Off the Beaten Path By rpgirl27.pdf

Off the Beaten Path By rpgirl27

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7016762/1/

BPOV

My life would never be the same. At least, I hoped that would be so. I hadn't had

much of one to begin with.

Twenty-four years old, never married, and no family to speak of, I had decided to

make myself over, to start again. For several years, I had been teaching English

to a bunch of foolish girls with wealthy parents at an all girls academy in Seattle.

They utterly and completely lacked any kind of respect for me, knowing I had

come from humble means, and that my father –God rest his soul– had only been

a simple sheriff.

I suffered through it all, trying to teach grammar and literature, but with few

exceptions, those girls were only interested in biding their time until they found

themselves a husband as rich as their father.

Even under those circumstances, I might have stayed on indefinitely had the

headmaster not begun making unwanted advances toward me. Mr. Banner was

subtle at first, and I ignored his unprofessional comments, but when his

intentions became increasingly clear to me, I started making plans to change

positions.

I had finally secured an offer at another girl's school outside of the city after

several weeks of inquiries, and had gone to Mr. Banner's office to inform him of

my resignation. He didn't take kindly to the announcement of my departure. At

first, he tried politely insisting that I stay on, and then he moved on to

demanding I do so. When I no longer cared to argue with him further, I rose from

my seat and attempted to leave his office. Before I could make it to the door, he

caught me by the arm and pulled me to him. His ridiculous mustache dragged

across my jaw, and his beefy hands gripped my wrists. Reacting with complete

disgust, I tried to pull away from his embrace.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, the door to his office popped open, and Mrs.

Banner strode in through the doorway, only to stop in her tracks at the sight of

us. She looked angry, but not exactly shocked. I felt certain this wasn't the first

time she come upon her husband in such a situation.

Taking advantage of Mr. Banner's surprise, I escaped his arms and fled the room,

dashing past a gaping Mrs. Banner. The last thing I heard as I flew down the

hallway was Mrs. Banner screaming that I'd never get another job in the state of

Washington.

Misfortune continued to heap itself upon me. Grabbing my scant belongings from

the room I stayed in at the school –part of my job being to keep an eye on the

girls who boarded during the school term– I walked downtown until I found a

reasonable hotel to stay in. After a rough night's sleep, I phoned my new

employers, only to find that my job offer had been rescinded, no reason given.

Several days passed, and it became apparent that Mrs. Banner had a lot of pull in

the area. Every school I phoned to inquire about openings for teachers, hung up

as soon as I gave them my name. Every door slammed in my face.

My options limited and my small savings unable to support me in a hotel for

much longer, I started looking for work further and further away. I saw an

advertisement for a position with a mission school in West Virginia, and the idea

of it piqued my interest, but I dismissed it, as it was so far away from anything or

anyone I had ever known. Still, it stayed in the back of my mind, and after

several more days of fruitless searching, I sent a telegram inquiring about the

job, to which they replied almost immediately.

We corresponded back and forth over several days, until it was decided that I

would take the position. Before I knew it, I was on a train, cross-country, to

become the only teacher in a very tiny mountain town. With every state the train

wound its way through, I felt my soul grow lighter and my determination to start

a new life grow stronger. I didn't want to be poor, friendless, orphan Isabella

Swan anymore. I wanted to be a new woman, an independent, modern woman,

who didn't let fear control her.

We pulled into Cullen Creek early, on the first of March, 1928. The winter snow

was still visible up on the mountaintops, the valley air wet and fragrant with the

promise of the coming spring. I was the only passenger to depart at the station

house, which was little more than a shack and a bench next to the tracks. No one

was there to meet me, so I began the trek into town, down the dusty, unpaved

road all by myself.

Once I had reached the outskirts of the town, I realized quickly that "town" was

too elaborate a word for the grouping of ramshackle houses I found. Several

larger, more affluent-seeming homes were tucked in behind the main road, off to

themselves. Believing that I would be more likely to find the Mr. and Mrs. Cullen I

had corresponded with in one of those than in one of the clapboard huts, I

proceeded toward them, passing a little red-shuttered building on the way. It was

small but appeared to be in good repair, a hand painted sign reading Cullen Creek

School dangling from its front porch roof.

There wasn't much stirring at that early hour, no children in the schoolyard, no

one milling around by the road, but the sensation of being watched never left me

as I strolled with my small trunk in my hands. Everything I owned in the world

was in that trunk. Not much to show for having lived nearly a quarter century.

I wasn't far off from the largest –and only– brick house in town, when the front

door opened, and a woman emerged.

"Are you Miss Swan, the teacher?" she called to me.

"Yes, that's me. Mrs. Cullen, I assume?"

"That's correct. I wasn't expecting you so early. If anything, the train is usually

late."

"No, no, the trip was faster and more comfortable than I expected," I assured

her.

"I'm sorry there was no one to meet you. The men leave early for the mines;

otherwise, I would have sent one of the boys with a wagon."

"That's alright. The walk was quite lovely. It was good to stretch my legs after

being cooped up for so long."

"Come on inside. I'll get you set up in your room so you can get settled in before

every one else gets home."

I followed Mrs. Cullen into the house, which was simple but elegantly decorated.

She showed me down a hall to a back bedroom, where she invited me to put my

things away.

