Universal Children Day

Universal Children's Day Saturday, Nov. 20, is Universal Children’s Day, as declared by the United Nations, and a new survey of children illuminates the wants and needs of kids living in poverty. Children's Day is celebrated on various days in many places around the world, to honor children globally. It was established in 1954 to protect children working long hours in dangerous circumstances and allow all children access to an education. The UN General Assembly recommended that all countries should establish a Universal Children's Day on an â€Å"appropriate† day.Major global variants include a Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation. Children's Day is often celebrated on other days as well. International Day for Protection of Children, observed in many countries as Children's Day on June 1 since 1950, is said to have been established by the Women's International Democratic Federation on its November 1949 congress in Paris. The Small Vo ices, Big Dreams survey questioned children ages 10 to 12 in 30 countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas.Conducted by ChildFund Alliance, which is comprised of global child development organizations, the survey found that one in three children goes to bed hungry at least once a week; more than 25% spend half of every day working, including household chores and other work but not counting school or homework. Regardless of where they live, the children spoke of bootstrapping themselves up through education. In the fortunate yet unlikely event they end up as president of their country, 57% said they would make sure to offer all children an education, improve existing schools and build more. If I were the president of India,† responds one Indian child, â€Å"I would provide good education and study materials such as pen, copies, pencils, uniforms, etc. to children. † (Of U. S. kids, 31% said education would be their top presidential priority. Perhaps, say those wh o’ve analyzed the study, the lower number doesn’t indicate a lack of interest in education but acknowledgement that U. S. children can attend school for free. ) What do you need most? the children were asked; one in three answered food, with 45% saying they’d spend a spare dollar on food or water. One motherless child from Cape Verde said, â€Å"I need food. My father is a fisherman, but he can’t get enough money to buy food. † â€Å"This survey serves to amplify [children's] voices so that we can direct our work in the most appropriate way,† said Anne Lynam Goddard. In countries such as Ecuador and Zambia, for example, ChildFund is trying to figure out how to enroll more children in school and keep them there longer.Interestingly, when polled about fears, snakes took first place, followed by death and disease, then falling victim to war or violence. â€Å"I am mostly afraid of death,† responded a Sierra Leone child. â€Å"I don†™t want to dream of dead people. The muddy water†¦is dangerous for children because muddy water has germs. † The survey was administered individually from July through September 2010 to about 100 children in 30 developing nations and 318 children in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Done By : Mahdi AL-Dailati Grade:10-F Submitted to: Ms. Hanaa Eid

Best Buy Case Study Essay

Best Buy is a multinational corporation with over 4,000 locations nationwide. Circuit City was Best Buy’s only main competition for some years until it took over and ran Circuit City out of business. Best Buy’s market share increased after that however, other large retailers as well as e-tailers entered into the market. Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart and Apple became Best Buy’s new competition that caused a decrease in market sales in 2010. They all had the same thing in common after the Circuit City collapse and that was to increase electronics. They all had their own strategies to out-beat Best Buy. Although Best Buy acquired some more competition in a 2010 survey consumers still said Best Buy is the first to come to mind when they think about buying electronics. However, even though Best Buy is the first that comes to mind against the other competitors, depending on what the product is they will go to Amazon to buy it instead. Due to their strategy which focuses on three areas; customer-centricity, employment policies and exclusive branding, they are keeping up with the competition. Best Buy’s strategies may help them a majority of the time but they could change their strategies just a little bit. They should try what Wal-Mart does and price match ads with other stores so that way they are still getting the profits and keeping customers. In my opinion, Best Buy could improve their strategy when it comes to prices because they are on the higher end of prices. As a consumer myself, I do look at Best Buy first for my electronics but I usually go somewhere else because the prices are usually cheaper. Other than their prices I actually think their strategies are working out good for them and it shows in their rankings amongst other competitors. Consumer electronics is considered a mature industry because of the new trends. This industry hits record sales during the holiday seasons but still says rather well throughout the year as well. All companies associated with this industry try to keep up so they make their own products. However, due to manufactures cannibalizing their products their product life cycle has decreased. Manufactures started doing this to try to keep their consumers  loyalty. When prices start to fall for technology products this opens a bigger demographic; however by time the prices fall for the products they have come up with better products. In order to recapture the growth of Best Buy they should try to fix the prices to fit a bigger demographic. I think if they at least try to work with the consumers with the prices they would gain more customers. The problem is the fact that consumers go elsewhere when they see the prices and do a price match. Amazon became popular with electronics because people f ound out that they could get electronics of all kinds online. Also Amazon has an advantage over Best Buy because with Amazon there is free shipping on products, well on most products. I think if Best Buy tried to adapt some of Amazon’s strategy they can out beat them in the electronics department. If they could be like Amazon and have a limitless inventory online rather than just have their amount of availability on the showroom. If they did this I think they would see growth in their company. They pride their selves in having the most respected name brands in the consumer electronics industry so if they matched the prices with their pride in their brands I see a definite growth in their company. With Best Buy being a well-known company and is the first that comes to mind when talking about electronics, if they had a bigger choice when it came to the products than they might gain some more growth as well to go along with their already loyal customer base. At Best Buy, they offer a selection of energy-efficient products. These products were designed to help their customers around the world save some more money by using less energy. I think with Best Buy becoming more sustainable they are more able to maintain the interest of the stakeholders. With these products the shareholders play a big role in influencing their overall sustainability strategy. The stakeholders help with modeling Best Buy’s annual sustainability reports. So with them adding this strategy and allowing the stakeholders to get the chance to have a part in the strategy they are gaining their interest. Best Buy actually takes the recommendations from their stakeholders and they try to communicate with them in efforts to keep their interest in their decision to incorporate a sustainability strategy. I think this was a good move on their part because it states they were uncertain about Mr. Dunn’s five year growth strategy. The stakeholders  were worried abo ut Best Buy’s cash position and about if these strategies would work or not. Anytime when stakeholders have the opportunity to have a so in a company is a good thing. In conclusion, I believe Best Buy is a great company but can become a better one if they were to do some modifications with their strategies. With the constantly changing economy they need to adapt their strategies to the changes. I’m not saying they would have to always change their strategies but I think they should always try their best to make their strategies fit the customers as well as help the success of the company. With that being said I believe they will receive even better results for the company as well as the consumers.

