The lights in the NYC night club were flashing brightly in the eyes of the young blonde girl. She had gone there with her two step sisters, hoping to blow off some steam by dancing with random strangers. It usually helped her, but not tonight. Tonight she was stuck getting her sisters drinks, or introducing them to random people she didn’t even know. And to top it off, she had to work that night. Fortunately it was at the club, and whenever the bar was empty, she could go dance. Plus, it would get her away from the Twins of Terror; or, more nicely, her step-sisters.
When it finally came time for her shift, she happily went behind the bar. She threw on her apron and shoved a towel into the pocket. “CINDY!” The blonde groaned at the sound of one of the ToT’s voices. She rolled her eyes before stepping up to the counter, pulling the towel out of her pocket and flung it over her shoulder.
“What do you need Prissy?” Cindy said with a sigh. She looked at her red-headed step-sister with a look of annoyance. Why did her first customer of the day have to be this snotty nosed b***h?
The red-head simply rolled her eyes. “Hmm…Gimme a… Cosmopolitan, slice of apple.” She smirked lightly and Cindy just laughed.
“Good try Prissy. Now get away from the bar before I get Twix to through you out.” She glared before she moved to the next customer. Priscilla did that every, single, time. She always asked for some sort of alcohol when she knew damn well she couldn’t have any. She was only 18 for Christ’s sake!
“Excuse me miss?” Cindy turned her head to the tall male addressing her. It was Mace, the owner of the club. It never ceased to amaze her how he always made her breath stop, and her knees go weak. “Could you get me a scotch on the rocks please?” She nodded and reached under the counter, grabbing a glass.
“Could I see your I.D first?” Of course, she knew who he was, and how old he was, but it was custom. And she was really the only one who I.D’d anyone. He smiled at her and pulled out his wallet, letting her examine the driver’s license. “All right, I was just making sure.” She said with a smile before she scooped ice into the glass, grabbing the bottle of scotch and pouring it in. “There you go. On the house for you Macie.” She said as she pulled a $5 out of her pocket, putting it in the register. Alcohol was getting so expensive these days.
“Hey Cindy…Do you have any plans for Saturday night?” Cindy looked up to him and shook her head. “Good. You’re coming to this fancy ball with me. My folks through it every year, it’s a masquerade. I’d love it if you were my guest.” She smiled and nodded before he poked her nose lightly. “See ya there.” He said finally as he walked away.
“Cynthia!” A shrill, annoying voice called from somewhere at the end of the bar. She turned her head to see her brunette step-sister. She walked over with a groan and stood in front of her, arms crossed.
“What do you want Lilly? And don’t you dare ask for alcohol or Millie will hear about it again.” Lillian was the younger of her step-sisters, a mere 16. And her step-mother, Millie, had a cow the last time Lilly came anywhere close to alcohol.
Lilly gave a little pout as she sighed. “Alright alright, just gimme a coke will ya?” Cindy nodded and grabbed out a glass, filling it with ice and the soda before handing it back. “Will you cover it? Pretty please?” She giggled before walking away. Lil had a tendency to con Cindy out of her money. Cindy rolled her eyes, oh well; she already put $5 into the register…That was enough for both Macie AND Lilly.
“Hey Cindy…” Ugh. Great. Another one! She turned her head to her step-mother. She had a way of popping randomly into places. “Did I see you talking to Mace Winnie just a while ago?” Cindy nodded. “Well. What’d he want?”
“He invited me to some fancy Masque that his parents through.” She said simply as she grabbed a wet cloth and began to scrub down the counter.
“Oh really? Just so happens we got invited too. A lot of people here did. But Cynthia dear…Will you be ready to go? You have absolutely no ball gowns, or mask’s at that.” That made Cindy’s face fall. “I could, of course, lend you one of my old ones, if you work for it that is.” Cindy sighed. It was the same old same old. Frankly, she was getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.
