She went to a sink and washed her hands carefully. No blood showed on her wrists, thanks in part to the wrapping:

red covered red. The inner layer was absorbent, and would take up the blood and help it thicken and clot. She would have to wash out the cloth at home, but she was used to that.

Back in the study hall she brought out her compass and wiped the point on a tissue, just to be sure. Then she brought out her geometry homework, so that no one would wonder about the compass. Geometry was a snap; in fact, it was boring, because it was two-dimensional. It would have been more of a challenge in three dimensions, or four. If only they had a class in cubic geometry, or multi-dimensional construc -- tions. Or fractals: now, there would be one she could truly sink her teeth into. Class, today we shall take our little pencil and graph paper and define the complete Mandelbrot Set.

Colene stifled a smile. The Mandelbrot Set was said to be the most complicated object in mathematics. Even mainframe computers could not fathom the whole of it. Yet it was simply an exercise in algebra, plotted on paper. How she would love to explore that beautiful picture! To lose herself in its phe -- nomenal and diminishing convolutions, forever and ever, Amen.

But this was mundane school, where brains were routinely pickled in trivia. No hope here.

As the final bell approached, Julie came to sit beside her. It was Friday, and the teacher in charge knew better than to try to keep things totally quiet in the closing minutes. As long as they didn't make a scene, they were all right.

Julie had long yellow hair, which she liked to swirl about her face and shoulders. It was a nice complement to Colene's similar brown tresses. But in other respects they differed more widely. Julie wore glasses and braces, which made her by definition unattractive; Colene, with neither, was far more popular. That was a barrier between them, and their friend -- ship was only nominal, because it was mutually convenient to walk home from the bus stop together.

Actually Colene had no friends, by her definition, though many others called her friend.

It was as if she had an invisible barrier around herself that kept all others at a certain dis --

tance. No one touched her heart, and her heart was lonely. She wished it could be otherwise, but the truth was that no one she knew at school was the type she cared to sincerely like and trust.

Maybe she was just an intellectual snob, and she felt slightly guilty for that, but only slightly.

If she ever encountered someone with really solid intelligence and integ -- rity, someone she could truly admire for maintaining stan -- dards she herself could not, then maybe --

"Did you hear?" Julie inquired in a breathless whisper. "The principal canceled the rally tomorrow!"