So here's Chapter Four, a Cinderella (Cindy) POV. I was planning on making this a Wendy POV but I changed my mind. Chapter 5 will definitely be a Mulan POV. Enjoy!
My name is Cinderella Payton and I'm a cheerleader.
Sadly, that's pretty much my identity. I'm not Cindy Payton, the girl who's had a 4.0 grade average since birth. I'm not Cindy Payton, amateur fashion blogger and self-proclaimed style guru. I'm not Cindy Payton, a prized volunteer at every non-profit organization in the Castle Heights school district. I'm just Cindy Payton, cheerleader.
It's just cheerleader, too. It doesn't tell you that last year, I was the first freshman on the varsity team in the last decade or that I was a sophomore and already co-captain to senior Ripley Hart. It doesn't tell you that I'm on top of the pyramid because I'm an expert flyer and probably the most talented cheerleader this school has ever seen. It just tells you that I'm a cheerleader and, because there isn't the word "head" in front of it, I'm one of Ripley Hart's underlings.
As a member of the cheer squad, it was my duty to sit with the other cheerleaders during lunch at the center lunch table. Some people (mostly the girls that duty applied to) treated it like a divine right. Ripley was definitely one of those people, and you could totally tell by the way she reacted to Aurora Bayle sitting at the "cheer table." (Not my term by any stretch of the imagination.)
It started just after the fourth period bell. I had gratefully left Chemistry and started towards the cafeteria. I said good morning to Lunch Lady Tiana and collected my usual grilled cheese sandwich and of Baked Lay's. As I left the line, I noticed a familiar blonde senior sitting at the designated cheerleader table. I also saw Ripley and my twin step-sisters looking seriously ticked off.
I walked over as quickly as I could in open-toed, high heeled booties. (Don't judge, they looked super cute.) Ripley tossed her long, chestnut hair so hard I was sure we all now had hair in our food. Her huge heart-shaped earrings clanged loudly and made sure everybody in the cafeteria was looking at us. "Aurora," Ripley said sweetly, "You know how things go. You've been going here for three years now, sweetie! Move."
Aurora raised her eyebrows. "I don't see your name on it."
Ripley let out a scarily high-pitched laugh. Aurora was way braver than people thought she was. "Of course it doesn't have names on it! Your huge butt probably would have wiped them off, anyway."
Aurora's eyes narrowed dangerously. Ugh, this definitely wasn't going well. I really wanted to sit down. "At least my butt is real. Unlike some people." My jaw dropped. That was definitely directed at Ellen.
Luckily, Ellen didn't seem fazed. Maybe she was too dumb to know it was about her. She was my stepsister and I loved her, but she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Listen, Sleeping Beauty," Ripley hissed. "I'm getting fed up with your crap. Please leave."
"I'm the one sleeping?" Aurora said with a laugh. "Your lipstick looks you put it on while passed out drunk. Which you totally were at Luke Prince's party."
That made me listen a little more intently. Luke Prince was a junior that was so cool even the snooty senior girls paid attention to him. I'd been in love with him since I'd seen him dressed as Prince Charming at the Halloween Dance in seventh grade. I'd been dressed as a princess and somebody (probably Oprah or Ellen) had told me that he had done that to get my attention. He had the most beautiful hazel eyes and wasn't too tall, which with me being five foot-two was greatly appreciated.
Ripley snorted. "At least I wasn't having sex with everyone in a five mile radius. Seriously, all your friends are gone already."
Finally, Aurora Bayle peeled her oversized butt off Ellen's seat and stomped away. I heaved a sigh of relief and sat down. The circular tables at the cafeteria sat ten people, which was a good thing because we had ten varsity cheerleaders. Ripley, our head cheerleader, sat at the seat farthest away from the trashcan, with Oprah and Ellen on either side of her. Ellen, Oprah, and I weren't the only set of sisters on varsity this year. Three of the Current girls were doing double duty this year by joining the cheer squad in addition to swim team.
Jessica Rabbit, bottom right of the pyramid, sashayed over to our table. As usual, our team's only redhead was dressed to kill. Her clingy red dress was just barely long enough to fit dress code and I can't imagine how she was walking in her sky-high platform heels. She was already tall, but in those babies I'd bet she was over six foot. She plopped down in the seat behind me and sighed.
"There's a new exchange student from France," she announced morosely before tearing open her first Twinkie. I have no clue how she maintained her perfectly curvy figure; she ate like a total pig.
Oprah nodded. "Her name's Babette. Have you met her?"
"She's in my French class," Jessica replied. "She and Mr. Bougie were totally checking each other out."
I wrinkled my nose. Mr. Bougie was the French teacher. I guess he was kind of hot, in too-much-cologne kind of way. Jessica, however, had been obsessed with him longer than I'd known her. He was known for being a little bit creepy and hitting on senior girls.
"I thought I'd have a shot with him since I'm finally a senior," Jessica said mournfully. "But this stupid French slut is ruining my chance!" Then she stuffed the entire Twinkie in her mouth and chewed angrily.
