Cruel Fate

Madison went through three different pairs of pants before deciding on an olive-green pair that slightly flared out below her knees. Pairing it with a white button-down which she tucked in the waistband, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was put into a high ponytail, the ends slightly curled making the locks bouncier than usual, and she had opted for a dewy style for her makeup which made her look slightly flushed, bringing a glowing feel to her face.

Although most of her mother's advice usually fell on deaf ears due to its pointless nature, there was one specific tidbit that Madison always followed like a commandment. The first time she had heard it was when she was in second grade, wincing as her mother braided her hair tightly enough to make it hurt and Madison had complained, saying that she didn't understand the point of tying her hair up. That was when Cheryl Pierce had knelt in front of her daughter and looked at her with the intensity that only her dramatic mother possessed, "How other people see you matters, Madison. What you look like determines how you're gonna get treated by them. And if you don't look absolutely perfect, they'll think you're weak and you can never let them think you're weak."

These words were quite extreme for a seven-year-old whose only personality traits were taking long naps and watching Barbie movies but they had stuck with her to this day, ingraining themselves deep in her personality. It had led to her getting called the 'Golden Girl' by the people around her because there was never a day when Madison Pierce looked anything other than perfect, not a single hair out of place, outfits looking like they were picked out by a professional stylist, and every facial gesture pre-rehearsed in front of her bedroom mirror to achieve perfection in the slightest twitch of her features.

Scanning herself from top to bottom, worries of not fitting in flashed through her head which she quickly shook off. Mentally hyping herself up, she grabbed her things and left her room to go to the kitchen where her parents sat, eating breakfast.

"Good morning," she said, piling a couple of pancakes on her plate as Heidi came bounding down the stairs in a flowy summer dress, tote bag on her shoulders.

Cheryl looked at her youngest in surprise, "You're up early."

Heidi nodded, "Yeah, Maddie is driving me and Sarah to the beach."

Thomas looked over at Madison in confusion, "Don't you have to be at Walters.Inc today?"

Since her father's company's main office was on the mainland and he had to take the ferry daily, her parents had decided that she could just go to Michael's office instead which was in Parlis Bay. They were a bit concerned about letting her carry her apprenticeship without their supervision but trusted Michael to 'keep her in check'.

"Yeah, I'm heading there after I pick up Sarah and drop these two off," she explained.

"I hope your whole experiment works out," her mother said in a neutral tone of voice before she carelessly shrugged, "Even though I still think it's a colossal waste of time."

The atmosphere of the room grew tense as Heidi looked over at her older sister, concerned. The latter sighed, trying to make eye contact with her mother.

"Mom..."

"I'm not wrong," Cheryl cut Madison off mid-sentence, "Your whole future has been decided in advance and all you have to do is get started. This detour is useless, mark my words."

She had been hoping that after countless back and forth, her parents had finally caved in and accepted her decision but it was quite clear at the moment that if these two didn't like something, they fought till the very end even if they only made their daughter fed up with their stubborn childlike behavior.

Thomas tried to be more diplomatic about the matter at hand, "All right, humor me, Madison. If not business, what are you thinking of doing?"

She paused, gulping. She had not expected this question, hoping that she would get some more time, more preparation to bring the topic up in a casual way to check their reaction but by looking at the expectant looks on their faces, she realized that it was now or never.

"Law school, maybe?" the words were almost a whisper as she looked nervously at her parents, waiting for their reaction as the words registered in their minds.

Cheryl was the first one to react, scoffing in disbelief, "You must be joking," turning to her husband, "She's joking, right?"

Even Thomas had an incredulous look on his face, "Law school? Really?"

"It's just a thought," Madison muttered, not meeting their eyes as she took a bite of her pancakes that had gotten cold by that point.

"I think you'd be great at it, Mads," Heidi was the only one to encourage her on the idea, making the two sisters smile at each other before their mother scoffed again making the smiles disappear.

"Please. You think everything is so easy, don't you? Think the real world is a piece of cake?"

"Look, I get it," her father tried to sound relatable, "I was the same arrogant kid when I was your age but then I had to face reality and accept facts."

