Who's That Girl?

Jessica thought there had to be weirder ways to spend her weekend than helping decorate a bedroom. The bedroom just happened to be at the house of her mom's boyfriend and it was going to be occupied by his estranged daughter that was coming to live with him. She had never met Charlie's daughter as the last time the girl had visited was before Jessica and her family moved to Forks. And none of her friends had much recollection of their kindergarten days with Bella Swan so Jessica had no idea what to even get for her bedroom.

Jessica's mom and Charlie both thought that since she was a teenage girl that she would know what any teenager would want in a bedroom as if she just had secretly been taking interior design classes while going to high school. Charlie had been terrible at keeping up to date with his daughter and any of her possible interests. The only helpful bit of advice he was able to get out of his ex-wife was that Bella liked to read. Whether she liked Shakespeare or comic books would be too specific and Jessica would have to rely on the power of guessing.

As Charlie and her mom looked over curtains, Jessica sneaked off into the corner of the home supply store and looked around for inspiration. She finally gave in and called Angela for help. She could complain to her best friend at the least.

"She likes to read and somehow I'm supposed to come up with a plan on what to put in her room," Jessica said. "What do I even put in there? A fake skull so she can have Hamlet monologues?"

Angela snorted softly. "Maybe get her a book shelf? Just keep things simple. A lamp, a clock, a bean bag chair..."

"I don't even know what color scheme to do. Charlie doesn't know her favorite color."

"Oh no."

Jessica moaned pitifully. "Do you see what I'm dealing with here?"

"Try more neutral colors. A lot of people like blue."

She picked up a bundle of yellow and white fake flowers. "I have an idea. We could do a theme like Miss Honey's cottage in Matilda. I could get her a tea set and everything."

"I don't know about that, Jess."

"You're right. Miss Honey is more your thing."

...

Jessica ended up being proud of what they did with the bedroom. It looked nicer than her own bedroom. Maybe she should take a page out of Charlie's book and redecorate. The day Bella was to arrive in Forks, Charlie went to pick her up at the airport while Jessica and her mom stayed at Charlie's house to get the place ready.

While Charlie was away, his best friend Billy Black came over with his son. Charlie had bought a truck from them they restored for Bella to use and it looked like it wouldn't go past sixty miles an hour without completely giving up. She paused at the sight of Billy Black's son who she had been seeing around La Push for years as they would come to beach. Puberty hit him hard.

She knew he had to be about fifteen but he looked older. He had to be around seven feet tall and he was fit and muscled. His long hair was tied up in a ponytail and it brought attention to his cheekbones. With the russet skin and the sunny smile, Jacob Black was incredibly attractive.

He handed the key to the truck over to her mom as she made chitchat with Billy. He hovered over everyone like a very handsome giant. Maybe she should set him up with Angela. He wouldn't be intimidated by Angela's height when he was a whole foot taller than her.

He noticed her staring and smiled at her. She ignored the fluttering in her belly. He wasn't for her. He was for Angela whether he liked it or not.

"Hi," she said.