a modern cinderella story - phoenixtears (reading like a writer .TXT) 📗

A Modern Cinderella Story
My name is Shannon, and I would like to tell you a story. If you’re looking for a warm, fluffy happy ever after, you would probably be better off with some other tale. It may not be a fairy tale, but it is the only story I have to tell, and I believe that people out there should read it and realize, same as I did, that dreams hardly ever come true.
It began, and ended with Cindy. I suppose she plays the biggest part in it all, as she always has. For her, the sidelines were never enough. Our mother had a… thing so to speak, with her Father, and after his sudden, tragic death in a car accident, we took her on as a maid, in return for food and shelter. I suppose she always resented me, my mother, my sister, for the family we had while she was left parentless, and had someone noticed that deep bitterness and loathing seething within her, things could have been stopped, all my hopes and dreams wouldn’t have been shattered, and we all could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.
I could start from the beginning, but to me, that seems pointless, so I’ll start from where it really matters, from that day in school when she took a step up, when she began to set in motion the chain of events that would lead, ultimately, to my family’s collapse.
Cindy was always the quiet one, the one who followed, never led. She was pretty, sure, but not striking, or by any means remarkable. Not, I allow myself to admit, in any way like me, popular, the ‘it’ girl. Little did I know how she watched, and waited, and plotted. She had friends, but not a lot, did well in school, but not terribly bright, and no boyfriend- yet. So you can probably see why it came as such a surprise when, on one particularly wet, dreary day in December, she was spotted talking to Alisha Kings who’s social status was, needless to say, a good few levels above and beyond Cindy.
I watched with narrowed eyes as they disappeared into the girl’s bathroom, a small cosmetics bag clutched in Alisha’s hand. Since when did those two hand out? When I look back on everything, I believe that Cindy saw Alisha as a sort of fairy god mother, assisting her in her plan, helping along the way, stirring up trouble where she should have left it alone. And that Alisha saw Cindy as the perfect opportunity to throw me off my act.
It was twenty minutes into our lunch hour before they emerged, and the girl trailing a step behind Alisha was nothing any of us expected. Cindy was finally stepping beyond her protective bubble, and with every step, growing more and more confident, more at ease with herself than I had ever seen.
Alisha had chopped Cindy’s hair into short, golden spikes framing her small, heart shaped face, her bright, sapphire eyes peeking out from behind long, curling lashes. Her lips were painted a deep pink, setting off the paleness of her soft, flawless skin. I couldn’t believe no one had notice how beautiful she was, that striking face previously veiled by a long curtain of thick blonde hair.
I watched, mouth forming a small ‘O’ an uneaten fruit bar hanging, forgotten from my limp fingers. But my shock only lasted so long, coming to an abrupt end as a door swung open, and Matt stepped in, his gaze sliding over me, straight to Cindy. I stared in first shock, then horror, and finally disgust.
Matt. Quarter back on the football team, all around nice guy, voted cutest boy in the school, currently going out with yours truly and at that moment, gaping unabashed at Cindy- the maid! Composing myself, I walked up to him, catching his hand and tugging at it. Distractedly, he extracted himself, and approached Cindy, a pathetic, grin, masking his features. In a last desperate attempt to catch his attention, I called after him.
‘Still on for the masked party tonight, right?’ I ignored the half amused; half pitying glances shot my way. He nodded disjointedly,
‘Sure, whatever.’ I smiled, relieved, I wasn’t forgotten. Then my smile faded- Cindy was coming too. My only condolence was the fact that my mother had given her a curfew-twelve o’clock- with me and my sister being free to stay however long we wanted. After all, she worked for us, rules were necessary. With a flick of my dark mane of hair, I stalked off, though not before catching that smug look Alisha shared with Cindy. Something was up, but I was too busy thinking about clothing for the party that night. Cindy and her new friend would have to wait.
The night couldn’t come soon enough, I was dressed and made up way before it was time, and I went down, twirling in front of my mother, lapping up the complements. Now all I needed was Matt to pick me up, and my night would already be perfect.
The sound of tires on gravel jerked me back to reality, and I rushed to the door, happier than I had been in months. Matt’s first words to me though, dashed all my hopes of a wonderful night.
‘Hi. I told that girl from yesterday and your sister I would give them a lift too, they said they would be here. oh, you look pretty Shannon, nice dress.’ His listless tone surprised me and I couldn’t help the feeling of resentment, welling up inside me. I felt hurt, betrayed and all I could do was nod dumbly and shrug, pretending I didn’t care.
