Diana Maroone's Story

"Do not come back until your grades have improved, Hope Hathaway" yelled Marcus Hathaway as Hope left the house and slammed the door behind her. Hope went straight toward the local riding stable. That's usually where she went after a fight with her parents. "Why can't you be more successful, Like Cherice!" Angela Hathaway-Martin would cry. "Or get honor role like Matthew" Marcus would say. Those words echoed in Hope's head as she walked on the towards the stable. The fight had started with Hope showing her parents the 70% she had gotten on her algebra test. Angela had grabbed it and showed Marcus. Marcus had ripped it up right in front of Hope. "This isn't good enough Hope!" he had yelled. Then Hope had called them rather rude names and went to her room.

She had stayed in there for an hour before her father came knocking. "Pack your bags Hope, I'm sending you to your aunt and uncles. They have a private school where they live" he had told her. "No fucking way!" Hope shouted. She slammed the door in Marcus's face and locked the door. She did pack her bags. After calling Diana and asking if she could stay with her for the rest of the week. "Well well, have you been studying for that English test in a few days?" asked Angela, with her arms full of cooking supplies. "No, I'm going to Diana's" Hope had snarled. "No you are not! that girl never goes to school, and when she does she has her ears full of that damn racket" Marcus told her. "Yes I am. Goodbye" Hope snapped and went for the door.

Once she got to the barn. Hope took out her camera and went to the gelding paddock. There was four horses grazing together. A leopard Appaloosa named Finnigan, a grey welsh pony named Duster, a bay thoroughbred that went by the name of King, and finally Hope's favorite, the palomino quarter horse called Golden Graffiti. Or Graffi for short. After she was done taking pictures, Hope grabbed the halter off the pole and entered the paddock. Instantly, Duster raced off to the far corner of the paddock. Finnigan just watched her apprehensively and King trotted away a little. Graffi stood like a perfect gentleman and his head dropped into her cradled arms. Hope felt better and stroked his head before slipping the halter on. She tied the lead rope to the other side of the halter and swung them over his head. She led him over to the hay holder and stepped onto it. She swung her leg over the left side and hoisted herself up onto him and trotted to the gate. Holding her camera to her neck so it wouldn't get damaged.

She dismounted and opened the gate. Lead Graffi out and back into the barn where she brushed off the access dirt and tacked him up in clean English tack. Just as she was about to lead him out again, her coach. Claudia Mendez stopped her. "How long today?" she asked. "Half an hour. I have fifteen in my bag" she told her. Claudia smiled. "Have fun Hope" and she sauntered her way to the mare field. Hope went into the outdoor arena where three jumps were set up in a small course. Hope trotted Graffi, then cantered him to warm him up first. After she was sure he was okay she began to jump him.

Hope steered him toward the first jump. It was 2,3 diagonal with red and white stripes. They cleared it effortlessly. Graffi tried to cut the corner and speed up a little. Hope forced him into the corner and slowed him down with a series of half-halts. The next jump was a smaller x jump that was plain white with some flowers around it. He stumbled a bit before the jump and Hope almost fell off. She managed to gather him up before the last jump. It was a 2,6 green and blue diagonal. Hope leaned back and put on some extra leg. Graffi sped up and took off to early leaving Hope behind a little but she caught up once they were over it.

Hope cooled him off for a few minutes and dismounted. She had feeling a lot better now. The fight with her parents a mere memory. After releasing him and paying Claudia. Hope went back to town. She passed her street and walked to Diana's. Already she could hear the haunting melody of Evanescence "Sweet Sacrifice" playing in the garage that was basically Diana's cave.

Diana had spent her morning the same as usual. She woke up on the cot in the garage. After deciding she did want to wake up. She sneaked into the house to grab some clothes and serial. Then she had received the call from Hope. She spent the rest of the day clearing the messy garage of it's chocolate wrappers and empty pizza boxes. All through the day her music played. Diana drew some pictures of her friends and was just starting to draw Hope's wheat colored hair when there came a knock on the garage door.