Her mother, however, was unnecessarily brutal, "You should be grateful for not having to go through all the trouble and getting your future handed to you on a silver platter. Law is a vicious field of work. You need to be tough to succeed in there."

Her last statement ticked Madison off and she clenched her jaw, a flicker of slight anger in her brown eyes as she met the identical ones of her mother.

"And what? You guys don't think I can do it? Is that it?"

"It requires cunningness, brains, and a drive to succeed no matter what," Thomas began and as Madison opened her mouth to argue, he immediately added, "You've barely seen a glimpse of the world outside of what your mother and I gave you, you wouldn't last a month in the future you're trying to make."

"Exactly. So go to Michael, get this experiment thing done, and go to business school which is something you can actually handle," Cheryl said, decidedly, after which both adults left the table signaling the end of the conversation.

Heidi tried to make her older sister feel better about the whole situation on the drive over to the Walters' house but it was clear that no matter how hard she tried, Madison couldn't help but be impacted the most by her parents' words. It seemed that no matter what perfect front she put in front of the world, to Thomas and Cheryl, she was just a stupid naïve child that needed their guidance to make anything of herself. The drive was short, as the two houses were only a street apart so it wasn't long before Madison pulled into their driveway and parked the car.

Exiting the air-conditioned car, she was immediately met by the brutal summer heat as they quickly went inside the house. The house was a lot cooler than the outside weather and she was grateful for it because she didn't want anything to happen to the look she had spent hours on in the early morning. Feeling thirsty, she made her way over to the kitchen while Heidi went upstairs to Sarah's room and since fate wasn't feeling particularly merciful on her, she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see in this house.

Nick stood there, his back leaning against one of the counters, and his eyes lit up in slight surprise at the sight of her. He was dressed up in a polo shirt that hugged his muscles and shorts with his usually gelled back blond hair, messy on his forehead in a middle part.

Trying her best to be friendly so she could get the water and leave as quickly as possible, "Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

She almost rolled her eyes at the bluntness, pointing at the fridge, "Water."

He made a gesture as if to say 'Go on' so she took out a bottle of cold water and put it on the island before realizing that Nick was standing directly in front of the cabinet which had all the glasses.

It was clear that the atmosphere in the kitchen was suffocating her but meeting his eyes as she turned around, immediately threw her off. She had always noticed that Nick was a very observant person and he liked to watch people, clearly judging them but she never considered herself to be worthy enough to be one of the people under his watchful eye. But there was the same intense look in his eyes as he looked at her, seemingly unaware that she was looking back as if he could look right into her soul.

Walking closer to him, she spoke in a low voice to break him out of his thoughts, "I need to get a glass."

"Hmm?" His voice was soft, as he continued to stare at her.

"You're standing in front of the cabinet."

That seemed to finally pull him out of his head, making him move out of her way as she opened the cabinet and took out a glass, "Right."

She poured the water from the bottle into the glass and after taking a sip, "Isn't it a bit early for drinking?"

Nick looked down at the opened can of beer in his hand that he had taken a few sips from before narrowing his eyes at her, "That's none of your business," after a brief pause where Madison rolled her eyes and turned away from him, finishing her glass of water, he looked critically at the dress pants, "Aren't you a little dressed up for this heat?"

She arched an eyebrow, "I can't go to your dad's office in shorts and a tank top."

"That starts today?"

"Yeah."

After a beat, "Can't say I'm surprised."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "By what?"

He cockily smirked at her, "You finding another way to become his favorite."

"What?" Madison looked at him, incredulously, "You think this is some way to get credit with your dad?"

"I'm just saying what I'm seeing, your highness," he shrugged, arrogance lacing his voice.

"Well, you're seeing wrong," she said, decidedly, all the while ignoring the silly nickname he insisted on calling her.

"Yeah?"

Madison nodded, "I just want to explore other options."

"Of course," Nick flashed an unfriendly grin at her, "Can't blame the golden girl for being careful with her education."

She should've stayed quiet, he was leaving the kitchen, their tense interaction could have just ended there but she spoke anyway. She still believed that if she could get Nick to see their similarities instead of their differences, he might be friendlier towards her. Why she was trying so hard to get him to be frank with her, she didn't know but she always had an urge to be nice to him.

Foolish thinking on her part.