"What is it?" Anne asked.

"Oh no! She remembered everything!" Maria said.

"What?"

Maria pulled out a compass, a protractor, a ruler and a mini-calculator, which all had a little burgundy or blue paper ribbon tied around them. A little note on the back of the calculator said, "To my math buddy. Remember to never do anything at the board and nothing in Geometry is real anyway. Luv, Alex."

Brian looked over at Anne and Richard, who seemed just as confused as he was.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Oh," Maria said, "we always talked about how we'd be going along in math class at our little desks, you know, thinking we got everything down..." Maria pantomimed writing on her hand, "but then when the teacher called us up to the front of the class, we froze and did like two plus two is five or something, even if we had the answer right there you know? Practically everytime. Then we'd get all upset, because I mean it's like you look dumb enough, you know?

"You never told us that," Anne said, rubbing Maria's arm.

"You don't look dumb," Brian said.

Maria waved them away. "Well anyway, I found out Alex had the same thing happen to her so our new motto was, 'Stay away from the board!'"

"But...you have Mrs. Fisher. She makes you take a zero sometimes if you don't do a problem on the board," Anne said.

"Well, we looked at it this way," Maria held out her left hand, "take a zero that counts about a hundredth of your grade or..." she held out her other hand, "feel like you're going to puke for the rest of the class period. We decided a zero was doable."

"Ooookay, " Richard said. He twirled a finger near his temple to indicate that Maria was crazy.

"What does 'Geometry isn't real' mean?"

"Oh, her other note said I'd get that when I got to geometry. Something about how all the lines and stuff aren't really real or something. Well, you guys know, you're taking it."

"So that's why she gave you math things?" Richard said. He picked up the compass by the tip and twirled it in his fingers.

"Yeah, because we were the same in math, a year behind everybody."

Anne sighed. "You're not a year behind Maria. You're just..."

"Not taking the same class that you guys and practically every other sophomore I know is taking."

Brian gave Anne a look to tell her to drop the subject. Most students at Sebastian took Algebra I in the ninth grade, Geometry in the tenth. But some students began their high school careers in Applied Math and took Algebra their second year. The first day of the tenth grade, Maria was appalled to find she was the only sophomore in her Algebra I class. Not only were none of her friends from Applied Math in her section, Pat's little sidekick Diana was, and she was good at it. After spending most of September hearing about immature freshmen, Anne and Brian would try to steer her off the topic of math class.

Brian felt a sneaking sympathy with Richard, who always said that Maria was making a federal case out of the whole thing, and hardly lost an opportunity to tell her to get over it--that nobody cared what math class she was in. But at the same time he didn't like the hurt look that Maria got when she talked about it. Plus, she thought he was this nice guy for sympathizing.

"So she couldn't think of anything cooler than this?" Richard said, still twirling the compass. Maria reached for it, but he held it out of her reach.

"What do you mean anything better? What could be more perfect, we always talked about math."

"What if she needs this stuff in college?" Anne asked.

"She buys it, what's your point?"

"So lemme get this straight," said Richard, "this girl was your idol for a year and she gave you math supplies?"

Maria straightened her back. "She was not my idol, she's my friend, it's just an inside joke, so what?"

"Oh so, last year when we heard about her for hours everyday, how she got you on the team, blah, blah, blah...." Richard said.

"Well, she did!"

"Maria," Brian said, "did you ever think it was because you're a good dancer?"

"Yeah...but they kept giving me the freshman run-around until Alex said something. Don't you remember?" Maria lifted her eyebrows at Brian significantly and he nodded.

"Because of her I was the first freshman on the team. Of course, no one made a big deal about that."

"Oh, here we go." Richard laid back on the floor and stood the compass on his chest.

"Well, it's true, no one put my name in the paper or posted the final cuts list all over school..."

"All over school?" Brian said. "The varsity roster is just in the gym. You know, where basketball is played?" He said with a little laugh, but he was getting tired of people blaming him for the attention he and Richard got. It wasn't like they ran up and down the halls announcing it.

"Oh, I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. I don't care really." Maria said.

Richard snorted. "Yeah, we can tell."

"You guys just don't get it okay? Before Alex, on those days I would screw up at the board I used to sit in the bathroom after class, hoping I wasn't going to cry."

Richard lifted his head. "Over math?" he said. Anne frowned at him.

Maria clenched her teeth. "Yes," she answered slowly. "then," she held up the calculator, "I felt better."

"Okay, but that's the part I don't get hon," Anne said, "Alex didn't help you like, face that or anything. She said you guys should just take a zero."

"Which makes your math grade worse," Richard said.

Maria looked at them, then began to gather up her supplies. "Okay, nevermind, let's talk about something else now."

Brian took the compass from Richard. "Hey, can I borrow this?"

"Well..."

"What would Alex want you to do?" Richard said.

Something in his tone was starting to get on Brian's nerves. True, the whole thing was weird, but Richard didn't have to be an asshole about it either.

"Man, shutup," he said.

"Richard, it's not funny. Besides, we don't have to get it anyway--Senior wills are for the two people," Anne said.

Brian leaned over to look directly at Maria. This was his best tactic when he wanted something. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to it, I'll polish it even." he smiled.

Now Anne was twirling the compass. "Can tin tarnish?"

"Is that was those things are made of?" Richard said from the floor. "No, I bet this one's made of silver, because it's from Aleeex..." Richard reached up and tickled Maria's foot until she laughed.

"Stop."

"From Aleeex..." he said, tickling her again.

"Richard, quit it!" Maria said louder, but she laughed again.

"Richard, don't be a juvenile," Brian said. He moved Richard's hand away. Maria was still smiling. Brian could never get over how Richard could say the jerkiest things to girls then get them to laugh. He watched Richard, who sensed that he was forgiven, lay back on the floor. He put his hands behind his head and winked at Brian, who turned away, disgusted.

"Here," Maria handed the compass to Brian. "just don't lose it, all right?"

"I wont, I promise." Brian tried to look her in the eyes again but she was smiling at Richard, who was still whispering "Aleeex..."

When she turned back to Brian she said, "I mean it, and give it right back when you're done."

"I will Maria," Brian said irritably. "It's not like you need it yet anyway." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Brian regretted them.

But Maria only sighed and said sadly, "No, I guess I don't," which was worse than her getting mad.

From behind her back Anne reached over and flicked him on the ear. "I thought we weren't going to talk about math anymore," she said.

Everyone was quiet. Brian opened and closed the legs of the compass, feeling like a first class jerk.