We've decided to attend high school again. High school in the Eighties sounds like so fun. Or not. It seems as though I am destined to go to high school at least once per decade. I am hoping that I can go to high school here in Chicago and then continue on to college seamlessly without any problems. Chicago is my hometown, so perhaps I will feel at home here. For some reason, nowhere really feels as homely as Washington did, although I wasn't there nearly as long as some of the other places, nor was I really welcomed there like we have been at other places either.
I think perhaps it was the house. Or maybe just the feeling of the house. Something there just pulls me to the spot. Something keeps me tied to the place. I am not the only one, the entire family feels tied to Forks, tied to Washington. We are all eager to return. All in due time, I suppose.
At any rate, Chicago has turned out to be fairly interesting so far. It is like every other town we have been to, only bigger. It is pretty clean here, which I didn't expect. For a big town, I didn't think it would be so clean. People really seem to take care of the city. People also seem to drive crazy. People always honk their horns. It is a good thing I have fast reflexes, because if I am not paying attention for even a moment, and I don't go when the light turns green, someone is blaring their horn at me. Or if I take too long to turn, another horn. It is very interesting. It is a fast paced city, which I didn't remember from my previous time here. I suppose when you are 18 and facing the draft, you tend to be excited about life and I probably lived life in just as fast of a pace, if there was one. Then again, life was slower in general in 1918.
I don't mind the fast pace, however. In fact, I enjoy it. I revel in it. It is a nice break from being annoyed by every slow moving driver in my way on the roads, and every slow walker getting in front of me when I am moving through the store. I can get along and do my business as fast as I like, then when I am alone I can take all the time I like, without worry of being seen or noticed. Of course, nobody really notices me here anyway. Another perk of a big city. Chicago is wonderful. I should have suggested it a lot sooner. People in big cities have busy lives and those lives keep them occupied, therefore they don't pay attention to other people. They pay attention to themselves. The people who have time for others generally move to the suburbs.
Of course there are residential streets inside the city, and we have a big house on a large plot of land on one of these streets. Over time, the smaller houses got knocked down and rebuilt into larger, nicer houses. Some of the bigger houses were restored and are worth a pretty penny, and others were turned into stores and shops. Mine was kept as is, but when we moved in was quickly cleaned and prettied enough to be made liveable, and now it is easily the nicest house in the neighborhood.
High school is simple. We are juniors again. We can't start out too young, because we look too old, so we settle for right in the middle. The high school is fairly medium sized. We don't stick out here, but we don't blend in, either. No-one seems to care either way that we are here. The three of us all enrolled under the last name of Cullen, since Rosalie and Emmett aren't here, and are going under the guise of foster brothers and sister. We will see how that goes. Jasper and Alice are more low key about their relationship than Rosalie and Emmett ever were so I am sure we will be able to pull it off just fine. I have one class with Alice and one with Jasper, and they have no classes together, but we still have the same lunch period so that will be good.
As far as the home life, I am getting more adjusted to living in the Mason house every day. It feels good to be there, but at the same time, there is a hole I cannot fill. I do not think it is the house, but the more that time passes, the bigger the hole gets. It is indescribable. It is a void I cannot seem to complete, no matter how many hobbies I gather, cars I collect, songs I compose, or books I read. I am lost and do not know what to look for. It makes things worse that Emmett is not around, because he was always good for a laugh or at least a good show of macho manliness. He made for a fun distraction. Jasper is nice to be around, but is mellow and low key, relaxing and therefore does not distract me fully from the gap in my soul. Alice is fun to spend time around, as she is always so high-strung and full of life- as though she were overdosed on coffee- and that helps. And of course Esme is the motherly, soothing one and Carlisle the one I go to for advice and friendship. I suppose I have everything I need in a family- even without my annoying yet endearing sister Rosalie and rambunctious, over-energized brother Emmett. Yet still I feel this emptiness.
Anyway, I think I should go find Esme in the kitchen. She is tinkering with some human recipes, smelling the house up with some unique yet appealing smells. Food smells so good yet tastes so disgusting. Esme loves when I help her in the kitchen, the ultimate American family. It keeps her busy to cook, gives her something to do. Then she lovingly wraps the food in little boxes and donates it to local shelters. Saint Esme, perhaps that is what we should call her. I guess I will go help. I am bored anyway.
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Alice Cullen
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Before Twilight
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Carlisle Cullen
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Chicago
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Edward Cullen
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Emmett Cullen
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Esme Cullen
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Jasper Hale
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Rosalie Hale
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School
