Erin

Fuck. That's what an F stands for on a test or assignment. It's a big fat fuck, from teacher to student. It was corrected in red pen as always, and as far as Erin was concerned it was to make sure she didn't forget that she was a failure. As if she thought she was some kind of genius while taking the test. Although she could be a bit of a perfectionist, grades weren't one of the things she let bother her... anymore. Her need to do right and not be wrong extended to herself in more physical ways. Sure, education was important, but was she really going to need to know the formula for the Pythagorean theorem at a job interview? No. However, if she was attractive and knew how to bat her eyelashes just right she knew there was a better chance of there being an opening. Not that she possessed those skills either. So instead Erin focused on what she knew. How to find her center of balance after a shift in her core, how to hold her arms in First Position, in a way that looked less sharp; and always, this could not be stressed enough, always be sure that her feet were pointed at least ninety-nine percent of the time. These were the things the teenage girl thought about all the time; even now her mind was focused on the dance steps she would be rehearsing after class.

"Erin!"

She looked up from her turned-out feet, her green eyes searching the sea of students for a familiar voice.

"Erin ya asteroid, over here!" It was her big sister May. With a big mouth and even bigger boobs, Erin could trace nearly all of her problems back to her, and she hated when May called her asteroid. Erin knew her head was always up in space. She daydreamed as often as the minute hand ticked, but she wasn't completely stupid. She knew May just did it so she could blatantly call her an ass, in front of their parents and peers.

"Hey, asteroid! I forgot my notebook, do you have an extra one?" May called.

"No, I don't." Erin avoided eye contact and tried to bypass her sister, but May's friends flanked her, making escape impossible.

"Oh please, you don't need them. I mean if you used them you wouldn't be failing half of your classes."

"Maybe she should keep it." A short and twig-like blonde, known as Alexis chimed in. "That way if she decides to take notes, she might be able to get at least a 'D'."

Erin ignored her comment and rolled her eyes. "Fine."

The sky blue strap shifted off her shoulder as the bag came to rest against her chest, which was nothing compared to her sister's. Her thumbs flipped through her bag seeking a loose-leaf notebook amongst a pile of paper.

"Can you just give me one? You're gonna make us both late."

"Give me a second."

May groaned. "That one will do," she said, snatching a green composition notebook from Erin's bag.

Before she could even protest May was halfway down the hall, Alexis and the other girls trailed behind her. May shouted a rather rude thank you turned the corner and was gone.

"Whatever," Erin mumbled under her breath, slinging the bag to its rightful place on her back.

She sat down in her seat, the last class of the day. She looked forward to this moment like flowers looked forward to spring. Eager for the chance to stretch and smile at the warm sun. She didn't necessarily hate school. She used to be good at it. Until she came back from the hospital two years ago. Things had just become... harder after that. Now she was just too busy. Dance was where she shined. Where she bloomed.

Shit! That cow! Erin scrambled frantically through her bag. In a twist of events, this week's physics final had become open notes. Her fingers searched hysterically, spilling the contents of her bag on her desk. Its cargo spread like pollen during allergy season. She had worked hard to take all those notes and where were they now? May.

"Miss Mattli, do you have it or not?" the teacher sneered from his desk.

"No, Mr. Philips."

"Then let us begin."

Erin flipped over her test and looked at the first question.

When a net force is applied to one rock on a surface deemed frictionless the acceleration is at 6m/s^2. When the same net force is applied to three stones the exact same in every way but emulsified together then______"

...

Erin sighed. She could feel Mr. Philips writing his fuck you already.