Jane Eyre’s Struggle Between Conscience and Passion Essay

People can be held prisoner by their own feelings in an emotional box that confines them and controls them. Passion is the powerful, driving emotion that penetrates these feelings and compels one to break free of the box detaining them. In other words, passion is the motivation that drives one to take action against the shackles of their situation to create change in their life. All people have these passions, but what happens when these passions go against one’s conscience? A person’s conscience values things, like passions, as right or wrong, important or not important, or, significant or not significant. Thus, one’s conscience is like a barrier to one’s passions, and therefore, there is a constant struggle between the two. This internal struggle is prominent within Jane Eyre, the main character in Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre. Jane’s conscience tells her to marry the one she loves, but her passion for freedom and equality conflicts her and creates for her an internal struggle. In the final chapters of the novel, Jane’s conscience eventually defeats her passion for individualism, completing her internal journey and creating a victorious conclusion. Jane grew up in the Victorian Era in England, and era in which women faced much inequality and prejudice. This is the box that confines Jane throughout most of the novel, and ignites her passion to break free of it and be an equal, individual woman. Jane expresses this on page 129 and 130 of the novel as she states, â€Å"Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.† Thus, Jane does not want to be the property of a man because it interferes with her passion to be free. When Jane meets Mr. Rochester though, she develops a liking towards him, which eventually turns into a love for him. As a result, a struggle is born between Jane’s conscience, which is telling her to marry  Mr. Rochester, and her passion to be an equal individual woman. In the end, Jane realizes that loving Mr. Rochester is more important than continuing her rebellion against the constraints of society, and therefore, her conscience wins as she happily takes Mr. Rochester’s hand in marriage. The triumph of Jane’s conscience adds a victorious conclusion to the end of the novel, and completes Jane’s internal journey as a whole. Jane began her life watching her aunt and cousins let injustices wash over them. By experiencing this, Jane developed a passion to rebel against society and a passion for individualism, which she states in the quote on page 68, â€Å"If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should – so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.† This passion pushes Jane to survive the difficulties she encounters growing up, but forces her reject some of the happiness in life at the same time. This rejection is heartbreaking for the reader as the novel progresses, and she rejects more and more happiness. So therefore at the end of the novel when Jane finally sacrifices her passion for happiness with Mr. Rochester, it creates a triumphant ending and completes Jane’s transformation from rebellion and rejection to openness and love. Throughout the novel, Jane is in a constant struggle between her passion for individualism and her conscience, which tells her to pursue happiness instead. This struggle is the centerpiece for the novel, and therefore when Jane finally decides to let happiness in, it creates an exalting, happy ending for the reader. This ending furthermore completes Jane’s internal journey from rebellion to acceptance and love, which also is a satisfying ending for a reader.

Summarize articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize articles - Essay Example Religious leaders from the Calvinist, Presbyterian and Methodist clergy also played a key part in establishing colleges, spurred on by faith in mankind and the desire for progress (Rudolph, 44-67). Chapter 8 of Clark Kerr’s ‘The Uses of the University’ reflects upon the hard choices that universities and colleges had to make regarding their curriculum and teaching standards, as well as assessment criteria. This fluctuated between more privatization, more federalization and more cultivation of general public support to effective use of resources, more pluralistic leadership and attention to longer term goals. Since it is impossible to predict the state of the economy, it has been decided to turn over the responsibility for the education sector to the Federal Government. In this way the research and learning aspect of these institutions could be preserved. The progress of civilization depends upon learning (Kerr, 184-197). Ellen Goldring and Claire Smrekar in their ‘Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Racial Balance’ (2000) explore the role of magnet schools in reducing racial isolation and encouraging diversity. These schools were born out the desegregation movement of the mid-1970s and have been so successful in meeting the needs of special and minority students that there is a long waiting list for admissions. Yet as regards the goal of reducing minority exclusion from the rolls, only 44 percent or less managed to achieve this milestone. While the effort was greatly appreciated by parents, yet the more desirable longer term goal would be to undoubtedly achieve racial integration within the community and the workplace (Goldring & Smrerkar, 2000,

HCM621-0804A-01 Ethics, Policy, and Law in Health Care Management - Essay - 5

HCM621-0804A-01 Ethics, Policy, and Law in Health Care Management - Phase 3 Individual Project - Essay Example Several numbers of uninsured people have full or part time employment. In order to decrease the number of uninsured individual within the working classes, the insurance will be covering children who are uninsured and extend its coverage to their families. In order to address the number of children who are uninsured it is best to find ways how to lower the numbers. Responses to health crisis will need time, effort and strength, but the assurance of having health coverage to all especially the children is important. I am suggesting the following policies in order to address the crisis. First is to expand the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP is a US federal government program for families with children that gives funds to states to provide health insurance. The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. Second is to focus on individuals who are eligible for the program in their hometown and encourage them to enrol in the program. And to expand CHIP coverage and include the patents and families of the children enrolled in the program. The statistics shows that nearly 9 million children are uninsured and they come from the community where the p arents themselves are uninsured. Affordable health care option can be provided if they allow CHIP to extend its coverage to the parents. The extension would be beneficial to the children who would take the program. Children enrolled in SCHIP are entitled to regular checkups, immunizations, doctor’s visits and hospital care. Under SCHIP, states have the choice of expanding Medicaid, establishing a separate, stand-alone program, or combining these two approaches.

Growth and Development of Entrepreneurial Ventures Essay

Growth and Development of Entrepreneurial Ventures - Essay Example He outlines the resources needed in fulfilling the need identified. The entrepreneur is often responsible for the success of the business identified and its failure as well; therefore, he has to plan on how to manage the business amidst all the problems and challenges in the immediate and external environment (Peterson 2013, 10). The entrepreneur often operates in some kind of an entrepreneurship ecosystem whereby he has to plan and develop tools that he can use to obtain additional funding and other resources needed in the achievement of the identified goals and objectives (Uucbasaran 2003, 16). For instance, he has to prepare his business plan in order get assistance from the bank and other financial systems. This paper examines the development of an enterprise by one of the entrepreneurs that has become one of the greatest businesspersons in the world. With his business, he has managed to influence business practices in the world and the particular industry in which he operates. Before an entrepreneur has to begin his business, he has to ensure that he makes a proper analysis of the particular business environment he is set operate. He has to be prepared psychology to tackle all the challenges that are likely to come in the business especially at the start up stage. Many of the successful entrepreneurs in the world have explained that it is important for young entrepreneurs to focus on the kind of products they are offering and not be distracted by the competition and products offered by other large-scale businesses. They have to ensure that they design their products to meet the identified needs in the particular business environment in the best way possible (Carmody B. 2014, 4). In this case, it is always important that they focus on the simplest ideas they have identified and craft them a way that pleases the consumers in the market (Entrepreneur Media

The British Invasion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The British Invasion - Essay Example The chords of their music were also simple (but beautiful) that everybody can relate. The themes of the lyrics of their music are also universal that anybody can relate whatever the generation, background or orientation of the listener. Themes like love and hope contained in the lyrics Let it Be and Here There and Everywhere are universal human aspiration that will always find an audience regardless of generation. Yes it is. The combination of skiffle, rock and roll, folk and to some extent jazz that characterizes the music of the Beatles still have a following in this generation and such, it is still applicable today. The Beatles were also real artists. Meaning, they wrote their own song, composed their music and arranged their own melodies unlike with many of today’s performers whose music pre-made by recording companies and they are just asked to perform. In fact, artists who make their own music are more esteemed today. Are there any non-American bands or performers that you regularly listen to today and how does their national identity figure into their music and public presentation (are you aware of the nationality of your favorite bands)?   I listened to Bob Marley. Yes I am very much aware about his national identity and his brand of music. He is a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. His national identity influenced his genre of music which reggae. I believe that Bob Marley is Jamaica’s equivalent of Beatles in Great Britain. He is very popular even outside Jamaica and his music also finds audience in different generation. Their music are timeless (finds new audience in every generation) and can cross varying cultures speaking about the same themes of human experience such as frustration in No Woman No Cry, love and hope in Redemption Song and One Love that would always touch audience whatever generation or nationality they may belong. His presentation also speaks well of