I was actually relieved to see the Current girls finally show up. Alana Current, the second youngest sister, was in my grade. I guess we'd sort of become friends since we were stuck with a bunch of upperclassmen.
Adella Current, a junior, sat down with a smile on her face. "Gaston LeGume likes me, I am so sure," she trilled enthusiastically. Instead of eating, she started rearranging her brown hair.
Arista, her older sister, rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. He's dating that Belle girl and he wouldn't look twice at you. You're not his type. Everybody knows he likes curvier girls."
Alana laughed at her two older sisters. "That's still crazy talk. I heard from Merida that Belle is totally into the library aid."
I tuned out their mindless chatter and started dreaming of Luke Prince. He would definitely be one of the homecoming escorts. I wonder if I should run for homecoming attendant? There was only one way to find out.
"Do you guys think I could run for homecoming attendant and win?" I blurted. I could tell by the mean look Jessica was giving me that she had been telling another one of her stories.
Oprah and Ellen exchanged a glance before bursting out laughing. Adella's teal eyes were filled with pity. She was vain and self-centered, like most of the girls in her grade, but she seemed to feel genuinely sorry for me. Alana, on the other hand, was considering it.
"I'd vote for you," she said finally. I smiled at her, but it was kind of a sad smile. I guess I had my answer: don't bother running.
At our school, there were eight homecoming attendants and one queen: two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, two seniors, and one senior queen. However, there were also homecoming escorts and kings, which worked the same way with the guys as it did with the girls. The escorts got to pick which girls they would escort down the field during the Homecoming football game. That meant that if Luke was an escort and I was an attendant, he would be able to escort me in front of everyone. That was something that would literally make my life, too.
Jasmine Walters flounced over to the table. She was fifteen minutes late and, judging by the growing hickey on her neck, in a very good mood.
"Flynn stole the key to the janitor's closet," she bragged. She placed her bottle of Diet Coke on the table and sat next to me. As usual, her skirt was short enough to see almost every inch of her shapely legs. It was safe to say that I was the only cheerleader who didn't dress like a prostitute. "I had to convince him to run for escort. By the way," she said, digging into her large Prada purse, "I picked up petitions!" Jasmine waved the papers around like a victory flag.
Jessica ripped one of them out of her hands and began filling it out. "Who wants to sign?" she asked breathlessly.
Ellen and Oprah had twin looks of disgust on their faces. "Jess," Ellen said slowly, "do you really think that's a good idea?"
Oprah tossed her black hair expertly. I'd never tell anyone, but I'd seen her practicing that perfect hair flip in her mirror on more than one occasion. "Yeah, everybody knows who's going to be on the court. You haven't been one of the names thrown around."
Jessica snorted. "Who cares? I'm going to be on the court because I'm actually smart enough to fill out my petition. I can't say that for you, Tweedledum and Tweedledumber."
"I don't think I'm going to run," Arista said quietly. As the last senior girl on the squad, Arista got overlooked a lot. I guess she'd decided it would be easier to let the other four senior girls duke it out.
"Well, I know I'm running," Adella said. Jasmine handed her a paper and they high-fived each other. The two juniors on the squad knew how to stick together. Actually, there were three juniors.
"Where's Meg?" I yelled over the noise Ellen, Oprah, and Jessica were making. Jasmine's face turned white and Ripley rolled her eyes.
"Didn't you hear?" Ripley snapped. I shook my head slowly. Ripley smirked. "She and Herk broke up and I heard she totally flipped out and tried to kill a freshman today. So I asked her to turn in her cheer uniform third period during Calculus and she was like 'Sure, whatever.'"
"She's been acting really weird," Jasmine whispered. She looked devastated. I knew that she and Meg had been closer friends. Well, as close as two girls fighting for popularity could be around here.
Ripley tossed her hair again. Her earrings jingled once more. "Ms. Queen and I already talked about it and we're holding tryouts on Friday. We decided that all the seniors and Cindy can be judges."
"WHAT?!" Jasmine and Adella shrieked in unison. They were so loud that half the people in the cafeteria looked over worriedly. "That is so not fair!" Jasmine continued with her hands on her hips. Adella just gave me the death glare. "Adella and I are older than her and we've been on varsity just as long!"
Jessica smirked. Ellen and Oprah shared a meaningful look. Arista gulped. Alana continued playing Angry Birds on her white iPhone. Ripley scratched the side of her nose with one of her long, blood red nails. "It's nothing personal. It's just that Cindy's the second best cheerleader on this team and you two suck compared to her."
Jasmine's jaw dropped. Adella tore open a packet of ketchup so quickly that it splattered all over Arista's jeans. Arista, of course, said nothing but started blotting the stain.
"So it's settled." Ripley said with a venomous smile. "Cheer tryouts Friday after school."
"It's settled," Jessica, Oprah, Ellen, Arista, and Alana repeated. The glare on Jasmine's face kept my voice from working.
Boy, was this day turning out just great.
