-1New story. I'm expecting it to be very short. I'm still working on I'm Listening for those who are waiting for it. This chapter is about seven pages long, but don't expect all of them to be. I think it's just because I'm setting things up.

I really shouldn't be updating this, but I need something else to focus on.

This is my first RayxMar story, so everyone is OOC. But that should be the least of your worries. As always, watch for my many mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Bad Math

The pounding of her feet and the lead voice from her favorite band were the only things Mariah focused on. Once, her P.E. teacher said that when exercising, they should listen to relaxing music. Mariah didn't know why, but she could do that. When someone was screaming at her, it made her run faster. Almost as if she was trying to keep up with heavy rhythm.

Mariah smiled to herself. Just as the album was reaching its last song, she approached her last hundred or so yards. Picking up speed, she raced the song to her front door, her long bright pink hair whipping behind her.

Her feet drummed through the doorway just before the song finished. Happy that she won the challenge, Mariah grabbed a new bottle of water and bounded to her room in the basement to get ready for the school day ahead.

Mariah was drying her waist length hair after her refreshing shower when the phone rang. Rolling her eyes at the timing she turned down her blaring music and made a quick grab for the cordless before it went to the message machine.

"Hey, Lee, how's my college student?" she asked in a baby voice. Only her big brother would call while she was drying off.

"He's fine," She could practically hear Lee rolling his dark golden eyes. "Just checking in. How are you?"

"Good, although you have awful timing. I was just drying my hair."

"…you're not, you know, unclothed are you?" Mariah could almost die of laughter at the tone in his voice. He could talk about the most disgusting things with his friends, but he thought of talking to his sister over the phone while she was naked disturbed him.

"No," she answered truthfully. "I'm in my underwear. Pink bra and thong."

"That's it, I'm hanging up. Tell mom and dad I called!"

"I'm kidding!" Mariah laughed, trying to run a brush through her bushy hair and balance the phone between her ear and shoulder at the same time. "I'm fully dressed."

"Whatever, I still have to go," Lee said gruffly, clearly uncomfortable. "I've got a test later today."

Mariah was just about to say goodbye to her dearest brother when she heard a girly moan. Her own light honey eyes widened. "Lee, was that a girl?"

"…NO!"

Mariah smiled. He was so funny sometimes. He always tried to protect his "innocent little sister." Like she couldn't tell what had happened.

"Okay, Lee, if you say so." she said in her little sister voice. Quickly dropping the childish act, she added, "You should get some sleep. You've got a test today, and it sounds like you didn't get much last night. Bye!"

She hung up on her brother just as he was about to protest. Mariah shrugged. Let him believe that she was too young to understand anything about "it." He was happier thinking that than the alternative -- which was that she was a slut. She wasn't a slut, but she wasn't as completely innocent as her brother would like to believe. Still, there was no reason to go around announcing that, was there?

Turning her music back up, she finished getting ready. She made sure that she had all of her books for school and car keys before heading back up stairs. Grabbing her money for lunch, she walked through the kitchen to get another bottle of water. Her parents had just found this new brand and it was strangely addicting. She walked to the front door, shifting her backpack until it was comfortable on her shoulder. Mariah locked the door as the stereo's timer turning the loud music off; there was a reason she had the basement.

Mariah made the easy drive to school. It wasn't very far, but she hated walking there and running with her backpack wasn't something she enjoyed, either. She had never really looked forward to school. Being who she was, she didn't have very many friends, and she always had to watch for boys who thought she was an easy lay. It wasn't a reputation that any girl like her would like.

Getting out of her car, she walked straight to her locker, saying "Hi," to the few people along the way. While most girls' lockers were decorated with pictures of their boyfriends or the Hottest Hottie currently in all the magazines, hers was full of her favorite bands, pictures of her favorite book covers, and random words that she'd found funny. Mariah loved her locker door. She would be sad when she had to empty it for good.

The pink-haired girl exchanged her books just in time for the bell and headed of to English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects. Coming in before Biology but right after World History. At least in that class she got to mentally doze off.

Just when Mariah thought she couldn't dislike English any more that she already did, she was proven wrong. There was a question on the whiteboard.

'What is wrong with this sentence?' Mariah read. "'do you lived in straight st.?'"

Mariah could already imagine what she was going to hear all day long.

"Do you live on Straight street?"

"Naw, man, my street curves a little." Laugh, laugh, laugh. Ha, ha, ha.

Mariah rolled her eyes and took her seat in the back of the class. Hopefully it wouldn't catch on until later in the day.

"Hey, dude, I live on Straight Street. Do you?"

Nope, fate was going to be cruel…and so were the stupid idiots.

Math! Finally!

Mariah worked her happy dance in her head as she walked through the shining threshold. Was it just her, or did the door to her math class actually look brighter than all the others?

