Chapter 7: Cinderella
A loud thud wakes me and I squint my eyes to try and adjust to the darkness. I have no idea what the noise was and am afraid to find out. I quietly tiptoe over to my vanity, banging my foot against the leg and silently curse myself. I pat my hand along the top and find my phone, carefully pressing the button on the side to bring up the lock screen with the time on it. It says it is 4 in the morning and my heart beats even faster. Of course it could be Kocoum coming in, or even my father. Then I remember my house guest and calm slightly. The most likely explanation is that it is Cinderella trying to navigate the house at night time. I slowly walk over to my room and open it, the loud and agonizingly slow creak makes me cringe and I take a deep breath when it's ajar. I poke my head into the hallway and see a figure in the kitchen, a small glow making it a little easier to see who it is.
"Father?", I ask as I walk down the hall.
"Daughter, you should be sleeping", he replies.
"I was. I heard something out here", I say as I sit across from him with a scowl on my face. I really am not in the mood for his attitude.
"I'm sorry about that. My suitcase dropped from the table", he says as he nudges his head toward the suitcase on the ground then returning his attention to his laptop and continues typing.
"You may go back to bed now"
"I'm awake now, anyway. I have something to tell you", I say apprehensively, not knowing what his reaction will be to letting Cinderella stay here.
"What is that?", he asks.
"I - well, I invited a friend to stay with us for a while. She had nowhere to go and-", I begin as he cuts me off by looking at me for the first time in days.
"Who is it?", he asks with a frown dented into his profile.
"Cinderella. You know, from school?", I squeak.
"The girl with the step sisters?", he asks as I nod. I had only brought her over a few times when Drizella or Anastasia had come over, courtesy of Esmeralda. I hope he remembers how polite and sweet she was. I can't stand the thought of her being kicked out of this place as well.
"That's fine. Just let me know how long she will be here for", he says as he returns to his work. When does he even sleep? I nod and walk over to the fridge and pour me a glass of orange juice. I flinch when the cold liquid hits my teeth, the cold air not helping with the overall temperature. I look back at him and sigh before putting the juice back into the fridge and walking back to my room. Why is that campaign consuming him so much? I know it must be difficult, but I didn't think he would shut me out completely. I lay back in bed and stare at the ceiling, trying to clear my thoughts of my father slipping away.
I slowly open my eyes and realize that the sun has risen and it seems as if it's high in the sky. I smile at the fact that I had a peaceful sleep, regardless of waking up in the early hours of the morning. It must be almost noon for me to feel this refreshed. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and yawn, stretching my arms as much as I can and feel my head start to lighten. I shake off the feeling with a deep breath and grab my phone from my vanity. I raise my brows when it reads '10:10 AM' and smile again. I love that I got so much sleep on my day off then remind myself that I intended to take Cinderella out shopping. I hope she doesn't feel too awkward right now. I didn't tell her to make herself at home, but I thought she'd just assume that. I'm a terrible hostess. I slowly walk into the hallway and make my way to the spare bedroom, knocking on the door lightly.
"Cin? You awake?", I ask quietly.
"Come in", she responds.
I open the door as she sits up in the bed, brushing her hair, still in her blue nightgown. I always liked Cinderella's blonde hair, and now I know why it's always so soft.
"I didn't mean to sleep in this late", she says before I say the exact same thing. I laugh lightly and she furrows her brows.
"I was just about to say the same thing. So, you haven't had breakfast then?", she shakes her head in response.
"We'll go to Mrs. Pott's for coffee and breakfast then decide what we'll do from there. I'll give you fifteen minutes?", I say as I stand up and she nods with a smile. Just as I am about to leave her room she speaks.
"Thank you so much. For everything", she says as she lowers her eyes to the ground, embarrassment clear on her mind. I don't know what say or do in case I further humiliate her or make her feel like she can't talk to me, so I simply nod and make my way back to my room.
True to my word, I leave my room in fifteen minutes having changed into white shorts and a violet tank top, my hair tied in a ponytail and light make up on my face. It's just going to be the two of us, so I don't feel like getting dressed up. Cinderella is waiting on the couch in a baby blue sweater, the sleeves cutting at her elbows and a white shirt underneath. Her black knee-length skirt and black slip-ons make me smile. She looks cute. Especially with her hair in a bun. I lock up the house and we head into town. I groan at the traffic and it takes us 40 minutes to finally arrive at the mall. We both make our way to Mrs. Potts' Hot Drinks and I order a caffé mocha and a breakfast croissant, while Cinderella orders a hot chocolate and a chocolate chip muffin.
