A Modern Cinderella Story (On Hold Because School Is Time-Consuming)

Chapter 8

My eyes fly open and my breathing hitches. Sometimes, I get this weird feeling of falling. I call this feeling, reality hitting me in the face. What I have learned from this feeling is that I don't like being hit in the face. 

I stretch really hard and stand up. My head starts to feel a little fuzzy and dizzy which is my body's way of telling me I'm dehydrated, and I put one hand on my desk to steady myself. When it passes, I grab my clothes and go downstairs to take a shower. I catch a brief glimpse of the clock before I reach the bathroom. It's about 8:10 so I have a little less than 2 hours before Hen and Alex arrives. 

After my quick shower, I dry off, change into my clothes, and borrow one of my step-sister's hairdryers to dry my hair quickly. Since I don't have plans to go out with other people most of the time, I usually let my hair air dry. I like doing this because then when it is dry it feels very soft and fluffy. Using a hairdryer isn't bad either. I just don't do it as much because Jade would have a fit if she knew I used her hairdryer without asking. 

When my hair is all dry, I brush through it thoroughly, and then I double-check my outfit. Today, I just want to be comfortable since we are going to the mall, so I put on a blue t-shirt and black leggings. I put my old clothes in the dirty laundry and rush back upstairs. I grab my backpack, take all my homework out of the bag, and put the backpack on my bed. Then, I go over to my bookshelf and grab my secret book safe. This is where I hide all the job money that I gained from helping people out at school. I've done some odd jobs to earn money like clean someone's house, mow the lawn, or help different teachers organize their files at school. My main income is actually from students though. 

I don't sell anything illegal or anything. It's like border-line unethical. Sometimes, a student may ask me to actually tutor them, but other people may just want a way to barely pass. Then, I would sell them my class notes. One may ask why don't they just borrow from some else? Why do they have to pay me? That's where the border-line unethical comes from. 

While I organize teacher's files, I also take peeks at the different tests and quizzes. People buy my notes because I know what the questions are and what the test will accidentally ask. More importantly, I know which material is useless to worry over which is the key success to my...business. I don't give anyone direct answers, so they still have to take the time to actually study the notes. It's just a lot easier, and I've never had a single complaint about my note-taking skills or my teaching ability. 

I put the book safe into my backpack along with an actual book to read. Hey, you never know. Even if you're with your totally awesome, rocking friends there could be a time where they both go to the bathroom at the time. While some people might go on their phone, I open up my book. 

I zip up my backpack and sit down at my desk. I open up Facebook and hit the texting icon. 

I click on my group chat with Henry and Alex, which we named HAE after each of our first names, and I typed, " 10:05. Alex don't make Henry late by beating him up...again." 

I get an instant reply from Henry, "I was in fourth grade! No one told me that our friendship involved tackling." 

Toffee-bean: "That was NOT a tackle. I was trying to give you a hug *pout*"

Little Black Hen: "And I suppose you were trying to give me a hug earlier, too"

Toffee-bean: "No, that was just a murder attempt...I mean a new handshake that involves my...whole body?" 

Snake CharmElla: "...Alex?"

Toffee-bean: "Yes, Ella?" 

Snake CharmElla: "Is there something that you want to tell me?"

Toffee-bean: "I swear, I didn't have the intentions of actual murder! Henry had the radio the WHOLE ride here on country. COUNTRY! Every time I tried to change the channel, he would just change it back. He's so stubborn sometimes."

Little Black Hen: *Shrug* My car, my rules. Another thing that also rules is country so..."

Toffee-bean: "Ugh, us together is no use. Ella, we need you!!" 

Little Black Hen: "Speaking of..." 

Plink...1...2...3...Plink...1...2...3...Plink

I stand up and walk over to the window. I open it up and see Alex and Henry with his old slingshot and a handful of sunflower seeds. We wave at each other. Then, I hurry down the stairs and head towards them picking up sunflower seeds along the way. 

When I was younger, I showed Alex and Henry a book where the friends throw pebbles at each other's bedroom windows to get their attention. We wanted to try it and use it to sneak into each other's houses without our parents knowing. When Henry tried it on my house, he accidentally broke our window, and our parents told us that we weren't allowed to throw rocks. We still wanted to sneak into each other's houses though, so I thought about using sunflower seed instead and it worked. The only downside is that we made a rule that we have to clean up the sunflower seeds so the adults won't get suspicious. Now, we clean up so we don't get in trouble and so we don't make a mess. It's especially messy with Henry because he finds it amusing. No matter if we are mad at him, sad, or asleep we have to come meet him before he turns our yards into a sunflower seed patch. 

I throw the sunflower seeds in the outside garbage bin and jog towards Alex and Henry. 

"Ella!!!!"

"Alex!!!!"

We run towards each other and give each other a big hug. We especially like doing this around Henry because it makes him a little bit uncomfortable. 

"...Can we go now?"

Alex and I both laugh, and all three of us head to the car. Henry is in the driver's seat, and I'm riding shotgun. Everyone agreed that because Henry and Alex shouldn't sit next to each other for awhile.

Alex gets into the back seat, "But I swear, if you put on country music I'm going to have to cross off jumping out of a moving vehicle off of my bucket list." 

Henry starts the car and looks at Alex in the rearview mirror, "Okay, ready for a little techno?" 

I sigh, this is going to be a long ride.