"Hey, come on in" Diana told her. She was resisting the urge not to sing along to the music so she wouldn't look like an idiot. "Why weren't you at school yesterday?" Hope asked, collapsing into the cot. She jumped back up as a crackling sound came from underneath. "Sorry, Coke can" Diana laughed then shrugged. "Well I missed the bus and my parents were to lazy to drive so I figured I should just stay home and...work"

'Is today the day...?' I kept thinking. Over and over again as I stared at my watch, as I did every new day that came to greet me. 'Is today the day...?' I constantly find myself asking that question... Just hoping that I'm wrong today too, that it's just another day that I can use to my advantage. And while I know that it at least shouldn't be, I also know that things don't always go according to how they're designed... 'Is today the day...?' My small bedroom in my tiny apartment was completely silent at the moment; the only sound that could be heard was the gentle ticking of my pocket watch, which, to me, sounded as though it were as heavy as the Elizabeth Tower's hands. The sound had become so regular for me, it now constantly echoed in my mind, even when I wasn't looking at the watch itself... Some may call this torture, but I look at it as a chance to survive the coming fire...

I was merely laying on my back, in bed, with a hand behind my head, making it seem like I was just relaxing. A typical thing a teenager like myself would be doing for no apparent reason, right? Wrong. I wasn't a typical teenager in the slightest... I've already been down this road several times, and it became old a long ago. But as for now, it's all I know. It was already morning, and I, 'Nathan Hartwell', was currently late for first period. I was debating on whether or not to even GO to school, nevermind making it in time for first period... I let out a sigh as I looked down at my watch, knowing what my friends would say if they knew I was really like this. The only word I could currently think of that would fit my attitude as of yet, would be "emo". It's rather stereotypical, and I don't think I fit all the requirements of the title, but it's likely the closest matching one for someone as hopeless as I am. "No one understands me", "Nothing matters to me", "My dark heart is only outmatched by my dark soul"... Blah. I think nothing of the sort. I'm glad no one understands the real me, and although the only things that matter to me are very few, they still exist, only consisting of my friends, and agenda towards keeping them alive and well... Which never seems to go the way I want. Heh, maybe I should blame my "dark heart and soul" for that, huh?

"Is today the day....." I said out loud this time, now pausing, as if I were waiting for someone to respond. No one did, of course, as I was the only one living here. I left my 'parents' place last year after saving up enough to get this place. Couldn't handle being in a new family for the umpteenth time... After doing so over around 5 times thus far, it gets a little tiring... Oh, you must think I'm an orphan or something. Well, in a sense, I guess that could be true, but not the type you're thinking of. Just take my word for it; you don't wanna know... It'll just complicate things. Trust me.

After getting tired of mindlessly looking at my watch for the past hour or so, I decided to put it back in my pocket, and raise myself up. I was fully dressed, mind you. As I said; I was debating on whether or not to go to school today. Having said that, I already dressed myself for the day. "I guess I might as well... If I don't, 'she' might get on my case..." I said with a sigh. The person I was referring to is a close friend of mine. One of the few who have...such a 'strong' memory, like myself... Yeah, let's put it like that for now... This person is can be quite invading when it comes to her friends, and even more so when it comes to me, which only burdens me more... She of course MEANS well, but all it honestly does is set me back, which is NOT what I need in this life... Either way, if I leave now, I should be able to make it in time for second period, so I suppose I should head out now... This was the start of the first day of what I had hoped to be my first REAL life, as well as my last... Which, as any would guess, is how it is for everyone...right?

After grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I stepped up to my front door, and pulled out my pocket watch once more, giving it a check... "Is today the day...we die...?" I said, an obvious melancholic tone in my voice, only propelling the "emo" theory even further for anyone who's reading this, I'm sure. Trust me though, I'm not. I promise. "Well... Time to start it, either way..." I finished, re-pocketing my watch, and setting out for school... This was how most of my days began. Me, waking up, eating some breakfast, getting dressed...and then debating whether or not I should become a friggin' recluse for the rest of eternity...only to end up deciding to go to school in the end. I suppose it was a subconscious thing-- the reason why I always decided to go anyway, I mean... It likely has something to do with the LAST time I cut school... I shudder now even at the thought of it... And so, with that, I'll go ahead and speed up time, so as to meet up with the rest of the world. No, no. This isn't an ability of mine. Just a time skip...





Yet another boring day of school. Sure, I got to see some of my friends today, but nothing ever changes. It's all such a waste of time, what with our damn lives being predetermined failures... Okay, THAT sounded pretty emo, I'll admit, but seriously...I'm not.

