Mary Smith's Story

It's a dreary Monday in Black Falls. The sky shows a chance of rain. In about two hours, school will start. The dam that holds together the water flow of the river is full as always, and the buildings seem almost as eerie than yesterday. The church was probably the only thing in town that had probably gotten a new paint job recently, unlike the others that seemed a thousand years old. About every person who has a job is already at their job, and just now the rains starts as every child wakes up to got to school, which the like to call "Prison".

Ali woke up with boxes all around her bed. I hate unpacking, she declared to herself. Ali got out of bed and looked over herself in the mirror. Skinny, wearing black basket ball shorts and a white thank top, no makeup on, hair in a bun... Ali rolled her eyes. She walked to the boxes that were stacked and pulled out some clothes from one of them. A Billy Joel shirt, ripped jeans, and a pair of classic Chuck Taylor's. Ali brushed out her hair, and it fell perfectly in place. She put on her regular makeup, and made her way down stairs.

Cadan was making pancakes and waffles. Ali laughed. The looked a lot similar. Cadan and her had the same hair color and eye color. The only thing different was Cadan was tanner and more muscular. "You're going to do this every morning... right?" Ali went over to hug her big brother. Cadan patted her head. "It's the first day of school. Well, for us, anyway." "Wheres our Moma?" "Dr. Snore gave her an earful last night about his nightly routine." Ali scoffed. "If he didn't marry Moma I would've sworn he was gay." The talk continued until Savvi came down. Savvi had straight blonde hair and she was wearing skinny jeans, a loose pink pastel tank top, a mint rain jacket and boots to match. Her icy blue eyes slide to the siblings. "Well, are you finished?" she said in a bratty attitude. "Yea, one sec." said Cadan as he made the last pancake.

They all sat down together, not speaking a word. Then, Cadan and Ali's mom came down in a grey robe with Erik, still in his dinosaur footy pajamas, in her arms. "Good morning, guys!" "Good morning, Moma." said Cadan and Ali in unison. "Good morning, Jeanne!" said Savvi, in her cheery goody-two-shoes voice. Ali rolled her eyes at Savvi behind her mother's back. Savvi stuck out her tongue. "First day of school, wow! Make friends, okay? Ali, try to be nice to Savvi, and Cadan, try not to get in trouble! And Savvi, your father said for you to be nice to Ali. Okay?" "Okay." They all said. "Now go! You're going to be late." They all finished and kissed their mother/stepmother on the cheek and headed out the door and into Cadan's beat up Chevy Tahoe.

Brooke stared out her window, rising early in the morning, when the town was very quiet. The dreary overcast of the dawn sky covered everything in a gray, dim light. It was dreary and dull, but Brooke found it relaxing. She turned on her music player, she played an eerie and somber classical piece. She stood up and stretched out her limbs, and then she placed her hand on a dresser, thinking of it as a barre. She danced gently and gracefully, moving to the calm and serious melody of the music, with her white nightgown flowing with her movements. She stood up on one leg, standing on the toes of the grounded leg. She lifted her hand off the dresser and posed in arms as the music faded off, and held the pose until the next song started to play. The next song was grander and epic, with a mystical yet dark feel. She gently stepped to her closet, careful not to make her aching feet hurt any more.

She changed out of her white nightgown and into a flowing blue dress with long sleeves, adding on black boots to her ensemble. Her makeup was natural and her hair was brushed but otherwise not styled. The house was still quiet and asleep. She had a feeling that her brother could just be hiding in a corner, waiting to jump out and scare her. It gave the house an eerie feeling. Her steps were careful and quiet. The silence broke when she heard a deep, booming bark. Van Helsing, the family akita, approached her, his claws making a clicking sound against the wooden floor. "Hey Donnie," Brooke greeted the akita as she walked to the kitchen. Donnie was Van Helsing's nickname. She made a cup of coffee, trying again make a tree design out of the creamer, with failure. She sat at the table and sipped the hot liquid.

Rose, Bronx and Brooke's mother, walked out of the master bedroom dressed in a dark burgundy dress and black pumps, with hair done in a bun. "You're up early." Donnie barked at her, begging for food. Brooke stood up to get the dog food, but her mother interjected, quickly saying, "Don't worry, I'll get it for you." The sound of the food bowl was loud, and with Donnie's excited barking, the room quickly became chaotic. It hurt Brooke's ears, but she said nothing of it. As soon as things quieted down, her mother reminded her, "Well, today I have to leave early. It's a big day at work. Bye." Rose kissed Brooke on her forehead before leaving.

