Mary's mother could not live by a budget. It was not her largest failing but it was one she tried not to let stop her. She could not live within her means or save but she could work. She could work very very hard. So when Mary said "Mom can I have....." Mary's mother always said yes. She wanted to give her child everything, and in order to do so she just worked harder.
For this reason Mary spent a lot of time alone.
Mary was a magical child, one who could live for days within her own mind. She knew how hard her mother worked and she didn't ask to be played with or looked after. She would look after herself, get her own food, entertain herself with her selection of electronics and by drawing.
Mary did not like school, she had no friends. She did not complain, she just spent her recess and lunchtime in the library reading a book. Mary's magic made her different from all the other children. She didn't need them and they knew it, avoiding her the way that sheep will avoid the sheepdog, with a little fear and suspicion. The other children spoke about Mary more often than they spoke to her. Mary who had little use for them thought of the other children as an annoyance in her life and school merely as an inconvenience.
One day Mary's mother couldn't work hard enough to send Mary to the school she hated. There was no other school she could attend, so her mother sent her away to live with her grandparents. Mary's mother missed her every day.
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