bella becomes re-acquainted with jacob black, a native american teen who lives with his father, billy, on the quileute indian reservation near forks. bella makes friends at her new high school, but finds the mysterious and aloof cullen siblings particularly intriguing. bella is seated next to edward cullen in biology class on her first day, but he seems repulsed by her. after a week's absence from school, edward returns and socializes normally with bella. a few days later, bella is nearly struck by a skidding van in the school parking lot. edward instantaneously covers a distance of over thirty feet, putting himself between bella and the van, stopping it with only his hand. he subsequently refuses to explain his actions to bella, and warns her against befriending him. jacob tells bella about a long-standing animosity between the cullens and the quileutes, and says the cullens are not allowed on the reservation.