𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄, 𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘. - 𝐀.𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐍

STANCE, SERVE, RALLY - Ten.

"Me and your mother have been thinking about letting you attend this party tonight, Alaska." Cruz Flores informed his daughter, sipping from a glass of red wine dismissively, "-You can go."

"-But, before you get too excited - no drinking, absolutely no drugs, and no boys." Her mother narrowed her eyes, pressing, "If we find out, you won't be allowed out to any events other than tennis practices for the rest of the month."

That was sort of how her life worked, anyways.

But Alaska nodded gratefully, just wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible.

"To make sure you're following the rules, we'll have you do a drug test when you get home - we've told one of the maids to wait up for your return so you can do it."

"I'm not going to do any drugs, guys!" Alaska rolled her eyes, "I'm not an idiot - I'm never planning to touch them, like, ever."

Her father hummed approvingly of her answer.

"This is the only party you're permitted to go to at the moment - understand?"

Alaska continued to nod all giddy, restless as she stood in the dining room - ready to skip up the stairs and dash to her bedroom to get ready as soon as her father dismissed her.

"Thank you."

Her father nodded back, except his nod was a dismissal - and now, the timer had started.

Ticking seconds of freedom that were temporary, and so valuable to Alaska.

She shot out of the dining room and up the stairs
like a wild bullet - her feet thudding loudly across the landing as she did so.

She catapulted herself into her room by slinging her body off of the banister she was gripping onto - launching onto her bed and grabbing her cellphone.

She punched in a text to Tashi - telling her not to bother about scheming on how to get Alaska out of the house under her parents nose.

Tashi replied saying she'll tell her parents to come by Alaskas estate in fifteen minutes, after questioning Alaska about why there were so many spelling mistakes in her texts.

There were no words to describe how ecstatic Alaska was.

To the average all-American teenager, being allowed to go to a party wasn't all that big a deal - but to Alaska, it was like a reward.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been allowed to go to a function that wasn't associated with tennis, because there had never been a prior time.

She wasn't sure why her parents were convinced with such little cohesion, but she wasn't going to complain.

Her parents also said no alcohol, but they only said they'd test her for drugs - which meant that if she bribed the maid with a hefty side payment, she'd have her secrets kept tightly sealed.

She'd saved up her allowance for when she started Stanford, so she was sure she could spare a few hundred to make sure she could drink a reasonable amount without having to face the wrath of her parents.

Although Alaska was rarely a disobedient child, there is an unspoken rule that applies to similar dynamics that she is involved in.

Strict parents raise sneaky kids, without them knowing. Teenagers are stubborn usually, and when they want something enough, they will do anything and everything to work around you without you knowing.

Alaska had gotten pretty good at doing that - although it was only on a few occasions, she knew what she could and couldn't get away with.

Obviously she valued her tennis career above anything else, which is why she only allowed exceptions of alcohol and not drugs - but, she knew that if she only ever left the house to play tennis, she'd eventually go insane.