Kryptonite

An Offer

"It's been a while, hmm?" Nadine remarked as she moved another box to the side.

She regretted not sorting through her old stuff sooner. Granted she was away for two years for grad school, but she wished that she had taken the time prior to moving away to look through her belongings more thoroughly.

She had two closets: One for her clothes and another for storage purposes. Her closet was the only one she really maintained while her storage accumulated whatever knick knacks or old clothes were left over. 

Of course, she also had her special boxes--marked as such by having certain designs--which contained memories. From old items from her days with her mom in the shelter to elementary school projects and high school yearbooks, so much of her life existed in those boxes.

Her hands fell over her box from her grade school years. Smiling, she caressed it as she lifted the cover off. It was a large box with red and pink hearts on the exterior, which seemed to define those years.

Her eyes fell upon a silver medal. 

"Third grade, I got an award for ranking second overall in my entire grade. It was my first award ceremony without you, mom," Nadine said aloud as she read the inscription over and over.

Second was her highest overall ranking at the time. In first grade, she was top 15. Second grade, she had jumped to number 6. Though her mother never saw her take number 1, she regarded all of her achievements in school as special. 

Nadine clenched her fist as she recalled that day. It would've been the first time her father would watch her win an award in school. She stood there, wide-eyed and grinning as she waited for him to come on stage and present it to her.

Only he never did. He sent one of his body guards instead due a sudden business meeting. 

Her third grade self, so young, so naive, tried to understand. But then when he did hear of her award, he had nothing wonderful to say. Some parents were proud of their children for getting on the honor roll, others were happy just to see them pass, but Ron was not satisfied unless she was number one. 

"Because as a Lustre, you should be on top," Nadine muttered to herself bitterly as she recalled his words. 

Her fourth grade year, she was ranked third and Ron gave her an earful for "regressing" rather than "progressing". Her fifth grade year, she finally finished first and all Ron could say was that it was a fluke if she did not end as valedictorian at the end of sixth grade.

And though she maintained her position as number one for that academic school year, she was "only" salutatorian. For many, that alone was exceptional. For Ron, it was a a complete failure. She didn't get to celebrate like her other classmates nor did Ron even show up to her middle school graduation. 

Gritting her teeth together, she placed the medal back and closed the box once more as she the pain from that day swept its way back into her memory.

Her eyes crept upon a white box with roses engrained upon it. That box represented her high school years, which made her struggles in grade school appear simple in comparison.

Not only was Ron's pressure on her off the roof, but the school he sent her too was, despite being private and quite expensive, was not the environment for her. Academically, it was one of the best. But how she wished she had just went somewhere else. 

She encountered the most spoiled teens one could imagine and the pressure made everyone quite competitive with each other. Worst of all, the way others looked down upon students who attended due to their scholarships, created a toxic hierarchy. All their parents loved to talk and brag about who would be the most successful, so whenever she found herself struggling, it seemed to find a way to Ron.