"Bye Mom," Brooke turned her head to the window and saw the start of a rainstorm with the first few droplets pitter-pattering against the windowpane. She drank the last few sips of her coffee as she waited for her brother to wake up.

Today is the big day. Mary turns seventeen today. Her parents been bothering her about her birthday for about a week. She didn't see the big deal, but she acted happy to make them happy. It was just something she did. Unfortunately this day is on a school day, so she doesn't get to spend the day in bed like she had hoped. With a sigh, she gets out of bed and stumbles out of her room trying to find the bathroom. Happy Birthday! Candy shouts at her when she walks out.

Mary gives a tiny scream and jumps backward. Her little sister laughed at her and she took several deep breaths. "Thanks. But you scared me." she said walking around Candy to get to the bathroom. When Mary shut the bathroom door, she could hear her sister's laughter. 'Slice her throat....then she won't be laughing...' she heard. No one else was in the bathroom with her. She assumed it was nothing and got ready for the school day.

Get out of the bathroom Mary! I need to pee! She heard her little sister shout from the other side of the door. Mary giggled and left the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Candy rushed in slamming the door shut. Mary skipped to her bathroom and started getting dressed. It didn't take long for her to get dressed. She always picked out her clothes the night before. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was flawless and her red hair was done just how she liked it. Straight and brushed.

The red head left her room and ran down stairs. There was a cupcake on the kitchen counter and she grabbed it. It was vanilla with vanilla icing. Her favorite. "I'm leaving! See you guys after school!" she called up to her parents and sister. She has yet to hear from her brother, but he was the forgetful type. On her way to school she sent a text to Jake.

To:Jake<3
From: Mary!
I'm on my way to school. Can't wait to see you! :)

She pocketed her phone and walked to school. Mary lived close enough so she didn't need to drive. As she walked down the street people in the area waved at her. Almost everyone knew her in this small town. She would help many of them at church, or babysit children, and other small stuff like that.

By the time she had arrived at school she had finished the cupcake and said to 'hi' to almost everyone in the area. This morning was having a great start. 'Just wait until later...' the voice spoke again. But she didn't acknowledge it as she looked for Jake.

Ali walked into the high school, and gave acknowledgments to her brother by smiling and a wave, and to her stepsister, a roll of the eyes. Here we go again. Except... the school is different. She went to the office attendant. "Oh, um, hey Deborah. Could you let us in?" The woman forced a smile and pressed the button to let the three in. Ali went straight to the locker number on the slip of paper she received from her boring stepfather and opened it. She looked around and noticed that the hallways were just as dull as the ones in her old school. The walls were a yucky grey color, and the lockers were a faded red. "Oh, God..." Ali said as she opened her locker. It smelled of dirty gym socks and burnt toast. "I... I really hope they have a Bath & Body Works around here!" She managed to cough out. She closed it, and decided to just to lug her backpack around. She looked at her schedule. "Uh, Psychology? Or does it say English?" Oh no, I'm talking to myself! What ever shall I do? Ali shrugged off her craziness and went to find her brother.

Cadan was outside his math class when Ali spot him. "Cadan, is it just me, or does it smell like wet dog?" Ali said as she scrunched up her nose in disgust. Cadan shrugged. "It smells like wet dog. Sadly." They fist bumped as faces past down the hallways, looking at them as if they were crazy. "All of them sure do like to rubberneck at us..." She snorted. Cadan chuckled. "Well, what do you expect? I'm a hot guy, you're a scene girl..." Ali punched him playfully. "I'm not scene. I'm alternative." Cadan rolled his eyes like Ali always did. "Oh, gawdd! I'm Ali and I am so alternative. Gawd." Cadan mimicked. "What the fuck, Cadan!" She giggled. All of a sudden, a gruff voice cleared it's throat behind them. Shit. Ali turned around to see Dr. Snore starring right at them with his emotionless face. "Your mother sure wouldn't appreciate it if you got in trouble the first day of school, would she?" Ali forced a smile. "Sorry, Samuel. I'll be going to..." "Psychology?" "That's what it said! Yea, thanks Samuel." "It's Principal Vaughn here, Ali." "Yea, Samuel. Sure." Ali, said goodbye to Cadan, went to her class and just stood by the door instead of sitting down.

Jake pulled into the parking lot when he received the text. "Get out, Fresh meat." Riley huffed and pouted, then got out of the car. Jake pulled out his phone.

