Hidden Masks

         Her face held blankness. Held it desperately, not willing to be cracked by the world. It hid a misplaced childhood, an abandoned dream, an utter disgust for the world. But all the world saw was a nothing stare.

         She counted her every failure as dark stains on her soul. She always had. She was the type to curse a 99 on a test.

         She was tired, tired of this masquerade. She decided to fail a test to see what would happen. Her parents screamed into her grinning face. She felt her dreams edge their way back into her.

         A boy walked slowly to her, all leg-knocking rapid breathing nerves. He was a horrible student. He called her name softly, asking for a minute to talk. Every time he called her name a smile shattered her old world-stained mask.