“O.K…if the distance between point A and B is twice as much as the distance between point A and C, what is the distance between point B and C?” Mara doodled on the side of her paper. “I am seriously not getting this,” she sighed. “Once more, from the beginning.” She tugged at her hair. “X to the power of 2 is equal to 330 times 12…”

After trying (and failing) more than twice, Mara pulled her curtains aside, revealing the perfect autumn’s day. The maple tree in the yard had shed its leaves, making a wonderful, tantalizing, crunchy leaf pile just begging to be jumped in. A little further to the right, in the fenced area of the yard, Mara’s two dogs, a Leonberger and a Border Collie, were playing tug of war with each other.

Mara groaned. She could feel her discipline waning.

“Oh, SCREW MATH !” she banged the table and got up; With a flourish, Mara donned her jacket and raced outside.

Definitely, she thought, as she was knocked down by her Border Collie. Math was made to be ignored!