Ray watched as Mariah rushed into their study room. The instant he saw the bright pink hair breeze past the window, he felt a rush of happiness he hadn't anticipated, though he had thought about yesterday afternoon all day long. It was really the first time he realized what his mom meant when she said that they come from different worlds. It didn't bother him; if anything, it made him more curious to know her. Mariah always seemed to know how to handle herself, no matter the situation she was in. He found himself envious of her abilities.

"What's that stupid smile for," she said giving him a weird look.

"Just happy to see you,"

"Well, I'm about to break your heart," she said, pulling out the folder she had created for just their sessions.

She pulled his textbook open between the two of them. Beginning from where they left off, she quickly ran through the explanation for the next set of problems.

Ray noticed that her tone was flatter than usual and she didn't teach with the same level of energy, but he followed the best he could. He tried to keep his questions to a minimum. When she gave him a worksheet to review what they'd just gone over, she pulled out her own textbook and notes.

He recalled how stressed she'd been about getting her own work done and felt another pang of guilt. But he was already doing everything he could to make it easier on her.

"Finished," he said, pushing it back toward her.

She looked at it with confusion before looking up at the clock on the wall. "That was fast,"

"You're a good teacher,"

She took it, reading it over. "You made a few mistakes here,"

Mariah walked him back through the problems, pointing out the part of the problem he had gotten confused. He was aware this lack of concentration was because he was distracted for the entire session. Mariah didn't seem like herself. Ray hadn't expected all her problems to evaporate just because he treated her for a meal, but he couldn't deny he was bothered.

He nudged her as they packed up. "I had fun yesterday,"

"Yeah, me too," Mariah nodded. She graced him with a wide smile, looking more like herself for the first time all afternoon. "Thanks, again."

"I looked for you this morning,"

"I was a little late," she admitted. "I missed my bus and had to wake my dad up to bring me. He was not happy,"

"Oh."

"And I had a Psych test today. I'm not sure how I did,"

He pulled her to a stop. "You'll let me know if you need a break,"

She rolled her eyes. "Not you too! Ray, I'm not going to throw my hard work away for you,"

"Okay, because I don't -"

"If I feel like I can't handle it, I'll let you know."

"Okay,"

"Alright,"

They stared at each for a moment longer. Her eyes had that fire he'd gotten used to seeing in her. He felt a strange accomplishment at bring it back. It had taken a while to get comfortable, but he was getting used to her unusual rhythm.

"What did you mean, 'not you too,'?" he asked as they continued walking, making it out of the library and into the courtyard. The grass was starting to brown with the colder weather, crunching under their feet as they walked.

Mariah laughed lightly. "My mom and dad and my brother having all indicated one way or another that this is a bad idea for a variety of reasons,"

"Really?"

"Yep," she stopped again to look at him. "And I told them the same thing I told you: I got this."

"Good," he nodded. Ray didn't know how he should feel that both of their families were so against them even being friends. Who knew it would take so much effort? "Do you want to get a drink or something before I drop you off?"

Mariah paused, tilting her eyes. "You're taking me home again?"

"Yeah, of course,"

Her golden eyes swirled and Ray didn't know if he should be worried or not. "You know those miles are going to add up, right?"

"My parents pay for my gas,"

Mariah smiled. "And they're going to feel it where it hurts,"

Ray decided he should probably be worried.

But he didn't care.

She made herself comfortable in the front seat, messing with his dials until her phone was connected to his Bluetooth. Her phone came up as Galux and he didn't know what that meant but it felt very on-brand for Mariah.

The smooth electronic beats streamed through his speakers, paired with light, airy voice. Though it wasn't his taste, as she hung her hand out the window to play with the air passing them, he found himself liking it more and more.

She directed him to a coffee drive-thru she liked and they sipped their iced drinks as she played with the songs. Before long, he pulled in front of her house, parking while she gathered her things.

"You know," she said as she exited, "you can't keep treating me every day,"

"It's not every day. Just days when we have our sessions,"

"Aren't you clever,"

"Are you home earlier than you would be if you were on the bus?"

"Yeah,"

"Then stop complaining and take the offer, Mariah,"

She looked at him, as if she was considering something. Finally, she broke away. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," he replied, waving as she went up to her porch and disappeared through the front door. After the door shut, he took off. The drive home was silent.

