Out To Get Her

10| I'll Do What I Must

"PASS ME THE onions, will you?"

"Sure," Alex pulls the bag towards herself and carries it over to her slightly frazzled mother as she enters the kitchen, "What are you making?"

"You'll see," she smiles knowingly.

"You know it shouldn't be that hard to figure out by what you're doing right?"

"That's exactly why you were just leaving. Out!" Alex's mom whips a towel out, chasing a giggling Alex from the room.

"I just wanted to help," she calls, flopping down onto the couch and switching on the TV.

"I didn't ask," her sassy-as-ever mother calls back.

"Touché, mother. Touché," Alex smiles to herself, turning her attention to Master Chef.

"So, the gala is coming up, do you have a dress picked out yet?" Alex's mom peers at her curiously, a half hour later, from across the dinner table.

Alex groans, fork crashing to her plate, "I've barely even thought about it, I'll have to go shopping soon."

"Don't stress, you still have a few weeks."

Nodding, Alex picks up her fork and resumes shoveling peas into her mouth.

"How's school going?"

A moment of hesitation, "Good, good."

Her mother's eyes narrow a fraction before she nods, "Remember, Michigan State's Medical Program will only accept your absolute best."

"I know. Listen, can I go to my room? I'm really tired."

"Yes, go. I'll clean this up."

"Thank you," Alex backs out of the kitchen and makes her way up the hardwood stairs.

Greeted by the sound of her ringtone as she opens her bedroom door, she grabs it from her desk and answers without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Yo Alex, I am so bored right now. You interested in hitting up a party? I hear there's one at Ryan's brother's place," the animated voice of her best friend greets her.

"I would love to, but I really can't. My mom's on my case about Michigan and I have so many assignments."

"You're too hardworking, sometimes you just need to live a little."

"Maybe, but not today. Thanks anyway, Dyl, have fun at the party," Sighing, she doesn't wait for him to respond before ending the call. She'd deal with apologizing later, for now she just wanted a break. But she wouldn't get one, because she just had to be a perfect little good girl and get everything done at top quality. Michigan State would accept nothing but her absolute best, after all.

Faceplanting into her bead, halo of purple hair around her, Alex groans into her bedspread. Sometimes she really wished that she'd never began the journey of following in her mother's footsteps. Ever since her father had left, the pressure to succeed had been placed on Alex's shoulders with nothing to relieve it. Her mother expected the best, and failure was never an option.

As much as Alex wanted to do this, the constant pressure was making the whole thing seem a little too impossible, and frankly speaking, unpleasant.

~*~

High fiving her best friend and then repeating the action with Dean on her other side, Alex smirks to herself. The group having just finished setting up, await the arrival of their victim from crouched behind a silver Honda Accord.