B2C to B2b Marketing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

B2C to B2b Marketing Paper - Essay Example Traditionally, businesses begin as B2C but as they expand and look for new markets develop a B2B operations. However, this model of development has significantly changed because of advances in technology. Though B2C and B2B's characteristics essentially remain the same, they have already exceeded their basic definitions. B2C refers to businesses dealing directly with consumers. The action of purchase is for the purpose of personal consumption. It is not to imply that the customer or consumer has to procure the product or service directly from the manufacture or service provider, B2C can take the form of a person buying a product from a store or person availing of a free spa treatment with a gift certificate or voucher. B2B in contrast refers to businesses engaging the service or procuring products for their own operations and not for consumption. An example of B2B would be a bakery buying flour to produce its breads. The criteria defining whether the interaction is B2B or B2C is consumption (Koetler, 1998). The objective in a B2C model is to promote or market a site is to be able communicate on a personal level. Each consumer will have different motivations and these motivations may vary greatly considering individual perception, socio-cultural background (both demographics and psychographics), and experience. These elements define the customers' needs which initiate the buying process. The following figure is an example of a depiction of what influences consumer behavior: Therefore, sites that wish to appeal to consumers have to focus on the characteristics of customers and to consider the decision process of these customers which characterizes the type of person that consumer is. In contrast, B2B customers' motivations or preferences are generally based on quantitative pre-defined needs or criteria. B2B transactions generally arise from the following: 1. Raw material or industrial supplies or services are needed to produce an end product to be sold in the open market 2. Raw material or industrial supplies or services are needed as components of processing a product 3. Products or services are bought form an original manufacturer for resale 4. Products or services are bought from s non-original manufacturer for the purpose of distribution 5. Products or services are bought as a complete system or "turnkey" operation. Figure 2 illustrates the buying process that characterizes the undertaking of B2Bs. It is not required that all of these stages are passed through in each B2B transaction. At this level, buyers are limited by the people and other factors that affect the company. This then highlights the influence organizational culture plays in the buying process. Therefore, in marketing a site on the B2B model, the marketer must consider not just that direct need but also the main use of the product, its users and even the tendencies or preferences of senior executives and others who have bearing on company policies (Johansson, 2001). Differentiating Approaches in B2C and B2B Table 1 summarizes the differences between B2B marketing and B2C marketing. Marketing

Critically evaluate at least two different theories of autism Essay

Critically evaluate at least two different theories of autism - Essay Example And while in the mentioned films the problem of integration of people with autism in society is considered, modern medical researchers are not less concerned with the problem of uncovering the biological causes of autism. But this task is far from being an easy one, as can be judged from the fact that there are currently several tens of various theories that pretend if not to discover the single cause of autism, but at least to offer clues as to autism`s most fundamental physiological roots (Novartis Foundation, 2003, pp.8-9). In this regard, let us overview and critically evaluate several theories of autism, each of which highlights different biological mechanisms that are suspected to lead to this developmental disorder. In general, theories of autism emergence can be divided into large categories. One group of theories, such as for instance opioid excess theories, views autism as a consequence of certain inborn abnormalities; another group, like for example viral infection theories or the approach that accentuates the increased intestinal permeability, links autism with some acquired abnormalities; and there is a group of theories that aims to investigate the possibility of connection between autism and external factors of influence, such as the effects produced by certain types of vaccines. As can be immediately seen, the range of possible causes of autism is quite diverse. To better asses each type of approaches to autism study, we will overview the mentioned opioid excess theories, the viral infection theory, and the theory of the autism origin due to standard vaccinations of children. The opioid excess theories of autism emphasise abnormalities in the complex workings and influences of opioids and opioid-like substances in the human organism, and particularly in the brain. Natural opioids produce various effects upon the processes of hormonal regulation, especially if there is an

Editing paper required Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Editing paper required - Essay Example The goal of the class is majorly teaching and developing basic swimming skills, strategies, and sportsmanship in all students. Therefore, the teachers focus on the students’ physical activity and encourage them to interact and cooperate with one another in their individual and group activities. Not every student has in born swimming skills. So the teachers make them perform such activities that inculcate good swimming skills in them. The students are taught how to raise their comfort level in the water, control breath, and how to keep safe in the water. These are all part of the primary skills. The teachers also tell the students how to use things that are the school property in the swimming pool and respect the rights of other students.It is good to know that in a very short period, most of the children have learned how to perform freestyle stroke, kick, and breathe perfectly, although they are too young to learn all that. They are too good at swimming for their age. The teac hers have done a great job. Their approach is rational and is systematically structured to facilitate planning the lessons, conducting them, and evaluating the students’ performance. The instructors customize the course to meet students’ needs, demonstrate the required skills at an acceptable level of performance, and develop a strategy to keep help the class achieve its goals. In order to develop students’ activity, the teachers carefully monitor their practice and provide instant feedback and encouragement. There are a couple of teaching methods that I would like to point out in the class. While the teachers were teaching the students in the swimming pool, I was surprised to see that no one was trying to get into the swimming lane and teach the swimming act correctly. Although it might be hard for the teachers to practically

Growing Importance of the Global Economy Essay Example for Free

Growing Importance of the Global Economy Essay How has the growing importance of the global economy affected your organization’s competitiveness? The global financial crisis continues to be a severe shock to most enterprises. The initial economic downturn, the worst since the Great Depression, has affected almost all sectors of the economy. Everyone and every organization that has felt the pain. The company I work for serve the basic insurance needs of the fast-growing but largely under-served American middle income market. While many insurers have moved up-market, we are firmly committed to helping working families and retirees get basic protection through long-term care, life and supplemental health insurance products, as well as annuities How has your organization responded to this? My company offer consumer’s choice in how they buy insurance products. They can buy direct from Colonial Penn, which has special expertise in direct sales. They can purchase products across the kitchen table through career agents from Bankers Life and Casualty Company, independent agents of our Washington National Insurance Company unit or through its Performance Matters Associates marketing arm, both of which also offer voluntary benefit products to employees at the workplace. What recommendations would you make for your organization to improve its strategic decision-making? I would have consolidated and integrated all operations under a single resource with the goal of delivering improved customer service even as we reduced costs. A streamlined application and straight-through processing system has shortened customer and agent turn-around times and lowered application costs. 2013 CNO Financial Group, Inc. http//www.cnoinc.com

