Glass Slipper

Chapter I.

"To Heaven and back," I whisper, fingering the precious stone around my neck. It's an emerald; her birthstone. I stare into the mirror trying to look past the stranger staring back at me. I move back my hair and tilt my face in all different angles. Frustrated, I drop my heavy curls and stare into the empty green eyes. There. I finally found her---at least a small piece. Her eyes were brighter, like the emerald resting on my chest; its silver chain sparkling in the light. I flop down on my bed and close my eyes. One more day, I think, and my life is completely over. I pick up my laptop from the floor and pull up the right page. Crossworth High doesn't seem all that bad. In fact, it's well know for outstanding academics, a phenomenal theater program, and well averaged sports. The only thing Crossworth doesn't have is friends. I will be across the country from my home; my life.

"Natalie!" I click back to the desktop and close my computer. The door to my room opens. "Don't you know your father is in a hurry? Haven't you got sense child?" she turns and leaves, leaving the door wide open. I roll my eyes and shuffle over to my closet. My dad's been dating Harley for just a couple of months now. They met online and she flew down here to meet my dad in person. He paid for her to stay in a hotel before moving her in with us. Now, eight months later, we're packing up to fly to L.A. for their wedding. She owns a house there that looks out over the ocean. I'm expected to leave everything behind me in Taylorsville, Georgia, and start a life in a strange house and strange school in California. No one asked for my feelings about the move; no one cared. I finish loading my suitcases and drag them to the top of the stairs. I stand in the doorway, taking one last look at my childhood room. Tears flood my eyelids. I blow a kiss before turning out the lights and closing the door. My room is my entire world. It's a studio for writing and recording songs; it's a stage for rehearsing lines and auditions; it's a getaway, where I hide away from the world; it's an altar where I pray and talk to the only one who listens anymore. Now, it's nothing but a cold, bare room, empty of lifeless memories. I roll my luggage down the grand stairs and onto the hardwood tile of our kitchen. My dad's at the counter, talking on the phone. I slip past him and load my things into the trunk of our Beamer.

"It's so sad. Now that you're gone, Rileigh will have no one and you will have no one either." I turn and face my obnoxious, soon-to-be stepsister. She smirks. "Even with each other, you two were always nobody's." I slam the door shut and step toward her.

"Shove off Sofia! You're such a-"

"What's going on?" My dad steps through the patio door and eyes the two of us. Sofia smiles and nods in my direction. He raises his brow.

"Nothing," I mutter, dropping my eyes to the square concrete. He lets out a sigh in frustration.

"Our flight is scheduled to leave in half and hour and it takes fifteen minutes to get to the airport. Let's go!" l climb in the backseat and close the door. Sofia stalks off to their car and waits for her mother to come out. My dad starts the car. "It would be nice for you to at least try and be civil to them," he says sternly.

"She started it," I retort. I focus my gaze out the window. He lets out a deep sigh.

"I'm marrying Harley in two weeks. You and Sofi must find a way to-"

"Yeah, Dad, I know. I know you're getting married. I know we're moving across state. I know I'm being forced into a new school! What I don't know is why you can't see what this is doing to me! What about mom?" He ponders this for a moment. His voice softens.

"Nat, it's been over a year. I have to move on." I blink back tears and try to swallow the lump in my throat. The rest of the ride is silent. When we get to the airport, we're rushed to get our belongings loaded and into our seats. Harley sits between my dad and Sofi. I'm left to sit behind them next to an old woman with silky white hair. She greets me with a warm smile.

"You can have the window seat if you'd like," she says sweetly. "The other seat is for my son, but he has a bad cold and couldn't make it. I'll take the aisle seat if it's all the same to you." I smile shyly and slide past her. She sets her purse in the seat between us. I lay my head against the cool glass and wait for take off. In just four and a half hours, I will be in an entire new world. Tomorrow's the first day of school. I don't even get time to get settled thanks to the "perfect planning" of dear, sweet Harley. I feel my eyes flutter. I drift off to a place that only remains in my thoughts.

"Do you love me?" her sweet voice is like honey. She runs her hand through my wispy blonde hair. A smile spreads across my face as I nod. "How much?"

"To Heaven and back," I tell her. I touch the necklace that dangles from her neck as she bends down to kiss the top of my head. I'm still upset by my father's words. She takes my hands in hers and stares deep into my eyes.

"You are the prettiest six year-old a mother could have. Your daddy doesn't believe in fairy tales is all." I pout.

"But I want to be a princess like Cinderella and Daddy said I'll never be like her." She smiles and cups her hands around my face.

"Cinderella's just an ordinary girl. She had a hard life, but with the help of her friends and a new pair of shoes, she became a princess. You have everything she has and more. You have great friends, a mother who loves you, and a God who watches over you. You're special Natalie. You have a gift to change the world. God's using you as someone's glass slipper."

I open my eyes and reach for my mother's necklace. I play her words over in my head. I wish she was here. I fall back asleep until the plane reaches California. Sofia pinches me awake and I step into my frightening new life. A limo waits for us and takes us to a huge house on the shore. The driveway is lined with palm trees. It's bigger than any house I've ever seen. A butler opens the door and leads us through the foyer. A small, black woman with and apron takes my suitcases and leads me up a flight of stairs. "My name is Veronica," she says in a small voice. "Your room is on the third floor," she pauses with a sheepish look. "Well, it's a loft, really. You're room and a bathroom is all that's up there besides the attic." Great. I follow her up the wooden ladder and through the trap door. The room is small, but comfortable. My bathroom is to the left. It's a corner of the room sectioned off with a toilet, sink, and shower. No mirror. On the right wall is a small door that leads to the attic. A daybed sits against the back wall under a window. I walk over to it. If I stand on my bed, I can crawl through the window onto a flat part of the roof; a perfect place for tanning. Veronica sets about unpacking my things. I climb back down and join the house tour with my dad. Harley struts around showing off her nice furniture and large swimming pool out back. She orders the butler, Clyde, to carry a medium-sized wicker dresser to my room for my clothes. Another maid named Reena pours us all tall glasses of pink lemonade. I thank her and Sofia shoots a scowl in my direction.

"Befriending a maid," she spats, "I told you you're a nobody." The rest of the day is spent touring the house and listening to Harley's never ending list of rules. My father and I are introduced to all of the staff and dinner is prepared. The cook serves us rotisserie chicken with large heapings of mashed potatoes and corn. We eat peach cobbler for dessert before turning in for bed. Tomorrow, Sofi and I will start our sophomore year together. Perfect.