Sick

Maths

  Scarlet stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, attempting to tame her hair with all the products a girl burdened with the trait of curls could need. She could hear the sounds of the city below her drifting up through the bathroom window, as she finally managed to get the mess of hair she had to sit the way she liked. Gripping her make-up case in her left hand and stumbling back into her room, Scarlet sat down at the vanity. She glanced at her phone to check the time before beginning the intricate art of applying beauty products. Her next step was to pick out clothes to wear for the day. Scarlet slid the doors to the closet open, searching for a pair of dark skinny jeans and her black leather jacket. For a shirt she rummaged through her dirty laundry, finding her favourite old band tee, a black and white misfits shirt, that in all honesty was tattered due to wearing it a tad too often, and dressed. Scarlet took an extra second as she walked out of her oasis, analyzing herself in the mirror. She was curvy, with long brown hair that fell just past the middle of her back. She didn't enjoy assessing herself, so she stared at her shoes in the mirror. She tried to say something nice about herself, but the last words that came out of her mouth were, "You're still not good enough." She took the stairs two by two, grabbing a granola bar from her mum and pecking her on the cheek before walking out the door. "Don't be late for school, Scarlet!" her mother called after her as the screen door slammed shut.

  A cool breeze blew up from the ocean as Lettie walked to her favourite place, a small coffee shop right in the hub of her hometown. The sun gave the false illusion of warmth, but due to the cloudless sky, it felt as though chilled water was poured over the city. Her curly brunette locks flew around, making it difficult to see, but Scarlet reached her destination. She opened the door and entered the small shop, and was greeted by warmth and the sweet aroma of vanilla.

  "Well good morning, Lettie! How are you today?" Jack, the manager, asked as he handed her the pre-made Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel, whipped cream, and creamer.

"Well Jack," Scarlet began, graciously taking the warm cup and taking a sip before handing him a five, "I'm tired and running a bit late, so I'll see you on my way home!" He smiled at her and waved as she left the shop and reentered the chilly streets of Sydney, Australia.

 Five minutes later Lettie was at the entrance to the subway, and she was struggling to pull headphones out of her pocket. "Fuck." She muttered as she attempted to untangle the knot in the cord while swiping her subway card. Scarlet managed to board the right train just in the nick of time, and plopped down into the nearest empty seat. At last the earbuds were untangled and placed in her ears, playing Blink 182.

  Scarlet stared out the window at the passing scenery, mulling over what the school day ahead of her looked like. All of the sudden someone pulled a headphone out of her ear. In a fit of rage, she turned to cuss at them, but her mind went blank when she saw the boy's face. His mop of sandy brown hair fit his facial shape well, and his brown eyes were the highlight of his features. Shiny metal piercings stuck out of his left eyebrow, his ears, and his bottom lip, making his jawline look sharper. His tan was perfectly even, a typical Australian golden brown, and she couldn't help but stare at him.

  "Blink, eh?" he asked, smirking and biting his lip. His voice was somewhat deep, but soft, as if when he talked, his words caressed her ears. Scarlet's eyes widened and she blinked a couple of times before nodding.

  "What's wrong with you? Are you a mute or some shit?" He questioned, flicking her headphone back toward her and raised his hand to his hair to run his fingers through it. Lettie bit her lip as she stared at his raised forearm, which was covered in tattoos of many colors. There were inky blacks, stormy greys, sky blues, and sea greens that seemed to tell a story. His tattoos took Scarlet aback, but finally, she processed what he asked and her brows furrowed.

  "Excuse me, ass hole. You're the one that took out my earbud and caught me off guard." Scarlet accused, then attempted to put her headphone back in. He reached across and grabbed her arm, stopping her. She shivered slightly as her eyes grew wide. He gazed at her for a second, a hardened expression on his face, before he smiled and said,

  "Hi. The name's Ashton. And you are...?"

  Confusion flitted across Lettie's face for a moment, before she stuttered, "um... Sc-Scarlet."

 He studied her features for a moment, then smiled broadly, showing a set of beautiful white, straight teeth. "What a beautiful name." He stated, winking. "It was nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around school," Ashton suggested, then rose and exited the subway. It took a second for Scarlet to realise that it was her stop, too, and she shot up and ran out of the doors as they closed. "Dick," She muttered under her breath as she headed up the stairs and down a block to school.

 She strode through the front doors, heading off to her locker to place her jacket in it. Next thing she knew the bell was ringing and her best friend, Gillian, was walking to their first hour.

  "Have you heard about the new kid?" Gillian asked, tapping her pencil on the desk once she sat. "I heard he just got out of jail. His name is... oh damn... Allen? Aaron?"

  Gillian bit her lip in thought, and Scarlet muttered, "Ashton."

  "That's it!" Gillian exclaimed, tossing her pencil in the air as she threw her hands up.

  As if on cue, the punk boy Scarlet had met on the subway that morning sauntered in and sat in an empty desk in the back row. They made eye contact briefly, Ashton winking at her for the second time that day before turning his head to gaze out the window.

  "That's him! He's the one I was telling you about! And he just... I... he winked at you! Do you even know him?" Gillian fumbled, blue eyes growing to the size of saucers as she brushed her blonde hair off her shoulder.

Scarlet slowly nodded before the tardy bell rang, forcing Gill to turn and face the front in her seat. In walked their teacher, Mr. Dillard, and he greeted the class while placing his briefcase on his desk.

  "We have a new student today." Mr. Dillard announced, raising a hand and motioning to the back. "If you'd please stand, Mr. Irwin, and introduce yourself to your new classmates, that'd be great."

  Scarlet turned to look at him, and she saw him roll his eyes as he flattened his palms on his desk and pushed himself up.

  "Hello. My name is Ashton Irwin, I moved here from Perth, no I did not go to jail, contrary to popular belief, and I'm the drummer in a pretty lousy garage band at the moment. Is that good enough?" He informed the class, slouching slightly and pretending to be bored already, when in fact, math was his best and favourite subject.

  "Yes, thank you, Ashton. You may take a seat. Everyone, please turn to page 594 in your books and read the examples, then try sample problem one." Mr. Dillard instructed.

   Throughout the class, Scarlet continuously found herself losing focus as her mind kept wandering to the boy in the back row. A few times, she even caught herself staring in hisdirection. This wasn't a good thing for her, though, because unlike Ashton, Scarlet was not good at math.

     Five minutes before class ended, Mr. Dillard asked, "Scarlet, will you please come up to the whiteboard and complete the problem I have written down?" Lettie's face went beat red as she stood and made her way to the front of the class. She had no clue how to find the solution, but attempted it anyway.

    "Um, Mr. Dillard, is this the right answer?" Scarlet hesitated as she finished writing.

    He looked at the blue marker on the board quizzically before shaking his head. "No, that answer is incorrect."

   "Slaughtered a problem again." She heard someone whisper behind her. The class erupted in laughter as Scarlet slumped back to her seat, slouching as low as she could in her cold, metal chair. The dismissal bell rang about a minute later, and Scarlet stayed put until almost everyone had dispersed. She gathered up her books and stuffed them in her handbag. As she got up to leave, she felt someone grab her arm.

  "You weren't that far off, you know." Ashton stated, staring into her eyes.

  "Really? What's the right answer?"

  "I'll tell you tonight when I take you out." He smirked, released Scarlet, and strode out of the class.