Math is her favorite and best subject. She loved, loved, loved, math. Everything just clicked for her. Which she found just a little weird since everyone else in her family sucked at math. Mariah found her seat in the middle of the front row and took out her notebook. The notebook was bigger than all her others. Mostly because she took more notes and doodled less. That could be why it was also neater…

Ah, she loved math!

Mariah gave her teacher a bright smile as the other students filed in. Her and the teacher had a good teacher/student relationship. It came in handy when she needed to put her math on hold to catch up in her other subjects…like English.

"Psst, do you live on Straight street?" Giggle, giggle, giggle.

"My street is so straight!" Snort, snort, snort.

Mariah was thankful when Ms. Conner cleared her throat and addressed the class.

"I'm glad everyone could make it today," she said in her sarcastic voice. Clearly, she had had one to many smart remarks already that day. Or maybe she was just like Mariah, and was tired of Straight Street. "As you know, we are starting the next lesson plan today and I would like all of you to pay perfect attention to what I have to say. I am tired of answering the same questions lesson after lesson."

Mariah was watching her teacher intently as she went over what they were going to be doing for the next few weeks, when test were, and when their lesson project was due, making sure to mark each date in her notebook. This was the only class she paid attention to and she'd be damned if she missed something just because she forgot to right it down.

All too soon, class came to an end. There was only one class left for the day and Mariah was ready to get the day over with. In her honest opinion, there really wasn't any reason to stay after math class.

"Uh, Mariah, may I speak to you before you leave?" the teacher asked as Mariah packed up her stuff. "I can write you a pass."

Mariah jumped at the chance to stay in the classroom longer. She really didn't need to be on time for her next class…what was it again?

"What do you need?" Mariah eagerly asked.

"I was wondering if you had any free time," Ms. Conner started, her blue eyes narrowing on Mariah behind her thin glasses in a very serious manner. It made Mariah slightly nervous, yet even more intrigued.

Light honey eyes grew large in excitement, the pupils narrowing to slits. "For what?"

"I need you to tutor someone for me."

Mariah's face fell. Mariah wasn't big on the tutoring idea. She found it nearly impossible to sit with some who already didn't understand the subject and wasn't trying to. But she didn't want to disappoint her favorite teacher.

" Who?" she asked.

"Ray Kon." The honest expression on the teacher's face was what caused Mariah to laugh very loudly.

Mariah stopped laughing when she took a good look at her teacher's upset expression. "…Oh, you were serious."

"I don't understand what was so funny about that." The tick in her jaw showed just how angry she was.

Mariah's shoulders slumped as she tried to find a way to explain. "It's just that he's so…perfect. He does everything everyone asks him to do. And he does it right the first time. And with a smile on his face. That's not natural. He just doesn't strike me as the type to need a tutor."

"Well, that shows just how much you don't know about him," the teacher stated. "He is a very good student, but lately has been, well, lacking in math. He's not a perfect student and has been struggling for a while, usually sliding by with a C. However, recently his grade as dropped. I think it's time to get him some help."

Mariah took this in. Okay, so he wasn't as perfect as he seemed. But then again who was? "Are you sure there isn't anyone else?"

"Oh, there's plenty of others who could tutor him. But I figured since he had fine grades in everything but math and you have…sad grades in everything but math, you'd work perfectly."

"So, I tutor him and he tutors me?" Mariah asked.

"Are you looking for a tutor?"

Mariah shook her head.

"Then, no." Ms. Conner shrugged. "He came to me asking for help. Now, if you were to come to me, then that'd be another story."

"No, thanks," said Mariah. "I'm good with my Cs."

"Well, then," the older woman stood up. "are you taking the job, or not?"

Mariah thought about it. Was it really worth her time to tutor Ray Kon, practically prince of the school? "Sure, why not?"

"Great," the teacher gave a knowing smile. "I will tell him tomorrow. Hopefully you can work out a schedule."

Mariah nodded. "Ask him if he can meet me in the library tomorrow after school, for me, will you?"

The teacher nodded, her light brown hair shaking around her face with the movement. "Will do."

Mariah wasn't sure what she'd just agreed to, but it didn't seem good. She was giving up valuable time to teach someone math. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

The next day went by slow after she got to school. Her morning jog and teasing Lee session went by so fast that she thought it might actually be a good day. But, sadly, the student still weren't off the Straight Street joke. Mariah swore she was going to shout next time she heard it.

"Mariah?" She heard someone ask.

Whipping her head around to face the person, her long pink hair licking the person in the process. "What?" she snapped, only to realized it was her math teacher. Smoothing out her shirt, she tried again more politly. "What can I do for you?"

Her teacher gave her a tight smile. "I just thought that you might want to know that Ray said he would be able to met you in the library."

Mariah was confused for a moment. Why would Ray Kon like to met her in the library? Then it all came back to her. "Right, because he sucks at math."