He enjoyed the peace, but he missed her.

When he got home, his mom was in the kitchen working on dinner. It had been quiet in the house since the night everything had come to the climax. It was normally a quiet house, being just the three of them in such a large space, but this was a different quiet. It blanketed the house like a heavy snow. Sometimes just moving around his mom felt like it took more effort than it should.

Ray greeted her kindly, like he usually did. His father made it clear that no matter what was happening, he couldn't let small things come between them. Ray didn't think it was a small matter, her grudge against Mariah and her family, but Ray couldn't disrespect his dad.

"How was your day?" he asked when she didn't answer.

"Fine,"

"Great," Ray said to her back. Along with giving her the cold shoulder, she had also refused to look at him when she could.

If this continued, he'd leave for college having spent his last year fight with his mom. After that, the crack between them would only expand, turning into a trench and eventually a canyon.

"You've been out for a long time, you must have some work to get to,"

She knew where he had been, but she'd never said it. She always danced around his sessions and he'd already told them he'd be giving her a ride home on tutoring days. She could never say it out loud, purging Mariah from all their conversations, as short as they were.

"I met Mariah's dad yesterday," Ray watched as her back straightened she froze in place. He told himself that he was just being honest, like he was taught to be. But he knew deep inside that he was being vengeful.

"He seemed nice," he continued. "She's a lot like him,"

He didn't know if that was true, having only spent a few minutes with the man. She'd never know the difference.

His mom continued her work without a word. Ray went up to his room, feeling bitter.

The rest of his evening, he worked on his homework, joined his parents for a silent dinner, before going out for a nightly jog. The sun had set a while ago, porch lights and street lamps lit the street and it felt peaceful being out of his stuffy house.

He returned, feeling relaxed and looking forward to a shower and bed. His dad caught him before he got upstairs.

"Your mom told me you met Jon yesterday,"

Ray waited before answering, considering his answers. He had said it to irritate his mom, but it seemed that his dad was the one bothered by it. "Only for a moment. Mariah introduced me."

True enough, he thought.

"Okay, just be careful,"

"Be careful of what? You need to be clear, Dad."

His dad nodded. Ray could see the long lines on his face, drawn from years of hard work. He'd always admired the man for his dedication to his family, and patience he extended to everybody he met.

"Just because Jon Wong lives the way he does now does not mean he doesn't have influence. I told you he and your mom dated during college, correct,"

Ray nodded.

"Well, they met during college but they were actually matched by their parents,"

Ray thought of his mother's parents. They were warm and affectionate with him, but they treated his father with a tolerant coolness, much like the one his mother was treating him with now.

"So, you were their second pick,"

"Oh no, I wasn't a choice at all. Your grandparents very much hated me. Much like your new friend's grandparent's hate her mother. I just happened to marry up. Jon Wong married down."

It hit Ray, suddenly, that Mariah had a connection to his world other than their school. He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him earlier. Obviously, his mom would never even entertain the idea of a relationship with someone who wasn't of her caliber.

With that logic, Mariah's dad had to have been a part of their social circle at one point. He tried to image the man he met yesterday – tall and broad – at the dinner parties his parents went to, dressed in black ties and suits.

He tried to image Mariah in a puffy dress but it was too difficult to piece together.

"So, just be careful with the girl, okay," his dad reiterated. "From what I know, Jon doesn't talk to his parents anymore, but I don't want you to get on their radar either."

Ray didn't understand what his dad meant and he didn't think it mattered. There wasn't anything he could do to hurt Mariah anyway.

"Sure," he agreed easily, eager to be allowed upstairs to shower.

After the shower, relaxed on his bed. Usually, he'd try to meditate to clear his mind, but he knew there was no clearing his mind at that point; there was something bugging him.

Instead of meditating, he stared at his phone. He knew what he wanted to look for, but he wondered if that would be an invasion of privacy, knowing he couldn't predict Mariah's reaction. Giving in, he typed Jon Wong into the search bar. A number of articles came up, most dated years earlier. He was a passing line in a lot of the articles about his parents – specifically about his father's company.

Ray really thought he should have made the connection earlier. How many Wong's could there be in their city?