"I know it's always a good feeling to freshen up after a trip. If you need a rest,

my husband won't be home until suppertime, and my daughter, Alice, is off with

her friend. She'll be so upset she wasn't here to greet you. She's been ecstatic

over the news of your coming."

"I hope I don't disappoint."

"You're from clear across the country and a city. She's been bouncing around

ever since I told her. It's so seldom that there's anyone new here, especially a

woman. This will be a lot of change for you. Now that you've seen it, are you sure

you want to stay?"

"I needed this change. I'm really looking forward to meeting the children. How

many are there?"

"Depends. Twenty, maybe thirty."

"Why the variance? I thought you said new people were rare?"

"Oh, it's not the population that changes; it's whether their parents let them

come. Don't expect perfect attendance. Education isn't often deemed important

among some families around here."

"That's something I'd like to change."

Mrs. Cullen chuckled. "Good luck with that, Miss Swan. We'll see you for dinner?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll let you be for now. In the morning, I'll take you over to the school

house and get you familiar there before we invite the children back."

"Thank you; I'd like that."

Mrs. Cullen backed out into the hallway, closing the door as she went. I sat down

on the crisply made bed and took a moment to examine my surroundings.

The room was small but adequate, with a dresser and nightstand in addition to

the bed. A small Bible lay next to the lamp on top of the nightstand, and an old

clock adorned the dresser, the only visible ornamentation in the room. It wasn't

much different from my boarding school room.

Popping open my trunk, I removed my clothes and hung them up. I only had a

few things to wear, as I never had money to waste, nor any real reason to buy

anything fancy.

I took off my sturdy, practical shoes and wiped the dust from the leather before

removing my only other belongings, a few books and toiletries, a tiny, framed

photograph of my mother and father on their wedding day, and all the money I

had left in the world, a mere pittance. I didn't feel like much of a modern,

independent woman, but I still had hope that I could find her somewhere within

me.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Alice had returned late, after the arrival of her father.

Mrs. Cullen introduced a tall, austere Mr. Cullen who said very little, instead,

fixing his daughter with a glare worthy of the worst sin. All of Alice's excitement

at meeting me withered under his disapproving countenance, and she remained

sedate through the evening meal. After we finished, she smilingly hooked her

arm in mine and pulled me along with her to the sitting room.

"We must not be late for evening prayer," she whispered.

Evening prayer turned out to be a lengthy ordeal. I had never spent so much

time on my knees.

"We haven't had a regular preacher since last year when Carlisle's father passed,"

Mrs. Cullen explained afterwards. "He takes the spiritual life of this town very

seriously."

"I see."

"Alice, why don't you take Miss Swan back to her room and get to know each

other a bit?"

Alice's face lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically, but the happy moment quickly

turned sour when Mr. Cullen stopped in the doorway and cleared his throat.

"If I might have a word with you first in my study, Miss Swan?"

I glanced nervously toward Mrs. Cullen before agreeing and following Mr. Cullen's

retreating footsteps down the hall.

Once he was seated behind his massive desk, he waved at me to enter and have

a seat in a hardback chair, placing me directly in his line of sight.

"We have some ground rules to go over," he began. "In this house and this

community, I expect a certain level of behavior. You are to join us at meal times

and for prayer. Promptly. I abhor lateness. You are to run the school as I see fit.

If you haven't noticed, this town carries my family name, as does the school and

the mine. Cullens have always run this town, and that's the way it will remain. As

long as you keep these things in mind, we should get along well. You're

dismissed."

I rose unsteadily to my feet and headed to the door.

"And another thing…"

"Yes, sir?" I stopped abruptly, but didn't dare turn around as tears threatened to

spill from the corners of my eyes.

"No gentlemen callers. Since you are under my roof, your reputation is mine to

uphold and nothing, nothing, gets past my notice."

"That won't be a problem, sir," I answered, timidly shaking my head.

Modern, independent woman, indeed…

BPOV

Following my discussion with Mr. Cullen, I went to my room immediately,

wringing my hands and silently berating myself for not having the courage to

assert myself in his presence. I had been bossed around by more men than I

cared to remember, and it looked as though this place would be no different, not

as long as I remained so spineless.

When I entered my room, Alice was seated on the bed. "I hope you don't mind

the intrusion?"

"No, not at all," I answered, shaking my head.

"Father didn't scare you off, did he? I know he seems a little strict, but it's only

because he loves us."

"How old are you, Alice?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I'll be fourteen next month!" she told me excitedly.

"Fourteen…I remember fourteen," I whispered under my breath, too low for her

to hear.

"I bet it was so thrilling growing up in the city. Why would you give it up to come

here?"

"It really wasn't difficult. I'm afraid I wasn't leading much of a glamorous life. I've

been a teacher for several years, and before that, I was a student." I shrugged.

"Not very thrilling at all."

"What about your family? Won't they miss you?"

"I don't have any."

"Oh." She paused. "What about boys? I bet you had your choice of beaux. You're

so pretty."

I chuckled. "No, Alice, I never paid much mind to boys, and they never really

looked my way, either."

She frowned. "Lovely clothes?"

"What you see me wearing now is about as good as it gets for me," I replied,

pointing down to my plain, white blouse and tan, ankle-length skirt. "I don't have

the money to spend on pretty, frivolous things. I wish I did."

"Mama loves to buy me clothes when Father takes her into the city. It doesn't

happen very often, though. I've never gotten to go with them before, but she

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