Me: Well, guys, here I am with the newest chapter; sorry it took so long, I've had a lot of Open Houses and graduation parties to go to, plus I just started taking singing lessons.
Thorn: I don't think any of them wanna hear your apologies, Rosie.
Me: Right! So, on we go to the story! Thorn?
Thorn: *rolls eyes* Right. Disclaimer: Nyx'sBlackRose only owns Laurie and Sierra!
Fiona leafed through the mail, stopping as her eyes fell on a letter she'd been waiting for. It was a thick envelope, and it was marked 'Princeton University'. Oh, and it was addressed to Laurie. That didn't stop Fiona. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Fiona ripped it open, pulling out the cover letter. The first few lines said it all:
"Congratulations, Lauren Hamato! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Princeton University. . ."
At the sound of the door opening, Fiona quickly hid the letter from sight. By the time Laurie made it inside, Fiona had regained a casual pose of sorting through the mail.
"Anything for me?" Laurie asked.
"Let's see. . ." Fiona sifted through the envelopes, then looked at Laurie, her eyes wide with shock. "Oh my God!" She paused for dramatic effect. "You've won a million dollars from Publishers Clearing House!"
Laurie just rolled her eyes and, pushing past Fiona, headed upstairs to her room. Once she'd made it to the attic, the first thing she did was switch on her computer monitor, revealing an instant message from 'Nomad'.
I'm not surprised-I saw this coming. I just don't know what to say.
Nomad: I need to know who you are. I can't take my mind off you. Please tell me who you are?
Laurie's fingers hovered over the keyboard as she debated what to write. Finally, taking a deep breath, she began, "My name is-"
Before she could type the fateful words, Brianna burst into the room. Laurie jumped, immediately closing the IM window. She turned to see what Brianna wanted. (Brianna, of course, never came into her room unless she wanted something.)
"Laurie, are you almost done with my paper?" Brianna whined. "It's due Friday, you know.
"I'm working on it."
"Well, hurry up," Brianna said. "It makes me nervous to have to wait for it."
"Imagine how nervous you'd be if you actually had to write it." Laurie pointed out snidely. The comment went completely over Brianna's head.
"Oh my God, you're right!" she said in horror.
Laurie sighed. "You'll have it in plenty of time."
"This time, try to make it sound a little more like me," Brianna demanded. "I'm tired of explaining why I sound so smart on paper and not so smart. . .not on paper."
"I'll do my not so best," Laurie assured her. At that moment, the intercom on Laurie's desk-compliments of Fiona-crackled to life.
"Laurie, could you come downstairs?" Guess who?
"Can you give me a minute?" Laurie said into the intercom.
"LAURIE!" The voice degenerated into a high-pitched squeal as the inner circuitry of the intercom gave up its battle against Fiona's voice. Laurie reluctantly logged off and stood up from the desk.
"I'll be right back," she promised Brianna.
"Hurry up," Brianna said. Laurie disappeared downstairs, foolishly leaving her stepsister alone in her room. Bored, Brianna sauntered over to the computer screen, where a pop-up asked, Log off. Are you sure?
Brianna's eyes lit up. Looking over her shoulder to make sure Laurie was really gone, she clicked No, and logged back into Laurie's account.
Hmmm, what to do next?
She clicked on the Mail icon and a list of Nomad's messages filled the screen.
"Who the heck is Nomad?" Brianna wondered to herself. Choosing a message at random, she opened it:
Cinderella, are you not talking to me 'cause you freaked out when you found out I'm. . .Drew Hayden?
Brianna gasped. She was slow-but not that slow.
"Oh my God," she said aloud in disbelief. "Laurie is Cinderella!" She clicked open another e-mail and began to read, totally absorbed in the electronic soap opera-and totally unaware that, behind the doorway, a devoted twin was deviously spying on her devious spying.
Brianna pulled up to Big Andy's Car Wash, eager to meet the man of her dreams and get started on her new life as a fairy princess.
"It's me, Drew," she said to herself, practicing. "It's Cinderella. From the dance. You've found me!" She got out of the car and headed toward the main building, continuing her rehearsal.
"You see, Drew, 'I live in a world full of people pretending to be. . .pretending to be. . ." she drifted off, looking frantically at the notes she scribbled on her hand. "Pretending to be something they're not, and I wonder if I have the strength to stop pretending myself.'" She grinned, as if having just heard the words for the first time.
"Oh, that's good." She turned the corner, and her smile collapsed.
Drew was leaning against the wall, engaged in a very intense-looking conversation with. . .Gabriella.
How could it be? By own twin, betraying me? Stealing the man of my dreams?
"You see, Drew," Gabriella said, with as much sincerity as she could muster, "I live in a world full of people pretending to be something they're not, and I wonder if I have the strength to stop pretending myself."
Brianna jumped out from behind the corner, pointing an accusing finger at her twin. "You! What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing here?" Gabriella asked innocently. "I'm Cinderella."
"You're Cinderella?" Brianna scoffed. "I think that's a hard pill to swallow, considering I'm the most Cinderella-y Cinderella there ever was." Brianna shoved her sister out of the way.
"Don't listen to this imposter, Drew," she insisted. "I'm the real Cinderella."
Gabriella shoved back. Hard. "Don't you remember those e-mails we wrote the other night?" she asked Drew plaintively. Brianna shoved back again, harder this time-but before the wrestling match could begin in earnest, Drew stepped in.
"Okay ladies, I think I can settle this," he said reasonably. "The girl I met at the dance dropped something on her way out. What was it?"
Gabriella smiled confidently. "Easy. A wallet."
Drew shook his head. "No."
"I mean. . .a wallet-purse," she said.
