(in honor of the new Cinderella movie)

Everyone loves a good fairy tale. But ever wonder what fairy tales would be like in our generation?

Cinderella was a young girl when her mother became sick, and passed away in the hospital. Her father dealt with his grief through drinking, and met a beautiful woman with two daughters whom he thought would bring joy back to him. They married, and the girls soon moved in. The father continued to drink, and one day, he just drank too much… Cinderella was now living with her step mom and step sisters. The step mom abused her, blaming Cinderella for her father’s death. But one day, she over heard her step sisters speaking of a school dance. She worked up the courage to go, and up cycled her outfit so she’d be one of a kind. Right before they were going to leave, Cinderella joined them, but was pushed away and locked inside the house. She climbed out of the window and made her way to the party, but fell into a puddle of mud. Her dress was soaked and ruined, but just then, another teenager was driving and stopped when she saw Cinderella. Cinderella recognized her from school, but kept her head down, embarrassed. The girl, named Grace, hopped out of her car and helped Cinderella up. Cinderella told her how her sisters left her behind and she had to walk, but ruined her dress. Grace took pity, and took Cinderella to the nearest boutique to find a new dress. She picked out a stunning tight fitted powder blue dress with a big silk bow in the back. She picked up some jewelry and a gorgeous pair of white heels, which were a size 4, an extremely small size for her age. They used one of the free makeovers given at the beauty store, and she quickly put up her hair into a sleek bun. The two girls raced out of the store and drove to the dance. They entered, and the entire school stared at them because they were late. The girls kept to themselves, while everyone else was attempting to steal a dance with Charles, the school’s hottie. But he only seemed to be paying attention to Cinderella, and she found out when a slow song came on. She turned her head to see Charles standing there, his hand extended, asking for a dance. She gladly accepted, her heart racing. They danced the night away, and just as midnight struck, she saw her sisters eyeing her suspiciously from the corner of her eye. They didn’t recognize her, but they soon would and her bruises would become even more. Cinderella quickly slipped out, but her shoe fell off of her foot and was left on the steps of the school. Grace chased after her, and grabbed hold of her arm. Cinderella screamed in pain, for Grace’s thumb was dug into one of her gashes, and her fore finger was squeezing one of her bruises. She looked down, and finally noticed they were all over her body. She looked up into Cinderella’s sad, broken eyes just as she ran off. Cinderella ran all the way back to her house and changed clothes just as her sisters pulled into the garage. Her mom would be home soon as well, so she quickly hid her outfit and shoes in the very back of her closet. Her mother stormed upstairs, furious that Cinderella had not completed a list of chores that was apparently left for her. Her mother beat her, sadly leaving Cinderella crying on the floor. The next morning, there was a knock at the door. Cinderella’s step mother opened it and there stood Grace and Charles. Her step sisters were still in their robes and bare faces, and quickly hid themselves. The two asked the step mother where Cinderella was, and she told them she didn’t know who they were talking about. Grace pushed through them and heard crying through the vents. She pulled Charles with her and raced up the stairs and into the attic, where she found Cinderella crying on the ground. New marks were on her, and Grace called the police. Charles knew this was the girl he had danced with, and he scooped her up. She was taken to the hospital immediately. She stayed there for a couple days before she decided to live with Grace and her family. Grace became a sister to her, and she dated Charles for a while, but then moved on once he fell for someone else. She’s found her happily ever after, but not with a boy, but with her best friend.

This story reflects what many children and teens go through each day, and teaches that you don’t need a man to “save you”