WILD ANIMALS, PAUL LAHOTE
chapter one. the new girl

         MELANIE CHU NEVER LIKED the cold. She always packed on layers when the weather barely dropped two degrees from its original starting point. Even living in California for a majority of her life, she still didn't seem accumulated to the climate. Although the state was known for its bipolar weather and hot summer days, the coldest ones always seemed to throw Melanie for a spin, piling on what seemed like every jacket and sweatshirt she had while slipping on her shoes with nearly three extra layers of socks. Her parents would shake their head at their only daughters reaction and make sure to remind her that it would get warmer as the day progressed. But their reminders only fell on deaf ears as the girl physically and mentally prepared herself for the cold morning, and potentially the whole day. So when she got the news that her parents had made the decision to sell their house and move to Washington, a state known for its cold weather, she wanted to burn herself alive.

CURRENTLY, THE THOUGHT of burning herself alive didn't seem all too bad as she sat in her car stalling getting out of the vehicle and having to face the cold climate just outside. The dark haired teen let out a whine as she rest her forehead on the steering wheel of her car, wanting to drive back to her nice and warm home and jump into her nice and warm bed and nestle into the covers. A sharp knock on her passenger side window startled Melanie out of her daydream, forcing her to look up and turn her head to the source of the noise. A girl around her age was standing there, smiling and waving at her, motioning for Melanie to roll down the window. Melanie internally groaned and slowly reached her left hand to where the control buttons of the window were and pressed down on it, the dull sound of the window rolling down reaching the teen girls ears. Before the window was rolled down all the way, the other girl opened her mouth to speak.

"HI! I'M JESSICA," she started as she put her palm onto her chest, gesturing to herself with a wide toothed smile, "You must be new here, right?". Melanie gave Jessica a tight lipped smile as she nodded at her question, already feeling the Washington cold crawl it's way into her bones through the layers she wore. It made her bones ache and the itch return, refraining herself from reaching to the back of her head and furiously itch at it until it vanished. "Oh, that's so cool!" Jessica eagerly continued as she shifted the books in her grasp to relieve the pressure they were putting on her side, "Where are from? If you don't mind me asking that is," she questioned. Melanie opened her mouth to answer but another body squished it's way into view, popping their head out from the side, practically halfway in the girls car. "Oh! Another new girl! This is definitely going to make the first page of the newspaper this week!" the other body exclaimed, seeming to shake with excitement. Yeah, Melanie definitely wanted to go back home and huddle into her warm covers.

"DUDE! ME AND HER WERE having a conversation!" Jessica exclaimed, once again shifting the books in her arms into a better position. The other teen sheepishly glanced at Jessica as some sort of an apology before retiring his focus back onto the girl in front of him. "So, New Girl, what's your name?" he asked, propping one elbow onto the open window of her car and resting the other one on the camera that hung from his neck. Jessica rolled her eyes at the kid and shook her head, shooting Melanie an apologetic look before shifting her body towards the boy besides her. "Melanie," she answered as she anxiously glanced at the clock at the corner of the small screen on her dashboard, silently wishing that the bell would ring already so she could rush out and not talk to whoever these kids were. The itch began to grow in intensity as her annoyance with the two teenagers in front of her began to grow, making her want to slam her head into the steering wheel. The boy smiled bright at Melanie and began to open his mouth but the bell rang, simultaneously cutting him off and signaling that the school day had just started. Melanie practically jumped out of her car with backpack already perched on both shoulders and rushed right passed the two she was previously talking to. "Way to go Eric. You scared the poor girl off," Jessica muttered as they watched the dark haired teen rush off to her first class. All Eric could do was shrug.

