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Question:

My Answer:

Characters: Jack and Karen again, for Champion Jack.

Summary: I wrote these in math, and decided to incorporate them in a fic. Yes, I get freakishly depressed in math.

Math

"…And so you see, class, you will use these equations throughout your entire life…"

M

A

T

H, Karen wrote as the teacher droned on.

Math is

A

Time-consuming, completely

Horrible waste of brain-power.

"…We'll be having a test next week…"

Try to tell your parents how

Every single

Second of studying was put

To waste.

"…I promise you, if you study you will not fail…"

Find yourself there again, that

Awful place

Inside your mind where

Letters decide your future and you can't do anything about it.

"…Remember, everyone, that math isn't hard if you learn the rules of the type of math you're studying…"

Mash the papers together, blending numbers

And words together until

The white spaces between the lines aren't visible anymore, and

Hatred at yourself mingles with that from your parents.

"…The entire test will be about BEDMAS and order of operations…"

Blink once, twice-

Each time you do, the questions come closer. Take a

Deep breath. Inhale three times, four-

Make your lungs work; don't choke on the

Addition as its equations wrap around your throat.

Submerge yourself in daydreams instead-

"Karen." She jerked in surprise, turning wide eyes onto her seatmate. Jack was gazing at her, shaking his head ever so slightly.

"What?" she asked, covering the page of her acronyms with her hand.

"Don't," he said, removing her hand from the letters, "think like that. You'll be fine."

She blinked, lowering her eyes. "I just don't want to go to summer school again."

He gave her hand the quickest of squeezes before releasing it. "Writing poetry instead of taking notes doesn't help."

She gave him a half-smile. "If you've taken the time to read it, does that mean that you like my poetry?"

He snorted. "I never said it was good poetry."

Giggling, she shut her textbook. "You were thinking it, though."

He shot her an unimpressed look, but she had stooped to put her books into her bag. Part of him was glad- at least she wouldn't catch him smiling.