One of A Kind

Pre-Twilight: Chapter Four

Lunch time. One of my favorite times of the day. I love food. I can eat as much food as I can, and I can never seem to gain weight. I use that to my advantage.

Lyvia and I walk through the line, and I fill my tray up with food. We sit down with the rest of our friends: Jessica, Angela, Tyler, Mike, and Eric.

"Hey, guys." I greet them, sitting down.

"Hey, girly! How are you feeling?" Jessica asks.

"A lot better. I have a knot on the back of my head, but it'll be gone in no time." I say. They all nod their heads and go back to eating. The boys engage in their conversation.

"Have you seen the new kids?" Angela asks me.

"Yeah. I have some of them in my classes. They seem pretty cool."

"And they are all extremely hot," Jessica adds.

"Very true," I reply.

"Here they come now."

They come in through the side door of the cafeteria. First to walk in are a boy and girl. It is obvious they are together. The girl is tall, blonde, and gorgeous. The guy who has his arm wrapped around her waist is huge. He looks like he could be a pro athlete. He whispers something in her ear, and she turns to him and playfully hits his arm. Behind them walks in Alice and a boy I haven't met. His bronze hair stands out, seeing as no one else in the school has hair like him. And finally, in walks Jasper. A literal walking god. He turns and looks at me. He smiles and waves at me. I smile back at him with this big ass smile and wave.

"Oh my gosh! Hot new kid waved at you!" Jessica freaks out.

"Chill, Jess. He is in my group for our English project. That's it." I defend.

"Oh, please. Your smile tells me you have a crush on him." She presses.

"Stop! I barely know him."

"Whatever." She playfully throws her hands up in the air in surrender.

I can't help it. I have to look at him—just a quick glance. I turn and look right at him. He surprises me by already looking at me. And so are Alice and the bronze-haired boy. Once again, they're talking while looking at me. The bronze-haired boy looks annoyed. I don't care about him. I move my attention back to Jasper. He and I finally make eye contact, and there goes my head hurting again, and now my sight starts to go blurry.

Images start flashing in my head—many images. I can only focus on one. His hair looks different. It's cut. He is sitting in what seems to be a meadow, and a girl is next to him. I focus harder, realizing it's me sitting next to him. He is looking at me, smiling. He kisses me, wraps his arm around me, and says, "I love you, Netta." That's when I come back to real life.

I softly gasp, and he looks at me with wide eyes. We break eye contact, and he whispers something to Alice. Her head snaps up, and she looks at me. I turn my attention to my food, which doesn't look appetizing anymore.

"Hey guys, my head is starting to hurt. I'm going to go to the nurse and get some ice." I say and stand up.

"Want me to come with you?" Lyvia asks. She is so sweet.

"You stay here and finish eating. I'll be okay." I stand up and dump my food in the trash.

As I turn towards the door to leave, I take one more look at the Cullens, and not really to my surprise, they are all looking at me. Well, that is not a good thing. I speed up my walking and go to the nurse.

"Hi, sweetie. What can I help you with?" She asks kindly.

"I have a knot on the back of my head, and it's pounding. Can I get something to help it and some ice?"

"Of course. Let me grab that for you." She gets up, grabs an ice pack from the little fridge, and hands it to me. I instantly put it on the back of my head. A small amount of relief hits me. She grabs me some Tylenol and some water and hands that to me as well.

"Would you like me to call someone for you?" She asks.

"No. I'm just going to call my stepmom to come and get me." I pull out my phone and dial her number, knowing she is on her lunch break.

She picks up after a few rings.

"Netta! Are you okay?"

"Yeah. My head is pounding, and I feel dizzy. Can you come to get me and take me home?"

"Oh sweetie, I can't leave work. I will be here until late tonight since I have the day off tomorrow. Try calling your dad. I'm sure he can come to get you."

"Okay. Thanks, Anna. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie. Be safe." We hang up, and I dial my father.

"Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?"

"My head is pounding, daddy. Can you please come to get me and bring me home? I called Anna and asked her, but she can't leave work."

"Of course, sweetie. You know what? Why don't you take the rest of the week off? Its Wednesday. I'm sure you won't miss a lot."

"That honestly sounds great, dad. The thought of coming back this week makes my head hurt even more." It's true. Having to look at Jasper after seeing those images makes my head hurt. I need a few days to recollect and control whatever is going on with me.

"Okay, honey, I'll leave here in a bit. Go to the front office. I'll come in and check you out."

"Okay, daddy. See you in a bit." We hang up and sit there for a minute. If I am going to be gone the rest of the week, I should get my work done, so I don't fall behind.

"So, my dad is going to come and get me. I'm going to go get my work from my teachers and head to the office."

"Okay, Netta. Have a good day. Get some rest."

I walk out and head to my classes. Luckily, I can get my work for the rest of the week before the bell rings for the next period. As I walk to the office, I see Alice walking down the hallway. She sees me and walks toward me.

"Hey, Netta. You doing okay?"

"Y-Yeah. My head is just pounding. I'm going home."

"Oh, okay. You sure that's all?" Crap.

"Yeah. My doctor told me I need to take it easy, and I think I may take his advice."

"Dr. Cullen, right? My father?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I had mentioned to him that someone had fainted in front of me, and he told me he was the one that treated you."

"Oh. Okay."

"If you need anything, and I mean anything, let me know?"

"Thank you, Alice. Well, I have to go. My dad will be here soon."

"Have a good rest of the day, Janetta." She turns and walks towards what I am assuming is her next class.

I head towards the office, and my dad is walking through the school's main door. He walks into the office with me and checks me out. He also tells the secretary that I will not be at school the rest of the week, so they mark me as an excused absence the rest of the week. We walk out and get into his police cruiser and drive off. As we pull out of the parking lot, I see Jasper standing outside watching me. We make eye contact, and I give him a weak wave. He doesn't wave back, just goes back inside.