Rich Kids Don't Die | Featured

Chapter One

TECHNICALLY, Maddie Dominic was supposed to be dead.

For the most part, it began on a sunny Monday morning, as Maddie attempted to strut through the hallways of White-Oak Academy in her ridiculously uncooperative high heels, wondering just how much she owned, how her closet was brimming with each and everything a girl could possible want: be it a five hundred dollar dress, or a pair of Louboutins.

And then, she stole a sly glance at the people whose lives were completely different (typically, it would deign one's reputation to do so), the girls who'd wear clothes from - dare she say it - Walmart, and she almost felt bad. Almost.

Albeit, if their fashion choices were horrendous, what did she care? She wasn't the fashion police. (She could be, if she wanted to. She could be anything really). Maddie had her own things to worry about, like the English test that would be coming up later in the day.

Whilst she didn't need the best grades to achieve success in her life, she'd rather move out and live a life of her own sooner than not. Her father was a sweetheart, but her mother was a rattlesnake who'd never let go. Clinging onto Maddie's arms about every, little, microscopic thing that bothered her.

So, Maddie had begun to resist bathing in the money her father had handed her (maybe a small shower, at most) and began thinking about the future. She'd decided she would work in business, have a luxurious apartment in Dubai, and own three beautiful cats. After she graduated from Harvard, of course.

However prepared Maddie might have seemed, she was lost in the constant cycle of being a Dominic heir. That, and having such an excruciatingly perfect reputation she had to keep up.

Hours she could have spent studying went into perfecting her hair, or attending events, or shopping for new clothes to wear. Her lifestyle and what was expected from it was the one thing that blocked her from pursuing her dreams.

Needless to say, it was unbearable.

As Maddie neared her classroom, her echoing steps tantalizing the school's population in every way imaginable, Elle Hart (her best and quite possibly only friend) nudged her shoulder lightly.

"Careful, Mads." she whispered.

Maddie felt a stab at her toes. She scowled, looking up from the speck of blood soaking through the fabric of her shoes to a girl in a humongous sweater and ripped jeans.

"Watch it, freak. I'm bleeding!" Maddie let out, gritting her teeth.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap. You're the one stumbling all over the place like a baby giraffe."

With that, the girl, (with extremely poor fashion sense, it seemed to Maddie) walked off. Her presence was as brief as Maddie's genuine smiles.

She glared at the girl, craning her head over her shoulder to get one last look. "Who the hell was that? What a bitch."

Elle Hart hesitated slightly, fidgeting with the ends of her silver skirt. "You did sort of push her though." she murmured.

Maddie sent Elle a warning glance, raising a brow. "Careful, Elle. Don't test me." she muttered lowly.

Seconds passed before Elle nodded, handing Maddie an envelop wrapped in silk red ribbon before her features hardened. "I've got to go to class. I'll see you at the party."