Cindy flung open the door, stepping out into the dim porch light, my sister flouncing out behind her. Cindy was wearing a dress I had never seen, but there was no doubt as to whom she had got it from. It was a deep, shimmering electric blue, clingy, long, and gorgeous. Her mask a cluster of midnight black feathers, obscuring her face. It was then that it dawned on me; Matt had no idea who she was.
Matt gasped, then ran up the stairs to lead her down, turning on his trademark charming smile. I had to fight to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. Of course, she got the front seat, Matt’s eyes flickering an alarming amount of times to alight on her face. And she knew, oh yes she knew what was going on, and she was enjoying it, but it seemed I was the only one who could see through her, even my sister had fallen for it.
We arrived at the party, stepping through the archway of ribbons, balloons and banners, entering the murky depths of the barely lit, slightly eerie hall, masks flashing, identities unknown. It added its own sense of mystery, the fact that, in most cases, no one knew who the other was. Suddenly the music started up, and I swung round, reaching for Matt, wanting to dance. He was gone and in his place was Alisha, wearing no mask at all. She flashed me a strip of white teeth, and laughed.
‘If you’re looking for Cindy and Matt, I would take a peek outside, but be careful; you might be interrupting something…’ I scowled, and spun, making my way across the floor, Alisha’s tinkling laughter following me.
Cool air washed over me as I left the hall, and I drunk it in, glad for an escape. I looked up, and there they were. Dancing across the grass, her coat flung over a tree, his arms around her waist. All of a sudden, there was a beep, breaking into the picturesque scene. Cindy stopped, Matt stumbled, just catching himself before he fell. He frowned, but halted. She lifted her hand, and for a second I thought she would hit him, but she turned up her wrist and I realized she was checking her watch. Looking at my own, I realized it was 11.50. She had to leave! She pulled away, running to the door where Alisha waited, urgently beckoning her over. In her haste, she forgot her coat, and lifting it up, Matt yelled after her.
‘But you didn’t even tell me your name!’ I went back inside then, I couldn’t bear to watch any longer, my night was ruined, as was my social status as soon as the story got round, but still I would not cry, I held on to the little dignity I had left. The rest of the night passed in a blur, on my own until my sister found me and we went home, with a taxi. No Matt, no friends, just a sister who by now, totally doted on the person I now hated most in life. Cindy.
The next day, the school was a flurry of activity, everyone helping to find the owner of the coat. A desperate Matt flitted from one girl to the other, but no one claimed it. Cindy herself was at home, conveniently getting sick on this particular day. At around lunchtime though, the search ended, and I found myself sitting face to face with Matt. My heart leapt, but he was only there for Cindy. Again. He was not smiling.
‘You know her Shannon, I know you do. She lives in your house. Thanks a lot for telling me. Well, if you hadn’t before, you know now. We are over, plain and simple. I would say I was sorry, but I’m not. Good bye Shannon.’ And he slid out of his chair and walked away, leaving me dumbstruck, starting at his retreating back.
By the time I got home, he was there already, returning the lost coat. Cindy was grinning in that evil way of hers, staring me straight in the eye, as if daring me to protest. I said nothing, just ran up the stairs, threw myself onto my bed and cried myself dry, until I had no more tears left, until my pillow was just a soggy lump of feathers. When I finally showed my face, they were gone, Cindy gone to stay with Alisha at her house, leaving us without even a thank you. My mother was ranting to my sister about ungrateful children these days, shocked at Cindy’s behaviour. I sighed and returned to my bedroom, resigned, drained, no longer the girl I once was.
Soon after Cindy left, my sister followed, announcing that how we had treated Cindy was terrible and she wanted nothing more to do with us. With her gone, my mother and I had less and less to do with each other until we were all but strangers. My life had taken on a peculiar mechanical form, getting through school only by being as uncaring, distant and cold as possible. You see, after the whole incident, Cindy took my place as the ‘it’ girl, Alisha never far behind and I was the object of ridicule, the cruel rich kid who enslaved the innocent orphaned girl. As if, but who would believe me? Everyone as encased as they were in her web of lies and charm, hanging on to her every word. Things would never be the same and I found myself in a place I never thought I would be. The outside.
I’m still there, to this day, and all I can do now is watch, waiting for an opportunity to come my way, waiting for the day I can take my revenge.