Still, he struggled to align the Mariah he'd come to know with the granddaughter of the city's real estate mogul.

The next morning, Ray waited for Mariah. Tyson was with him as usual but Hilary had something to do with some committee she was on. He tried to get more information from her. She evaded every question. Ray knew she was being evasive and she knew he knew, but he let it go, knowing she'd open up to him sooner or later.

Tyson talked adamantly about his current game of choice, storyline he thought was dragging and cut scenes, but his followers had been increasing lately so that was good.

Ray followed the best he could, being encouraging. Tyson had a talent, whether Hilary liked to admit it or not. He was popular in his little corner of the internet and Ray had begun to believe he might actually have a future there. He certainly had the personality to be a fan favorite.

His attention diverted when he saw Mariah crossing the courtyard. Tyson nudged him.

"I know I'm not supposed to say it," he said, nodding toward Mariah, "but, uh, that's a crush, buddy,"

Ray rolled his eyes and didn't bother to deny it, figuring eventually he'd lose interest and forget.

"But I can't say that I blame you,"

Ray cut his eyes to see Tyson watch Mariah too. He took the opportunity to remove his backward cap and smack him across the back of the head.

"Hey," Tyson shouted, grabbed his cap back. He glared at Ray, who found he enjoyed that more than he thought he would. "Okay, Hilary, I get it,"

Mariah laughed as she approached them. "Did I miss something?"

"Not at all, it's just a normal day here: I'm the punching bag of my so-called friends,"

She arched a brow. "Somehow, I get the impression you're just being dramatic,"

"Absolutely not! You'll see if you hang around long enough."

"If I hang around long enough, can I use you as a punching bag," she smiled mockingly, "I promise not to hit too hard."

Ray had to hold back a laugh. Tyson grumbled, "You two deserve each other,"

"I'll see you later," Mariah said to Ray, "I've got to go meet with one of my teachers, so..." she trailed off.

Ray nodded, disappointed that she was leaving so soon. "Yeah. Later," His eyes followed her she walked into the building. Once she was gone, he turned back to Tyson who was watching him in a rare moment of silence.

"What?"

Tyson shrugged, smirk sliding onto his face. "Nothing."

"Don't make me hit you again," Ray said, shoving him.

They joined the crowd of students milling about before school started. It was the same crowd of students he'd been attending school with since he was a child, give or take a few changes. It was always the same faces, the same names.

Knowing what he knew now, he wondered what his life would have been like if Mariah had been in that crowd since the beginning, if he'd grown up knowing her like all the others. Would she rule the school like Ming-Ming, one of the pretty girls? Would she be stuck-up like Emily Watson and Queen?

He liked to think that she'd somehow still be the same, though he still doubted it.

Truth was, the kind of money her family had was the kind that went to private school. He probably wouldn't have known her anyway.

At lunch, Mariah was nowhere to be seen. Again. Ray worried that she was taking a nap somewhere again, not eating.

"She's literally not your responsibility," Tyson said around a forkful. He was being strangely intuitive and it was starting to irritate Ray.

Hilary, who'd been staring at her phone under the table, looked up. "What?"

"He's staring at the door waiting for Mariah to walk in, getting increasingly worried every second she's not here," Tyson mumbled, leaning on one hand propped up on the table, "and you're looking at something, God knows what, so now I have to do your job and keep him in line."

Both Ray and Hilary protested at their descriptions.

"Tyson, let Ray worry about his new friend,"

"She's been taking care of herself ever since she got here. Ray's only acknowledged her for the past month. I think she'll be fine,"

Hilary looked to Ray, regretfully. "He's got a point. I know you want to see her, but we don't know what her normal routine is. Maybe she doesn't come to the lunchroom all that often."

Tyson swung out both his arms. "Everyone, stop what you're doing! Hilary's agreeing with me. Hell must be freezing over."

"Tyson," Hilary groaned, pushing his arms out of the way. "And I'm not here to just keep you in line. I do that because you need it. Don't you think I'd like not to be your substitute mommy while you're at school."

"Nobody asked you,"

"You would have failed your first and second year of high school if you didn't have me."

"Then I would have failed. No big deal."

Hilary put her phone in her bag and picked up her tray. "I give up. You're impossible."