How Institutions Regulate Multinational Corporations Essay Example for Free

How Institutions Regulate Multinational Corporations Essay International institutions are very effective to regulate multinational corporations in many ways. There are few institutions which always take care for the multinational corporations. Also, these institutions effective to give suggestion about economy. Global trends which are around the world have shown that the more stringent and effective labor legislation, the more likely MNC’s will relocate to another jurisdiction. As a result, globalization endangers the jobs and employment benefits that labor law was intended to protect. As in any enterprise, big and small, the maximization of profits and resources must be of paramount importance. By enlarging the scope of the World Trade Organization to the equalization of labor standards , the prospects of more efficient international trade relations become further possible , but not without triggering intense protests from the most affected stake-holder the labor of the world . The Bretton Woods Organizations Prior to the WTO An Overview Prior the emergence of the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were established by different states after World War II to firstly help in reconstruction efforts to countries devastated by the war. More so , these two institutions lent billions of dollars in aid to underdeveloped countries to fast-track their economic growth especially in the wake of complex issues such as government corruption , civil war , recession , among others . Their primary task has been to assist and provide economic assistance to hundreds of developing countries in various fields such as education , agriculture ,land reform , healthcare , energy production , and even governance ,notwithstanding at the forefront of monitoring exchange rates and balance of payments of different countries . The two institutions also embark of comprehensive economic researches on the plight of different countries to determine the best recourse of aid, depending on the local needs of the beneficiary state, such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare, among others. However, the IMF and the WB have been better known in the underdeveloped world as loaning billions of dollars in aid that are laden with various conditionality’s which sometimes leave the beneficiary countries at a disadvantage, notwithstanding allegations that these institutions were complicit in the funding of military dictatorship that terrorized much of Latin America and parts of Asia in the second half of the 20th century. One particular example of this has been the relentless llegations that the two institutions continuously sent aid to the Philippine government under the regime of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos even if both institutions knew that much of the aid shall not trickle down to Philippine constituents but rechanneled to Marcos and his cronies Swiss bank accounts. Nonetheless, for as long as the WB and the IMF continues to enjoy a legal and political presumption of good faith and service in its dealings with its member countries, no amount of international propaganda should preclude the two institutions from pursuing its goals and objectives. Reference http://www.outofthetrees.co.uk/resources/technologies.php

International Trade Theories Absolute Comparative and Competitive Advantage

International Trade Theories Absolute Comparative and Competitive Advantage Absolute advantage theory was first presented by Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith provided the first concept of a nations wealth. Adam Smith is a grandfather of economics because he introduced two important concepts that many of the new trade theories are based on these two main concepts, which are specialization and free exchange (Cho et al., 2000). However, many arguments were made and many economists thought there was a problem with the theory of absolute advantage after David Ricardo published the theory of comparative cost (aka comparative advantage) in the early 19th century (Curry, 2000). Even though Smith and his followers introduced many important points for the thoughts of economic, it is too complicated with this simple version of trade theory in todays global economy. In 1990, Michael Porter introduced the diamond model of new competitiveness theory (Cho et al., 2000). These three trade theories are important in order to make a country or busine ss successfully. Therefore, the importance of absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and competitive advantage will be discussed thoroughly. Absolute advantage is the ability to produce a good with fewer resources than other producers (Ayers et al., 2005). According to Joseph A. Schumpeter (1954, 374), seems to have believed that under free trade all goods would be produced where their absolute costs in terms of labor are lowest (Van Marrewijk, 2009). Smith suggests that a country should export those goods and services for which it is more productive than other countries are, and import those goods and services for which other countries have more productive than it is. For instance, assume there are only two countries in the world- France and Japan; there are only two goods Wine and Clock radios; and there is only one factor of production- Labor. In France, one hour of labor can produce either two bottles of wine or three clock radios. In Japan, one hour of labor can produce either one bottle of wine or five clock radios. Therefore, the absolute advantage to produce wine is France because one hour of labor produces two b ottles in France, but Japan only produces one. The absolute advantage to produce clock radios is Japan because one hour of labor produces five clock radios in Japan while France only produces three. France is more efficient in the production of wine and Japan is more efficient in the production of clock radios. If these two countries are able to trade with one another, they both will be better off (Griffin et al., 2010). Comparative Advantage The theory of absolute advantage makes sense intuitively. Unfortunately, the theory had a problem. What if one country had an absolute advantage in both products? David Ricardo solved this problem by introducing the theory of comparative advantage, which states that a country should specialize and export those goods and services for which it is relatively more productive than other countries are and import those goods and services for which other countries are relatively more productive than it is (Griffin et al., 2010). Therefore, according to this theory, a country must specialize in order to gain from trade. A country has a comparative advantage if it can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than could other countries. For instance, Michael Jordan selected basketball as his career and economics as his major. He had to make a choice in order to excel at other majors or careers. He chose basketball where he could shine in with his area of relative strength. On the other hand, Doug might take longer to mow yards than other people would take. Even if he cannot do anything well, he can still do some things relatively better than other things. People would still hire him because he would charge them less than the opportunity cost of their own time. In this case, Michael Jordan might hire him because the opportunity cost of his time would be too high. It would be unrelated that whether Michael could do his own lawn faster (Ayers et al., 2005). Even though the comparative advantage is very useful for explaining the reasons of trade and the increases welfare of the trading partners by trade, this theory is still incomplete. There are two problems in this theory. First, the extreme degree of specialization can be predicted by this theory, but in some countries, they not only produce one good but many import-competing products. Second, the trade based on differences in country productivity levels between countries, but it did not explain the existence of these di fferences (Cho et al., 2000). Competitive Advantage The leading theorist of competitive advantage theory is Michael E. Porter. According to Porter, National prosperity is created, not inherited. It grows with natural endowments in a country, as well as its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currencys value. The competitive advantage of nations is the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade to form a nations competitiveness. Companies benefit from having home based suppliers aggressively, domestic rivals strongly, and demanding local customers. Geographic cluster or companies concentrations established competitive advantage in different parts of the same industry. According to Porter, nations are most likely to succeed in industries where the national diamond is the most favorable. He believes that success in international trade comes from the four interrelated components, which are factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and firm strategy structure, and rivalry. Porter also concluded that their home environment is the most forward-looking, challenging, and dynamic so that nations succeed in particular industries (Cho et al., 2000). Companies achieve competitive advantage from acts of innovation. They approach innovation in both new technologies and new ways of doing things. Innovation can be represented in a new product design, new production process, or a new marketing strategy. Perceiving an entirely new market opportunity can contribute to create competitive advantage from some innovations. Innovation yields competitive advantage when competitors are slow to respond. For instance, in autos and home electronics industries, Japanese companies focused on smaller and lower capacity models that foreign competitors despised as low profit, low importance, and low attraction (Cho et al., 2000). Conclusion The three traditional trade theories were discussed. They are all useful theories that remain in understanding many of industrial and trade policies nowadays. For example, when a country considers industrial and trade policies, the comparative advantage theory can be a basic guideline. Because todays world is much more complicated than before, those theories are not satisfactory in explaining the international trade in nowadays situation. The main goal of model building is understand the world easily by recognize the most important variable or variables (Cho et al., 2000).