"So, I guess you want to know the full story?", she says out of the blue and I snap my head up from my drink.
"Well, Anastasia has been dating this guy Milo for a couple weeks. He's really sweet and kind, I guess we sort of became friends. She never really said it, but I got the feeling she didn't want me being friends with him. He's attractive, I guess, but having romantic feelings never crossed my mind once", she explains and I nod along, knowing well that Anastasia was very territorial over everything.
"Then out of nowhere, they came home last night and she blasted me. She called me such horrible names and then they kicked me out. I tried to ask my step mother to intervene, but she just ignored me. I tried to explain the situation, but they wouldn't have it. Then, that's when I called you", I give her a sympathetic smile. I have never come between a couple before, but I get the feeling she hasn't either. She wasn't even trying to get in the way, she was only being friendly.
"I know how Anastasia and Drizella can be. They'll throw a tantrum one day, then ask you if their dress flatters them the next", I say as I try to encourage her.
"I don't know. They've yelled at me and called me names before, but last night Anastasia was so vicious and pissed off. I'm really unsure how this will all play out", she says as she finishes off her muffin and I sip my coffee. We make small talk and discuss what we're going to do on our day out. Cinderella says she doesn't mind and I'm apprehensive to ask how her finances are. I have no idea whether she had an allowance from Mrs. Tremaine, but she would always have money when we would hang out.
"How about we just look around and see if there's anything that interests us?", I say as we stand up and walk into the main ground floor area of the mall. We walk around for half an hour before spotting a salon. I really want to get a haircut, nothing too short. I love my hair. It's healthy and reaches down to my knees, but it does get in the way sometimes. Perhaps I should get it trimmed to my waist?
"Do you want to go in?", she interrupts my thoughts and I nod lightly.
"Do you want to get your hair done as well?", I request more than ask in curiosity.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. We're not just here for me, you know", she says with a small smile and I nod. I'm probably making her feel uncomfortable. The only person I've had to comfort was Esmeralda, which rarely happens as it is. It's easy with her because I know her so well. She tells me everything and we trust each other. It's going to be a little difficult with Cinderella since I don't know her as well as my close friends.
I walk into the salon and ask for a small trim. The woman I talk to looks beautiful, and her red hair looks incredibly sleek and shiny. She nods and tells me to sit while she gets everything ready. Cinderella sits near the reception desk and flicks through a magazine. Maybe I should've left this until I was out with Esmeralda or Su. Half an hour later, the woman is done and I thank her. She leaves it out of the ponytail, and I decide to leave it out all day. I pay for the haircut and we leave. I quickly check my phone to see if I have any texts but there are none. What else is there to do? This is so awkward because I have no idea what Cinderella does for fun, and it's even more awkward because I feel like I should know a little bit more about her. I know Drizella more than I know Cinderella, but that's only because Esmeralda hangs out with Drizella a lot.
"Do you want to go to a craft shop?", she asks and I smile. That sounds like fun. I nod and she leads me to a couple of escalators which lead us to a small area on the third floor. We walk up to a shop that reads 'Mystic'. A suspicious look takes over my face but Cinderella smiles and shakes her head with humor as we enter. A short and stout woman is standing behind the counter while a spooky melody fills the room. We look around for a few minutes when a pocket watch catches my eye. It's silver with and is engraved with a renaissance styled pattern, a single opal jewel in the center of the front. My birthstone. I open it with a click of the button at the top, and it reveals a ticking hand. I feel a shiver go down my spine and I frown. I look up to the woman who was standing at the counter, but she isn't there any more.
"I see you have found the Pocket watch of Atlantis, how lovely", I jump as I turn to see the woman is behind me. She's much smaller than I thought, and her purple hair makes me question whether I should've let Cinderella convince me to come here.
"Oh, uhh, it's nice", I say quickly as I wrap the silver chain around my fingers. It really is a nice pocket watch.
"Oh, young lady, it isn't just nice, it's perfect for you!", she says as she closes my fingers around the pocket watch.
