There's a trip to a greenhouse today, and Novalee is excited. The newborn is excited to be going to school, excited to just be around the human race.

"Novalee," Carlisle says gently as he enters her room, Novalee hurriedly pulls her shirt over her chest. "Sorry... I got your crest." The head of the coven, so to say, walks over and hands Nova a ring (in the media). "Here you are, Novalee Morningstar Cullen. Welcome to the family."

Novalee puts the ring on and smiles. "Thank you so much for being so accepting of me, Carlisle."

"Where exactly were you born?" Carlisle asks. "Your accent... I think I recognize it..."

"I was born and raised in Athens, Greece," Novalee replies. "I was..." she pauses. "I was friends with the wrong people, my parents disapproved. They kicked me out when I was fifteen so I moved to Florence, Italy. Four years later, I was wandering the streets with the other tourists in Volterra when a group of drunk Italian men group raped me, four of them. A random vampire turned me."

"Probably a nomad," Carlisle concludes. "That changed you, he was probably a nomad."

"He was so kind, had a French accent, so alluring," Novalee smiles. "But he was gone when I woke; but I already knew about vampires, I knew about the Volturi. No one told me about them,but I just learned. I'm pretty observant. I never talked much." Nova grins a little. "So, I saw everything. When I woke up forty-eight hours later, I get to the castle, where Aro helped me with clothes and called you while Jane got me a bath."

Carlisle touches her arm in a fatherly manner. "You're okay, though. You're with us."

Novalee smiles and jasper walks in.

"Let's go," Jasper says and he looks at her hand. "Nice ring."

Novalee holds her hand up and looks at the Cullen crest. She smiles real big before following Jasper. Carlisle watches with a small grin. Esme watches as Jasper and Novalee pass through the kitchen, she smiles warmly. She's glad that Nova is doing so well.

~~~

The students all meet at the busses around back, the trip is about to take place. Once they were at the school, Novalee had disappeared and went with the swarm of students to the back. She finds Bella being interrogated by a guy she learned is Mike newton.

"Hey," Novalee coos as she walks over, Mike's eyes widen. "You're excused."

Mike runs without hesitation, and he goes to where his friends are.

"Thanks for that," Bella says, laughing nervously.

"No problem," Novalee replies. "You're Isabella, right?"

"Bella, just... Bella," the brunette human rushes out.

"Bella... I like that," Novalee smiles. "I'm Novalee Cullen. It's nice to meet you."

"Novalee!" Emmett calls. "Lets go!"

"Sorry, Bella," Novalee gushes. "I'm being summoned... Wanna be friends?"

"Sure," Bella says shyly.

Novalee hugs her before jogging over to Emmett. "Chill, Emmy."

Emmett smirks before they get on their private bus. Novalee sees Edward with Bella, he's tense though. This was expected. Bella is Edward's blood-Singer. Her blood is more... Alluring and more captivating to him than it is to others.

Edward gets on the bus hastily and he plops down beside Novalee. "Bella says you're friends now?"

"Yep," Novalee chirps as Alice and Jasper get on the bus, Jasper can feel Novalee's happiness. "Is that a problem?"

Edward eyes her and he sighs. "Nope. Not a problem."

"Good," Novalee says. "Now, if you're going to sit here, leave me be."

Edward meets Jasper's eye, who's smirking smugly as he sits with Alice. Jasper knows how Novalee works. They've bonded more than Novalee did with the other younger ones. She's bonded quite a bit with Carlisle, but to be honest, she's still closest to Jasper.

~~~

"Compost is cool!"

Novalee is waking alone in the line in the greenhouse, looking at each different plant life as she walks past it. Mr Molina is talking about recycling and compost, science stuff. Novalee is more fascinated but he flowers until they get to a barrel.

Molina pulls a glass up, that's full of some liquid. "A steaming cup of compost tea."

Novalee passes a few people as Tyler Crowley is scolded for attempting to drink the compost tea that's for the plants. Novalee likes being around humans, actually. They bring her joy, happiness. She's around the part of her that she kisses. Nova misses being human.

Novalee walks outside as she begins to feel sad, missing her human life in Italy. She thinks that if she were in Forks instead of Volterra when she was, she'd still be a human but she's not, unfortunately.

Jasper feels the sadness from Novalee as he walks with Alice. He spots her heading outside. He touches Alice's arm gently before he ventures outside, Alice smiles knowing he's going to check on Novalee.

"Nova..." jasper sits with her. "What's wrong?"

"I miss being human," Novalee says. "I wish this never happened to me."

"None of us wished for this," Jasper says as he grabs her hand, trying to calm her down - they don't manipulate each other's emotions. "None of us. But we deal with it, because it's what is."

Novalee leans against her new best friend, and sighs. "If I were in Forks instead of Volterra when I turned, I'd be human right now."

"I know," Jasper replies as Rosalie steps out, and listens. "But now you're a Cullen, you're family. So it was worth it."

"None of this is worth being dead!" Novalee snaps. "I'm a vampire because a group of drunks raped me and beat me to death. Literally."

"I was killed the same way," Rosalie says, startling Jasper. "Only, it was my fiancée at the time and three of his friends in Rochester, New York."

"These were four strangers," Novalee says softly as jasper goes to find Alice, Rosalie joins Novalee. "In Volterra, Italy. A vampire named Laurent turned me."

"Carlisle had found me," Rosalie says as she relaxes a bit. "He turned me, and two years later... I found Emmett in Tennessee, he was mauled by a bear. He reminded me of a childhood friend, Henry."

"I was kicked out of my family home in Athens, Greece when I was only fifteen," Novalee says. "I was in Italy for four years before I was turned to... this."

Rosalie wraps an arm around her and pulls her into a hug. "I see us being closer than anyone had expected."

"Me too, Rose," Novalee says. "Considering were killed the same way, pretty much."

Emmett was at the doorway this whole time, listening to their conversation. The others were, too. Edward hadn't known his, no one did. Rosalie looks up and she scowls, everyone goes back inside.

~~~

Novalee goes to her room and grabs a novel she's borrowing from Jasper. She sits on her soft bed, and begins on the first chapter.