The Cinderella Game

Chelsea

                  

Chelsea knew exactly who she wanted to be her Prince Charming. And her Fairy Godmother. Because who else than her best friend, Reilly? She just had to wait for the announcement, which would be posted today, listing all of the Cinderella Game contestants.

The bell rang and Chelsea jumped out of her seat, almost running as she made her way to the bulletin board in the commons, where everyone ate lunch. There was a huge commotion in front of it, a mess of girls who had heard that today was the day of the announcement. Chelsea pushed through the people and looked for the flyer listing the names of the members of The Coffee Grounds, a club which the staff and guys in the school knew as a student run newspaper, but which really was the name adopted by The Cinderella Game and those who ran it, TCG, easy for those who knew what it meant to spot. Chelsea saw the flyer and snapped a quick picture of it on her phone before pushing her way back out of the crowd.

She took a moment once she was a safe distance away to look at the list closer. Tori Anderson, a brunette who was a little shy at first but overall pretty nice; Stacey Rivers, one of the meaner girls in the junior class but she still had a chance; Tiffany North, a girl who was, yes, stereotypically blonde, who couldn't tell her left from her right, but was super pretty and good competition if you could look past her lack of brains. And then a bunch of girls Chelsea didn't know too well: Andrea Meyers, Naomi Creed, Megan Dale, Lucy Roberts, Hayley Green, and Amy Cook.

It was going to be a tough game. But Chelsea knew she could win it.

Chelsea found Reilly and showed her the flyer and the list, squealing with excitement. "I can't believe it!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"You're so lucky!" Reilly smiled.

Chelsea turned to her, mirroring her friend's smile. "Will you be my Fairy Godmother?" she asked hopefully.

Reilly's face lit up and she squealed in delight. "Of course! This is going to be so much fun!"

Chelsea and Reilly talked as they walked together to Reilly's house. "Have you thought about who your Prince Charming is going to be?" Reilly asked.

Chelsea smiled. "Well, see, you know the rules, it can't be someone I know or have talked to, and I didn't want it to be someone I hate, so I was thinking... Ash Benson."

Reilly smacked herself in the forehead. "Chels, he's on the football team, and everyone says he does drugs."

Chelsea shook her head. "No, he doesn't. I'm sure of it. I know he's a nice person. Really."

Shaking her head, Reilly sighed. "Well, I'll help you with whatever. But you need to be careful."

"You just wait, I'm going to win this thing," Chelsea smiled.

The next day at lunch, Chelsea and Reilly made their way to the assigned meeting room for The Coffee Grounds club, as listed on the poster. Alexis was waiting there with her Fairy Godmother, who was allowed to continue helping her with Cinderella Game events after Alexis won the crown the previous year. The other contestants were also under the charge of Alexis or whoever the current Cinderella was, in order to make sure one girl never had too much work on her hands. Chelsea approached her, smiling.

"Can I help you with anything?" Alexis asked. Personally, Chelsea was glad that Alexis had won the year before. She was really nice and pretty, and Chelsea knew she would be fair to all of the juniors.

"I've chosen my Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming," Chelsea told her, biting her lip. Alexis nodded and opened a document on her laptop, where all the names of the contestants, Godmothers, and Prince Charmings would be entered.

"Great, can you give me a first and last name for them both?"

Chelsea took one last deep breath. "Reilly Wilson for my Fairy Godmother, and Ash Benson for my Prince Charming," she said quickly, before she got any second thoughts.

Alexis gave her a long, thoughtful look before nodding quickly and typing the names into her computer. It was her job to know everyone in the junior class, so that she could choose the ten contestants and know what was going on with them at all times. Chelsea could sense that the former Cinderella wasn't completely sure about her choice of Prince, but she was confident and knew it was too late to change it now.

"Reilly, here are your instructions as Fairy Godmother, and Chelsea, remember, Homecoming is this year's ball. I've changed the time it ends to 1:00 am, so make sure to follow the rules and leave by twelve. You must leave an item behind for your prince to find you with, and you can't introduce yourself or tell him your name. Do you understand?" Alexis asked.

Chelsea already knew how this all worked. "Yeah, thanks," she said.

Alexis let out a little laugh. "Sorry I have to repeat this over and over. It's in the original rules that I have to tell all the specifics to contestants at certain times, to make sure everyone gets a fair chance. You understand how it is."

Chelsea smiled. "It never hurts to hear it again. Okay, well, bye, thanks!"

"Bye, and good luck," Alexis waved.

Reilly pulled Chelsea down the hall. "That was so cool! And I even got this fancy Fairy Godmother stuff! This is like the best thing ever!"

Chelsea nodded, laughing. "Shut up, you're making people stare at us. And I'm hungry. Let's go."