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Addison cursed loudly as she shot upright from her position on the sofa, the empty wine bottle falling to the floor next to her glass. Wincing as pain shot through her head, she squinted at the clock in her kitchen.

7.50.

'Shit,' she mumbled.

It was the first day of classes, and she was hungover and late. She tried to ignore the dizziness washing over her as she stood up and started to make a coffee in the kitchen. The smell of the brewing drink, which was usually her favorite, made her stomach churn and she ran to the bathroom, throwing up in the toilet. There wasn't much to bring up as she hadn't eaten dinner the previous night, so stood up and groaned as she caught a look at herself in the mirror.

Dark circles surrounded her eyes and her skin was much paler than usual. She looked as though she hadn't slept in weeks, which she supposed she hadn't really, not properly anyway. Deciding to leave the coffee for now, she set about doing her makeup. Over the months of her steadily worsening drinking habit, she'd perfected the look that made sure to keep Bizzy satisfied with her appearance. Lots of concealer, bronzer, mascara. No foundation. Less highlighter. Easy on the brows. The blush was the hardest to get right; she had to use enough to bring the life back into her face, but not too much that it didn't look natural. Subtle eyeliner finished off the look, making her eyes pop and give her the appearance of looking awake. Her favorite finishing touch was a trademark red lipstick.

Addison brushed through her hair with her fingers, fluffing it around her shoulders and tried to summon a small smile. She went through her closet, deciding on a green blouse and white linen trousers, wanting to be comfy. This was it. She was going to become a doctor. She was going to become a doctor and escape her parents for good. She'd be able to support herself, helping people along the way and, most importantly, prove them wrong. Despite what they said, she could amount to something more than the future as a socialite wife that had been planned for her.

Today was the day that Addison Forbes Montgomery became her own person.

…

Coffee in hand (she felt better after throwing up), Addison made her way through the streets of Manhattan towards Columbia. She had a coffee morning planned with the other first year med students and because she could never have enough coffee, she was actually looking forward to it. As she walked she looked all around her, marveling at the skyscrapers and the people making their way to work. The sun was shining through the clouds that were scattered across the sky, an autumn breeze wafting through the trees which were shedding their leaves. It was a far cry from her sleepy town in Connecticut, where very few people ever seemed to be in a rush. The buzz excited her though and she knew she was where she belonged. Addison was a New York City girl now; there was no doubt about it.

A flick of her wrist to check her watch told her she would be on time, as usual. For all her missed alarms and late nights, one thing Addison could not bear to be was late. It annoyed her when people were late for meetings with her, but her biggest pet peeve was being late herself. It could have been a result of her upbringing, but she could not bear the impression she made when she was late. Addison Montgomery was not rude, or careless or ignorant to other people's time. They had obligations and places to be beyond her, something she was well aware of and, as a result, Addison Montgomery was never late. So, even though she was on time, she continued her brisk walk down the street, heels clacking on the ground.

Five minutes early, she arrived slightly out of breath at a college building. Clearly she wasn't the only one who was similarly conscious of being on time, though, as she caught the eye of another girl who was nervously stood in front of the double doors. She seemed to be repeatedly checking a piece of paper, and then the name of the building, and then the paper again.

Addison cleared her throat and approached her.

'Hi, are you here for the med students' coffee morning?' she asked politely, plastering a small smile on her face.

The other girl's face instantly relaxed and she put away her paper, folding it into her coat pocket.

'Yes! I'm Naomi. It's such a relief to meet someone else.'

Addison chuckled at the clearly nervous girl, who was now reaching into her pocket for a chocolate.

'Want one? I eat when I'm nervous,' Naomi smiled.

Addison shook her head no. 'Shall we go in?'

They pushed open the doors and walked through together, looking up in awe at the ornate ceiling. The building seemed traditional in style, though she couldn't have placed it in any particular time period. It had a curved shape, reminding her of a cathedral she'd seen in France on a trip with her parents.

She fixed her posture.

As she and Naomi walked through the hallway following the signs to the coffee morning, the sound of Addison's heels echoed across. After a few minutes, they reached a large room filled with students. They both noticed one thing when they walked in.

'Wow, that's a lot…' Naomi began.

'Why are they all… men?' Addison asked incredulously, scanning the room again to make sure she wasn't mistaken.

She wasn't.

The room was filled with male students, all with booming voices that made them seem to take up even more space. While the spattering of girls stood together in a corner, the boys seemed intent on taking even that little area from them, surrounding them as they towered over them, despite half the girls wearing heels.

Addison and Naomi turned to look at each other, a dark look settling over their faces as they realised for the first time just how deep the divides in their society still ran. Both had led privileged lives, though they only saw that now. While Naomi seemed more resigned to the underrepresentation, Addison wanted to dig her heels in more. They weren't better than her. They'd all fought thousands of other applicants to be accepted into one of the best med schools in the country, and she certainly wasn't going to back down now just because she wasn't a man.

As the pair walked around the room, Addison couldn't help but notice that the boys all seemed to know each other. She overheard several conversations inquiring about people's parents and sisters, which generally led the boy being questioned to go red and tell the others to shut up. But it was all in good spirit and he meant no malice, because the smirks never left their faces. The room was filled with smirking men. Smirking men who had rarely had to work for anything in their lives, who had had everything handed to them on silver platters by other men in the world. On the other hand, Addison had fought tooth and nail to get to where she was. All those nights she didn't go to parties or out for dinner; all the times she refused to go shopping with her roommate; she'd sacrificed the 'perfect college experience' for this. She wondered if any of these boys had ever skipped a party.

Naomi and Addison reached the table filled with steaming pots of coffee and plates of pastries and muffins. Before they could pour themselves a drink though, a voice cut them off.

'Allow me.'

A boy with dark hair squeezed past them and reached for a cup, filling it with hot coffee and passing it to Addison, who looked at him dumbfounded.

'I can pour my own coffee, thanks,' she snapped.

The boy looked confused but handed it to Naomi instead, who blushed slightly.

'Thanks.'

Addison rolled her eyes internally and took a chocolate muffin, her favourite. She didn't see the point in having any baked good without it containing chocolate. She studied the boy, who had now led Naomi away with his palm grazing her elbow.

'Sam,' she heard him say.

She didn't like Sam.