MARIEL

"And now, how would you apply Cramer's rule to this situation ..."

Mariel Celeste didn't even notice as her unruly, long brown curls fell into her emerald-green eyes, which were growing more and more heavy by the second. How was a growing fifteen-year-old supposed to stay awake in math class after an almost sleepless night helping her parents for - of all the things in the world - a party ...

... Along with her fraternal twin sister, Ariel, of course. Who, remarkably, was just as vibrant and alert as she always was. That is, on the surface ... who knew what was going on in that quickly turning mind of hers ... Mariel suppressed a loud yawn and allowed her head to sink down on her open math textbook - which, by the way, suddenly began to look more and more like a comfortable pillow ...

She wanted to forget about everything ... You were supposed to leave behind your problems at home - where they came from. Not bring them into school, where they might affect your grade. That was exactly what Mariel intended to do. Sometimes, it worked unconsciously - but today was not one of those days. She wouldn't be able to handle problems from two places at once. It was too much to think about, too much for her brain to make sense of ... And besides, she was so very, very tired ...

She knew that her usual deadened, depressed expression was that of an adult who had seen too many things, in too short a time. It should not have been on someone as young as her. But Mariel couldn't help it. The sadness - the darkness - she was certain, was apparent in her face all the time, even when she smiled. All the time. Why no one ever noticed, was beyond her - because she always felt that way. She could never stop the past from catching up to her. She lived with it, every day. And sometimes, she just wanted to forget all of it. Forget anything had ever happened. Forget all the unbearable sorrow that had chosen to rest upon herself, Ariel, and what remained of her family ...

No matter how bad things got, though, she did not think of suicide. It was simply not the way - and whenever her brain brought it up, during particularly difficult times of her life, Mariel would remember her family and all her friends. No matter how little was there left to lose, there were still people she loved and who loved her, and she had to keep living for them, if nothing else ...

And she just wanted to sleep it off now, like one would sleep off a hangover. Usually Mariel took refuge in books and learning - immersing herself in ancient tomes, realizing what difficulties those great people in history had braved successfully, gave her hope to someday follow in their footsteps. But right now, she was tired. And besides, a certain scar on her right wrist had begun to throb rather painfully, so she couldn't really write much anymore, even if she wanted to ... Despite the small stabs of pain, Mariel felt her eyelids droop and her head tilt dangerously towards the flat surface of her desk ...

A rather sharp yank on one of her curls suddenly jolted Mariel awake, and she turned to glare at a positively beaming Arianna Springfield, who was nonchalantly twirling long black locks around one finger whilst writing, whistling, and staring off into space. Mariel was not convinced, of course. In a seat beside them, normally stoical Belladonna Rivers had her grey eyes cast downwards, trying (albeit somewhat unsuccessfully) to muffle her frenzied giggles in her long auburn braid, which, as she soon found, was looped around her chair leg by an impish-looking, tousle-headed boy behind her. She turned around to give the pleased boy a piece of her mind.

On the other end of the room, a bunch of (rather good-looking) boys were playing basketball with balls of paper and their hoods as hoops, and Juliette Adams, a petite and pretty brunette, was smiling admiringly at them all. Despite herself, Mariel struggled not to laugh at the boys' comical expressions (especially when they caught sight of Juliette), but almost wishing she could have joined them too. Boys were just so funny sometimes, and made great friends. But not "friends" as in the way Ariel saw it ... that was different. Going out with a boy, even if he happened to be one of the handsomest guys in the school, was still taking it too far, Mariel thought.

Ariel didn't think so, however. With her crystal-clear, shrewd green eyes (the only thing she had in common with Mariel), delicate features, an almost queenlike air, and the smarts to prove it, Ariel loved the attention she received, which she did rightfully deserve. Mariel, meantime, was just pushed off to the side. Though she did make good grades, her looks passed for just "okay" at best, and she was not the most outgoing or fashion-oriented of people, unlike Ariel. All those things, which were "everything" to the popular kids, simply did not cut it for Mariel. It was not in her comfort zone. Thus, she was content to occupy the backwaters of the popular kids' pond.

"Whoever's whistling, please stop," said an irritated Mrs. Stellah from the front of the classroom, in her annoyance scraping the chalk just a bit too hard across the board to produce a loud squeak. Mariel, about to drop off again, was rudely roused once more, and the whole class jumped as a body.

Mrs. Stellah turned around, looking extremely tired.

"Look, this class is only as good as the people within it. That means the teacher ... and the students. You all made it into this Honors PreCalculus class fair and square. Now show me you deserve to continue with this class, instead of being bumped back down to normal mathematics." The class's antics subsided as suddenly as they had begun, and the class continued on in relative peace and quiet, with the occasional volunteer to answer (or ask) difficult questions. Mariel felt herself doze off again, but Arianna's annoying hair yanks kept her awake for the rest of the class period.

At least, from all those distractions learning and her friends posed, she wouldn't be able to think about all those other things ...

The bell rang for lunch, and Mariel staggered out of her physics class, painstakingly walked for several minutes, then finally collapsed with a tortured moan onto the sparse, soft green grass, which only thinly covered the rocky soil underneath and was quickly yellowing in the now chilly November air.

"Ow," Mariel complained from the ground, but didn't move. Luckily, she didn't get trampled from the hordes of hungry students rushing to the cafeteria. (Which was why Mariel brought - made - her own lunch every day). Arianna, Belladonna, and Juliette made their way over from the cafeteria (without Ariel, mind, who was with her boyfriend) and saw Mariel, with Arianna the first to react. With a long, drawn-out and overly dramatic gasp, she nearly dropped the tray she was holding and rushed over to Mariel.

"Oh, no, no, no, Mariel! No! No, my dearest, NO!"

"I'm ... I'm afraid my time has come to an end," wheezed Mariel in turn, trying to keep a straight face.

Arianna drew back looking shocked. "You're not supposed to be talking! You're supposed to look as though you're about to faint or something!"

"Yes, yes, and I'm the queen of England," Mariel sighed, getting up (rather slowly and painfully) to a round of applause from Juliette and Belladonna.

"What a beautiful show!" Juliette gasped in wonder. "You must explain to me the secret of how the dying - er - Mordred was completely healed in that one final, loving dialogue!"

"And also how Arianna can be so heartless a person!" Mariel quipped, to much laughter.