Of all the things I could be doing right now, I was instead...sitting up in a tree...still at school. I had a good view of the layout from here, and could nearly see everything I needed to. I caught Michael having some trouble with computer monitors before he left in search of help, after failing at it himself, which I had even thought to help the poor guy myself, but figured I'd best stay out of it, knowing that it would only embarrass him if he found out I had seen him so clearly. And what would it look like, having one of your closest friends watching over you like a hawk... I was also able to see Jeremy and Amy having a heated conversation in the school halls. I swear, those two always seem to clash at some point each day... Always have for a long time...like a REALLY long time. After cracking a slight smile, I thought about how Jeremy was still trying his damnedest to hide his little 'secret', which I honestly thought was pretty awesome. Of course, I'd never confront him about it. For obvious reasons. Wasalu was likely hanging out in the soccer field, which was blocked by the school from my position, and couldn't make it out clearly. Only seeing the very far-right side, which stretched out passed the school's main building. But he obviously wasn't participating in today's practice, which he often skipped out on... Another athletic friend of mine, Hannah, was probably kicking some ass on the tennis courts, like usual. She was pretty good, and I honestly felt that I had to commend her for it, even if it was only to myself.

The rest of my friends, I had no positive knowledge of at the moment. They either weren't at school, or were still in classes, which I obviously had no way of knowing from here. Although, Hope liked riding her horse as often as she could, so she was likely out riding at this moment, but she, as well as Diana, were rather unpredictable at times, despite me learning everyone's schedules, hobbies, as well as the way their minds work fairly well...again... They still tend to surprise me quite a bit. Which is what I thought having such good friends was all about. These thoughts made me smile, but I quickly lost it when I thought about how I didn't fit such a category... The whole reason why things are so broken for us in our lives, was because of me, after all... But I could never tell them that... Too afraid of their likely resentment towards me... These friends are the only constant thing in my existence, and if I lose that... "I'll have nothing..." I said out loud to myself in a low tone. But, if one good thing were to come of today, it would be that today wasn't...'the day'... However...it was only 4 in the afternoon, so there was still a lot of time left for this 'day' to play out...

Diana went and sat at her desk. She picked up a perfectly sharpened pencil and began to sketch Hope's outline. Hope dug into her packpage and pulled out her laptop and the USB for her camera and loaded the pictures of the horses onto it. Diana moved on to Hope's face. Diana was an extremely perceptive when it came to detail and she took almost ten minutes just to finish both eyes. It took her half an hour just to finish Hope's entire face. Hope studied the pictures and deleted the ones she didn't want. Both girls were quiet as they worked over what they did best.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Hope asked. Diana nodded. "Macaroni, T.V dinners, leftover pizza's and icecream. Take your pick" she said. Hope contemplated for a minute. "I guess pizza works" she replied. Diana stood up and left the garage. She went into her kitchen where her oldest brother; Chriss and his girlfriend Cheyanne sat making out on top of the island. They broke apart as Diana entered. "Hey Lesby" Chriss commented. Cheyanne threw her head back and laughed. "F off" Diana snapped. She opened the fridge and pulled out the pizza. "Thought I heard noises coming from the garage. One of your girlfriends over?" he asked teasingly. "Shut up Chriss!" Diana yelled. Cheyanne laughed again. "Laugh at this bitch" Diana snapped. She grabbed an apple and launched it her head. It hit her right in the jaw.

Diana then ran back to the garage. She wasn't exactly lesbian. Diana liked to think of herself as more bisexual. She preferred boys but happened to think some woman could be attractive too. She hadn't even told Chriss that. He just assumed because Diana never had a boyfriend. She wiped away the tears that had formed before entering the garage. Hope looked up. She had put away her laptop and was lying on her back starring at the ceiling. Diana gave her a slice of pizza and went back to her desk.

"I would have grabbed you a drink but my brother and his girlfriend were being jerks and I just wanted to get out of there" Diana told her. Hope nodded. "I heard what they said, Diana. Just ignore them. They have no idea what they are talking about" She said. Diana shrugged but didn't reply. She went back to her drawing and the two girls because silent again. "We should go find someone to hang out with" Hope chirped. She stood up and pulled Diana toward the garage door. Diana shrugged. "Alright fine. Whatever makes you happy" she replied sarcastically. Together the two girls walked up and down the streets looking for their other friends.