Lynn's Cinderella Story (An AU Fanfic)

The Study Session

When 5:30 p.m. came, Lynn's shift was coming to a close. When it came, she was getting ready to close up the restaurant while the rest of the stores remained open for the people at the hotel. Just when the customers got out, she turned off the lights and headed out the door but she soon heard the door close. She turned around and saw Macaque and Bailee closing the door for her while flipping the sign which now read "Closed". 

"Um. Thanks. That's nice of you, but it's normally my job to do so." Lynn smiled. She was used to doing all the work herself but she was grateful that she could have some help once in a while. Maybe they're doing this because their friends made a bet or it's for volunteer work. "Hey. You're welcome. I just thought you needed help," Bailee smiled in return.

"From what I saw of you today, you're a really good kid even with all the work on your shoulders. More interesting compared to other girls your age," Macaque chimed in. 

"Well. Thanks again. I'm sure we can see each other soon." Lynn greeted the two goodbye before leaving for home. They seem to be really nice. Despite one or two things that seem a bit creepy about them, they're really good people underneath. I guess they're not helping because of a bet or some credits. I think they must like me. Lynn switched her clothes in her car and drove home.

Meanwhile, Bailee was getting ready to go for her study session. Morgan just texted her the address of her house so Bailee can find her way there through Google Maps. She just wanted it to be done and over as soon as she set foot at the house in front of her. She rang the doorbell, hoping that someone would answer.

"Hello. You must be Bailee, the girl that Morgan asked to help tutor her," Mr. Mai said as he answered the door. "Morgan. Your tutor is here."

"Yeah. Nice to see you too Mr. Mai."

Morgan squealed in delight that Bailee is here. She guided her to her room so they can study. As Bailee followed her, she could see how tidy the place was. Everything was simple but nice to look at; there were a couple of flower arrangements on the dinner table, some dull coloring, and no pictures hanging on the walls. Morgan might have been happy that her mother found a great second-husband which came with his two kids, Brian being more interesting than her other stepsibling. If not, they wouldn't have a really nice house right now.

Bailee and Morgan have reached the latter's room where they are ready to start studying. Let's get this over with. Bailee silently thought. Of course, even after 30 minutes, they weren't getting anywhere. Morgan tried every trick in the book to make Bailee fall for her, but it didn't work, plus it was too distracting for Bailee. She tried to get some time away from her by going to the bathroom for a bit, so Morgan showed her where it is.

When Bailee left her room, Morgan tried to think up what else she could do to charm her soon-to-be girlfriend. Usually, these tricks would work for her previous dates, but why not her. She soon realized that maybe she should show off smarts since maybe Bailee liked smart people. Beauty and brains do make a good match. She could just ask Lynn to write up some answers to some practice problems on her textbook, and maybe that could convince her to take her out somewhere.

Soon, Lynn had arrived in the nick of time, getting ready to do some homework. If she got it done quickly, she would be free to see that guest speaker event that Macaque is going to tonight as well as go to the mall with her friends on Saturday. She stepped into the house only to be approached by Morgan.

"Hey Lynn. Can you do me a favor to help me solve some problems in my chemistry textbook? I'm having a study session right now and I thought you might help me."

Lynn was confused. "Morgan. This wasn't part of the deal. You said that I have to do your homework and exams. You never said anything related to tutoring. Furthermore, it could be nice that you can actually learn something than have someone do all the work for you." 

"Forget the deal. Just help me or you'll be in trouble." Morgan often had her stepfather on her side in arguments, so Lynn knew that she shouldn't test her luck on arguing back. Lynn looked at the book and the papers on the desk in her stepsister's room. "Why do you care so much about that girl? There are tons of guys and girls that like you and have been begging to go out with you. I'm sure they don't give regards as to how smart you are." 

Lynn was right. Due to Morgan's reputation, there wasn't a day when there wasn't anybody asking her out on a date. "Well, this girl is perfect for me and she doesn't know that yet. Once I show him my work, she'll be charmed with my wits and beauty." Lynn cringed at the thought. Knowing her stepsister, she internally felt bad for that girl for being her target of affections since she's unsure if she'll make it out alive. Footsteps were heard which was a cue for Morgan to put a normal act together. "Quick!" Lynn made sure to solve a couple of random problems in the textbook and handed her paperwork to her stepsister. She then got her bag to make her way to her own room. 

"Ahem!" Bailee saw what was happening. "You live here Lynn?" 

Lynn exchanged a glance with Bailee before answering. "Yes I do." Before she was able to give an explanation, Morgan interrupted her. "Don't mind her. She's just someone unimportant. She's not our concern in this matter." Bailee winced at the comment but before she could object, Lynn planned on making something witty to get back at her. "At least I don't freak out over some sodium chloride being splashed onto me. It's pretty safe if you ever checked safety data sheets."

Morgan was furious. She told Lynn to go away and went on some tangent to Bailee over the time her stepsister accidentally got some of that substance onto her. The detective told Morgan to chill since sodium chloride is harmless; it's not corrosive to the skin. Morgan was flustered in embarrassment. How dare she make me look bad in front of her! Now she knows what she might be like and where Lynn lived now along with seeing a bit of wit she has. Sighing, Bailee looked at the notes in front of her. "Are those yours?"

Morgan looked at the notes to see what she was talking about. "Yeah. They are. I thought that doing a few problems would help me see where I am."

"Well, I would say that it's good progress. We can maybe go over a few more to see if you're stuck on anything."

So it seems that she's charmed with the answers. I guess it's time for the next part of my plan. "You know, I think I might have a realized a thing or two on how to do these problems." Morgan gave a glance into Bailee's eyes. "Um. Morgan. I think you're getting the wrong idea." She immediately regretted the compliment she gave her. Soon, they were interrupted by Brian who just came back home from hanging out with his friends after they agreed to attend the guest speaker event together tonight. "Hey Morgan. I'm back. How was school?"

Bailee didn't know how to feel about that: for one, she wanted to tell Morgan that she didn't like her but on the other hand, Brian's arrival interrupted whatever advances Morgan was doing to her so she wouldn't be sitting here in her house uncomfortably. Meanwhile Morgan scolded Brian for interrupting the moment the two girls were having, leaving Bailee unoccupied by anybody.

But whatever, it was her opportunity to run. She escaped through the window so she can get to her car outside, causing the stepsiblings to hear a sound of something hitting the ground. 

"Where are you going? We were getting somewhere," Morgan called out to her. 

"Sorry. Got some things to do. I'll see you on the next study session," Bailee said as she waved to her. She drove her car into the street and moved as far as she could from that house. She vowed to not go there unless it was for Lynn.