𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙤 - 𝙀. 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

[05] THE ORANGE TRUCK

Rumours of the other new girl coming to town had been travelling around the school for the past week now and Regina was reminded of them when she parked her car in the school's parking lot. It wasn't that Regina knew each car of the student body in Forks – though she was pretty sure she could come close – but it was pretty hard to miss the new appearance of a big, beat-up, orange truck.

The new girl was Isabella Swan, the Sheriff's daughter. The school had made a big deal out of it and Regina had learned that her arrival had been just as big of a deal, which she didn't really get. Jessica tried justifying that it was rare for new people to arrive in such a small town, but Regina still thought it strange. She'd grown up in a small town, but newcomers had never been that big of a deal over there.

Unfortunately for her, because Isabella and she had arrived shortly after one another, the student body of Forks had been trying to draw comparisons between them before Isabella had even arrived in town. It was through this constant comparison that Regina had learned that Isabella was a dark brunette, but her hair was not as dark as hers. She'd also learned that while Isabella was of the same height and had dark brown eyes too, that the newer girl was also a bit paler and that their clothing styles were almost opposite of one another. All this and Regina hadn't even seen the girl yet.

So, when Regina spotted a girl she didn't recognize that fit that description at her friends' lunch table, she had no doubt that this was Isabella Swan. Jessica was talking to the new girl and hadn't noticed her enter the cafeteria yet. She only just heard the end of what they were saying.

"Honestly, don't waste your time," Jessica said, scoffing under her breath.

Isabella seemed a bit distracted as she answered, "Wasn't planning on it."

Regina wrapped her arms around Jessica's neck from behind, "What shouldn't we waste time on?"

Jessica jumped but then chuckled and said hi when she recognized Regina, while Angela answered her question,

"On pining after the Cullens." Angela scooted over to make room for the Latina, who sat down.

"Well, yeah, unless you're you, because then you become the first person to ever see their house." Jessica gave her a pointed look.

"What?" Isabella frowned.

"Nothing," Regina dismissed and stuck out her hand, "I'm Regina."

"Bella. But I guess you knew that."

Regina nodded with a smile and turned to Jessica, "You weren't already replacing me with the newest new girl, were you, Jessie?" She pouted dramatically and Jessica wrapped an arm around her shoulder with a soft laugh.

"I could never."

"Regina came here only a few weeks before you," Angela told Bella, who'd been looking at the two best friends curiously. She made an 'oh' shape with her mouth and nodded in understanding.

Regina grinned at the brunette. "Your arrival seems to have taken the attention off of me, so I owe you one," She quipped. Bella chuckled somewhat awkwardly in reply and nodded.

"Right. Any idea how long it will last?"

"Until the next exciting thing happens?" Regina shrugged. "In a town like this, that might take a while."

"Figures," Bella muttered, though she smiled kindly at Regina.

After that first encounter, Bella had become a standard part of their friend group. Regina had come to realize that the brunette hated her full name and preferred Bella; that she was naturally rather awkward; and that she often zoned out for a bit. Still, the girl was nice enough and despite how awkward she was, she tried her best to adjust and fit in and Regina had managed to have a couple of nice conversations with the girl. She quite like their new addition.