The Modern Cinderella

"Cinderella!" called a familiar voice. Cinderella recognized it as her stepsister, Lauren.

"Coming!" she called back. She went through the laundry room and came to the computer room. Lauren sat in front of the computer, fiddling with the mouse.

"Cinderella!" she shouted again, almost in Cinderella's ear.

"I'm here," Cinderella said. "What do you need?"

"I can't figure out how to get into this chat room," Lauren complained.

"Look. Do you see the left button on the mouse?" Cinderella asked. Lauren nodded. You put the arrow on Enter and click the left button," she explained.

"But every time I do that, I get a funny looking shape, so I stop," Lauren said, glumly.

"That just means the chat room is loading and you'll be there in a second," Cinderella replied. Lauren sighed and tried again. A few seconds later she was in the chat room. Cinderella smiled and went into Ashley's bedroom, where she had been cleaning.

"Those twins are so funny," Cinderella thought. "Lauren sits at the computer, with no idea what to do, and Ashley sits in front of the TV, eating junk food all day. She already weighs 186 pounds!"

"Cinderella, come here and wash these dishes!" cried Meg, Cinderella's step-mother. Cinderella ran to the kitchen. On the way, she passed Ashley.

"Hello Ashley," Cinderella said.

"Get out from in front of the screen," Ashley replied. "My favorite soap opera is on." Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Cinderella shook her head and continued to the kitchen.

"Have these dishes washed by 9:30," Meg barked. "And dried and put away! Do you hear me?" Cinderella nodded and Meg stormed out of the room.

Cinderella glanced at the clock. It was only 9:15. That should be plenty of time. She loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and pressed the Start button. The dishwasher whirred and Cinderella got out a cloth. As soon as the dishes were done, she dried them all off and put them away neatly. She looked at the clock again. It was only 9:23.

"Cinderella! I could use some popcorn out here," Ashley yelled. "And hurry up. I want it during my next TV show!"

Cinderella rolled her eyes and put a bag of popcorn into the microwave. She also got out one of the big bowls she had just put away and set it on the table. Then Lauren came running in.

"I need something to strengthen my bones and provide me with plenty of calcium," she announced.

"And that would be.....?" Cinderella looked at her.

Lauren scanned the shelves and a smile slowly came over her face. "A milkshake!" she said, happily.

"Plenty of calcium in that," Cinderella muttered.

"What?" Lauren asked.

"What kind would you like?" asked Cinderella.

The 18 year old girl thought for a minute and answered, "Chocolate chip. I'll be in the computer room."

Cinderella got out the ice cream and milk and mixed them into the blender.

"Cinderella, where's my popcorn?" Ashley screamed from the living room.

Cinderella took the hot bag out of the microwave and called." Coming!" She poured Lauren's milkshake into a tall glass. With popcorn in one hand and the milkshake in the other, Cinderella made her way out of the kitchen. She gave the popcorn to Ashley, who grabbed it eagerly. After she delivered the milkshake, she watched Ashley stuff her mouth with the popcorn.

"What else would you like?" Cinderella asked, sarcastically. "A banana split?"

"Sure!" said Ashley, brightening.

Cinderella put a hand to her forehead and went back into the kitchen. Her stepmother was there, tapping her foot and checking her watch. When she saw Cinderella, she threw up her hands and snapped, "Where have you been?" Without waiting for an answer, she said dryly," Get the girls. Tell them that it's important and they'll love it."

Cinderella walked into the living room and said to Ashley," Your mom wants you in the kitchen."

Ashley tore her eyes away from her precious soap opera and asked, mournfully," Why? Can't it wait?"

Cinderella shook her head and said," No, but apparently you'll love it."

Ashley sighed heavily and walked backwards out of the living room, staring at the TV. Cinderella fetched Lauren and soon they were all crowded into the little kitchen.

Meg took a deep breath and announced," We have been invited to a charity ball!" She had a big smile on her face. When nobody said anything, her smile faded.

"So what's the big, exciting news that we're going to love?" asked Lauren. The twins looked at their mother.

"Well, I thought that going to the charity ball would be exciting," Meg said, looking puzzled.

"I don't want to go," said Ashley.

"Me neither," Lauren agreed.

Meg frowned and said," Well, you're going, whether you like it or not!"

Lauren stared at her and asked, plaintively," Why do we have to go?"

"It will be good for our reputations. Besides, there will be plenty of men there. You'll be sure to find a young man from a wealthy family," Meg said, firmly. Then she softened. "Don't worry, we won't stay very long. Only for about an hour."

"Okay," Lauren said. "But what will we wear?"

"It's a masked ball, but you can pick your clothes," said Meg.

It was chaos in that house for the next few days. The charity ball was in only three days. Ashley watched TV and looked for good places to shop and Lauren surfed the net, hunting for good sales. Finally, they both had their dresses.

"How do I look?" asked Ashley, worriedly.

"You look stunning!" Cinderella lied. She couldn't very well say that Ashley looked horrible, which she did. It came of eating too much junk food.

"What about me?" asked Lauren. She twirled around in her dress.

"You look beautiful." Cinderella said truthfully and wistfully. She wished that she could go to the charity ball. She had never been to a fancy party before. Meg had even hired a limousine!

Cinderella watched them drive off and went back inside the house. She noticed that some powdered doughnuts had been left on the table, so she put them in the refrigerator. But she did have one, since her stepmother wasn't around.

