Time for Sanity [Open]

[mercy]

Walls as far as they eye could see, that’s what being in a school meant. When she was a child being in school was like being in prison, oddly now Mercedes was a teacher. Mercy was more of a mechanic but she could do a lot with computers too. But this room was different than other rooms, it was much larger, and held tables and chairs. Mercy was in the teacher’s lounge, lunch here, not teaching. The other teachers would come in and chat with others, just like the students in the lunchroom, Mercy though was sitting in the chair, her bag on the floor and a water bottle in her hands.

Looking down at the table she was sitting at, she unconsciously twirled the ring she got from her brother on her finger. It was a precious gift for her. For when she came home after their grandma died, he bought her the ring, more of a comfort for wait laid ahead. Brac knew that Mercy was afraid to come home just in case she ever saw her attacker again. But Mercy could handle herself now, while with her grandma, she learned how to protect herself, though the damage was already done and burned into her mind.

Blinking she finally opened her water bottle and took a nice swig of it. Ever since she had came to Spain Mercy had chosen water instead of pop as her drink of choice. She would drink alcohol on occasion but mostly she was straight leashed. No smoking, no drinking, Mercy valued her life after she survived the rape. So many things happened after the rape but she kept track of things, mostly on how her own family was. Mercy became so careful, afterwards, her grandma took care of her, she would go and visit her brother, but Mercy was forever careful. So even as she was sitting there in a school drinking water, she kept listening for someone to come up behind her, she was always that careful.

Sighing and leaning back in the chair she stretches out and checks her watch, she probably she find her new boss, she had classes to teach and cars to look at, she had spent enough time just sitting around getting used to being back in Spain. It had been three years since her grandmother died and she was sent home, but Spain seemed more of her home now. It felt good to be back, maybe she would go back to the gym again, and maybe before that first day of class go to the bar to have one last drink before she had to try and stay sane during the school year. But only one drink, no need to have a hangover on the first day of classes either, what kind of role model would she be? Not a very good one at all. Though she assumed that the kids were here to be ‘fixed’ but did that mean that the school was strict on them, or was it a school where they could be themselves?

[prettypinkbow]

"We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."

A stream of people. Flowing, flowing. Through the hallways, to their classrooms, never stopping when someone they didn't know called their name. Of course, they responded to their boyfriends or girlfriends, friends, but when they did not recognize the voice, or when they turned around and did not recognize the person, they did not stop. If you ignored the person, shut them out and pretended you did not see them, nor hear them, then you would not be obligated to stop. Not be obligated to stop talking to whoever you were talking to, listen to whatever that person might have to say, and possibly lose your social time or be late to class. Heaven forbid that you waste your social time on someone who has a question!

The stream died away, a brook, and then a trickle. Finally, the water dried up. All except for one insignificant drop, lost and confused. Maria. The small, delicate-looking girl with pigtails and deep eyes, a reflecting pool of emotion. Dressed in a dark green dress, with matching ribbons in her pigtails, the look aimed for was a frightened little girl. And it was suceeded. Of course. The tapping of her little Mary-Jane shoes echoed down the hallway, and Maria peered into each classroom, seeking a teacher to help her. There were none, each classroom like a ghost town. Why? Where was everyone? The rolling of her small suitcase on the floor came to a halt as the girl looked up at the clock on the wall. What! It was lunchtime! No wonder there was no one around, and the kids were in such a hurry! That made so much more sense!

But... Should she check the cafeteria? Or head for the teacher's lounge? Seeing as most of the kids, so far, hadn't helped her, the teacher's lounge would be a better bet. Definitely. Her shoes began tapping on the floor once more, and then there was the rolling of her suitcase in the echoey hallways. Normally, Maria assumed, the halls would be filled with so much noise, as they were a few minutes ago, and no one would be able to tell. But now, walking down the deserted halls, feeling like the last person in school, the girl's echoes were quite easy to hear.

The nameplates of each of the doors seemed to blur together, masses of letters and dots. There were so many. Too many. Maria was about to give and try to wander her way back to the entrance, when she finally located it. The teacher's lounge, as shown by the little sign outside the door, in both English, Spanish, and Braille. Other than that, there was no real difference between that and the other doors, and the pig-tailed girl would've just walked by it. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for approaching a teacher. Time to put the mask on, and play the part well.

