I woke up tired, but this was nothing new. To be honest, it has become a cycle. Wake up tired. Go through my day tired. Fall asleep tired. However, today was different. I felt extra tired because I had stayed up so late preparing my sister’s dresses for the ball this evening. I dragged myself out of bed and put on my clothes. One of the things that I hate about my room is that my room is in the attic. Not only is it hot all the time, but it is also such a long walk downstairs. I want to ask Lady Tremaine for a room downstairs, however, I know she would never because that means that Anastia and Drizella would have to share a room. Either way, I always get nervous talking with her. Sometimes I wonder if Dad would have given me a room if he was alive. 

When I arrived downstairs Anastasia and Drizella were sitting at the counter with a frustrated look on their faces. Before I could say anything, Lady Tremaine began to scold me for waking up so late. 

“What have you been doing this entire morning? It’s almost 11:30! We have been sitting here waiting for you to cook while you waste our time upstairs! Unbelievable!” she exclaimed. 

Whenever she does this, I always get nervous. I couldn’t make eye contact. My heart begins to beat faster, I sweat, and I start to feel itchy. I don’t want to disappoint her because it is not what my Dad would have wanted. 

“I’m sorry.” I muttered as I immediately got to cooking and decided to make eggs. I used to enjoy cooking quite a bit and would do it for fun. However, after my Dad passed away, I lost interest in cooking because it reminded me too much of him. Once I was finished, I gave them each a plate without looking at them because I didn’t want to face their scowls of disapproval. I walked out of the kitchen and went to begin my morning chores. Under the stairs was essentially my domain. That is where the broom, the mop, and all of my household cleaning essentials were. I started by sweeping the floor, then I went to wash the clothes, and I continued on my chore spree for the next few hours. 

As I did this, Lady Tremaine called out, “We’re going to look at the venue for tonight. We will be back later.” 

“Sounds good.” I replied as I heard the door slam shut. As they left, I felt a sense of relief. Time to myself. Whenever I am around them, I always feel hot and almost out of breath. I wanted to stop doing my chores and do something fun, however, I lose focus so easily sometimes. I used to like dancing to music, however, now I can never seem to focus on it anymore. I used to like cooking, however, I do not like it anymore. I have no idea what happened.  

Sometimes when I do chores, my mind starts to wander. I begin to overthink and I hate it. Today, I thought about the ball. I thought about how it could be nice and how I could dress up for once instead of wearing these stupid work clothes. As I thought about it more and more, I really wanted to go to the ball, I just had to figure out how. However, as I thought about it more and more, the idea became absurd. I didn’t have a dress. I didn’t have shoes. I didn’t have any makeup. I would stand out like a sore thumb. It is not like I have an abundance of nice clothes like my sisters do. If I asked to borrow a dress, they could laugh in my face and I would probably get in trouble. I have no idea what to do, however, I want to listen to my heart. I began to sweep the floors, however, my arms began to ache again. This was another thing that happened quite often: aches and soreness. It happens after I sweep for hours, get on my hands and knees and scrub the floor, and even when I reach up for the higher cabinets. It sucks, but I have to deal with it. I continued on with my chores, when I heard something slam. I ignored it and just assumed that I was hearing noises in my head. I continued on with my chores for what felt like a few hours, constantly trying to ignore my thoughts about the ball while focusing on the chores. 

Eventually, as I was cleaning up the basement, I thought to myself why don’t I just ask when they get home as it can’t hurt. I think I want to go. I think that this is what I want to do. I was planning on what I would say. I began to act out. “Lady Tremaine, I’m sorry to bother you, but can I plea-”

“Cinderella! We’re leaving!” I heard Lady Tremaine scream. 

“No, no, no.” I muttered. How could this be? There was no way. There was no way I missed them. I didn’t hear them. They didn’t say anything to me. They didn’t say hello. I felt like crying. I didn’t know what to do. My breath began to get heavier, my palms began to sweat, and I had never hated myself more than in that very moment. 

“Cinderella!” Lady Tremaine exclaimed. 

“Bye!” I called out as I heard the door slam once more. “How stupid can you be?” I asked myself. This was my one chance to do something nice and I would never have something like this again! My entire body was shaking and I dropped down to my knees. I wept and wept until I could cry no more. That was until I felt a tap. Startled, I turned around, hoping to not see the judgemental glare of my mother or stepsisters. Instead, it was someone I had never seen before.

“Ahhhhhhh!” I screamed as this strange woman floated beside me. 

“Hush, Cinderella. Don’t you worry. It is me, your fairy godmother.” she softly said. 

“Who? What? How?” I said as I slowly crawled away from her. I had no idea what to do, there was this strange, floating woman in the house and I had never seen her before. I was terrified.  

“I’m going to get you to this ball with my magic!” she exclaimed. 

I stared at her with a confused expression. Was this woman on drugs or something? I had no idea what to say. I was terrified and crying and shaking and nervous. All of a sudden, she took out what appeared to be a wand from her back pocket. She raised it up in the air and seemed as if she was about to strike me. I closed my eyes and turned away, hoping for the least amount of money. However, as she brought the wand down towards me, I felt a tap on my feet. 

“Look, Cinderella!” she cried out with excitement. I peaked one eye open and looked down. What I saw was the most beautiful pair of glass slippers I had ever seen. 