Free Yellow Wallpaper Essays: Descriptions :: Yellow Wallpaper essays

Descriptions The Yellow Wallpaper The descriptive elements in The Yellow Wallpaper do a tremendous amount towards enhancing the reader's perception of the particular kind of insanity that afflicts the narrator. The descriptions, most notably of the wallpaper itself, are multi-sensory, artful and detailed. Using metaphorical images, and surprising combinations of words, the narrator gives numerous ways for readers to experience the wallpaper. In the line regarding the wallpaper: "...they connect diagonaly, and the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing seaweeds in full chase." The word pairings of 'optic horror' and the similie are unusual and sensory. This serves to peak the reader's interest and more effectively draw the reader into the description. Additionally, the range of descriptions of the wallpaper not only cover several intense and detailed visual descriptions, but also an equally detailed olfactory description. The narrator describes the smell of the wallpaper in the following lines: But there is something else about that paper - the smell! I noticed it the moment we came into the room, but with so much air and sun it was not bad. Now we have had a week of fog and rain, and whether the windows are open or not, the smell is here. It creeps all over the house. I find it hovering in the dining-room, skulking in the parlor, hinding in the hall, lying in wait for me on the stairs. It gets into my hair. Even when I go to ride, if I turn my head suddenly and surprise it-there is that smell! Such a peculiar odor, too! I have spent hours trying to analize it, to find what it smelled like. It is not bad - at first, very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met. In this damp weather it is awful. I wake up in the night and find it hanging over me. It used to disturb me at first. I thought seriously of burning the house-to reach the smell. But now I am used to it. The only thing I can think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell. The two most notable descriptions of the wallpaper also follow (paragraphs removed to save space): I never saw a worse paper in my life.

Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War American

America's Involvement in the Vietnam War Vietnam is a time in American history that most of us would like to forget, but really, we must learn from it. Vietnam is a time where we didn't look at the whole picture, it was 'perceived through the lens of Cold War politics.' (MP:420) With the new ?domino theory,? Americans feared for their safety and the safety of the 'free world.' If they didn't step in, they would inevitably lose the world to communism. Many Americans believed our involvement in Vietnam began around 1965?the beginning of combat with American boys. In reality, engagement began much earlier, around 1945. The US supported France and rejected to recognize the Vietnamese nationalists as an actually body. The leader of the Vietnamese nationalists was Ho Chi Mihn and he was known as a communist. Our reasons for supporting France, more or less, reflected our foreign policy: containment. Post-WWII, our main focus was to contain Communism, as seen through the Truman. Doctrine. ?Truman and his advisors, who saw Communism as a monolithic force, assumed wrongly that Ho took orders from Moscow.? (AP:897) Because they believed that Ho had a connection with Communist Russia, the US wanted to support the more democratic side. American showed its support in aiding over 3/4 of the cost of France?s war. In 1954, France?s fortress at Dien Bien Phu finally fell to Ho?s forces and France asked America to step in. An international conference in ...

Dreams :: essays research papers

Dreams: Could They Be All They Are Made Out To Be?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚ ³Over a seventy-year life span, you ¹ll devote at least fifty thousand hours to dreaming ² (Segell 42). These dreams can be made up of many things. They can be a window into another world or  ³like a urgent fax from your subconscious ² (Graves 97). Many things can affect what we dream about and they are not always our previous thoughts. Things such as gender, information gained during the course of time, or even sensations received while asleep all contribute to the content of dreams. Many times they contribute more than most people think.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gender affects many things, including the way we dream.  ³Men typically dream about fighting, protecting, or competing in an outside environment; women are more likely to dream about relationships and loss in an inside environment ² (Segell 42). Most men have been brought up with the notion that they must have more of a tendency of being aggressive. In this aggression they either dream about how aggressive they are or about the lack of aggression in their daily routine. Women, on the other hand, have typically been brought up to be more emotional than men. This up bringing has also affected the way women dream.  ³Women are more likely to dial into their interior life whether awake or asleep ² (Segell 42). This means that women will read into their dreams more frequently then men. Researchers have found that problems that occur during the day either at work or home and are worked through in your sleep (Segell 42). While men would most likely look at these d reams as nothing but a dream, women will try to face these problems throughout the day. Although there are many differences there are also similarities between men and women in dreams.  ³Like women, you have slightly more negative than positive dreams ² (Segell 42). Which in this case would show one of those similarities. Other similarities would include sex dreams and the ongoing infatuation about their body and physical appearances. This also shows that although men and women are very different their mind works very similarly. This could be from being brought up or society constantly showing no hope in the life we live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the course of the night your mind will keep working or trying to figure out problems that crossed your path over time.  ³Dreams perform emotional homework that helps us master life ¹s lessons ² (Graves 190).

The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility Being a company that prospers is very much different than a company that is consistently following a guided work ethic while making revenue. Companies these days may participate in under the table schemes or anything to make that extra buck. Very a few industries willingly follow corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (which will now be referred to as CSR) is a business firm’s intention, beyond its legal and economic obligations, to do the right things and act in ways that are good for society. Dell Inc. is a showcase example of companies that oblige by CSR.Not only do they willingly do right by others, they were named Newsweek’s 2010 Greenest Company in America. Almost everything they use from building to shipping is completely recyclable. They ship and package everything in material made out of bamboo called â€Å"mushroom packaging. † This sort of packaging is very durable and has the density to protect any heavy items in need of shipping. Mushroom packaging is very unique in the sense that it is grown and not manmade. Not only are they environment friendly in their use of the highly compostable mushroom packaging, they also give back.Dell knows how important it is to donate to charity and they want to create a relationship with whom they are donating money to. As stated in the article, â€Å"Trisa Thompson, VP of Corporate Responsibility, offered that making a determination about which charitable, non-profit organizations to work with internationally must be undertaken with great care†¦.. ‘These are long-term relationships, not short-term, and need to be entered into carefully and with sufficient due diligence. ’† Dell likes to donate 1% of all pre-tax revenue to charities that support children and education.This company truly understands what it means to be successful. Rather than classifying successful as a company that earns substantial net income, the y also put emphasis on using their power and money into making the world a better place. CSR is something every single company should take interest in but some CEO’s just don’t care for lack of a better word. They want to keep every penny for themselves. Cited Source 1) http://businessexecution. wordpress. com/2011/09/06/dell-issues-2011-corporate-social-responsibility-report/

