Title: Parallelepiped

Summary: AU- Merida is finally a senior in high school. As the spring begins to warm things up, and with no plans to attend university next fall, she can taste the freedom on her lips. Only, there seems to be one problem. Her geometry teacher, Ms. Queen. She's as intent on getting Merida to pay attention in her class as her somewhat pretentious name implies. However, she may be Merida's biggest distraction.

Rating/Warnings: This is rated T. However, it does deal with a homosexual romantic relationship between two consenting adult females. One happens to be a student and the other a teacher in the first half of this story. I just wanted to make that clear. If the title is scary, it's because its a geometry term.


Chapter One: The Courtyard


It was days like these that Merida thought school wasn't so awful. She could sit in the open courtyard all by herself and just relax in the warm spring air. In only a few weeks, the summer would officially begin and she could be out of this moldy, stuffy prison forever. She leaned back on the bench and took another bite of her apple. She let the juice slide down the corner of her mouth lazily and closed her eyes as she chewed.

The clear of a throat above her broke her concentration. She opened her eyes and nearly choked as she realized who it was standing in front of her. Merida hastily wiped her mouth on her sleeve and sat up straight, lifting her eyes up from the neatly pressed pencil skirt, over the professional light blue blouse, and straight to the quizzical face staring at her. Miss Elsa Queen was there with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow carefully raised in suspicion. Although she had been more commonly known as 'the new geometry teacher taking Deville's place' at the beginning of the year, by now she was generally well-liked by the school's population. Both students and fellow staff alike admired her ability to exhibit grace and kindness in the classroom but still be firm and controlling enough to keep the rowdy high school kids in line. At the young age of 22, she had incredible skill with even the toughest of cases. Well, except when it came to one particular rebel.

"Merida," the teacher said evenly. "I'm surprised to see you here." She lifted a wrist and glanced at her watch. "It's not your lunch period."

"You know my schedule?" Merida asked, trying to regain her relaxed composure. Damn, she thought. It had been such a peaceful moment.

"No," Elsa replied. "I usually see you headed up the stairs this time of day."

"Oh, so you like to watch me, do you? And now you've followed me."

Elsa tried to keep her composure at the strange accusation.

"No," she repeated. "I usually come here to eat my lunch. I find it a welcomed difference to the noisy classes I have." She smiled gently and held up her lunch box to illustrate her point. She took the open seat next to Merida on the bench and started unpacking the box on her lap. Merida scratched the side of her neck, looking away and trying to find a new place for her eyes to land other than the teacher.

"Uh, so, aren't you going to go report me now?"

Elsa shook her head, lifting her sandwich to her lips. She paused and said,

"I told you, I came out here to have my lunch. I'm not going to miss that for something silly."

It was Merida's turn to lift her eyebrows. Could she really be getting off the hook this once?

"I'll do it after I've finished," the teacher added, after she'd swallowed her first bite.

Of course it was too good to be true.

Merida slumped again and groaned.

"Do you always have to be so… such a…?"

"Be careful of your wording here."

"A stickler for the rules," Merida decided. "You get me for every little thing! I cannae copy homework. I cannae leave class a bit early. I cannae come in a bit late. You have to cut me some slack!"

The teacher turned her head towards her. Merida's mouth shut and she swallowed nothing. That nervous habit seemed to be becoming a regular thing when the Miss gave her those icy looks.

"Why should I cut you slack? My other students work very hard for what they have."

"Aw cummoan!" Merida said with a scoff, again having to pry her gaze away from the woman beside her. "They cheat and copy more than I do. I'm willing to bet on that."

Despite her better judgment, Elsa pressed a hand against her lips and laughed softly.

"Donnae laugh!" Merida chided. "I'm not asking you to pass me for nothing. But what's the harm in showing up a little late? I don't mean any offense to you by it. I just hate waking up so early."

"I can see where you're coming from. But you should see where I am in this situation. This is my job, Merida. If you get in trouble and I don't say anything, then I am the one who gets in trouble. And there is a lot more riding on me being able to keep my job than you missing a television show because you're stuck in detention."

"Anno, but that's nothing compared to the punishment of having to listen to my mother rant. You don't have to listen to that."

"Your mother came to parent's night. She's a very nice woman."

"Well to others, o' course she is! She has to uphold a reputation somehow. But I know better."

Elsa couldn't help but laugh again.

"Merida, for all the headaches you cause me, you're very amusing."

The redhead smiled, enjoying the compliment.

"So you don't mind if I stay until class is done?"

"Hm," Elsa said, as if remembering that she was in fact sitting beside a cutting student. "Where are you supposed to be?"

"English. We have a test that I may have forgotten to study for."

Elsa sighed, shaking her head as she continued to eat. Merida shrugged.

"You're right, I didn't forget. I just ignored it. But my grade in English is downright awful."

"If your penmanship is anything similar to what I have to read when you write proofs, then I feel awful for your language teachers."

"Och!" Merida said in a mock-offended tone. "Who needs penmanship?"

She turned towards the tree they sat adjacent to and slipped a small switchblade from her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked after a moment. She had been enjoying the silence until she realized that Merida being quiet could not mean a good thing. When the girl sat up, she pocketed the pen knife and showed off her work. In the bark of the tree, she'd whittled a beautiful, stylized capital 'M'.

"See? I know what the letters look like. But who cares what they look like on homework? No one reads that stuff anyhow."

Elsa hoped she was joking.