Opening the door slightly, Maria stepped into the lounge, her deep brown eyes taking in everything. There was one teacher, and one alone. A woman, a quite young woman, actually, sitting at the table. She was very pretty, and a bit of a blush spread across the girl's face. It fit in with the part she was playing, actually, so she allowed herself to continue. "Excuse me..." the girl spoke quietly, blinking at the teacher.

[Marcia Merriam Sumner]

Marcia's mind was a storm of worry and anger as she walked the empty halls. <How the hell did he manage to pull the wool over their eyes? Was Mom trying to be nice? Maybe I should have called home when I found out... Why the hell didn't I?>, she thought, so wrapped up in her thoughts that she walked into the door to the teacher's lounge. "Oww... Maybe I should focus on where I'm going...", she commented as she opened the door and walked in. Marcia nodded a hello to the two occupants of the room, then went over to the kitchen area and made herself some tea. "Why can't that whore just learn to leave Maria alone? Why does he insist on harassing her? Wasn't raping her enough?", she asked herself as she went over to a nearby table and sat down, taking out a book of sudoku puzzles and selecting a particularly difficult one. "Well, at least she has Ea to whisk her away and out of his reach, I guess. But, until then, how am I supposed to keep her away from him? She can't very well stay in my apartment forever, even if she is...", she continued, finishing her sentence too quietly to be heard as her mind began to shift its focus to the sudoku.

[mercy]

Mercedes looked up when a young girl with pigtails walked into the room, figures that the students didn't think that the teacher's lounge was off limits. Then again maybe it wasn't. "Can I help you?" It was the polite thing to say, though she couldn't help the girl in any way, she was new. Looking at the rolling suitcase Mercy figured she was new too.

Then there was a bang at the door, it swiftly opened to reveal another teacher, there we go, someone to help the pigtailed girl. Though the other women seemed to have other thoughts on her mind.

"Why can't that whore just learn to leave Maria alone? Why does he insist on harassing her? Wasn't raping her enough?",

Mercy's back straightened as she sat up in her chair, the word flowing through her head again and again. Rape, such a dirty and disgusting word. Mercy wanted to speak up, she wanted to say that she would help the other teacher protect whoever Maria was, but Mercy stopped herself, she didn't want to admit to anyone yet that she had been raped. She wasn't ready for that kind of closeness yet.

Looking back at the pig tailed girl so she wouldn't assume that she had been forgotten Mercy smiled politely. "I'm Mercedes Lock, if you are looking for help, I am not the right teacher for I just got hired myself." Now the pigtailed girl had a new friend that was also new to the school. Mercy didn't like to think that she was not supposed to become friends with her students. She would never fall in love with her students but she would befriend them. A nice relationship leads to a more comfortable classroom.

[prettypinkbow]

A smile came onto Maria's face as the teacher offered to help. Thank goodness. Normally, the girl would've asked another student, but most of the students had been preoccupied getting to the cafeteria. Just then, another teacher walked in, a young one, just like the one sitting at the table. Were all the teachers here in their twenties? Cause that'd be kind of weird... Her eyes widened slightly as she heard what the teacher was talking to herself about. Rape? What? Thankfully, that teacher soon stopped, getting wrapped up in what looked like Sudoku. Maria didn't like Sudoku that much.

Then, the first teacher introduced herself, and Maria thought she must look at least a little crestfallen at that. She didn't quite want to talk to the other teacher, who had been talking really loud to herself, and about rape, but it would seem that she had no choice. How unfortunate. Deciding to introduce herself to Miss Lock, first, Maria spoke, her voice quiet. Still wearing the submissive and shy mask she put up around teachers. "I'm Maria Heitara, Miss Lock. I just got here about ten minutes ago." And then, trying to find her way to the office, she got lost in the large rush of people, getting pushed along every which way until she ended up here.

Hesitating a moment, Maria walked over to where the other teacher sat, puzzling over her Sudoku. She left her suitcase by the door, and then bit her lip, seemingly apprehensive. She was just playing up her part, that was all. "Excuse me..." Maria spoke to the teacher, her voice as quiet as it had been before. It was all like a game to her, a game where you had to wear the right mask. When around students, however, no mask was needed. Her hands clasping together on her green dress, Maria waited for the teacher to notice her.

[Marcia Merriam Sumner]

Marcia worked quietly on her Sudoku, only half-listening to the conversation between the other females. Her mind was almost completely absorbed in the Sudoku, but, all too soon, she'd finished it and was about to find another one when she heard the girl's name.