Matthew Arnold Comments on Philistinism in England and America

In his essay, â€Å"Philistinism in England and America,† Matthew Arnold examines the ancient ideas of Plato in the context of a twentieth century, capitalist society. As he agrees with almost all of what Plato had to say, he also admits that he is outdated, and that some of his teachings cannot be applied to us, living in an industrial superpower such as the United States. Still, though, Arnold defends the ancient philosopher. Education as a route to mental and physical righteousness is always a good idea, whether it is in modern America or Ancient Greece. I disagree with this, and it is here that I must contest the writings of Plato, as well as the essay by Arnold, for he is definitely a strong backer of the ancient ideals. In Plato†s mind, the value of an education is to clear one†s mind of impure thought, bring it to a higher lever than at the start, and attain a certain level of righteousness. This may have been a good idea 2300 years ago, but today, I see it as very limiting and impractical. In his time, only the rich aristocrats went to school. It†s purpose was not for the students to learn skills or ideas that would help them later in life, but to expand their minds, thus making them into ‘better people. † There was no need for them to learn any job skills. Back then, if you came from a rich family, you were rich. Working at simple jobs was for the peasants and slaves. Today, life is different. Our society is completely unlike that of the ancient Greeks. We have no caste system limiting the wealth and prominence of any citizen, we have no slavery to handle all the manual labor, our army is proportionately smaller and much less honored, and religion is a part of one†s private life, not a dominating public force as it was to the Ancient Greeks. Most people today have a regular, day to day job, whether it be in an office, store, factory, or anywhere else. We have to earn our wealth by working, not inheritance. That is why most people go to school today. I am attending NYU so that I can get a job later in life. I study chemistry and engineering, in the hopes that I can become a chemical engineer. According to Plato, this is wrong, and I†m corrupting my mind. At this point in my life, I should be reading history and literature, enhancing my mind, and not worrying about developing a skill. To me, that is an unrealistic goal. As I get older, I want to have a job that pays well, so that I can support a family, and be free to do whatever I want in my spare time. I don†t want to have to deal with restrictions in my life caused by a lack of money. If I lived and was educated in the way that Plato suggests, my life would probably turn out differently from that, and that is why I dislike his ideas. In the fourth century BC, when Plato was alive and writing, society was different. His writings on education relate to that time, when modern capitalism was over two thousand years away. He had no idea what life would be like today, so it is ridiculous to base one†s life on what he said so long ago. Arnold refuses to admit this. He does say that Plato†s ideas are outdated, but adds that the basis for his thoughts could still be applied today, for the betterment of society and the people that live in it. If that†s the way he feels, I†m fine with it, but for me, learning a skill that will make me some money when I†m older is more important than purifying my mind. Matthew Arnold Comments on Philistinism in England and America In his essay, â€Å"Philistinism in England and America,† Matthew Arnold examines the ancient ideas of Plato in the context of a twentieth century, capitalist society. As he agrees with almost all of what Plato had to say, he also admits that he is outdated, and that some of his teachings cannot be applied to us, living in an industrial superpower such as the United States. Still, though, Arnold defends the ancient philosopher. Education as a route to mental and physical righteousness is always a good idea, whether it is in modern America or Ancient Greece. I disagree with this, and it is here that I must contest the writings of Plato, as well as the essay by Arnold, for he is definitely a strong backer of the ancient ideals. In Plato†s mind, the value of an education is to clear one†s mind of impure thought, bring it to a higher lever than at the start, and attain a certain level of righteousness. This may have been a good idea 2300 years ago, but today, I see it as very limiting and impractical. In his time, only the rich aristocrats went to school. It†s purpose was not for the students to learn skills or ideas that would help them later in life, but to expand their minds, thus making them into ‘better people. † There was no need for them to learn any job skills. Back then, if you came from a rich family, you were rich. Working at simple jobs was for the peasants and slaves. Today, life is different. Our society is completely unlike that of the ancient Greeks. We have no caste system limiting the wealth and prominence of any citizen, we have no slavery to handle all the manual labor, our army is proportionately smaller and much less honored, and religion is a part of one†s private life, not a dominating public force as it was to the Ancient Greeks. Most people today have a regular, day to day job, whether it be in an office, store, factory, or anywhere else. We have to earn our wealth by working, not inheritance. That is why most people go to school today. I am attending NYU so that I can get a job later in life. I study chemistry and engineering, in the hopes that I can become a chemical engineer. According to Plato, this is wrong, and I†m corrupting my mind. At this point in my life, I should be reading history and literature, enhancing my mind, and not worrying about developing a skill. To me, that is an unrealistic goal. As I get older, I want to have a job that pays well, so that I can support a family, and be free to do whatever I want in my spare time. I don†t want to have to deal with restrictions in my life caused by a lack of money. If I lived and was educated in the way that Plato suggests, my life would probably turn out differently from that, and that is why I dislike his ideas. In the fourth century BC, when Plato was alive and writing, society was different. His writings on education relate to that time, when modern capitalism was over two thousand years away. He had no idea what life would be like today, so it is ridiculous to base one†s life on what he said so long ago. Arnold refuses to admit this. He does say that Plato†s ideas are outdated, but adds that the basis for his thoughts could still be applied today, for the betterment of society and the people that live in it. If that†s the way he feels, I†m fine with it, but for me, learning a skill that will make me some money when I†m older is more important than purifying my mind.

Personal Project Picture Book On Global Warming Education Essay

A image book is a book designed for kids which uses images and illustrations to state a narrative. In some instances, a image book may convey the significance of the narrative wholly through images, without any text at all. In other instances, text accompanies the images and is read along with them. In both cases, the image book is designed to present immature kids to the thought of books and reading. As a general regulation, each bend of the page reveals a new image, or series of images. The images in image books use a scope of media such as oil pigments, acrylics, water-color and pencil. I will seek the cyberspace that what is an easy manner to do a image book. I will travel to the library when I am free and publish some image books and read them at place so so I will acquire an thought what to make. The undermentioned twenty-four hours I will take some images from the net about planetary heating and publish them out. I will glue the images on paper and right something underneath them. I will acquire the paper spiral binded so it looks like a book ; this will be my 1 bill of exchange. I will give it to supervisor and acquire some remarks I will travel through my remarks and do another bill of exchange might be my concluding bill of exchange of undertaking. Introduction My subject for image book is planetary heating. The term â€Å" planetary heating † refers to the addition in the mean temperature of planetary surface air and oceans since about 1950, and to go oning additions in those temperatures. Basically the whole thought of my undertaking on image book is that the new coevals could larn about planetary heating. My image book will be easy for the kids to understand and to read. I will non utilize excessively difficult words because the childs wo n't be able to stop up understanding it.Description of procedureIt took me several hours to make my research on how to do a image book on planetary heating. After that I took some apparent sheets of paper and printed out some of the exposure that I got from cyberspace about planetary heating. I saw some kids picture book in the library and got some thought, that it should be neatly written, should hold large fount size letters and non to utilize word which kids could n't understand. The best manner to make my merchandise was to acquire some documents and compose a short narrative about and add images to it. I thought that this is the best manner to make it and none other thought could be at that place to make a image book. I learned many new accomplishments like how to cut a paper in different manner ( cloud shaped paper, egg-shaped shaped paper ) this undertaking besides helped me to take the exposure for the right paragraph. I used scissor, paper, colourss, pastic sheet and coiling bind to do my undertaking. My pick of techniques were really simple and easy, I think that the simplest thing will accomplish your end so I achieved my end through this simple manner. Write your paragrapgh and add exposures to it. Analysis of research My research affected my be aftering a batch because I had planned to seek the cyberspace about how to make an easy image book, but this was n't rather easy as I wrote in my planning. When searched it, I could n't acquire what to compose in the narrative of my image book. The starting of planning was incorrect that ‘s the error I had done, because of this I could n't make my deadline as the day of the month was assigned. After acquiring all the information about my undertaking, the concluding theoretical account was rather easy as I thought. I chose to make this research because I thought that I would n't be able to acquire the information which I needed to construct my undertaking. I learnt from this research that, I wo n't be able to compose a short 20-50 word narrative but I have to compose a 100-150 words narrative, because planetary heating has so much to talk about itself. I found this research really helpful and I got inspired by it.Analysis of Process and OutcomesI achieved my end after a batch of difficult work and ageless research. Yes my end was realistic because all the information was based on facts. Internet was the chief hunt engine.My research was really successful because all the determination were true although one can non be hundred percent sure. The aggregation of the information was the hard portion because seeking so many different sites and determination, and after that seting them down in order was another different undertaking. Hap jeopardy work would botch my merchandise. The easy portion of the undertaking on image book on planetary heating was aggregation of images, coiling binding, ornament was merriment to make and it added colour to my work which made my merchandise even more presentable and visually attractive.Evaluation of MerchandiseI think my merchandise was rather seccesful because I used composing work along pictures/representation so that it would be easir to understand. A diagram or exposure gives a better image, and do it easier for people to see. I besides did non utilize really hard Hagiographas, my informations was besides really simple and it was easy to follow. I did non travel in to many inside informations of planetary heating, I wanted to give a good overall position which was easy for everyone to follow/read. My planetary heating merchandise was such that it coverd all major points which caused planetary heating, all the subjects were good covered so I feel that my poject was successful in relation with the end. There are some basic alterations that I would make if I had to do this undertaking on planetary heating once more. I would do the background pages a little more bright and colorfull, although merely where it would be necessary. This clip I would travel into a little more higher degree of research, on every that I covered I woul add a litte more of composing merchandise, so that the individual who reads my undertaking wuld acquire a deatailed in formation on every subject on planetary heating Why I would make the above. First of wholly, to do it visually more attractive so the individual immedaetly pick up and read my work and secondly and a batch more particularization in informations and composing so that a individual gets a batch more in formation on every subject on planetary heating. Decision Most of things in the procedure of my personal undertaking worked really good, but some of them did non work as I thought they might. Besides that, another thing did non work really good was making a good temper to make my work in, if i had some other prep I would n't make my personal undertaking. The book I created was non every bit good as I wanted, every twenty-four hours I used to believe that should i alteration my subject or non but I did n't, is sticked together and complete my project.. My personal undertaking was really valuable non merely for me, but I hope besides for other people. By making this undertaking, I learned many things and I improve my creativeness accomplishments. I began to hold a new position of seeing the creativeness of my interior ego. I learned this because of my supervisor Mrs cathy Berra, this was n't really hard, but Is could n't make my due day of the months. I think this was the right subject for me, because it taught me a good lesson of doing undertakings. the undertaking essay was detaining my work. I could n't understand what to make in it. but eventually one got in the right path and finished it within a hebdomad ‘s clip.