Ray watched in shock as she walked away. In all the years that they'd been friends, Hilary had relented at times, but she never walked away from them. She dumped her uneaten food in the trash before pushing through the doors, leaving the noisy lunchroom.

Tyson seemed to be in just as much awe. "I broke her," he said to Ray, eyes wide.

"And you're going to fix her. Whatever you have to do," Ray replied, "even if that means groveling."

Tyson frowned, stabbing at his lunch with a despondent spirit. "Yeah, I know the drill,"

For the rest of the day, Ray tried to catch Hilary but she was hard to pin down. They shared the last class of the day together and Ray thought that he'd finally get his chance, but she walked in with a note and explained something to the teacher.

The teacher smiled and nodded. She told Hilary to write down the homework from the board before leaving.

Taking the hint that Hilary was not staying for class, Ray got up from his seat and came over.

She smiled at him, writing in her planner. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing," Ray answered. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"

Hilary was good at putting on a positive attitude and faking it, but Ray knew her better than that.

"What happened at lunch?"

"Tyson just gets to me sometimes. Why can't he just admit that he needs our help? He'd have failed out by now if it wasn't for us keeping him on track."

"If that's all," Ray left room for her to fill in, knowing she wasn't being completely honest.

Hilary shut her planner. "Yeah, that's all. Tyson will apologize like you always make him, and we'll go back to the way it was."

"Tyson doesn't just apologize because I make him,"

"Then why does he?"

Before Ray could answer, the bell rang and the teacher shooed him back to his desk. Hilary left without another word. He sat at his desk, taking notes but not really comprehending anything. He'd always thought that the difference the three of them shared made them good friends, if not a little odd.

Had Hilary always felt this way? Had he been missing this glaring problem all along? Pretending, like Tyson, that she enjoyed her role in their group?

When class was released, Ray did not feel very much like going for another math less, but he was eager to see Mariah nonetheless.

He was there before her, again. He waited patiently as she came barreling through the door in her usual air of chaos.

"Sorry," she said, "got caught up talking to Mrs. Kincaid and – hey, you don't look happy."

"I'm fine," Ray put on a smile, but even he could feel how fake it was.

Mariah looked at him, as if waiting for more. "Well, spill," she said when he was quiet. "If we're going to do this friend thing – which you seem determined to do – you have to share when you're going through something. I really hope you're good at complaining, though. I hate listening to people who are some boring when they vent."

Ray weighed her words. "Is it their job to entertain you?"

"No, of course not," Mariah reluctantly admitted, "but if I'm going to listen to you, the least you could be is funny."

Ray waited.

"Well?"

"I'm afraid of not being funny,"

"Just spit it out. We'll work on the funny later; add it to my list of things to teach you."

"That list is getting long,"

"Yep," she held up her fingers to count them off, "Good food; good music; good humor,"

"Don't forget math,"

"Oh, man. You got me," she laughed with sarcasm. Then, more sincerely, she said, "See, you can be funny."

Ray nodded. "Tyson and Hilary are fighting,"

"Aren't they always kind of fight. Like, isn't that they're thing?"

"This is more serious than they're everyday bickering. And now I think me and Hilary are fighting, but I can't be sure."

"You're not sure?"

"It's hard to figure out with her,"

Mariah shook her head. "Have you asked her?"

"She'd deny it,"

"Then isn't her fault there's a problem?"

"I don't really care about who's at fault," Ray explained, "I just want to solve the problem."

Mariah smiled. "Ah, that's really sweet of you. And yet, it will get you nowhere."

"No?"

"No. Here's what you do," Mariah cleared her throat. "Go to Hilary, tell her you agree with her, even if you don't. Put all the blame on Tyson. She'll tell you what she's mad about, if she's mad. With that information, you can then go to about solving it."

"You want me to lie to her?"

"It's not really lying. You don't know what the problem is, so maybe you do agree with her. More than that, you're creating a common enemy by putting the blame on Tyson, which will make her feel secure enough to tell you."

"This all seems really manipulative. And I don't want Tyson to be the enemy," Despite his reservations about her method, he found her train of thought interesting.

"If she's already fighting with Tyson, then it's too late; he's the enemy. It just depends on what side you're on."