"AH. SO YOU MUST BE my new student, yes?" the teacher asked as Melanie entered her first class of the day. She gave another tight lipped smile and nodded her head in response to the teachers comment. The teacher nodded in acknowledgment and picked up his clipboard, eyes scanning the roll sheet clamped onto it. Melanie could feel the eyes of every single student in the classroom burn holes into the side of her head as she stood at the front of the room. She shifted uncomfortably at the attention she was gaining and buried her hands deeper into her pockets to refrain herself from itching the tingling sensation at she base of her skull. She didn't need any other people to think she was the new weird girl of the school. "Melanie Chu, is that correct?" the teacher politely asked, pulling his gaze away from the clipboard and to his new student. Melanie nods in response and awaits for him to assign her a seat to sit in. He smiles in return and gestures to the various of desks, "You can sit in anyone you like. I don't have a seat assigned for you," he speaks, turning to the blackboard behind him to write today's lesson on it. Melanie nods and quickly scans the room, finding the only available spot next to an extremely buff looking dude. She's made it nearly halfway to the lab like desk when the kid acknowledges her, flashing her a sharp-toothed smile, leaning in as she settles into the chair next to him. "Emmett," he whispers, holding out a pale hand to Melanie. She grabs his unnaturally cold hand and shakes it, repeating her name back to him before letting go of his hand and dropping it.

THE TEACHER LOUDLY claps his hands, gaining his students attention as he begins to explain today's lesson plan, making all of the children simultaneously groan when he brings up a project. "I know, I know, projects suck. But this one will be fun, I promise," he adds on as he begins to make his way back to the clipboard on his desk. "This is a group project so please listen carefully to who's your partner," he starts off before listing the names of each student and who they're paired up with. A few holler in delight and others groan in disappointment, feet shuffling to make their way to their partners. Once he gets to the last few students, he says Melanie's name, "Emmett Cullen and . . . Melanie Chu," and continues on with the remaining few. Emmett chuckles from besides her and says, "What a coincidence, huh?". Melanie nods her head in agreement and slightly chuckles at the realization, already slightly zoning out. How much longer until I can go home?

LUNCH SEEMED TO have arrived extremely slow, Melanie's eyes darting to glance back at the clock every five seconds. The current class she was in, English, seemed to put half the class to sleep as the projector played some Shakespearean play turned screen write. English was never a subject Mel particularly liked, but she seemed to understand most of what her teachers required her to do which earned her A's in all of her English and literature classes. The girl liked to think she had a way with words and made the teachers believe that was she was writing about was correct or was accurate enough to earn high markings. Melanie was the type of student who was average in most of the subjects she took or was required to take, passing with average grades. It wasn't something she really put a lot of effort into.

THE HIGH PITCH RINGING of the bell rang throughout the classroom, gaining the all of the students attentions as they rushed to gather their things and head to the cafeteria. Melanie sluggishly swung her backpack over her right shoulder and made her way out of the small English classroom and to the cafeteria, where she hoped they had some decent food to eat. Her stomach growled at the thought of finally being able to eat after having to endure five classes without a snack break. Poor girls starving and the cold wasn't helping her contain the urge to ram the back of her head into a wall to ease the pressure within her skull. All she wanted was to get through the day without leaving early and speeding her way home to get a small break. She really needed it.

"HEY THERE!" A HIGH pitched voice shrilled as a warm body lightly collided with Melanie's left side. I can feel the headache coming on already. Turning to face the body, Melanie realized it was the same girl from before. The one that glue herself to the girls car and wouldn't stop talking. A small smile was given to Jessica as Melanie tried to continue to move down the cafeteria line, some boys in the back of the line already getting antsy. "I haven't seen you, like, all day!" The taller brunette continued as the two of them scooched down the line. "I wondered where you were. It's a bummer that we don't have any classes together. I was really hoping we would so we could, y'know, be, like, friends," she continued as she picked up various things that trays they passed offered, filling her lunch tray with mostly fruits and vegetables. Melanie nodded along to the girls words as she zoned out, picking at the singular apple on her tray, eyes glazing over the snacks and other food displayed. Mel didn't hear the next couple of things Jessica said as she reached out for a bag of chips. Jessica's warm hand felt somewhat comforting against her cold skin, "You never answered my question from earlier," she stated, turning herself a bit to face the girl besides her better. "Heh, right," Melanie breathed out as she picked up her tray once they reached the end of the line, drifting to wherever Jessica was leading them, "Well, uh, I'm from California". Another body decided to join the conversation and wrap its arm around Melanie's shoulder. "So, New Girl's from Cali huh?" the same boy from earlier asked, putting one hand on his hip.

