Olivia struck the thoughts that pulled her into the past from her mind and focused on the list she’d pulled from her bag. Surely Chase could handle the groceries. Going shopping with limited funds would be a challenge for someone who was accustomed to having credit cards without limits. Then again, maybe Chase had limits now. Olivia wasn’t certain what the actress’s financial situation was. When she’d met briefly with Lorna a few weeks ago, the woman had been tight lipped on the financial situation. What Olivia was certain about was that Chase needed Square One, and the actress needed what was about to happen in this adulting boot camp.

Of course, most wouldn’t think putting damaged actors and athletes under such pressure would be the way to rewire their thinking. Olivia had spent years researching adults who were deemed phenoms—small stars who were thrust early into an adult arena while still mentally and physically children. Olivia had discovered a commonality—a missing skill subset. Which made many of the formerly shiny but now-unpredictable wash-ups unable to cope or communicate their emotional needs. Those skills had been skipped over on their road to success. Most didn’t have solid friends their age, basic life skills, or a stable foundation that allowed them to weather defeat. She’d seen many who were one step away from a death spiral.

Oddly enough, she’d hatched the idea of Square One while working on her thesis, which drew parallels between marginalized children and übersuccessful prodigies. One afternoon after sifting through mountains of data, she sat down to a cold lunch and a half hour of television, which allowed her brain respite from the data. A rerun of Little House on the Prairie appeared on the screen. In that particular episode, Pa Ingalls had taken on some rather badly behaving children and worked them so hard on his farm that they were too tired to cause trouble. The episode was a pseudolecture on indulgent parenting and the need for boundaries. The next day, she couldn’t get the episode off her mind, as she often recognized that out-of-control, repercussions-be-damned behavior in her own clients. It led to her exploring the idea of challenges as a way to reimprint and reengage a person. Unable to shake the idea, she’d logged in to a database and searched for statistics of at-risk youth who entered the military as a way to change their course.

All the while, her mind beat the drum with the what if question.

What if instead of military boot camp, she could create a life skills boot camp. Instead of obstacle courses and runs, her clients would navigate the obstacles that life threw at them—flat tires, cranky committee members, lack of money in their accounts. Could she break them down like a drill sergeant and then build them back up with successes that empowered them?