You want a hot body, you want a Bugatti, you want a Maserati, you better work bitch...
The voice of Justine Timberlake boomed forth from Zacharielle Maynard's phone. It had been his wake-up call for years. And why not? It suited him.
He blearily got out of his massive bed and exited the lavender cocoon that was his bedroom to make his way across the Maynard mansion to the kitchen.
Along the way, he passed hallways decorated with the paraphernalia of his parents' lives. Framed photos and product boxes for his mom, Laur, who joined Microsoft early and rose to become the head of Microsoft Office development before retiring early off all the money she made in stock options. His dad, Bryndonna, was a former Mr. Dandridge and American Beau who had the best finish of any American representative in Mr. World in the last 20 years and today was the paid spokesman for an environmental NGO.
It was the only sort of combination that produced a boy like Rielle.
"Good morning, Mother and Daddy," Zacharielle groggily said, already seeing his parents at the breakfast table. His father was as gorgeous as he could be at his age. Despite many rumors over the years, he'd never had any plastic surgery. His natural beauty and good genes had clearly passed on to his only child.
'Morning," Laur said to her son. "So, what are your plans for today?" Laur cut a commanding figure with a deep voice, square shoulders and close-cropped hair.
"Still thinking," Zacharielle said, yawning.
"I hope you do something productive," Laur said between sips of her coffee.
"I suppose school is. What about you?"
Laur looked up from reading the Seattle Business Journal. "I have some important meetings and a conference call with my partners," she explained, already checking the time on her Rolex watch. "Can't slack off on a Friday."
"No, and I can't slack off this weekend at regionals." Zacharielle had been raised to be like a woman where it counted, and that showed in how quickly he spoke. As his mom told him time after time, You might not be a woman, but you gotta be able to make them say "whoa, man!".
"I can't wait to go... Reminds me of my beauty days," Bryndonna wistfully added. "But first you gotta get through today, dear. Anything exciting?"
"I have a test in economics class." Rielle was just one of four boys in the class, and his mom had successfully pushed him to apply to major in business once he got to college.
"Ooh, looks like Ms. McMillan's in some trouble," Laur said with unusual interest. "MTI lost money this quarter," she added, almost with glee.
"I liked the J-girls, but their daughter's a...strange one," Bryndonna replied. "If she'd been a boy, maybe she'd have been more successful." He turned his gaze to Zacharielle. "But you know what?"
"What, Daddy?"
"You're gonna be more successful than those reality stars. You're not just some airhead boy. Mom is raising you right."
Elsewhere in Valley Lake, in an apartment building, Maddie Carlyle awoke to the harsh tones of an alarm clock. He had to get ready for the bus.
That had become harder ever since the encounter with Shan. Being pregnant and trying to hide it wasn't working, and last night, it very nearly overcame him. That bitch, he thought. Rielle just thinks he can do anything he want to get to the top. I guess when you live in a palace, it rubs off on you.
Maddie, of course, did not live in a palace. It seemed like some days the whole house was about to break. The microwave stopped working weeks ago, and they had barely had the money to fix their refrigerator a few months back. If an earthquake takes this dump out, nobody will miss it. He had a little cup of yogurt and a banana—alone, since his dad had to get to work early—and raced to get prepared. Makeup, clothes, hair. Especially for a cheerleader, it was a lot. And with a baby growing inside of him, he felt like soon, he might break.