Sandra Jones

The plaintiff in this case is Sandra Jones, and the defendant is Winnie Tsige. What is case is about is Winnie Tsige, has been surreptitiously looking at Sandra Jones banking records. 2. The case was heard September 29, 2011 by the court of appeal for Ontario, and the result at the original trial was does Ontario law recognize a right to bring a civil action for damages for the invasion of personal privacy. 3. The court that heard the case in the attached file was Kevin M. V.Whitaker, of the Superior court of Justice, date March 23 2011, with reasons reported at 2011 ONSC 1475, 333 D. L. R (4TH) 566. 4. The important facts in this case is Tsige and Jones did not know each other, and Tsige was in a relationship with Jones former husband. The other important fact were as a bank employee, Tsige had full access to Jones banking information and contrary to the bank’s policy, looked into Jones banking records at least 174 times over a period of four years. . The issues that the cour t had to decide is whether the motion judge erred by granting summary judgment and dismissing Jones claim for damages on the ground that Ontario law does not recognize the tort of beach of primacy. 6. The court refer to other cases because Jones appeals to the court, raising the following issue, did the motion judge err in holding that Ontario law does not recognize a cause of action for invasion of privacy. 7.The elements that are necessary in order to be successful with an action for intrusion upon seclusion is first, the defendant’s conduct must be intentional, within which I would include reckless; second that the defendant must have invaded, without lawful justification, the plaintiff’s private affairs or concerns; and third that a reasonable person would regard the invasion as highly offensive causing distress, humiliation or anguish. . The limitations on an action for intrusion upon seclusion are it is only intrusions into matters such as one’s financial or health records, sexual practices and orientation, employment, diary or private correspondence that, viewed objectively on the reasonable person standard, can be described as highly offensive. 9.The factors that the court will consider in setting damages in an action for intrusion upon seclusion is Tsige’s actions were deliberate and repeated and arose from complex web of domestic arrangements likely to provoke strong feelings and animosity, two Jones was understandably very upset by the intrusion into her private financial affairs, and Jones suffered no public embarrassment or harm to her health, welfare, social, business or financial position and Tsige has apologized for her conduct and made genuine attempts to make amends. 0. How this decision changes the law of intentional torts is intentional torts are actions by individuals or businesses that intentionally cause harm to others. When intentional torts occur in the workplace, they are often the result of employees losin g their tempers, but in this case Tsige repeatedly examined the private bank records of Jones and did not take any money or any harm to her banking she just committed the tort of intrusion upon seclusion because Tsige looked at Jones banking records 174 over a four year period. 11.This case has a huge impact on privacy because Winnie Tsige, was looking at Sandra Jones banking records 174 time over a four year period and she never realized it, and because they worked at different branches of the Bank of Montreal, Tsige had full access to banking information, and contrary to the banks policy, so Tsige could do whatever she wanted to and no one would find out because there are so many different branches for the Bank of Montreal. 12. This case is important because even though Tsige didn’t harm Jones physically she still sis a lot of damages to her by looking at her banking records many time over a period of time.Another reason this case is important is because Tsige had formed a common law relationship with Jones former husband and because Tsige was a employee at the Bank of Montreal, she had full access to jones banking records and anybody else she wanted to look at, and her Ex-husband was probably telling Tsige to look at Jones banking information and records to see her purchase, what she’s doing with the alimony payments he is giving her ever month, and what she does with her money.I believe just cause you work at the bank you shouldn’t have full access to banking information, you should only have that privilege if your high up in the bank, or if one of the tellers needs to look at someone’s banking information then the manager they’re should have to put in a password that only he/she knows so they can get that information.