"Mariah," the teacher chastised. "Nobody sucks at math. They simply do not understand it. But with the right help, they can."

"Yeah, tell that to my brother." Mariah joked.

The teacher rolled her blue eyes before giving a tired sigh. "I did. For four years."

Mariah's smile fell. "Oh,"

In the library later that day Mariah tried to find the boy. She didn't know to the library and found herself lost in horror, which, strangely, flowed into romance. Mariah took a moment to laugh at the thought of the two being near each other. What most didn't realize, was that for many, they were a lot closer than they thought.

She found Ray by spotting his shiny black mop, pulled into its usual long pony tail in the back. As she walked closer, she could tell that he was bent over reading something intently. Looking over his should, she found it to be a book she didn't recognize.

"Good book?" she asked, shocking him.

After he managed to slow his heart down, Ray turned to look at his pink haired tutor. "I wouldn't know," he said, answering her question. "I'm only in the first chapter."

Mariah shrugged. "Do you like it so far?"

"So far?" Ray asked. Mariah nodded. "So far nothing's happened, so I'm bored."

Mariah smiled. "Great time to start math then, as long as I'm not dragging you away."

Ray smiled back. "Perfect timing," he agreed.

"Okay," Mariah sighed as she sat down across from him. "what do you need help with?"

Ray gave her a confused look. "I thought she told you that I need help with math."

"No, no," Mariah waved her hand, dismissing the confusion. "I know that. What part of math?"

Clearly, confusion wanted to stay. Ray looked at her. "All of it."

Mariah searched his face for any sign of joking. There was none. Something then dawned on her. "Wow, never thought I'd have one of those conversations."

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Ray.

"One of the obviously stupid conversations."

"Hey!" said Ray, offended, narrowing his dark gold eyes at her.

Mariah rolled her own eyes. "I don't mean you. I mean the conversation. Like, there's a man lost in the woods. Luckily, he has a cell phone.

He calls his friend as is, like, 'Hey, I'm lost.'

His friend says, 'Well, where are you?'

And the lost guy says, 'That's the point. I'm lost.'

Obviously stupid conversations. In this case, I'm the man not lost."

As Ray tired to follow her train of thought he found himself confused again. "Wait, I'm lost."

Mariah nodded. "Exactly."

"What?"

Mariah looked at him. He was so uncomfortable here. "Maybe we should start before it gets too late."

"Yeah, good idea." Ray agreed, ready to drop the previous conversation. No wonder nobody talked to her. She was just weird.

"Where do you want to start?" Mariah asked in a very business like manner.

Ray was prepared. "Well, I brought some of my recent test, so maybe you can see what I'm missing the most."

Mariah furrowed her eyebrows. "You save your test?"

"Yeah, don't you?" Mariah shook her head. "The teachers tell us to do that in case they miss a grade or something."

Mariah almost laughed. "Do you also wipe down your food tray like the lunch staff asks you?"

Ray gave her a guilty look.

"Seriously?" Mariah asked. "Do you do anything anyone with authority tells you to?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" Ray asked as he continued his search for his test. He heard the girl across from him heave a heavy sigh. "What? It's not like I'm doing anything wrong. I'm following the rules."

"You know, just because they tell you something's wrong or right doesn't mean it is." Mariah said, her eyes downcast towards the table they were sitting at.

Ray shook his head in disbelief. "So you're telling me that just because I follow some simple rules, I'm an idiot?"

Mariah shook her head. "No, you can follow the rules, but do them because you want to."

"Whatever," Ray whispered to himself.

Mariah heard him, unfortunately. "Can I ask you something?" she asked. Not waiting for a reply, she asked, "Why do you want a tutor?"

"Because I had a D." Ray answered, slightly embarrassed in having to admit it. "I've turned in all the assignments and my test scores are low. I need to learn this somehow, and working by myself isn't helping."

Mariah shrugged, throwing off his excuse. "A D's passing."

"Not to my parents." Ray sighed. His parents were actually very upset with his unusually low grade.

"Why do you care what they think?"

Ray scoffed at his "tutor." "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Mariah said. "Why do you care what they think?" she repeated.

"They're my parents," Ray pushed, "I'm supposed to care about what they think."

"Really? You're supposed to?" Mariah asked sarcastically.

Ray rose to the challenge. "Yeah. Not all of us have parents who obviously just don't care about them."

Mariah looked at the boy, gritting her teeth. "Fine then. Be a suck-up!" she shouted as she grabbed her stuff. She didn't know what she even thought she could spend her time with someone like him. All he did was try to be perfect for someone other than himself. What was the point in a life like that?

Wow, that was a first chapter! I hope you liked it. If you did, I'll update. Like I said, I'm expecting it to be short. Something within ten to fifteen chapters. Thank you for reading, and if you do, reviewing. If you have any problems or noticed any my many mistakes, review or PM me. Either works.

Thank you.