"I'm Maria Heitara, Miss Lock. I just got here about ten minutes ago."

<Maria? Like my sister? Sure would be interesting if they were to meet...>, Marcia thought to herself. She took out another puzzle and was about to begin when she heard Maria speaking to her. "Yes? Is there something I can help you with?", Marcia said, closing the book and giving the girl her full attention as she had been taught long ago by her mother.

[mercy]

Mercedes watched as Maria went to talk to the other teacher. She didn't want to give out false information. The other teacher was very good at sudoku as it appeared. Frowning slightly she realized she would have to learn the other teacher's name so she could stop calling her "the other teacher". It seemed rude and she wouldn't want to be called that.

Leaning back in the chair she sighed softly. Honestly Mercy would have loved to be tinkering around with her car or some of the cars at the school at the moment, but she needed to figure out her class schedule, and yadda yadda. Working with the computers would be nice too. It would also be helpful if she knew whether or not she should be waiting in the lounge or just have headed to the office.

Shaking her head lightly she straightens the gloves on her hands. Her hands were not covered with caluses because she wore the gloves in the first place. Looking down at her clothes that had a few greese stains from trying to fix her engine this morning she wondered if she was wearing the right stuff. A white tanke with suspenders attached to a skirt, and knee high black boots normally wasn't teacher attire was it.

Looking back at the other teacher and Maria she wondered if she could get anything out of the conversation, mainly what she was supposed to be doing as a new teacher. Maybe the other lady wasn't a teacher at all but like a nurse or something. Honestly she was pretty enough to be a nurse but Mercy wasn't one to judge a book by its cover.

[prettypinkbow]

Maria blinked in surpise as the other teacher turned her full gaze to her, speaking. Damn it, she hated teachers. Talking to them always made her feel like she was so in for it. That's why she put up a facade. "W-Well..." Maria's speech stammered slightly, this in true, well, nervousness. Facades were hard to pull off, and she was used to it, but when you met someone for the first time, it was hard to know if they would see through it or not. Few teachers ever did, believing her a timid little girl. Good. If they knew she'd rather dish out a mouthful of swear words, ditch the dresses for ripped jeans and a hoodie, and go hang out at the latest club, she'd get a bad reputation. Exactly what would be nice among the students, but bad among teachers. Maria played a very fragile game, with slight tips in the balance, oh yes.

"I'm new here, and I sort of got lost with all the students moving about, and such..." Maria trailed off, not exactly sure where to begin. Oh crap, this teacher was making her nervous. Good for her facade image, bad for the girl attempting the facade. "I was just, well... Hoping you could help me get back on track for what I'm supposed to do." Maria paused, before continuing. "You know, what I'm supposed to do when I arrive..."

Speaking of back on track, Maria was back in her element, holding up her facade. Her small bit of panic was ove, thank God, and now she felt back in control, tricking the teachers into believing her sweet and innocent face. Good.

[Marcia Merriam Sumner]

Marcia couldn't help noticing something... off... about the girl's manner. She seemed nervous, but, there was something out of place that Marcia just couldn't place... Oh! But the girl, Maria, was speaking to her! "Ah... I would recommend going to the main office and finding out which dorm you're in. Also, if you haven't gotten your schedule yet, I recommend doing that as well.", Marcia explained, "Also, you probably won't have any classes until tomorrow, so I'd recommend using that time to get your bearings as far as knowing where everything is.", she added, "Take it from me: Getting lost in this school is easier than finding sand at the beach.", she admitted with a rueful grin. "So, if I heard correctly, your name is Maria? I'm Marcia Sumner, by the way. I'm a substitute teacher, so you may or may not see much of me... Anyway, I have a sister whose name is Maria... You should talk to her if you get a chance. I'm sure the two of you would get along!Maria's just about the friendliest person I know.", Marcia said, smiling in a friendly way.

[mercy]

Mercy listened in on the conversation. It could help her too knowing what she could be doing instead of sitting on her butt waiting for something to happen. Though waiting did seem to have some effect. There was a conversation going on about what she could be doing.

All Mercy had to do now was go to the office, get her teaching schedule, her apartment, and then wahla she would be good to go. Where was the easy button when you needed it. The other teacer, named Marcia, was only a subsitute, substitutes were expensive, or so she was told. Either way even if Marcia was a subsitute she was hanging around the school, so they could still befriend each other, that way Mercy would have at least one other friend at the school.