Cindy Ella

Hi. My name is Drizella. Long story short, I am going absolutely insane. It's my sister. Well, my stepsister. Everyone thinks she's the sweet little girl who got to marry the prince and get her happy little ending, and I'm her jerk sister that no one likes. But here's the true story:

I was laying on my bed, legs dangling over the side and kicking the empty air. My sister, Anastasia, was sitting next to me.

"Do you think you'll ever find him, Driz?" She asked me.

"Who?" I said.

"You know. . . the one. Mr. Right."

"Yeah, I suppose."

There was a long silence.

"Ana," I said.

"What?"

"Why do you ask?"

Ana hesistated. "I, um, think that I may have already found him."

I jerked upwards. "What? Tell me!! Who is it? Is he cute? I bet it's that guy from school. . .what's his name. . . John? It's John, isn't it? I thought I saw you looking at him. . . you guys would make such a cute couple! Oh my gosh!! I totally saw this coming! I looked to my friends at lunch today and do you know what I said? I said, 'Ana and John. Guys, it's gonna happen.' They told me I was bonkers, but I knew it! I had this gut feeling and. . ."

"Driz!! It's not John!"

". . .oh. Then who?"

"It's um. . .Thomas."

I laughed out loud. "Prince Thomas? You're in love with the prince? Sis, every girl in the kingdom is in love with the prince. Believe me, he's not the one. You don't have a chance with him."

"I know, but have you seen his eyes? Such a beautiful brown, so warm. And his hair is absolutely gorgeous. Driz, I can't stop thinking about him!"

I clicked my tongue. "Well, you're gonna have to. Stop sticking your head in the clouds and look for someone down here on Earth. Like, I don't know, John."

There was a knock on the door.

Mom came in and she was so excited she could barely contain herself. "Come here, girls!" she said, enveloping us with a bear hug.

"How was the honeymoon?"

So, some background information: a week ago Mom had gotten married to some guy named Walter that she met at work. I guess he's kinda older, and he has a daughter. She's seventeen so that means she's a year younger then Ana, and three years younger than me.

Mom kissed both of us on the forehead. "Oh, the honeymoon was absolutely magical! And now Walt and his daughter can finally start moving in! C'mon they're downstairs. You should come meet them."

She hustled away and Ana and I started to follow her.

Ana said to me, "I still think it's weird that we didn't meet our stepfather until after the honeymoon."

"Yeah, I know, right? I bet he turns out to be a serial killer. You'd best watch out," I wink at her and she lets out a giggle.

At the foot of the stairs there were two brand new faces standing uncomfortably. Walt smiled when he saw us.

"Hello," he said. His voice was deep and warm. "Nice to meet you, ladies. Let me guess," he pointed to me. "You're Drizella?" I nodded. "And you're Anastasia." He pointed at my sister. He placed his hand lovingly on his daughter's shoulder. She shrugged her shoulders and pushed it off. "This is Cinderella, my daughter."

"It's Cindy," she said shortly.

There's was an awkward silence.

Walt cleared his throat. "You know, when Cindy was just a little girl, I would introduce her to strangers and she would say, 'Hi, I'm Cindy Ella. It's French for 'little ashes.' I had taught her that and she never forgot." He was the only one who laughed. I smiled weakly. 

Cindy rolled her eyes and said, "Where's my room?"

Mom looked up. "Right this way. Follow me."

Ana and I stood around with Walt. I couldn't think of a way to leave without seeming rude. He seemed nice, sure, but I didn't feel he would fit in with our family. I guess he made Mom happy, which is all that really matters, right?

"Do you...would you like to sit down?" I asked, gesturing to some comfy chairs in the next room.

"That would be lovely," he smiled.

We all sat down while the clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was an old, grandfather's clock, so you could hear the mechanics barely functioning within the ancient wood. Walt sat in the chair closest to it, which had burgundy cushioning and a hand crafted wood that matched the old fashioned style of the clock.

Walt cleared his throat. "So. . . you two are in school, right?"

"Yeah," Ana and I said simultaneously.

"That's fun. School was always fun. Hard work, but fun." Walt cleared his throat again. He seemed to do that a lot.

Mom walked down the stairs, and Walt was visibly relieved.

"Hi, honey," he smiled. She smiled back and sat in the chair next to his. They grasped hands and held tightly, but were trying not to make it obvious.

I felt it was a good time to leave.

"Well, me and Ana should go check in on Cinderella. Make sure she's getting settled."

Mom smiled, "Sounds like a good idea."

Ana and I walked rather quickly up the stairs and stopped in the guest bedroom which would now be referred to as "Cindy's Bedroom".

Her room was already somewhat of a disaster. On the table she had scattered her makeup and nail polish, and some of the clothes she had begun to unpack had been strewn across the floor. She was lying sprawled out on her bed.

She didn't even look up when we entered. I spoke cautiously. "Hey, Cinderella. Are you settling in okay? Do you need anything? Like. . . water? Or a snack?"

I paused, waiting for a response.

She lifted her head slightly, but was staring at the ceiling. "I told you to call me Cindy. Now can I have some privacy? Please? I'm trying to unpack."

"Sure, whatever," I said, leaving. Ana was right behind me. I walked into my room and Ana jumped on my bed, sitting cross legged. I sat on the chair by my desk with my brow furrowed.

"Well she's a tool, isn't she?" I said.

Ana sat up on my bed, and started bouncing slightly. "I know, right? Like, talk about being stuck-up!"

"I don't know. I mean she's probably just stressed about moving. And. . . I think it might be nice to have another sister," I said.

Ana stretched out her legs. "I would have thought that it would kill you to have two of me running around."

I laughed.