Perfectly Mean

Mean With a Capital "M"

If Ava Iona Halloway were to be described in one word, it would be perfect. She was absolutely perfect. She was the envied, popular girl at school, and no one could ever surpass Ava. She had perfect blue eyes and long, wavy, blond hair with a few hot pink and aqua streaks through it. She had the perfect body and perfect curves, with the perfect amount of muscle to go with it. She was a straight-A student and could flaunt a bikini like a supermodel. She did model, actually.

She wasn't afraid to get dirty or hurt, and she would often up-stage the "tough guys" at school. Once Big Sam, the school bully, got in a fight with her and broke her arm. Even so, she beat him up so bad he had to get stitches in four places.

But Ava was mean. With a capital "M." She was vicious, cruel, relentless, ruthless, and just plain mean. If you crossed her, her revenge would be so malicious you'd wish you were a little toad that got squashed in the middle of the road.

Her meanness probably came from her dad spoiling her rotten. He was a huge businessman and was hardly ever home, so he made up for it by giving her everything a girl could possibly want. Unlike most girls, however, Ava wanted horses. So her father bought a big ranch in Tennessee and filled it with world famous horses. As soon as she got her way, Ava was happy.

Ava's mom was a well-known psychologist, and she used their big ranch as a Retreat Center. Her sixteen-year-old daughter was not at all pleased with having a bunch of crazy people around, but most of the time she ignored them. Her mom specialized in suicide counseling, and they often had extreme cases living with them.

Ava may be downright mean, but her mother was the nicest woman in the world. She took in many depressed and suicidal teens in order to help them heal.

Ava, of course, was never very happy with her mother's "patients." The crazier the client, the less time her mother spent with her. So you can imagine that she was particularly ticked when she found out who the newest patient was: a three-time suicidal, self-abusive teen.

Gail found her daughter in the barn, tacking up for a ride. She planned on telling Ava about her next patient now so she could calm down before the patient actually got there. (Three days later... yes, it actually took her that long.)

Ava was sitting on a tack box, lacing up her $911 Sergio Grasso Imperia field boots.

"Hey, Ava," she greeted.

"Hey," Ava replied, standing up and brushing off her $310 Pikeur Ciara Grip breeches. "What's up?"

"The ceiling," Gail said with a smile, starting the conversation off with their decade-old joke. "And I need to talk to you. I have a new patient coming in-"

"Oh, perfect," Ava groaned, slipping into her horse's stall. "What nut job is coming now? A psychopath addicted to heroin?"

"Ava, please. Try to be nice. They may be mentally ill, but they are still people."

"Really? I thought they were animals."

"Ava!"

"What? Most of them act like it."

"That is no way to talk, young lady. I understand it's hard for you to have them around, but you need to treat them well. Now, I originally came to tell you who my new patient is."

"What if I don't care who it is?"

Gail ignored her. "His name is Hayden. He's been through a lot, and he's very sensitive, so please try to treat him like a human being."

"Whatever. Like I care about his problems." She put on her $700 GPA First Lady helmet and led her gorgeous million-dollar dappled grey Arabian mare Alaska out of the barn.