Once Upon A...Oh, Never Mind!

Once Upon A Time, There Was A--Just Forget It!

Chapter 1---Once upon a time, there was a—just forget it!

I was sitting in my small bedroom, in the middle of the freshly polished hardwood floors, surrounded by a variety of my favorite books, old and new. I stared at my stack of A Series of Unfortunate Events books. I've always wondered how I ever got through reading the depressing story. I don't know; I guess it calmed me down and gave me hope about the lesser troubles that I have. I stared at the other two piles. I have to admit—and don't judge me—I am openly, both, a Twihard and a Potterhead. Though, I must say that the latter gives me somewhat more enjoyment—no offense to the first choice, of course. I recently started reading--

“Ember!”

Those high-pitched voices entered my ears, interrupting my thoughts.

“In here,” I mumbled.

My two step-sisters, Ruby and Jade, strutted into the room, showing off their Jimmy Choo heels; everything they wear is bound to be murder on the floor, which I clean, by the way.

“There you are,” Ruby chirped.

“Ew,” Jade grimaced. “What are all of these books?”

“They're for reading,” I explained, slowly. “You. Should. Try. It. Some. Time.”

“Why are you talking all slow and stupid and stuff?” Ruby asked, irritated.

I glared at her.

She made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Anyway, we need your help.”

I sighed and stood up from my previous position. “What do you want?”

“We need you to do our English essays for us,” Jade explained.

“Yeah,” Ruby said, chomping on her Raspberry Sorbet-flavored gum. “We have to write, like, about fairytales and junk.”

“I chose Cinderella,” Jade mentioned.

“Me too!” Ruby shrieked.

I whistled. “Oh, the irony.”

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Jade questioned.

“Nothing,” I said.

“So, will you do it?” Ruby questioned.

I hesitated to answer.

We had an unofficial staring contest among the three of us.

I glanced at Ruby, who was still chewing on her gum. I have to admit, she's probably the more annoying of the two—wait—no, nevermind; they're both equally annoying. She played with her “Ariel-like” red hair. Coincidentally, she was wearing a sequined skirt that resembled the scales of a fish; she could pass off as a mermaid. Her piercing green eyes were starting to tear up, as she tried not to blink. She was trying so hard to be forceful. It's hard to believe that she's the older one of the two.

Jade, on the other hand, was a bottle-blond. Unfortunately, her hair had a slight tint of green; somebody made a major bleaching problem. In the back of my mind, I always thought that she knew how to work with it, though (Yeah, I'll admit it). Her grayish-blue eyes locked with mine.

“So...give us an answer,” Jade urged.

“We don't have all day,” Ruby whined.

“What do I get out of this?” I asked. “I already do your chores for you around the house. I suffer through your bullying at school. Why should I do your homework?”

“We'll let you come with us to Lynn Crystal's party on Saturday,” Ruby and Jade offered, in unison.

I became skeptical. “You two would actually let me come with you?”