"Okay, how about this," Ray leaned forward on the table. Their heads dipped towards each other as though they were conspiring and negotiating. He guessed, in a way, they were. "I go to Hilary and tell her that I want to be on her side – which is the truth. Then she tells me what the problem is, and then I can fix it."

Mariah mulled in over. Her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that might work."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "You know Hilary better than I do."

Ray laughed. "You're really good at talking in circles around people, huh?"

"I don't know what that means, but thank you?" She'd taken to rocking back in her chair, pretending to be pleased with herself.

"You must get that from your grandfather,"

He knew he dropped a bomb when her chair landed flat on the ground.

She shook her head. "No, my grandfather worked labor his entire life. Didn't talk much. Passed away a few years ago."

"What about on your father's side?" He had been reminded of when she mentioned her grandmother had been sick five years ago. He found out in his research that she too had passed on. There was even a picture of the family, the only time he saw all of them together.

It was of her grandfather, her father, what he could only assume was her brother, and her, bowing their heads at the funeral. The caption read "Mr. Wong and family" and nothing else.

Mariah nodded. "Yeah, I guess he's probably got a way with words. Wouldn't really know." Then she looked at him, leaning on her hand. "What'd you read online,"

Again, watched as her eyes swirled with something he couldn't identify – it looked like a playful, teasing stare, but there was a hard edge that made him second guess everything he thought he knew.

"I guess what anyone else would find," Ray chose his words carefully, trying not to give too much away. "Why don't you tell people that you're of those Wong's? You know you'd get treated a lot differently."

Mariah's charming smile slipped into something vile. "That madman disowned my father the second he fell in love with someone not up to his standards. Why would I associate myself with him?"

"That's one way of looking at it,"

"Is there another?"

"You have lofty goals. Why not use every stepping stone to reach them?"

"Because, Ray," she said evenly, "some stepping stone will slip from under you, and then you'll wash away with the current. When your climbing to high places, you've got to watch what you depend on. Not everything is a helping hand."

She said with such confidence, such force, he knew she'd thought about it before and this had become a deeply held belief.

"Now," she said, breaking the tense silence with a single clap, "let's work on algebra."

He agreed readily, happy to be out of the conversation. They'd wasted enough time just talking. She rushed through her explanation before giving him a practice sheet.

"Don't worry if you don't get all of them; we can always review in the car," she seemed pleased with this option, happier again now that she was talking about a subject she liked.

He did well enough that she deemed it a pass. No extra studying for him, she cheered as she packed her bag.

In the car, she hooked her phone up again, playing a different playlist – this one heavier and more frenzied. He didn't like it as much as he liked the stuff from before but he liked that he could understand her mood through the music she picked.

As he pulled into her neighborhood, he knew his time with her was dwindling. It was the last day of their sessions for the week and if tomorrow went as the other days had, he'd see her for a total of five minutes before class and then not at all.

Ray found he didn't like that. He was already missing her company and she wasn't even gone.

"Do you wanna hang out this weekend," he surprised himself by asking.

Mariah looked surprised, too. He parked in front of her home, turning towards her as he waited for her answer.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"There's this diner that everyone hangs out at," he said. He and Tyson and Hilary stopped by sometimes. It was usually crowded on the weekends because there was a movie theater across the street, so it was an easy stop.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of it,"

"So, do you want to go?"

Mariah hummed. "I usually hang out with Julia and Mariam on the weekends," she said slowly. "It's the only time we get, really."

Ray nodded. She had told him that. "Well, this is totally casual. Everyone will be there. You should just bring them."

"Julia and Mariam?" she laughed, "to hang out with you, Hilary, and Tyson."

"Yeah, it'll be fun,"

"I thought Tyson and Hilary were fighting,"

"But we have a plan for that," Ray reminded her. "And how will you know if it works if you don't come?"

Mariah giggled, rolling her eyes. "Okay, I'll run it past them and let you know."

"Okay, cool."

"Yeah," she said, getting out of the car, "cool."

He couldn't be sure, but he got the distinct feeling she was making fun of him.

Still, she agreed to go. Or at least she didn't say no. And that was something.

Thank you for your time in reading this. I'm having a lot of fun writing the dual perspectives - do you like it?

Konix