Chapter Text
Madeline had just wrapped up another long day at school, the final bell echoing in her ears as she made her way out of the building. Then to her cheerleading training session.
The cheerleading training session had been intense as they were training for a big soccer game.
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The Ashton family gathered around the dining table to have their dinner.
“Dear Lord, please bless the food that we are about to eat. Thank you for the abundance that you have provided,” said Mr. Ashton. He clasped his hands together in front of him, eyes closed in prayer. “Please help us to follow your path, the one you intended us to follow, and Lord, please help us to obey the road in life that you set us, for all that is natural and healthy, in the name we pray, amen.”
The Ashtons shared their meal.
Once dinner and washing up were over, Madeline excused herself, the faint sound of her parents’ chatting faded as she made her way to her room. She changed into her soft white nightgown, before settling onto her bed with a comfortable sigh.
Suddenly, a knock echoed from her door, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.
“Come in,” Madeline called.
Mrs. Ashton stepped into the room. “Anything you would like to tell us?” she asked , her tone light yet serious.
“Hunh? No,” Madeline responded, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Alright…you should go on some dates with boys,” Mrs. Ashton suggested, her voice filled with motherly encouragement before she slipped back out, leaving Madeline alone in her quiet sanctuary.
*What the hell?* Madeline thought, her mind racing. She had never really shown interest in boys since starting high school; it wasn’t that she dismissed the idea entirely, but she simply felt unprepared for the complexities that came with dating with boys.
With a deep breath, she picked up her script from her drama lesson. However, the weariness of the day soon caught up with her, and she drifted off to sleep.
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Afternoon light streamed through the windows when Viola’s assistant, Chagall, arrived at the Ashtons’ house. Madeline was with her parents, still absorbed in the post-school routine, unaware of the storm brewing on the horizon.
The assistant explained what Madeline would encounter in the Right Direction program. His words created a vivid picture that lay ahead.
“There’s no way I’m going,” said Madeline firmly, her voice laced with determination, her heart racing with a mix of fear and defiance.
But soon enough, she found herself seated in the back of the car, the engine humming softly as her parents exchanged glances. The view outside blurred into a tapestry of greens and browns, an unwilling participant in the journey she had not chosen, on her way to the mysterious Right Direction that she hadn’t heard from or known about.
……