Suddenly, someone said," Well, hey there!" Cinderella gasped and spun around. Standing there was a woman. But not just any woman. She was riding a floating motorcycle and wore black jeans and a leather jacket. In her left hand, she held a gray stick. When she pointed it towards the fridge, which was still open, lights of every color blinked and the stick made beeping sounds as the fridge closed by itself.

Cinderella stared in fascination and asked, "How did you do that?"

"This is a computerized wand," said the woman, cheerfully. "I'm your faerie godmother."

Cinderella studied her and asked," What's your name and what are you doing here?'

"I'm Krystal," she said. "And I've come to make your dreams come true!" Cinderella smiled and said, jokingly," Then could you clean Ashley's room? She's the messiest girl I've ever seen!"

Krystal laughed and answered," I can do that, but how about I do it while you're at that charity thing!"

Cinderella gasped again. "I can't go to that!"

"Why not?" asked Krystal.

"I'm just a maid. I couldn't possibly!" Cinderella shook her head.

"Well, then you got a little problem, girl," said Krystal. "Cause you're going."

Cinderella smiled a little bit and said," Well, it would be nice to go somewhere for once in my life."

Krystal nodded. "That's the spirit!"

Cinderella's smile widened a little bit, but then she pointed out," But I don't know where it's being held and, besides, I don't have any nice clothes."

"Hmmm," Krystal thought. "I'll take care of that!" She flew/drove away on her motorcycle and came back with a limousine following her. Cinderella stared in amazement.

Then Krystal pointed her wand at Cinderella. There was some blue and green lights, and then Cinderella's gray dress began to change. It got longer and slowly started to turn mint green with silver trim. The straps shrank straps and a low back formed. Cinderella felt a light weight on her bare feet. When she looked down, she saw beautiful green slippers. A gorgeous green mask with silver feathers popped out of thin air. She smiled and cried," Oh thank you so much!"

Krystal smiled and said," Run along now, and have fun." Cinderella got into the back seat of the car and they sped away.

Soon they reached their destination, the Aps Hotel and Casino. Cinderella got out and walked into the room where the charity ball was being held. She stepped into the crowd and saw her stepsister, Lauren. She was talking to a thin, very bored looking man. Ashley was flirting with someone who was fatter than she was!

"They'd make a good couple," Cinderella thought, spitefully. She spotted a handsome man coming towards her and said," Hello. What's your name?"

"I'm John," he answered. "And you?"

Cinderella giggled slightly and told him her real name, Cindy. It was short for Lucinda. Her family had teased her about her fancy name and asked if she thought she was Royalty. Then they came up with the nickname, Cinderella.

John smiled and said," Do you like computers at all? I design software." Cinderella smiled back at him and nodded.

They talked for a long time and Cinderella noticed her stepsisters staring at her. "How about some punch?" John asked.

"Yes, please," Cinderella said. "Could you get a cup of orange punch if they have any?" He nodded and smiled and went off to get the drinks. While he was away, Krystal appeared. This time she was wearing a soft, black dress with a necklace of pearls.

"I forgot to tell you that the magic ends at midnight," she said to Cinderella as she hopped to the music. Cinderella felt disappointed. She had gotten to know John very well and liked him a lot. Krystal shrugged and said," I don't make the rules, I just recite them." With that, she disappeared, still dancing.

Cinderella looked at the clock. It was already 11:45. She didn't have that much time left. She pulled off one of her shoes and wrote a message on it with a pen she found on the table. The message read," I live at 9978 Hawk Street." She left the shoe on the floor and hurried to get home. John came back with two cups of punch and almost tripped over the shoe. He set one cup down and picked it up, recognizing it as one of Lucinda's shoes. He rushed out the door and could see her running down the street. He called after her," Lucinda, you left your shoe!" He looked down and saw what she had written. He immediately brightened. If she liked him as much as he liked her, they could go out. He decided to take the shoe to her house the next day.

The next day, Cinderella listened to her sister's reports about this handsome man. She knew they were talking about John, but pretended she knew nothing about it.

"He's a software tycoon," Lauren said in awe. She respected anyone who had anything to do with computers and software.

"He didn't even notice us!" Ashley whined.

There was a knock on the door. Meg glided down the staircase and opened it. Lauren and Ashley gasped. "It's him," Lauren whispered.

Cinderella watched him. He was carrying a familiar shoe, a green one with writing in it.

"Excuse me," John said, politely. "Someone lost their shoe and there's a message in here that says she lives here."

Lauren pushed her way towards him and chirped," I lost a shoe that looks like that. May I try it on?"

Cinderella stifled a giggle. Lauren's and Ashley's feet were very big, while Cinderella's were small. No way would that tiny slipper fit them! Lauren jammed her foot into the shoe and winced.

"You've shrunk it," she whispered in horror.

"I didn't!" said John, indignantly.

Ashley yanked the shoe from her sister's hands and said," Please! Lauren, that slipper was made for a tinier foot." She pulled off her shoe and sat down on a chair. Cinderella's eyes widened. Ashley's foot was larger than Lauren's! The girl pulled and pulled but the shoe would not go on.

Suddenly, Krystal popped in. "Howdy!" she cried. Meg nearly fainted. Krystal noticed the shoe in John's hands and said," Try the shoe on, Cinderella."

"Cinderella," John repeated. Lucinda had said something about that being a nickname. Cinderella stepped forward. She took off her shoe and gently pulled on the other one. She smiled up at John and her dress was transformed into the one she had worn at the ball.

Everyone did live happily ever after. Ashley, Lauren, and Meg lived in the same house, but Lucinda married John and moved to his mansion. She had a wonderful life after that. And that is the end of the modern Cinderella.





Copyright 2001 by Chantessy