Cinderella

This story was originally for my English class, meant to be a modern Fairy Tale, length 200-400 words. It's now 830 words, and if I had had my way, it would have been a lot longer... but after I wrote it, I sort of liked how the ending looked, and kept it that way. Fazer Blue chocolate rocks!


Cinderella

Not so long ago, not so far away, in a busy middle-class neighborhood somewhere between California and Maine, lived a troubled teenage girl named Cinderella. Now, she was deeply distressed because the evil laundry machine had eaten her scarlet shirt and her two stepsisters were playing innocent bystanders. This was, of course, nothing compared to the fact that the cutest guy in her class had invited her to his party -- and her evil stepmother had forbid her to go before she had cleaned the pig den that she dared to call her room.

"You can't always have your way, Cindy," she had said. "You need to learn some responsibility like your sisters have." Cinderella abhorred her nickname, and she was thoroughly disgusted when some unknowing mind compared her to her two ever-so-perfect siblings.

So while Leilani and Chrys, her step-sisters, were getting ready to party, putting finishing touches to their make-up, and trying to find matching clothes, Cinderella lurked in her room listening to her most depressing CDs and putting something in place every now and then. Her mind was overflowing with dark thoughts about her happy-go-lucky sisters and her stern mother, not to mention her father, who just happened to be out of town and incapable to prevent this great injustice.

When the family minivan had pulled out of the driveway with her stepfamily, Cinderella decided to go and take a stroll in the nearby park for some while before starting the inevitable task of cleaning her room. The sun had already set, and her flashlight created a gloomy beam on the sidewalk.

After walking for a while, she heard some rustling in the bushes. Now, Cinderella happened to live in a comparatively safe neighborhood, but the sorry fact is that the number of neighborhoods between California and Maine where you should not run upon hearing rustling in the bushes after sunset can be counted with the fingers of one hand. Keeping this in mind, Cinderella set a pace for herself that her sports teacher would have been proud of.

Whatever it was that had made the noises was chasing her, and it was fast. In no time at all, Cinderella found herself sprawling on the ground, tripped by... an egg basket?

"What's the matter with ya kids these days?" the thing started, obviously annoyed. "Ya can't recognize luck if it hit ya square on the head with a shovel, now could ya?"

Cinderella slowly rose up, brushing the worst dirt off her designer jeans, and gawked at... "Easter Bunny?" I must be unconscious, she thought to herself.

"Aye, that's me, da bunny!" the small white rabbit with a pink bow and amused grin replied. "Sorry 'bout this, but ya's godma couldn't make it. Sent ya her regards, tho'."

"My what couldn't come?"

"Your fairy godma! She tol' me I gonna have to take ya to the party, like in da stories and all," Easter Bunny continued.

"So you're like her substitute or something?" Cinderella stated. "Way cool!"

"So, let's get the show going. Fetch me a jolly ol' pumpkin, will ya, dear?" the obvious twin of Energizer Bunny started.

"Um... not pumpkin season. 'Dis spring."

"Wha? No jolly ol' pumpkin?" Easter Bunny repeated with a horrified look. Cinderella shook her head.

"Well, then pass me an egg from da basket, and I'll think up something," the bunny continued, refusing to be let down.

Cinderella picked up a glittery chocolate egg from the ground and threw it to Easter Bunny, who caught it with a hop. It set the egg on the ground, mumbled something, and where there had been an egg, there was now nothing short of a classy limousine.

"Would ya look at that, babe! Wanna go on a ride?" Easter Bunny said proudly and threw Cinderella the keys.

"Won't you somehow have to change my appearance?" Cinderella asked a bit confused. "And how 'bout all that business with coming back before midnight?"

"Why on Earth? Ya look great, love! Have fun!" Easter Bunny replied while beckoning Cinderella to step into the car. "Just don't get too drunk to drive, okay?"

With a charming smile fit for a princess, Cinderella stepped into the limousine and drove towards the party. She was quite glad to have dressed in a party outfit, and her make-up was luckily up to the standards. She took a carefree turn on Route 95 and headed for the Interstate, when out of nowhere -- well, actually, out of the darkness -- rushed a monstrous pick-up that crashed into her black limousine and turned it into a pile of garbage.

Cinderella was flung out of the front window and crashed into a nearby tree. Before loosing consciousness entirely and dying from blood-loss, she heard the voice of Easter Bunny:

"Oh man... fairy godma won't like this... I think I'll just move to somewhere far and cold. Finland sounds good..."

And that is the story of why you can get good chocolate eggs only in Finland.