"Uh, no."
"Oh, um, a fish?" Brianna suggested.
"A fish?" Gabriella asked, full of disdain.
"It was the first thing that popped into my head," Brianna defended herself. "And you said wallet-purse. What is that? She turned towards Drew, trying to look adorable(T: and failing miserably).
"You see, Drew, she's sick. She needs help. I'm Cinderella!"
"She's the sicko!" Gabriella protested. "She's just jealous because you picked me!"
The shoving match began again, this time in earnest. The girls were soon so absorbed in their pushing and shoving that they failed to notice a relieved Drew slipping away.
"Where'd he go?" Brianna asked when, out of breath, they finally took a break and looked up.
It was a mystery. But, since he was nowhere to be seen, there was nothing to stop them from continuing their war. With a menacing look, Gabriella advanced on Brianna, backing her into the car wash.
"He left," she said accusingly. "You chased him away. Why do you ruin everything?"
Gabriella grabbed Brianna's hand and threw her hard, right into two giant soapy spinning rollers. Brianna was slowly sucked into the soap flaps-and, suddenly, disappeared. Silence.
"Bri?" Gabriella asked, sounding worried. Suddenly, a scream. Behind her. Gabriella spun around. Brianna raced towards her, covered head to toe in soap suds and screaming like a banshee.
Panicked, Gabriella backed away-down the track leading into the car wash. Brianna kept advancing and Gabriella kept backing up, until a blast of red soapy spray shot out from all sides, stopping her in her tracks. Brianna grabbed Gabriella, and they wrestled each other to the ground as the track moved them through the car wash, periodically dousing them with soapy suds.
"Mom should've washed your mouth out with soap a long time ago," Brianna gloated, smashing a handful of soapy bubbles into her sister's face. Huge brushes began rubbing them back and forth. Oblivious, Brianna and Gabriella continued their death match.
"I hate you!" Gabriella shrieked.
"I double hate you!" Brianna cried back in an equally piercing tone. Suddenly, the bubbles stopped floating. The water stopped spraying. The brushes stopped brushing. All was still and quiet. Too quiet.
Gabriella turned to Brianna, a look of apprehension on her face. "You didn't happen to order the-"
Brianna nodded. Both girls' eyes widened in horror. A loud bell rang out above them, and a red light began flashing. It was time for. . .
"HOT WAX!" Now there was nothing left to do but scream.
Inside the car wash office, Drew looked out the window, wondering if he'd heard something. Something like muffled screaming. But, seeing nothing, he shook his head and laughed at himself-now I'm hearing things? I must be more messed up about this Cinderella thing than I thought.
Shrugging, he turned back to the mail, flipping through until he spotted a large envelope-from Princeton. Holding his breath and closing his eyes, he ripped open the envelope. After a long pause, he forced himself to look down at the letter.
"Yes!" He punched his fist in the air in victory. Accepted! I can't believe it.
"Drew!" Big Andy's voice boomed out behind him, and Drew turned around to see his father in the doorway, proudly holding up a sweatshirt.
"Look what I just got at the campus store." He turned the sweatshirt around for Drew to see. It read: USC DAD AND PROUD OF IT.
"What do you think?" he asked his son.
Drew paused. "It's great, Dad." But he couldn't quite make himself sound like he meant it.
Laurie couldn't believe it when he walked into the diner. Drew. 'Nomad.' Whoever he was. The one person she'd been hoping-and dreading-to see. He sat down in the first empty booth he came to and, sighing, cradled his head in his hands. Sierra spotted Laurie staring, and looked questioningly at her.
"It's him," Laurie mouthed. Sierra gave Laurie a thumbs-up and gestured over in his direction. She took a deep breath, grabbed a piece of chocolate cake, and decided to go for it. She approached his table and set down the plate of cake.
"Always cheers me up," she explained.
"Is it that obvious?" Drew asked ruefully.
Laurie smiled. "You look like you could use it," she told him. "It's on the house." Drew shrugged and, grabbing a fork, devoured the cake in four giant bites.
"Feeling better already," he said through a mouthful of cake.
Laurie felt like running away, but forced herself to stay. He looked so lost, so alone. "Anything you want to talk about?"
Drew sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I'm just so sick of pretending to be someone I'm not." He looked up from his cake, catching Laurie's eyes for the first time.
"Do you ever just feel like maybe if you take the risk and show someone who you really are, they won't accept you?" he asked.
Laurie stared at him. Do I ever feel like that? Is he kidding? How about right at this moment? How about every single freaking day of my life?
"Yeah, I do." She admitted. Drew's eyes swept over her face.
"You have something on your cheek," he said softly, reaching up to swipe off a smudge. His fingers grazed her cheek, and lingered. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Laurie broke the silence. "There's something I should tell you," she began hesitantly.
Drew waited. After a long pause, she said, "I'm Ci-"
"LAURIE!" Fiona's holler ricocheted through the restaurant, jolting Laurie out of her confession.
"One second!" she called back to the kitchen.
But it was too late-the moment has passed. When she turned back to Drew, he was laying his money down on the table.
"I gotta book," he told her, getting up to leave. "Thanks for the cake, Laurie."
"You're welcome." What else could she say?
Me: *sighs in relief* There, it's finally finished.
Thorn: It was too sappy for me.
Me: That's just your opinion, Thorn. I'll see you all soon for the next chapter, K? *nudges Thorn* Thornie?
Thorn: *pouts* Fine. If you review in the next hour or so, you'll receive this lovely picture of Drew Hayden, suitable for framing for fangirl shrines. *holds up picture*
Me: Thank you, Thorn. Now, R+R, and no flames, please!