perennial - rosalie hale of twilight

Chapter 11

[JANUARY 2005]

My siblings and I sat at the usual table in the cafeteria. Today seemed more tedious for me than ever. The cafeteria was filled with useless chatter as usual.

  From where I sat, I was already able to pick up the most talked about topic in almost every table apart from ours: Chief Swan's daughter has arrived in town. Her arrival in Forks made her the third new student this school year and in many years.

  Lily was the only new student on the first day of school, followed by Edythe a few weeks later.

  It didn't take me long enough to find the only unfamiliar face in the crowded room. There she was. Isabella, as I remembered Chief Swan referred to her a few months ago.

  I noticed almost half the human boys in school were staring at Isabella Swan. It reminded me of seeing boys in Lily's grade gawk at her during her first couple of months when she was something new to look at. I was ignoring her presence then, but I've heard at least two guys made their move on her. She turned them both down.

  Edythe's arrival was different, though. Everyone gaped at her shamelessly. They all talked about her, but no one was brave enough to come up to her.

  Humans usually stared at us from a distance. No matter how beautiful we appeared to them, we were more than just intimidating, so they kept a safe range.

  I glanced at the new girl again. She was really pale and looked more fragile than the rest of her neighbors. There was nothing extraordinary about her appearance, so it didn't take much for me to lose interest in her.

  Bored out of my mind, I tried to look for a better distraction—something to focus on to pass the time. Looking around, I had caught sight of my reflection on some girl's glasses. Sure enough, my perfection did not disappoint, but even that was not enough to get me in a livelier mood today.

  I was not in the mood to be around humans right now; our last hunting trip was two weeks ago and we're all crabby from the thirst.

  Emmett was sitting beside me. He had his arm over my shoulder; he had serious look on his face and his thoughts seem faraway.

  Edward looked more bored than I was. He was staring at the wall at the far corner of the cafeteria.

  Jasper, with almost pitch-black eyes like the rest of us, looked like he was in pain.

  I'm sure he was. Jasper was already the most dangerous of us for humans even when we were fed. Now that he's thirsty, it probably made him ten times more dangerous. He really should have stayed home today.

  Edythe was the only one smart enough not to test her limits. She had decided not to come to school today just to be sure.

  Being around humans when I'm thirsty isn't the most difficult thing for me since I have never tasted human blood. Still, it's not without risk. I may not crave it like the others do, but thirst is thirst.

  Out of the corner of my eye, Alice looked a little worried. She kept stealing swift glances at Jasper and having that blank look on her face whenever she's having her visions or scanning the future. She must be watching Jasper's decisions right now.

  I went back to looking around the cafeteria. A small girl walked past our table and stopped at the closest table to talk to another student. I recognized her from the Halloween party.

  I caught a whiff of her scent when the heaters blew in our direction without warning. I immediately held my breath to block my sense of smell. Beside me, Emmett went rigid. He, too, was holding his breath.