Bitchin' Mara Jade

Chapter One

Mara folded her arms and stared at the board. She hated where she was. She hated everyone and the tables, and the chairs and the floors and the whole private school. She hated pretentious snobs. Worse than that she hated pretentious American snobs and British snobs all in the same school. She punched one person in her last school and maybe broke one girls arm when she was young...and that constituted her being put across the pond to America - in the middle of nowhere!

"Good morning class." a voice said in a neutral but friendly tone. She looked to see the teacher walking in with a briefcase. "Since this year I'm taking Math and English and I have the same people for both classes... I'm going to make English in the morning on this day and math in the afternoon. And the rest of the time math is in the middle of the day so we don't have to swap about the other days."

Mara's arm unfolded and she leaned forward on her desk staring at her teacher as he began to write up the date on the board. "So I'll give some light work to get your brains back into the swing of things. So if we could just..."

The teacher caught Mara staring at him intently. He was never used to his students being that keen. He'd never seen her before.

"...go over the syllabus." he continued as Mara slouched back in her chair, her arms outstretched on the desk and her hands clasped. "And then I'll give you a small assignment for next day. We all happy with that?"

"That depends on your definition of small. Men don't usually have proper perception of size." Mara spoke up.

"What is your name?" Luke asked. He wasn't annoyed at her, he was actually amused.

"Mara. Mara Jade. What's your name?"

"Mr Skywalker."

"Okay. So Mr Land Crawler......"

"Skywalker." he corrected, trying not to smile.

"That's what I said." Mara replied and blinked. "How do I go about dropping this class?"

"You ask your parents." he said and turned to write on the boss. Mara shrugged. Well she was screwed.

*

At the end of the week on last period - English - , Mara was asked to wait behind. When everyone was gone she got up from her desk, her bag over her shoulder and she made her way up to the desk. "So what's up Land Crawler?"

"Skywalker." he corrected her.

"That's what I said right?" Mara asked and smiled at him. "So. We're finally alone together. I've been dreaming of this moment just as much as you have."

"Amusing Mara." Skywalker replied and handed her, her assignment back.

"Don't say my name like it's boring. I can make you enjoy it."

Luke swallowed.

"So what's wrong with my work this time..."

"Nothing major. I don't know how you grades have been at your last school but..."

She looked at her assignment. "A minus. Wow. It's like a B plus but better."

"When I said to the class to write their summer holidays in a prose format as if they were characters... I didn't expect you to take that literally. There was a beheading on Blackpool beach in your story."

"How do you know that didn't happen?"

"Instinct." he replied.

"What would you know about instinct? You seem too refined to know what that is?"

She got closer to him. "So...What would you say if I told you that beheading really happened?"

"You're a little bit too close." Luke swallowed.

"You're avoiding my question."

"I don't think it's an answer to that question you're wanting. This will not get you suspended from this school Mara. You won't leave. I know that's what you're hoping for but I'm not the tool for it."

"Whatever you say Mr Skywalker." Mara stepped back and turned away from him, walking out the door.

*

It annoyed Mara how she couldn't stop stealing him glances, listening to him. Wanting to work hard for him. Of all the people of whom she could have a crush on, it had to be a teacher. Why? He wasn't the most handsome of people but he seemed that way. Maybe it was because he didn't want her? Teachers at her last school had no problem wanting to get close to her. Of course she didn't want to get close to them.

Now the situation was the other way around. At first it had been an attempt to annoy him. Be rebellious at school but now it was more than that. She wanted him in a completely different way.

He probably had a wife or girlfriend. That was in a world where she had a chance.

As it approached Christmas time, Mara began to get really annoyed. Her dad kept putting her off about whether she was coming home or not. In the end she just realised he didn't want her. Nor did her mum.

She felt like an orphan.

She had no one. Only an idolisation of a teacher and a cat that snuck into her lonely dorm which no one shared with her.

All that bottled up sadness, desperation and anger wasn't a good thing because one day she'd snap. 

As she walked in the courtyard the high school's most pretentious richest and poshest jock began to cat call her, that was when she snapped. She'd had enough.

She turned around and walked closer to her him.

"Oh Mara came to say hi! Finally! Want to come home with me for Christmas? I'll give you some nice presents. You can be naughty and nice I'm still gonna spank you anyway!"

"I love spending time in graveyards actually!"

She punched him. He pushed her into the wall and she pushed back. Before she knew it they were in the ground, punching each other. Then she got the upper hand. She was on top of him and punching him in the chest, the stomach and the face.

"Do you think it's acceptable to treat people that way?"

"No?"

"Then why did you do it?" She began to shake him. "Do you think girls are toys that you fuck in the park?"

"I'm sorry! Please!"

She got up and put pressure on his arm with the heel of her boot. "Say it again?" She stomped on it.

"Please!"

"One more time!" she stomped again.

"Please!" he began to cry. "Please!"

"Please." another voice said, a handing placing itself on her bare arm. Oddly enough she didn't remember wearing a short sleeve shirt. Ah. Her shirt been torn in the fight. "Calm down Mara. Step back." 

Mara swallowed because the voice asking her to stop even though she didn't want to stop was the one person she'd probably listen to. Mr Skywalker.