“What the…” I muttered to myself. Before I could finish speaking, she was waving her wand around again. 

“Now that you have these nice shoes, it’s time to dress you up. Now just give me one more second andddddddd, here we go!” she said.

POOF! I felt a gush of wind hit my chest and before I knew it I was wearing a beautiful gown along with the glass slippers. I was terribly confused. The tears still fell down my face as I looked down on my new dress. 

As I was staring at the dress, in pure shock, one of the tears fell off of my face. “Wait a second!” the woman cried as she waved her wand. The tear stopped mid-air to avoid hitting the dress. 

“There you go! Perfect!” she cried. I was in shock. Who was this woman? Why did this happen to me? Did I really just experience magic? I was shocked and very worried. What else did she do to me? What if this is a dream? No matter what she did to me, I could not stop shaking. I wanted to look at myself in the mirror and see what this woman had done to me. I approached the mirror and stared at myself. I looked like a whole new person. My hair was perfect, the dress was amazing, and my shoes were some of the finest that I had ever seen. I was in shock. 

“Who are you?” I asked her. 

“Why, Cinderella, I’ve already said this! I am your fairy godmother! I’m here to help you get to this ball!” she excitedly said. As she said this, she began to push me out the front door. 

“Woah, woah, woah. Where are you taking me?” I questioned as she began to slowly push me. I began to shake again. I could not leave the house unattended. What if I was caught? What would I do? This woman was forcing me out of the house. I felt the sweat begin to start up again and I began to breathe heavily. Eventually, we reached the front door. When we got there, she waved her wand for the doors to open. As they did, outside stood a horse drawn carriage. Shocked, once again, I turned around to look at her. 

“Cinderella, what I have done is magic. I have placed the shoes on your feet, the dress on your back, and the carriage out front based on my magic abilities. I want you to go to the ball tonight as it is what you truly desire. I can guarantee that your mother and sister will not be home before you. Trust me Cinderella. I promise you as I am your fairy godmother and if my abilities have not been proven yet. I don’t know what will! Now, I warn you, the magic lasts until midnight so be careful.” she explained to me as she pushed me towards the carriage. 

Although this woman had done all of this, I began to believe her. No non-magic person would be able to do all of this. I trusted her, however, I continued to shake and breathe heavily. I got in the carriage, my fairy godmother tapped the side, and I was on my way.

When I arrived and stepped out of the carriage, everyone was staring at me. People would turn and whisper to each other and I began to feel uncomfortable. I could feel my face getting red and I could feel my palms beginning to sweat. I had never been in a situation like this before. All around me were people dressed in fancy dresses and suits. As I was walking around, I saw Lady Tremaine and my stepsisters. I felt my heart beat faster as I tried to avoid eye contact with them. If they saw me, who knows what they would do to me. I began to walk around some more and mingle until I felt a tap on my shoulder. In front of me stood Prince Charming. 

“Would you like to dance with me?” he asked. Everyone knew who Prince Charming was. He was infamous throughout the land. I nodded my head and I began to dance. It was an amazing evening and time, something that I had never experienced before. I talked with him, danced, and got to meet a lot of new people. However, I felt like something was off. I ignored it though because I had never been somewhere like this. 

All of a sudden, I heard someone yell out, “We will be closing in 10 minutes! It is currently 11:50! We will be closing in 10 minutes!” 

Time had completely slipped away from me. I usually have trouble concentrating and remembering things, however, how could I have forgotten this. I began to breathe heavily and I felt my body begin to tremble. I needed to leave right now. I pushed myself away from the Prince and ran towards the door. 

“Wait,” he cried out, “who are you?” I turned for a moment only to see the entire ballroom floor staring at me. My face got beet red and I continued to run out the door and down the stairs. I even lost one of the beautiful slippers, however, I was too irritated to go back and get it. As soon as I got in the carriage, it began to take me home. During this ride, I began to feel my breathing get heavier, my palms get sweatier, and my heart feel heavier. I hated myself at that moment. What if Lady Tremaine caught me in this outfit? What would happen to me? Tears began to pour down my face and I began to feel quite dizzy as we arrived at my home. I hopped out of the carriage and ran into the house. As soon as I walked through the door, I heard the clock strike 12 and a loud “POOF!” I looked down and my clothes had changed back to my rags from before. The magic was wearing off, however, I was facing a greater issue. 

I put my hand to my heart and felt a beat as fast as I ever had before. My entire body was trembling as I tried to get up the stairs to my room. When I finally got there, I began to feel even more dizzy. My entire body began to heat up at certain points and I felt horrible. My breathing continued to get heavier and heavier. I had to sit down. As I sat down at the edge of my bed, I looked around as all of this inner chaos was occurring. I had never felt like this before. I had never been put in a social situation like that before. I had no idea what to do. I could feel my conditions getting worse and worse. I layed down on my side and closed my eyes hoping for this feeling to go away.

BOOM! “We’re home!” Lady Tremaine cried out. 

I couldn’t muster up the strength to reply. I pushed my eyelids together, trying to prevent tears from rolling down my face, as my body shook. The last thing I remembered before I drifted off into my deep sleep was the sound of Lady Tremaine coming up the stairs, getting ready to scold me for leaving out all of my cleaning supplies.