"ERIC!" A VOICE GASPED out as the boys arm was quickly pulled off of Melanie's shoulder, "You are giving this poor girl anxiety!" it continued. A girl around Mel's height had the boy's, Eric, arm in her hand, scolding him. She pushed up her glasses and glared at the in front of her before swiveling towards Melanie, "I am so sorry for these two's attitude. They get a bit excited when new people arrive. We don't get too many outsiders in Forks," she apologized as she gestured towards Jessica and Eric behind her, a look of shock on both of their faces, "I'm Angela". She stuck her hand out for a shake, flashing a signature bright and wide toothed smile at Melanie. Melanie shook the girls hand in return, another small smile creeping onto her lips as she repeated her name to the girl. "Pleasure to meet you," Angela dotes as the two of them let go of each other's hands and let them fall to their sides. Melanie only nods in agreement, still a recovering from her zoning out episode earlier.

THE AIR IN THE cafeteria seemed to shift as the doors in the back opened and revealed a group of sickly pale teens entering the building. The three other teens seemed to sense what was going on and decided to inform their new acquaintance about the schools most talked about family. "They, they're the Cullens," Jessica started as she inched towards Melanie, "They're, like, the most talked about people at school. Gorgeously stunning too,". The other group of "teens" seemed to have heard Jessica's comment and glanced in their direction, slightly eyeing the face at their school. Melanie felt chills run up and down her spine as she made eye contact with one of the males, his dirty colored hair being the only thing dark about his complexion. The boy seemed to tense up once their gazes met and immediately looked away, a girl with much darker hair and a somewhat deeper complexion wrapped her arm around his in concern, whispering in his ear. Melanie shifted her gaze from the two to a familiar face, her Biology partner, Emmett. Emmett seemed to have noticed Melanie presence and giddily waved at her, earning a scowl from the bleach blonde next to him. Melanie waved back with a smile, the same eagerness in her wave.

"WAIT," JESSICA SPOKE up, again, "You know Emmett? Like, the Emmett Cullen?". Melanie only seemed to sheepishly nod and shrug. She didn't get what the big deal was about these Cullens and why it was such a big thing to know one of them. "Yeah, he's my Bio partner for the remaining semester," she responded, confusion lacing through her statement as she saw Jessica practically have a seizure. "I'm so sorry about Jessica, again," Angela piped up as she managed to squeeze through Jessica's freak out and Melanie's body, "She practically idolizes the Cullens. She has a thing for, like, all of them. Hell, most of the school has the hots for the Cullens" she notes. Melanie chuckles at this. Why would a bunch of people be attracted to awfully pale teenagers who look like they haven't slept in centuries?

THE FAMILIAR HIGH pitched ringing of the bell rung throughout the building, signaling that lunch was over and it was time for the students to start heading to their next class. Angela bid Melanie goodbye as she dragged Eric and Jessica away to their next class that they shared together, Mel giving her a slight wave goodbye. Just as Melanie was shoving her unfinished lunch into her backpack, she caught a glimpse of the Cullens creepily staring at her, watching her every move like a hawk. Another shiver of cold ran up and down her spine as she glanced back at them through the corner of her eye. What the hell was up with these people?

AUTHORS NOTE !
first chapter is finished y'allllllll
hope you all enjoyed 😵‍💫🥴
feel free to leave your thoughts about
the first chapter here <3