From: Liz <33
To: Me
I'm on my way to school. Can't wait to see you! :)

Jake smiled to himself and thought, I have a wonderful girlfriend. What would I do without her? He chuckled to himself and started to type back.

To: Liz <33
From: Me
I can't wait to see you too! Happy seventeenth, babe *<|:) Can't wait to give you the special birthday kiss ;)


Jake put his phone in his back pocket and got out of his car and walked into the school. After he was buzzed in, he was on a quest to find his girlfriend, Mary. Instead, he ran into a blonde that he had never seen before. "Excuse me..." "Ooo, hey, hottie." The girl bit her lip and winked. Jake swallowed. "Hi, um, who are you, exactly?" The girl giggled. "I'm Savannah Vaughn, the principal's daughter, but you can call me Savvi. How about you?" Savvi said as she chewed on a piece of gum. Jake smiled. "I'm Jake Slade, Mary Smith's boyfriend. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to walk past you, find my girl, and celebrate her seventeenth birthday. Bye." Jake walked past Savvi with ease and fiddled with a box in his hands. I hope she likes it...

While wandering and looking around for Jake she received a text message from him. She smiled at the message and pocketed the phone. He was finally at school and they were probably looking for each other. People kept wishing her a happy birthday as she walked through the halls. Sometimes she can't believe all these people knew her and when her birthday is. At the same time she wouldn't be shocked if her mother told all these people to wish her a happy birthday. The thought made her giggle.

One guy stopped Mary in the hall way. He was a bit geeky looking, but truly adorable. His hair was shaggy and he had the brightest green eyes. He had glasses that he kept pushing up on his face. He was a bit taller than she was, but most people were. He handed her a rose. "H-Happy B-Birthday M-Mary," he said before scurrying off. She giggled and kept walking, looking for Jake.


Finally she spotted Jake and she came up behind him. She followed in step with him. "Hey Jacob. Who are looking for?" she asked pretending that she wasn't just looking for him. The rose was still in her hand, but she was just holding on to it. She would feel bad if she threw away. It seemed to take a lot of courage for that guy to give it to her.

Jacob turned around and smiled. "Only the prettiest, luckiest girl in school. Rumor has it that she is you." He said, pulling her to the side of the hallway. Jake didn't mind that Mary was carrying a rose. Of course, she might've had many admirers, but she chose him. He bit his lip and pulled out a white box from his pocket. As he did, Jake started to speak. "Mary, you have no idea how beautiful you are to me. You're funny, and thing I love the most about you is your intelligence." He chuckled as he opened the box and pulled out a black satin sack. "And I spent a lot of money on this, and I could've gotten a car, but... I chose you instead. 'Cause you are more important to me."

Jake pulled a necklace out of the the sack. It had a silver chain, and there was a trillion cut ruby outlined by diamonds. He put his hand behind the gem so Mary could get a better look at it. "It took me six months to get this for you... I really hope you enjoy it."

"Only the prettiest, luckiest girl in school. Rumor has it that she is you." Mary blushed and allowed herself to be pulled to the side. She spun the rose in her hand waiting for Jacob to say something. Then she saw a white box come form his pocket. Her eyes grew wide and she already had thoughts roaming in her mind about what is inside. 'He is trying to kill you....he never really loved you...kill him before he gets to you...' the voice told her. She ignored it, but it was freaking her out. "Mary, you have no idea how beautiful you are to me. You're funny, and thing I love the most about you is your intelligence." A smile appeared on her face.

From the box came a satin sack. 'He is going to suffocate you with the bag...' This voice was starting to get to her, but she kept the smile. "And I spent a lot of money on this, and I could've gotten a car, but... I chose you instead. 'Cause you are more important to me." Mary giggled. "I better be Jake," she joked.

Then he started to pull something from the bag and it was prettiest thing she had ever seen. Tears started to brim around her eyes as he pulled the necklace all the way out. The gem was ruby like her hair. Red was her all time favorite color. 'It is the color of blood...' she wiped away a falling tear. "It took me six months to get this for you... I really hope you enjoy it." She nodded trying to find the words behind her sobs.

"It's beautiful Jake," she said reaching for it, afraid to touch it. "Can you put it on me?" she said turned around and moving her hair out of the way so that he can put the necklace on him. 'He will strangle you with the necklace....kill him...' More tears fell down her face.

