𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: "𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚'𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬"

I arrived at one of New York City's finest public schools, Lincoln Academy. Lincoln is for all of the kids of successful parents, minus the funding for a private school education. We're the kin of career-driven adults that had children to make them the people that they always wanted to be when they were teenagers or bred to be a carbon copy of who they were in high school. Everyone here is either a star athlete, future world-renown musician, model, actress, or the child of a New York society member. It sounds like we all attend a $50,000 private school, except everyone is too busy " 'catching up with the Jones' " to afford such a luxury. The two story houses in the cookie-cutter neighborhoods, newest cars, latest technology, and five-star restaurants drain the bank account too much.

You're probably wondering where I fit into the Lincoln Academy equation. My name is Monroe Fox, daughter of Lincoln Academy's sweetheart, Celeste Fox and former star athlete, Ethan Fox who also happens to be the governor of New York. My mom was the classic cheerleader character in every Americana film. Blonde, blue-eyed, thin, tan, popular, and was adored by every teacher. She won homecoming court two years in a row and she was the prom queen her junior and senior year at Lincoln. Before she was Celeste Fox, she was Celeste Adams, a middle class blonde bombshell living a luxurious lifestyle on her highschool waitress salary. Until she met my dad, Ethan. He was the class president for the class of '91 and the star lacrosse player, who happened to be the son of one of the wealthiest families in the city. They fell in love, got married, chased the politician lifestyle, then they had me, their only daughter, which just happens to be me.

I wouldn't call my family perfect. But to others, our life belongs on the cover of a magazine. We go to church every Sunday, Celeste stays at home and cares for me, making sure that I live up to the society's expectation of what Lincoln Academy's sweetheart is supposed to be. She cooks based off of the latest fad-diet trends for my dad and I, cleans the larger than life house, updates the family social media account, and trains me for all the upcoming beauty pageants. Ethan works hard all day doing whatever the governor of New York does and comes home to a hot meal on the table and a wife and daughter who are always awaiting his return. Especially my mom. He holds the purse strings for all of her family appearance upkeep and for my "American Dream" lifestyle.

Today was different from any other Friday. I had to sit back and prepare myself for the events that would occur in that school today. Social disaster isn't exactly what I was prepared for, especially during my junior year. I had a plasma infusion last week due to a blood protein from malnutrition. I took the weight loss cut for the "Miss Hollywood Teen" pageant a little too seriously; or my mom did. Who truly knows. All I know is that Celeste blasted my little hospital trip all over the "Fox Family" page. Both my mom and my dad kept posting pictures of me asleep in a sterile blue gown making sure my white bracelet was visible. I spent the majority of this week at home practicing my walk in different pairs of sparkly heels and bedazzled dresses and my speech on how all of my years of pageantry prepared me for a future career in acting or modeling. I'm competing against at least thirty other girls for $10,000, which is to be put towards modeling camps and acting classes.

It's 7:45 A.M., fifteen minutes before my first period class in AP Language and I'm still sitting in my vehicle from the fear of being gossiped about my latest hospital trip and the rumors that I was actually a beauty queen gone wild that was sent to a mental facility. But I know where the duties of America's Princess falls, and that is to walk down the halls of Lincoln Academy with my chin held high and my appearance perfectly manicured. I sifted through my school bag and pulled out my rose gold compact mirror with a light that light up the circle part around the glass and made sure I had no lipgloss on my teeth, no mascara on my eyelids, and that I did my brows evenly at 5:00 A.M. before class. The mirror was too small to fully see my hair, but it appeared that my honey blonde hair and chestnut highlights still held my half-up half-down blown out style and that my white bow was still standing straight.