“Alright. Let me guess. Clean up the house, wash Lucifer, wash and wax the Porsche?” She asked with a groan. Millie simply grinned and nodded before she walked away. I gave a low groan. Always the same…Could nothing ever change? Whenever something good happened to me, Millie and the ToT’s made it all horrible. They always gave me something to do so I wouldn’t be able to be ‘oh so fabulous’, as Lilly puts it.

The shift ended around midnight, and thankfully, none of my so called family members were there to see me home. So I decided to take my time. I knew that I was going to get my jobs done before the party, I always did, I just usually stayed behind so they I wouldn’t mess up their plans to become famous. But this time, it would be different. This time I would go and show them all up. This time I’m going for me, not them, and I’m going to have the time of my life.
“Cindy? What’re you doing out here this late?” I stopped mid stride and turned to face the owner of the deep voice. Of course, I knew it was Mace. His voice was easy to spot. I ran a hand through my hair before she answered.
“I just got done with my shift. I thought I’d take a walk and see if any stores were open. I thought I’d check for some shoes or something for the party.” Mace nodded before his eyes glistened. “
“Come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.” I nodded and followed him down the street. He had taken my hand by then, making me go faster. We reached the small salon in no time. “Goddy. I got you a visitor!” Mace shouted before none other than Godiva Gustovic came out of the back room. She was famous for her hair styles and clothing designs back in her homeland of Russia. And to think, I was meeting her now!
“Aaah. Macie. ‘Ow good ‘eet is do see you.” She said in a heavy accent. “And ‘oo might ‘dis be?” She asked before she pointed to me.
“This, Goddy, is your newest project. She needs an outfit for my Gala.” He grinned and there was a twinkle in the old woman’s eyes.
“I ‘vill see ‘vat I can do. Bring ‘er back tomorrow. I ‘vill ‘ave and outvit by zen.” Macie nodded and smiled. It seemed she didn’t even need my measurements. She was just good like that. So Mace led me out of the salon.
“There. You’re all set now. Knowing her, she’ll design an entire ensemble for you. Which I’m sure will look fabulous.” He gave his number one smile that almost made me want to melt. “Now you get home. I heard your step-mother. You wanna get all those chores done so we can have our night.” He smiled again before he turned and walked off. Could this night be any more perfect…?

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“CYNTHIA!” I awoke with a groan as my name was shouted through the intercom. “Get up Cindy you have work to do!” One more groan before there was another shout. I glared at the box and pushed the page button, hearing my youngest step-sister shriek from the loud noise. I gave a small chuckle as I climbed off of the large bed. Sure, it was big, but it was old. Every time I moved, dust flew into my nose. I was allergic to dust too. So I don’t know how many epipens I’ve gone through in the last year and a half.
“Cindy. Are you awake?” The voice shocked me. What was he doing here? He didn’t belong here. But the voice came again. “Cindy. Open up. I can hear you in there.” I didn’t want him to see me like this. See the way I really live. Even though it’s probably obvious.
“Just one second Mace.” I said lightly as I threw on an old purple shirt and a pair of ripped up shorts. I brushed my hair quickly and pulled it up into a bun before I went to the door. I opened it and stepped into the hallway, and sure enough, Mace was there, in my house, actually coming to see me.
“Goddy finished your outfit. She said to stop by before you went to the party.” I nodded with a smile. “Well. I would have called, but it’s a tad early. But I have to go now. The club’s getting expected.” He lifted my hand and kissed it lightly. “Till tonight my fair Cinderella.” He chuckled with a smile while I glared. I hated that nickname. My step-sisters had come up with it when we were a little younger. What was bugging me…Was how did Mace find out?
“CINDY!” The loud voice was on the intercom again. I groaned a bit before going downstairs.
“What do you want Prissy?” I said with a sigh. I crossed my arms and stared at my sister who was still at the intercom box.
“Mom wants you to get started.” I had to roll my eyes at that. Prissy could be so dumb sometimes.
“Kinda figured. What does she want me to do first?” Prissy gave a large grin.
“You have to give Lucy a bath. Mom said so.” I nodded at that before I added something.
