Indeed.

Regina burst into laughter and another flush of irritation rose within Madison. When she saw that Madison's face remained stony, Regina stopped and frowned.

"Ok, fine, if you don't wanna tell me you don't have to. You don't have to pretend you're a golem."

"I am, though," Madison said through clenched teeth. "I'm not lying."

"Bullshit." Regina stopped walking and grabbed Madison's shoulder. "I've known you for years, Madison. You have friends and family. I've seen you eat food and go to the bathroom - you even got the flu once! Golems don't get the fucking flu!"

"Ones that are designed to pass as people do," Madison said. "My dad created me after the real Madison died in high school. You never met her, but I know she would have liked you because my script is modeled after her and I like you."

"This isn't funny," Regina said. "You're creeping me out. Why are you saying all this?"

Madison took her by the arm and led her into a secluded, shady spot in the woods just off of the quad. She looked around for a second before picking up a golf-ball sized rock. Before Regina could ask what she intended to do with it, Madison had put it into her mouth and begun to chew. Regina's face paled and took on a look of terror as her friend ground the stone to pebbles and spat them back into her hand.

"Proof enough?" Madison asked. Regina stared at her in shock, still processing what she'd seen.

"You're- you- no. You can't be. It's a trick, right? It's a fucking-"

"It's not a trick," Madison said. "I can give you more proof if you need it, but I don't think you do. Remember that time we bumped into each other at the mall and I was speaking so strangely?"

Regina nodded, then gasped when it dawned on her. "That was... what the fuck? That was another script? Like you were possessed or something?"

"It's not possession. It's more like changing the desktop background on your computer," Madison said. "Ross was helping me shop-"

"Ross! Did he fucking do this?" Regina asked. "Did he turn you into a golem or something? Oh God, Mads, did he- is this something he's doing against your will? Did he like, take control of you or something?"

Madison quickly tried to shoot down the idea but Regina was running with it. "Oh my God, everything he's done since you started to date him... this is ****! He's **** you and fucking with your head so you don't even care! Madison, we have to report this!"

Madison shook her head. "It's not like that at all. Besides, if what he did was ****, what was all that stuff you did to Lauren? I'm a golem, Regina. I don't have any will to subvert. You can't **** me anymore than you can **** a mannequin. It's all dirt."

Regina stared at her, mouth agape. Her eyes searched Madison's frantically, **** to square this new information with her relationship. Madison waited, allowing her time to process.

"...no," she finally said.

"No what? You don't believe me?"

"I believe that you're a golem," Regina said. "I don't believe that you're not real. I mean, Jesus, Mads! You just compared yourself to a mannequin! I've known you for too long to buy that. Whatever you're made of and wherever you came from, I refuse to accept that you're not real."

"Do you have any idea how golems work?" Madison asked. "The basic-"

"I don't care," Regina said. "I've seen you interact with people. You're smart, funny, energetic, and empathetic. You can say that's all a bunch of gibberish in a script, and maybe it is, but it's fucking real. The girl who cries at tearjerkers, who helps lost freshmen find their way around campus, who loves dogs - she is real and you'll never convince me otherwise."

Madison was at a loss. She had thought of a dozen ways Regina might react, but this scenario never occurred to her. She stared at her friend for a second before an idea came to her.

"Ok, you know what? Let's go back to my apartment. I can give you more proof once we're there."