Mary awoke that morning to the lack of warmth that she expected from her blankets and the ringing of her Aunt Diana's shrieking. Groaning May curled into a ball, her bare feet rolling like snails hiding in their shell. Yes that is what she was going to compare herself to, a snail.
"Mary would you wake up already! You're going to be late for school!" her Aunt Diana screamed shaking Mary so much that it would have rattled her if not for the fact that she did this every morning. Eyes snapping open, Mary fought back the urge to hurl a dozen curse words and retorts, a bad tendency she had these days. Biting her lip, Mary struggled to get to a sitting position, her muscles aching and cracking in the process. Mary hissed groaning even louder than before. This didn't look good for her day at all.
"Mary honey, come on! You've got to make a good impression at school and that includes arriving on time always—"
"Yeah I know I know Auntie God. I'm up I'm up," Mary said sullenly waving off at her mother to go away, as she went towards her closet. Mary's aunt stopped talking a wide grin spreading across her tired face, as if she had just won a victory. After brushing out the stale taste that remained in her mouth and freshening up, Mary ran for her room searching for her clothes. Locating her uniform Mary quickly got dressed, thoughts of school roaming in her head.
Mary went to St. Olenna's Academy, a private school in London, well known for its exclusive reputation and advanced education. Not to mention the highly expensive tuition, as Mary was reminded everyday by the rich snobs she went to school with. Not that any of the students paid much attention to her, for Mary had made perfectly sure of that.
Since Mary was on scholarship, she knew she could never fit in with the crowds of girls with designer bags or the boys with famous parents. No Mary mostly kept to herself, with her only other friend, Zoe who was also on partial scholarship. At the thought of Zoe, Mary's mind suddenly went into shock.
"CRAP! Zoe's waiting for me!" she shouted grabbing her over the shoulder bag. Entering the kitchen Mary found her Aunt Diana preparing her lunch, her clothes wrapped up for work. Her Aunt Diana worked as a secretary at a doctor's office downtown. Mary little brother, Jaime sat in his chair playing with his food like the adorable six year old he was. Mary grabbed her lunch landing a small kiss on her aunt's cheek and giving her bother a pat on the head, before hurdling down the stairs.
Mary rushed out onto the damp street, tugging her heavy bag as she ran for her and Zoe's meeting place. Every morning they met up at the corner three blocks away from the train station.
The sky was a bluish orange, the sun rising up into the early morning. Mary had always had to wake up earlier than most before school since it was so far to get to. Though she could do without the exhaustion, she could never get used to how beautiful the sunrise was, especially in the fall with all the leaves all around. She loved the fall, the colors, the cool air that rushed through her hair and skin.
Mary had always loved the fall, her father had used to take her around to the parks and play with her in the leaves, tickling her and laughing as her mother videotaped the whole thing. The thought of her dad made Mary squirm a little and she surged more forward, hoping to rid of the frustration within her.
"Mary!" Zoe called ahead zipping Mary's attention away from the unpleasant memories. A wide smile curving on her face, Mary waved back at her closest friend.
"Wow, no offense Mary but you look awful," Zoe said pointing at Mary's hair, which she hadn't bothered to mane this morning. Mary snorted, weaving through her hair self-consciously.
"Well at least now I know what your priorities are, my hair," said Mary.
"You would say the same thing if you had a good look at yourself. Did you even look at a mirror this morning?" said Zoe. Mary gives her a dirty look quickly threading her irritating curly hair into a braid.
"Enough about my hair," she said finishing the last knot of her braid. "We better go if you ever want a look at the choir listings."
They both made their way into the train station, accompanying one another in the busy haze of the subway.
After going through the three stops Zoe and Mary approached the grounds of St. Olenna's Academy, closing together amongst the string of luxury cars that surrounded the school's front driveway.
All around students strolled from their designer cars, girls walking in their luoboudins, boys riding their expensive BMW's, all giving neither Mary nor Zoe a second notice.
"You know I'm really feeling for this fall dance," said Zoe stopping in front of the promotional poster. Mary gave her a knowing look.
"Oh and who do you suppose would want to go with us genius," said Mary.
"Well I mean we might go together and see how things go. Who knows we might meet some handsome stranger," said Zoe, her eyes getting all dreamy and cloudy. Mary rolled her eyes, dragging her friend by the arm and leading her to their adjoining lockers.
"Handsome stranger? You've been watching too many romance films my friend."
"Oh look whose talking. You're one of the biggest Jane Austen fans I know. No you're the epitome of classic romance novels. And yet you find the idea of meeting a handsome stranger laughable."
"I find it laughable because each one of these novels always proves how judging by looks kicks you in the ass," Mary said patting Zoe's shoulder.
"Mary its 'arse' not 'ass'. Seriously, your accent sometimes gets to me. You Americans always say things so provocatively."
Mary huffed. Yes she was born in America and it seemed like everyone had the need to bring up her nationality to the conversation. Somehow whenever people heard her accent they treated her like some weird bimbo.
"That has nothing to do with my nationality, and you know it your Brit," Mary muttered as she searched for her textbooks. "Anyways, getting away from the my accent, have you finished your applications for University yet?"
Zoe went silent then looking away, avoiding eye contact. Uh oh, Mary thought glancing warily at her friend.
"You didn't even work on them this weekend did you?" Mary said crossing her arms over her chest. Zoe's guilty expression deepened as she continued to stare at the ground. "Figures," she muttered. "Zoe comes on you prom-"
Mary's usual tirade was cut off though by the sound of a loud cry. The whole hall went silent and both Zoe's and Mary's heads turned toward the source of the shriek.
A boy from their, whose name Mary couldn't recall, was standing frozen in front of his locker, a large red sticker stuck to the front. Mary's blood froze at the sight and she noticed everyone in the room freeze in fear.
"Tom got the red mark," a voice called and the hall erupted in hushed whispers and everyone started to rush ahead, probably to get the hell away from the as possible.
"Mary we should go before they come," Zoe whispered tugging on Mary arm. Mary only nodded rushing towards the staircase, her sympathies for Tom and the hell he was going to face.