Editing WtHQM:Maple (section)

===At the Socinian Institute===

By middle school Maple's artistic skills had matured significantly, and in 7th grade she earned a spot in a summer arts program for gifted students. The scholarship offer to Holy Question Mark came shortly after, blindsiding the whole family, who otherwise never would have been able to afford even a fraction of the tuition. Maple feels a bit guilty getting an opportunity like this where her sisters didn't, and is determined not to take it for granted. Her younger sister, Willow, jokes that she's the one who really lucked out, because with Maple at the Socinian Institute and Magnolia off in the military, she's the only one of the three who has a bedroom all to herself.

Maple was a very different person her freshman year; quiet, shy, and afraid of her own shadow. Easy prey for her then-roommate [[WtHQM:Minor NPCs|Gwendolyn]] and her coterie's bullying. She quietly endured the coordinated campaign of harassment for nearly their entire freshman year, convinced (mostly by Gwen) that she could risk losing her scholarship if she made waves. Everything came to a head near the end of the school year; after a week of particularly vicious bullying she broke down in a mess of tears over a minor mishap in Advanced Spirituality and spilled all the gory details when Reverend Foley pulled her aside. It was near enough to the end of the year that Maple declined offers to have the roommate situation rectified immediately and toughed it out for the last few weeks of school after being reassured that she wasn't going to be kicked out. From sophomore year onwards Maple's roommate has been [[WtHQM:Minor NPCs|Kennedy Brookens]]. The two don't really talk much but it's not a particularly awkward silence. With Gwendolyn's toxic influence drastically diminished Maple came out of her shell sophomore year and gradually evolved into the friendly, flirty girl everyone knows and at least tolerates today.

Maple's grades are consistently high, though she usually falls just short of a 4.0. She breezes through most coursework, but often has trouble focusing on subjects that don't particularly interest her (namely math and the science classes that mostly consist of memorizing formulas). Homework and studying for those classes tends to be put off to the last minute, but she discovered early on that she seems to function well with considerably less sleep than most of her classmates.

A good deal of Maple's free time ends up spent in the school's art studios, but she's also worked on the school paper since freshman year. She writes the occasional article but more often provides photographs and illustrations. At the start of her junior year Maple somehow charmed the editor and staff advisor into appointing her as the paper's art director. Her stint as the guiding force behind the paper's look has been a bit…avant-garde. The poor Editor's exasperation seems to endlessly amuse her.