# A Cinderella Story: Chapter 9 Part I



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ella's weekend was quiet for the most part. She was asleep when her stepsisters came home around 6 in the morning, and they slept nearly the whole Saturday away. When Ella woke up, the daylight revealed to her how changed her surroundings were: the floors, windows, and furniture were perfectly clean and dusted. The "aids" who helped her the night before apparently had also done her chores for her, to Ella's happy surprise. She relaxed the whole day in the house, besides going to a store and buying a bible. She read through much of the New Testament that day. Ella was happy now for her new peace of mind. The thought of her stepsisters and mother, however, disappointed her.
"Must I still go on living like this?" she wondered. "I guess it's not too different... they've never been my family. And so I'm even more isolated from them, spiritually besides relationally." Ella preferred not to ever speak of it to them. She was afraid to go anywhere Sunday, like a church, so she stayed home.
When her stepmother came home on Sunday, she was very pleased.
"Well, seems like you did your work, Ella! Thank you..." she almost frowned when she said that. She rarely ever thanked Ella for anything.
But Ella felt guilty about taking the credit, even though she couldn't tell the truth. So, she imagined that her stepmother was thanking her for everything else. Really, she thanked God for the woman in the red coat who came to her help.
"How was your trip with the politician?"

Her mother didn't respond, but frowned and went to her room.

Monday came along, and Ella was nervous about going to school. Nicholas would be there, perhaps looking for her.
But she had no idea what was her way.

That day, Nicholas went to school firmly determined in his mind: he would find the girl today, or never. With the help of his friends, they scanned all the classrooms in the school and asked all junior girls with dark hair to come after school to meet him in the main hallway. There, he would do the only test he could think of: he would try on that high-heel shoe to all of them until he found the perfect fit.
This caused quite a stir among the girl students. A few from other grades decided to play stealthily and come anyway. Even girls who didn't fit Nicholas' description tried to get into the "game," as they called it. This is how popular he was among all the girls at school. His good looks and even his money never ceased to be a nuisance to him.
After school on Monday, about 90 girls waited in the hallway, eagerly watching Nicholas and his friends. It was more daunting from his perspective.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Nick?" one of the asked.
"Positive..." he replied, but he still felt pressured.
Here, Nicholas revealed the shoe which was in his backpack in a box. All the girls got in line now, and fought with each other for a space. He frowned. It would be a long afternoon.
So, the shoe-fitting began. To his satisfaction, it was a sure plan: every single girl that came couldn't fit into it. For most, it was simply too small, but even shorter girls couldn't fit it. He wondered if some other force was keeping the rest from correctly fitting it. Almost an hour later, he was only halfway done.
"Hold on! Who are you?" he said when 2 girls with blond hair came up, with similar, cruel faces. The twin sisters.
"What? Can't we try too?" one said in a whining voice.
"Don't even think of it! I saw you Friday night, you're just holding up the chance for other girls here who match the description of her."
"Oh, come on! You'll never find her, and you're just rejecting a bunch of perfectly qualified girls," the other girl fawned.
"Get out. You kinds of girls make me sick," he grimaced at them, and turned away.
To his surprise, down the hall, he saw another girl walking toward them, holding a bunch of books. She had dark hair too.
The stepsisters turned toward her and recognized her. "You! Get over here! We've been waiting half an hour for you! It's your job to drive us home!"
The girl said nothing but frowned, and looked at the line, rather confused.
This girl was hardly dressed well. She wore faded jeans, and gray hoodie, and her hair was rather unkempt. But it was her face that caught his attention.
His eyes met her's.

Ella froze in her tracks. It was him. They held their glance for a long time.
"Well, let's go! This is not your business!" Jane demanded of her, and tried to pull her away.
"Wait!" Nicholas said. He stepped up to her now, and looked at her very determinedly. "Come here. I want you to try something."
Ella was getting more and more nervous every moment. She looked at Jane and Joan who were getting irritated. All the girls looked on in wonder.
"Who is she?" they whispered to each other, "And why would he suspect her?"
"Take off your right shoe," he said, and knelt down, to get the silver shoe.
Ella saw it immediately. It was her missing shoe! And she knew exactly what he was going to do.
She would be uncovered before everyone.
Nicholas looked up once more at Ella. She dared not say anything, but she knew it was too late.
He slipped on the shoe.
A perfect fit.
"It fit! It worked!" all the girls chattered excitedly, and others just gazed on, enviously.
Nicholas stood up now, staring in amazement. Suddenly, he looked down at her collar, and held something up. It was her diamond pendant necklace.
"It's you!"
Jane and Joan were livid.
"Ella!" they cried, a mixture of surprise and anger, and almost tried to attack her.
Nicholas flipped around to her. "You're name! It's Ella!" He was elated, but only for a moment. While his friends kept Jane and Joan back, they began a tirade against her.
"That's impossible!" they almost shrieked. "You're a nobody! How on earth did you get to the prom?? You couldn't have! You brat! You probably stole your outfit! You cheat! You liar!" and began to insulted her very bitterly. Even some of the girls picked their cue and said the same things.
Ella dropped her head down in shame, and shut her eyes. This was the most humiliating moment of her life.


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