“Uh Prissy. Could you stop calling Lucifer Lucy? He’s a BOY. Get it? B. O. Y. BOY.” I said irritated. My step-sister simply glared at me. Why couldn’t she get it through her thick skull that my father’s cat was a BOY? After my tiny rant, Prissy stormed out of the room. That left me to my search for Lucifer. Of course, I didn’t have to search very far. He was right on his queen sized cat bed where he always was, basking in the sunlight that came through the window. He was always happy to get baths. He liked to be primped and pampered, so when I walked over to him, he stood up on his four legs and waited for me to pick him up.
It didn’t take long, seeing as Lucifer never gave me a struggle, so I was able to start on the car quicker. Since everyone else went out, I did what I usually did to wash the car. I took that raggedy old blue Porsche to the Car Wash downtown. With automated, it only took about half an hour to get everything washed. The real tricky task was the waxing. With the Porsche, you had to be precise. Not a single wrong move could be made. Everything had to shine as if the car were brand new. So that took me a while. I had only finished the driver door and the hood of the car when Millie, Lilly, and Prissy got home. “Well well well. Seems like someone hasn’t finished her chores yet.” I rolled my eyes at Millie’s words. Sometimes my step-mother could be so mean. “Well. The girls and I are getting ready for Mace’s party. We’ll see you when you get done.” She and my step-sisters burst out laughing. It infuriated me.

I was finished by 9, three hours after my family had left, and two after the party had started. There was still a good three hours left though, so maybe I could make it. I had kept on my old work clothes and slipped on my sandals, running own the road to the old Russian’s dress shop.
When I reached the shop, the doors were closed. So I lifted my fist and began pounding on them. “Godiva! It’s Cindy! Are you here?!” I pounded on the door harder and screamed louder so hopefully the old woman would hear me. Sure enough, she did. The blinds came up and the lights flicked on, and a smile graced the Russian’s features. She unlocked and opened the doors quickly, ushering me in before she closed the doors once more.
“I ‘sot you ‘veren’t coming child!” She said with a smile. “I ‘ave your outvit right in ze back room.” I nodded as Goddy took me to the back room. The outfit was amazing. The dress was white, strapless, with a gold trim at the top. There had to be at least three layers. I found it amazing how Godiva could come up with such genius ideas in so little time. Then she brought out the rest of the items on a cart. “All of dis is yours child.” She said lightly as she pulled the cloth from the cart. I almost gasped in amazement. The shoes were amazing. Heels that I would most likely trip on, but were gorgeous. The accessories fit the dress perfectly. Assorted sizes of pearl bracelets, along with a matching pearl necklace. They added to the effect of the white layers of the gown. The earrings though, were gold with diamonds set into them, to contrast with the gown and jewelry. The finishing piece, was a silver and diamond Tiara. This was the piece I stared at the most. I just couldn’t believe that Goddy had made all of this for me. It was like a dream come true.
“You’re a miracle worker Goddy..” I whispered lightly as I smiled. She pushed the cart towards me and I nodded, taking it all into the dressing room. The dress was particularly difficult to get on. There were so many layers and buttons and zippers. I just didn’t know how the old woman could manage all of that. Finally, everything was set. I was just sliding the shoes on when Goddy came in to check on me.
“Oh, my dear. You look lovely.” She said with a smile. “Now let’s get you to zat party.” I nodded as she took my hand, leading me out the back doors. I was glad that I had no mask covering my face, my substitute was the shimmering glitter Goddy had covered my face with. Once out of the building, I gasped. Waiting for me outside was a shiny white and gold limo. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to ride in that! She ushered me into the car without a sound, and waved to me as the limo started and drove away.

As I walked through the doors of the large mansion, everyone stopped and turned. There were whispers as I walked down the stairs, but I wasn’t paying attention to that. I was paying attention to the stares I was getting from my step-family. I simply smiled at them as I reached the bottom of the stairs. “Cindy…I knew you’d make it.” The familiar voice made me smile. I faced him with a grin and took his hand. He pulled me out to the dance floor, and I couldn’t help but laugh at my step-sister’s tears. They were wrong. There can be happy endings.