"How much is it?", I ask, really wanting to leave.
"For you, girl, it is free of charge", she says and walks away. When I try to look where she went, she's nowhere to be found. She must be in the back room that are only accessible to staff. I find Cinderella and show her the pocket watch that the lady gave to me. She doesn't seem very interested and we decide to leave. I ask Cinderella if she wants to go anywhere else, or if she has anything to pick up from the Tremaine's, but she says no. I really have no idea what we're going to do for the rest of the day so I try and think of something when I pull into a gas station to fill my car. Just as I'm about to head into the car from inside the gas station, I spot Su pulling up and wave her over.
"Hey! How are you?", I ask.
"I'm good. I've just been at classes all day. You wanna hang? I need some girl time", she says as I smile. It's been awhile since Su and I did something together, and it would help the awkward atmosphere I have with Cinderella.
"Sure. Can Cinderella come along? We just came from the mall", I ask.
"Oh, alright", she says and looks away. That's weird.
"What's wrong?", I question.
"I, well, I just heard what happened last night. You know, Cinderella trying to get into Milo. Ana was hysterical", she says and I frown. Wow, Anastasia is more manipulative than I thought.
"No, that's not what happened! It was all a misunderstanding", I defend Cinderella. She really did have no one else to turn to.
"Really? Anastasia can be a bit of a drama queen, but I don't think she would react this badly if she wasn't completely sure", Su says as she scans the area then her gaze lands on Cinderella.
"She was distraught, Su. She's staying with me for now", I say in a much softer tone and she smiles.
"Her step sisters can be a bit of a handful", Su says with a giggle and I sigh in relief. She fills up her car and I return to mine, letting Cinderella know our change of plans. Su insisted we go to her house since it's closer and I agree. Cinderella looks a little worried about going over but that's probably because she knows that gossip from Anastasia and Drizella spreads faster than fire, but it's just as harmful. We follow Su and arrive within ten minutes. I park my car behind hers and both Cinderella and I follow Su inside. I love coming over to Su's place. It's not simple, but it's not too extravagant either. The two storey house stands tall, the walls coated in a pale yellow coat, and it looks like it's shining. It probably is, really. We walk inside and make our way to the living room. Su kicks off her converse while Cinderella and I take our shoes off a bit more gracefully.
"What a day!", Su says as she slumps back into their black sofa. I sit on the couch and Cinderella cautiously sits next to me. I had forgotten that she had never been to Su's. I used to come here all the time when Su was in high school.
"How was college?", I ask and she rolls her eyes, going into a story about how she swears her professor has it in for her and never lets her get away with anything. By the time she finishes her story I am in stitches and even Cinderella is giggling. If there is one thing that Su can do, you can guarantee that she can put a smile on your face even when you're gloomy.
"So, what happened?", Su says and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. I look at Cinderella and she's visibly uncomfortable. I look back at Su and she shrugs.
"Look, I've heard her side of the story, I just want to hear your side", she says casually and I mentally slap myself for coming over with Cinderella.
"Anything she told you is a lie", Cinderella says harshly with her gaze fixed on the floor.
"Then what's the truth?", Su prods.
"The truth is Milo and I are just friends, if that. I was friendly with him and he was friendly back", she says and I feel bad for her. I know she's not comfortable answering these questions, but we are in Su's house. Well, her parents house anyway. They trusted the house with Su's older sister Ting Ting, and they live in the house on their own.
"You know how Ana is, maybe you shouldn't have been so friendly?", Su says, finally picking up on Cinderella's discomfort.
"I'm friends with Pocahontas, should Kocoum be jealous?", Cinderella fires back and I gasp.
"Hey, hey, I'm just trying to figure this whole thing out. For the record, they do tend to overreact to things", Su says.
"It didn't help that they were drunk", I add and Su frowns. I want to question her on it but Cinderella speaks up.
"It doesn't matter anyway. They kicked me out. End of story", she says and brings her knees to chest, wrapping her arms around them. Su shrugs before she changes the subject and I am more than grateful. I wish she hadn't brought it up, but it was assuring to see Cinderella back up her story. Not that I thought she was lying. As Su begins to tell us about her troubles with her job, my phone vibrates and I open the message.
'Hey girl. On my way to Su's with Anastasia and Drizella. You will not believe what happened. Come over'
Oh no.
