Cinderella Isn't Her Name

Chapter Three

Weekend's over and it's back to school. Ella and Kody haven't pranked me since Saturday, which worries me. This usually means they're planning a big prank. I keep an eye for them as I walk the halls and glance over every time the classroom door opens. My teachers start talking to me, but they don't understand. Ella and Kody pranksters? No, they would laugh at me. They'd call me the prankster.

"Hey, Cinder!" Ella calls from down the hall.

I purse my lips, resisting the urge to glance up. I hear her approach.

"Hey, loser. I was talking to you," she snaps.

"Yeah, Cinder. Your sister is talking to you," Kody adds.

I stuff my books into my locker and ask, "Don't you have someone else to tease?"

They pause for effect, then Ella says, "Nope. You're one of a kind, Cinder."

"Lucky me," I grumble, closing my locker and walking away from the two of them.

Ella and Kody laugh at my back, but I ignore them as I usually do. I keep my head down, one great tactic in avoiding ridicule from other students, especially since I'm unpopular which makes me a target for lots of people other than Ella and Kody.

I shrug my bag onto my shoulder and turn into my next class. Someone bumps into me as I enter and I'm forced to take a step back to balance myself.

"Oh, sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, glancing up into the face of a very hot guy.

His blue eyes search my face and he sighs, smiling. "Well, that's good."

I tuck my hair behind my ear, immediately wishing I'd cared more about my appearance this morning. His friends call him and he says, "Coming!" Then he turns to me and runs a hand through his dark hair. "See you around," he says before taking off after his friends.

I watch him go, stunned. Oh my gosh. He is the hottest guy I've ever met.

"Hey, Lucy!" Ari says. "Snap out of it. Geez. Some people would think you'd been hypnotized."

I let him pull me into the classroom and to our seats near the back of the class. He makes me turn toward him and waves a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Lucy. Wakey, wakey," he whispers. "Come on, Tyler is not that interesting. He's a complete jerk."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "Do you know him?"

"No, but--"

I cut him off. "Ari, he's hot."

Ari blinks at me. "Um, yeah. I guess he is, even though I'm a guy and I'm totally not into other guys. Anyway, Lucy, Tyler's a jerk. I have seen how he acts and I've talked to his friends. He's a definite jerk."

I open my mouth to argue further, despite not having anything to say, but the teacher calls the class to silence and we have to turn our attention to the front of the class. All I can think about is Tyler, well, some of the lesson, but mostly Tyler. And Ari can't judge me, he's dating one of the hottest girls in the school so he can't say anything about liking people for their looks.

After class, I get up and ask him, "So why do you like Nina again?"

Ari turns red. "Because she's nice, smart and..."

I raise my eyebrows. "Because she's hot. Basically the same reason I gave you about Tyler. See? We're not so different after all."

Ari purses his lips and rolls his brown eyes. "Okay, okay. But I don't think Tyler even notices you. He wouldn't care about you. He has a girlfriend, and she's Nina's friend. Come on, Lucy. Do you really think he would even ask you out?"

The part of my brain that isn't fantasizing about Tyler understands and agrees with Ari. But the fantasizing part gets really ticked, and sadly, takes over my mouth for those few seconds. "Why can't you let me like someone without a reason? Why do you have to put me down, Ari? I know he doesn't even know my name or anything like that!" I cry angrily, thankful the rest of the class is gone and the teacher's out of the room. "That doesn't mean you can't be there for me like a real friend."

I turn on my heel and leave the room, Ari still standing where I left him. As I exit the class, Nina brushes past me without so much as a glance and immediately wraps her arms around Ari's neck, kissing him right after. My heart leaps at the sight and I hurry away, ignoring Ari's attempts to call me back. I hear him chasing after me, but I duck into the girl's bathroom.

Several girls stand at the sinks, applying makeup and gossiping. I quickly lock myself in one of the stalls. I don't need to give anyone another reason to tease me. They giggle and chat for a few more moments, then leave and finally give me a minute's peace.

Someone else comes into the bathroom, slowly. They're walking. I rub my eyes and sniffle, trying to cover up the fact I've been crying. And for no good reason, I scold myself. Ari's a good guy. He's also a guy. He doesn't get girls, remember? I make myself steady my breathing and step out of the stall, only to meet face-to-face with Ari.

"What are you doing in here?" I ask, surprised. "Girl's bathroom, buddy."

Ari rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. It is. Look, I wanted to say sorry. I guess I should understand why you like Tyler, but I don't. So if you could explain, it might help."

I sigh and go to the sink, washing my face. "He's cute, Ari. Every girl has a crush on a guy simply because he's cute. It's not like I want him or anything, he's just... you know, cute."

Ari stares at me for a second. "So you don't like like him. You just think he's cute."

I nod, drying my face with my shirt.

"Okay, then why did you stare at him like an idiot when he bumped you?" Ari asks.

"Because girls do that, Ari," I say. "Girls get overwhelmed by a cute guy. They just get overwhelmed, okay? Can we go to class now or do you need to wash off Nina's slobber?"

"She doesn't slobber," Ari protests as we leave the bathroom.

I snort. "Sure. Then what's that saliva dripping off your chin?"

He wipes at his face, falling for the joke and I laugh. "Ha! Caught you."

Ari grins. "Every time, Lucy, every time." He walks to my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders. "So time for the best class of the day..."

"Art," we say together.

I smile and we amble into the large art classroom, avoiding the looks from all the other students, most of which are the nerdier types. We're assigned to drawing something from our childhood. Some happy memory. I tap my pencil against my cheek for a few minutes, trying to think. Ari is already scratching and scribbling. He's such a great artist. I glance over at his drawing but he immediately hides it. "Not until it's done," he murmurs, unable to hide a grin.

I playfully punch his shoulder and return my gaze to my blank paper. What should I draw? He said a happy, childhood memory. Well, most of mine involve my dad's death, my sisters' pranking me, the absence of my mom... and then Ari. I smile and begin sketching Ari when I first met him: the brown-haired boy sitting on my roof wondering what it would be like to fly.