Where: Cardiff, Wales
When: 2003
Weather: A nice Irish day...which means it's sprinkling.




"Ol right Aine," Her mother's thick irish accent began, "What is the squa'root of feiv hoodred and twenty siv'n."

The small 7 year old girl sat at the kitchen table just trying to enjoy her frosted mini wheats. Her deep red hair was pulled down into twin braids that fell loosly over her shoulder. The child hadn't even gotten out of her pajama's yet and her mother was already drilling her.

"I dun't care." She responded. "I'm e-ting."

"Now, Aine. Don't be cross with yer muther." Her Mum scolded. "Yoor going t'need t' knuw these things if you wunt to git into college in a few ye'rs."

"Why do I ev'n need to gu t' college so errly?" She retorted, "Moost kids dun't ev'n gu t' college 'til there 18. Why cun't I just wait 'til then?"

"Because, yoor a special girl." Her mother put on her best face, but Aine just stared back at her with annoyance. "And girls are too underestimated in this world. Yoo need to prove that women cun beat oot men. Yoo're brilliant. Dun't waist it and dun't let yoor mum down. Now....square root of 567."

Aine sighed before puting her spoon down. "22.956480566498, happy?"

Her mother smiled brightly, "Yes. Now, 154."

Aine spent every morning this way. Drilled about this or that from her mother. Then she went straight to school dwarfed by all of the older students who didn't bother to look down or realize they were pushing her around. In class the older students looked at her like she was some kind of freak show. She hated the way they stared at her. Heck, she hated her life. She wanted to go play with other kids and forget about math onc ein a while. She loved learning, but sometimes, she just wished she could take a break, be a kid for just a few measly hours a week. The only silence she ever got was late at night while she was laying in bed waiting to fall asleep.

She already knew she was brilliant, why did she need to prove it to other people. They were all simpleton's who didn't understand the beautiful complexities of life. She was sick of it; sick of having to show everyone WHAT she was when not a single one of them cared to know WHO she was. She just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. She just wanted to live in her dreams. They were a far more beautiful and simple place than the real world. In her dreams there was no one pressuring her to be perfect. In her dreams she could just be herself without trying to please everyone else. She was a kid for crying out loud, how could they expect her to be perfect?

What if she just stopped? Just stopped trying to please everyone. What if she stopped raising her hand in class and said "I don't know." to every question. What would they do then? They wouldn't be able to mold her or make her into thier little automoton. Yes. She was going to try it...try it, just to see what would happen.