OOC: And the craziness begins...mwahaha

Bronx let his jacket hang loose on his shoulders since he wasn't needing it at that moment and he definitely didn't want to forget it home with the rain that was coming a lot sooner than expected. He looked down to the dry cereal in his bowl; Tremz wasn't a stickler for milk but he figured he'd have some this time. "Hey Brooke, can you-.. never mind, I got it" He shook his head and ducked into the fridge himself to retrieve the bottle and do the normal regimen of sniffing, shaking, sniffing again before finally pouring some into the bowl. Sugary cereal with milk, best way to start the day as far as he was concerned and, no doubt, he had to take a spoonful of the colorful whole-grain bits and bobs before getting to his sister's question, "I'wll do wit."

First day of school, of course he had to drive. After all, with his particular set of social skills, how else was he going to impress the girls at his cruddy, little school - his pranks and jokes only served to annoy them into becoming violent, the lot of them anyway. They clearly had no sense of humour. Well, Mary did; she was the cheer captain and was surprisingly nice despite her esteemed position as top of the high school food chain. She'd always laugh at his pranks as long as they weren't targeted at her but there was no way in hell he'd think about trying because her super-duper quarterback boyfriend would hear of it and Bronx valued his life more than a few moments of unadulterated schadenfreude pleasure. Then, there was the fact that he'd briefly had a crush on her the previous year. Not like it mattered though.

Finishing the last bits of his cereal, he dropped the bowl in the sink then looked at his sister. She seemed more out of it than usual and that was saying something, "Yeah, I'm definitely driving. Have you seen yourself in the mirror, Brooke?" His eyes stared back into hers seriously for a moment and then - a smirk spread across his face. It was his form of brotherly love, but hell.. did she seriously have to break herself down so low with this dancing biz? What was going to happen if she made it big?

"Let's go.. before you pass out." He said, then took the car-key from off the rack and his crimson backpack (because Mum thought it'd be cute for them to match, bless her face).

"I'm okay, Bronx," Brooke denied before she headed to the car. She knew she was withering from pressure. She could see it in her malnourished, skinny body and tired eyes. Perfection had a price, especially when she also had to take care of school and her brother. To the outside world, ballet was a girly sport, but Brooke knew it was anything but. It was highly competitive and perfectionistic. Hours went into practicing just to get things perfect, and people didn't realize how painful it was. Most shoes were painful to Brooke because of ballet, and there was no sitting down due to pain. Her greatest rival was Madeline Winters, the star of the troupe. Perfection was easy for Madeline, and so was making friends with the troupe, but Brooke couldn't help but be suspicious. Maybe it was jealousy. Brooke was too focused on her work to talk to her troupe members, so she wasn't really friends with them.

She put in some ear buds and listened to some mellow classical music on her portable music player. She glanced at Bronx. "It's Mary's birthday, you know," She reminded him before staring out her window. She watched the rain, the drops falling on her window and then trickling down. She knew her brother was a trickster, and that didn't work well with the girls. While she wasn't entertained by the pranks, she never freaked out as much as the other girls, but she was used to Bronx's pranks. She had to be the one to talk him out of trouble. Negotiating with authorities and peers became a required skill for her. She knew that if she didn't, Bronx would end up in serious trouble.

She got out of the car when she arrived at the school, slinging her backpack on her shoulder. Advanced English is first, She thought to herself. She walked down the hall to her class. "Happy Birthday Mary," Brooke congratulated as she passed by Mary, trying to look healthy and smiling, but it was obvious. Mary was a role model and idol to Brooke. Mary was talented, beautiful, wonderful, and kind. Everything Brooke wanted to be, Mary was. Everything Brooke destroyed herself for, Mary was. Like the stars in the sky, perfection was wonderful, but far from reach. But Brooke was no the type to give up, at any cost.

It was a lie, that much was obvious. You think she'd eventually wisen up and not make such a brazen and false statement - and it wasn't because of twin telepathy or anything mystical like that but he just paid attention more than he actually let on. Brooklyn was probably the one person closest to him and he had no hang-ups about admitting it, he might've had a small, immature phase when he was younger and couldn't stand her music now but he accepted her, largely anyway. If only he could convince her to lighten up a bit and join him during his schadenfreude escapades - that'd be quality family bonding time right there. It was something she'd never agree to though, her reputation as a dancer was much too important and besides, one of them had to do the talking when he eventually got caught, right?