Twilight 1. FIRST SIGHT

Meyer, Stephanie, 1973- Twilight : a novel / by Stephanie Meyer. – 1st ed. Summary: Grade 9 Up – Headstrong, sun-loving, 17-year-old Bella declines her mom's invitation to move to Florida, and instead reluctantly opts to move to her dad's cabin in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, WA. She becomes intrigued with Edward Cullen, a distant, stylish, and disarmingly handsome senior, who is also a vampire. When he reveals that his specific clan hunts wildlife instead of humans, Bella deduces that she is safe from his blood-sucking instincts and therefore free to fall hopelessly in love with him. The feeling is mutual, and the resulting volatile romance smolders as they attempt to hide Edward's identity from her family and the rest of the school. Meyer adds an eerie new twist to the mismatched, star-crossed lovers theme: predator falls for prey, human falls for vampire. This tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel, and kissing, touching, and talking take on an entirely new meaning when one small mistake could b e life-threatening. Bella and Edward's struggle to make their relationship work becomes a struggle for survival, especially when vampires from an outside clan infiltrate the Cullen territory and head straight for her. As a result, the novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive. Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it. For my big sister, Emily, without whose enthusiasm this story might still be unfinished. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17 PREFACE I'd never given much thought to how I would die – though I'd had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me. Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something. I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me. 1. FIRST SIGHT My mother drove me to the airport with thewindows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees inPhoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I waswearing my favorite shirt – sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearingit as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka. In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small townnamed Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United Statesof America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade thatmy mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until Iwas fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for twoweeks instead. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself- an action that I took withgreat horror. I detested Forks. I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved thevigorous, sprawling city. â€Å"Bella,† my mom said to me – the last of athousand times – before I goton the plane. â€Å"You don't have to do this.† My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt aspasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course shehad Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still†¦ â€Å"I want to go,† I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now. â€Å"Tell Charlie I said hi.† â€Å"I will.† â€Å"I'll see you soon,† she insisted. â€Å"You can come home whenever you want -I'll come right back as soon as you need me.† But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise. â€Å"Don't worry about me,† I urged. â€Å"It'll be great. I love you, Mom.† She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and shewas gone. It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I wasa little worried about. Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemedgenuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first timewith any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for highschool and was going to help me get a car. But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyonewould call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision – like my motherbefore me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks. When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too.Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primarymotivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, wasthat I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lightson top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop. Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off theplane. â€Å"It's good to see you, Bells,† he said, smiling as he automaticallycaught and steadied me. â€Å"You haven't changed much. How's Ren? ¦e?† â€Å"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad.† I wasn't allowed to callhim Charlie to his face. I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable forWashington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk ofthe cruiser. â€Å"I found a good car for you, really cheap,† he announced when we werestrapped in. â€Å"What kind of car?† I was suspicious of the way he said â€Å"good car foryou† as opposed to just â€Å"good car.† â€Å"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy.† â€Å"Where did you find it?† â€Å"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?† La Push is the tiny Indianreservation on the coast. â€Å"No.† â€Å"He used to go fishing with us during the summer,† Charlie prompted. That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blockingpainful, unnecessary things from my memory. â€Å"He's in a wheelchair now,† Charlie continued when I didn't respond, â€Å"sohe can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap.† â€Å"What year is it?† I could see from his change of expression that thiswas the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask. â€Å"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine – it's only a few yearsold, really.† I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. â€Å"When did he buy it?† â€Å"He bought it in 1984, I think.† â€Å"Did he buy it new?† â€Å"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties – or late fifties atthe earliest,† he admitted sheepishly. â€Å"Ch – Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like thatanymore.† The thing, I thought to myself†¦ it had possibilities – as a nickname, atthe very least. â€Å"How cheap is cheap?† After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on. â€Å"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift.† Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression. Wow. Free. â€Å"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car.† â€Å"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here.† He was looking ahead at theroad when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straightahead as I responded. â€Å"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it.† No need to addthat my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth – or engine. â€Å"Well, now, you're welcome,† he mumbled,embarrassed by my thanks. We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence. It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green:the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was too green – an alien planet. Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small,two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days oftheir marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had – the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new – well, new to me – truck. It was a faded red color,with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it.Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged -the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed. â€Å"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!† Now my horrific day tomorrow would be justthat much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser. â€Å"I'm glad you like it,† Charlie said gruffly,embarrassed again. It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the westbedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window -these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. Thedesk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner. There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact. One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning. Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven – now fifty-eight – students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together – their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak. Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this tomy advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan,sporty, blond – a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps – all thethings that go with living in the valley of the sun. Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself – and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close. When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty – it was very clear, almost translucent-looking- but it all depended on color. I had no color here. Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here? I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning. I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle. Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobiacreeping up on me. You could never see the skyhere; it was like a cage. Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothingwas changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at – I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least whi le I wasliving here. It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie hadnever gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket – which had the feel of a biohazard suit -and headed out into the rain. It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood. Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly,to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected. Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences,the metal detectors? I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door. Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wear ing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed. The red-haired woman looked up. â€Å"Can I help you?† â€Å"I'm Isabella Swan,† I informed her, and saw the immediate awarenesslight her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last. â€Å"Of course,† she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. â€Å"I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school.† She brought several sheets to the counter to show roe. She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could. When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me. I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck. I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief. Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A largeblack â€Å"3† was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door. The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here. I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name – not an encouraging response – and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting†¦ and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on. When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me. â€Å"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?† He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type. â€Å"Bella,† I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me. â€Å"Where's your next class?† he asked. I had to check in my bag. â€Å"Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six.† There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes. â€Å"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Definitely over-helpful. â€Å"I'm Eric,† he added. I smiled tentatively. â€Å"Thanks.† We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid. â€Å"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?† he asked. â€Å"Very.† â€Å"It doesn't rain much there, does it?† â€Å"Three or four times a year.† â€Å"Wow, what must that be like?† he wondered. â€Å"Sunny,† I told him. â€Å"You don't look very tan.† â€Å"My mother is part albino.† He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm. We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked. â€Å"Well, good luck,† he said as I touched the handle. â€Å"Maybe we'll have some other classes together.† He sounded hopeful. I smiled at him vaguely and went inside. The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat. After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map. One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up. We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy fromEnglish, Eric, waved at me from across the room. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them. They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention. They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big – muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, lessbulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students. The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black,cropped short and pointing in every direction. And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes – purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular. But all this is not why I couldn't look away. I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful – maybe the perfect blond girl, or thebronze-haired boy. They were all looking away – away from each other, away from the otherstudents, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray -unopened soda, unbittenapple – and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging. â€Å"Who are they?† I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten. As she looked up to see who I meant – though already knowing, probably, from my tone – suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine. He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest – it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer. My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did. â€Å"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife.† She said this under her breath. I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now,picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them. Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here – small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home. â€Å"They are†¦ very nice-looking.† I struggled with the conspicuous understatement. â€Å"Yes!† Jessica agreed with another giggle. â€Å"They're all together though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together.† Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip. â€Å"Which ones are the Cullens?† I asked. â€Å"They don't look related†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children.† â€Å"They look a little old for foster children.† â€Å"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that.† â€Å"That's really kind of nice – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything.† â€Å"I guess so,† Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. â€Å"I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though,† she added, as if that lessened their kindness. Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat. â€Å"Have they always lived in Forks?† I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here. â€Å"No,† she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. â€Å"They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska.† I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard. As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation. â€Å"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?† I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today – he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again. â€Å"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him.† She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down. I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too. After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful – even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again. I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too. When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat. As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face – it was hostile, furious. I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled. I'd noticed that his eyes were black – coal black. Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me. I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down. I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother. The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought. It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve. I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind. At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose – he was much taller than I'd thought – his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat. I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency. â€Å"Aren't you Isabella Swan?† a male voice asked. I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad. â€Å"Bella,† I corrected him, with a smile. â€Å"I'm Mike.† â€Å"Hi, Mike.† â€Å"Do you need any help finding your next class?† â€Å"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it.† â€Å"That's my next class, too.† He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small. We walked to class together; he was a chatterer – he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today. But as we were entering the gym, he asked, â€Å"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that.† I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb. â€Å"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?† I asked artlessly. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"He looked like he was in pain or something.† â€Å"I don't know,† I responded. â€Å"I never spoke to him.† â€Å"He's a weird guy.† Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. â€Å"If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you.† I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation. The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of RE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth. I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained – and inflicted – playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated. The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself. When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out. Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free. He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time – any other time. I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me. The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me – his face was absurdly handsome – with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist. â€Å"Never mind, then,† he said hastily in a voice like velvet. â€Å"I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help.† And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door. I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip. â€Å"How did your first day go, dear?† the receptionist asked maternally. â€Å"Fine,† I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced. When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.