In the car, Bronx couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about how he'd gotten his license; he was scared out of his mind that he'd end up failing or crashing the DMV car and even tried convincing dear sissy to go in his place - kinda like that one movie.. Mulan. Ultimately, he got the guts to do it himself and somehow came out with a pass. Lucky day. At his sister's reminder, he merely offered a dry, "Thanks." in return, not even bothering to take his eyes off the road. It wasn't like he didn't know what day it was. He knew days in advance, actually, when his chum Jamieson threw it in his face; his intentions were good but if there were a time he didn't have to be constantly reminded then he'd take it. Gladly.

It wasn't as if he didn't think about her enough on his own already.

Tremmy parked when they arrived and took his bag with him after locking up. Now.. it'd been so long, what was his first class anyway?
Well, he..
1)Super-glued his Math teacher's chair.
2)Filled his English teacher's desk drawers with pencil and eraser shavings.
3)Replaced his History teacher's whiteboard markers with permanent markers.
4)Took several of the stuffed animal carcasses from the Biology lab and put them about the Art room, knowing the teacher was a chronic germaphobe.*
Among other things.

So, he had Math first then.

*In actuality, he felt a little bad about that prank. He'd never thought the teacher would've isolated herself into a corner and sob until the carcasses were removed and the room thoroughly cleaned by the janitors.

Jake smiled. "Yeah, sure babe." He fastened the necklace around her neck. He clipped it, then got real close behind her. Jake hugged her from behind, put her hair in position, and rested his head on her right shoulder. "You look beautiful, so don't cry. Maybe, after practice, I could pick you up and take you to dinner?" He kissed her neck. "Would that sound good, babe?" He really hated going out to dinner, but Jake would do anything for Mary. Even if it meant stalling her so everybody would get ready for the surprise party he had planned for her.

Mary wiped her tears away and a smile formed on her face. She heard another happy birthday, but she couldn't tell who said it. Jake's arms wrapped around her waist, bring his warmth closer to her. His head rested on her shoulder as he suggested dinner. 'He will poison your food...' the voice hissed at her. She turned around in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck. 'Strangle him' Mary kissed his lips softly. "That would be wonderful," she said after pulling away.

Ali smirked. "Okay, yea. Later." She turned around and started walking back to her class. Really, creepy wasn't her 'style'. Ali loved the warmth of the sun, which is weird since she lived in the north her whole life. But the times she went to go see her grandparents in Florida was the best. Her brother and herself always went to the beach with their father, and it was jolly good. But after her parents divorce, she kind of went 'creepy'. If My Chemical Romance didn't scare her parents, then the Tiny Tim music definitely did.

Just then, she came across Mary. Ali didn't like the looks of her... probably because she assumed Mary was popular. But something in her gut told her to stay away from somebody like that.

Our young hero didn't have much time to think about that emo girl as he shuffled into class because as he slid into his seat, the teacher came in right behind him wanting to get an "early start" and eager to talk about the latest scientific discoveries that were made in some other part of the world, or some other part of the U.S. at least. Then the teacher paused to take note of all the blank faces looking at him, Bronx included. Turned out he was a sub who'd gotten lost on the way to his correct class and the whole 'scientific discovery' blabber was to make him seem like a regular face - although, given the nervous expression that soon followed, the poor guy was pale and quaking.

Geez, such an easy target but.. surely, Bronx wouldn't. Would he?
Maybe not this time, but he would do something else.

Spotting the actual teacher approaching the door, a large grin played on Tremmy's face as he got up, calling across to the class he'd help the sub find the class. Some of his classmates knew what this meant and began applauding his /courteous/ nature. They knew he was going to pull some world-class trick on the guy; maybe douse him with oil and feathers or get him to reveal he couldn't stand the actual science teacher's knack for exploring their nasal cavity during class or.. even more outrageous.

Or, that's what would happen if he wasn't already such a pain to everyone else. Instead, the class fell into an even quieter murmur than the din that rose after the substitute teacher's blunder.

Well, it didn't matter, did it? He was going to miss a few minutes of class regardless.

--

Bronx and the teacher marched through the hall, taking the free chance to wave to Mary in the hall.. only she seemed a bit spacier than normal. "Happy birthday Mary.. I guess." As much as he wanted to abuse the naivety of this teacher - he surely couldn't start having deep, meaningful conversations in the middle of the hall when both (or three) of them had classes to get to. Continuing on, he led the teacher to a class that had another certain pale-faced kid who may've been every bit as frightened.

Donnie Darko. Wait, that's not the one. Donnie... something...
He couldn't recall and it wasn't as if they were tight mates or anything; in fact, he knew Donnie the same way most everyone else did, through non-association. It was a bit cruel, he thought, but still.. everyone was fair game to Madz.