Vicky sat in her room, smiling as she picked up her phone.
She messaged Brian:
"Hey Brian" she wrote, adding an angry emoji.
"Hey Vicks," he replied with an angel emoji. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I shouldn't have listened to your brother."
"That's all right. Tim is a pain in the ass anyway."
"Are we good?" he asked.
"Yeah, we are. I told my good brother—Cody—that you and I will be nanay for Alice. Maybe we could spend some time together," she wrote, then quickly turned her phone over.
Please say yes. Please say yes.
Her face flushed pink, nervous he might say no. Then—ding—her phone lit up.
"Okay."
Her heart jumped.
"So, are you coming tomorrow?" she typed.
"Yeah, I'll be there after school."
"Okay," she replied, bouncing on her bed. "See you tomorrow!"
"You too."
She turned off her phone, grinning like a girl who just got proposed to.
****
Vicky had never felt this ... since she started school.
Nathaniel, her drama teacher, walked into the classroom.
"Prom is just a few weeks from now," he announced.
The students smiled and clapped in excitement—except for Vicky. Brian still hadn't asked her out.
"So, we're going to put on a prom-themed play," Nathaniel continued.
"Whoa!" the class gasped in excitement.
"The name of our play is Cinderella," he said.
"Can I be Cinderella?" several girls asked eagerly.
Vicky just sat there, staring blankly, like they were speaking a language she couldn't understand.
"Yeah, yeah, you can all be Cinderella—except you." He pointed at Vicky, who didn't even notice. "Lucy… you!" he raised his voice, though it wasn't harsh.
Brian gave her a small nudge. She blinked and looked around, finally noticing everyone staring at her.
"What?" she asked simply.
"You're our Cinderella," Nathaniel said.
"Cinderella? Why?"
"The school chose you," he explained. "You haven't participated in any school plays, and you're also the only girl left who hasn't been asked to prom."
"She hasn't?" students whispered around her.
"Enough. I'll be your stupid Cinderella," she muttered and walked out of the classroom.
Damn stupid Cinderella. What am I supposed to do with that? Who cares if I'm the only girl not asked to prom anyway?
"So, who's going to be our Prince?" Nathaniel asked, already locking eyes on Brian.
"Hey, don't look at me," Brian said quickly. "I can't act, and I'm not playing the Prince."
"You're also the only guy who hasn't asked any girl to prom—and the only single guy left in school," Nathaniel added. The class burst into laughter.
"..." Brian had no comeback.
"Maybe you two will find love—just like Cinderella and the Prince did," Nathaniel said, laughing along with the others.
"Okay, man…" Brian muttered, shaking his head.
"Riiiiiiiing!" The bell rang loudly.
"That's my cue. See you all at 2 o'clock," Nathaniel said.
"Okay!" the class chorused.
"We'll figure out the stepsisters later—she'll get to pick them herself. Bye, class!" he added before walking out.
At 2pm
Vicky arrived at the theater, which was surprisingly peaceful—for once. She sat in a chair, mindlessly scrolling on her phone. But soon, the quiet was shattered as her classmates burst in, chattering like they hadn't seen each other in years.
This once calm place had suddenly turned into chaos.
"Enough talking! Let's get to work," Nathaniel said firmly. The room immediately fell silent.
"We have our two main actors—Lucy and Brian," he announced.
Vicky froze.
Brian?
He was going to be her prince? Her lover in the play?
Oh, hell no. She wasn't ready for this. Not again. Not after the last time they kissed in drama class.
And now she had to kiss him again?
Nathaniel clapped his hands. "Now, Cinderella will choose her stepsisters."
"Choose anyone," Vicky said, trying to shrug it off.
"No, you have to do that," he insisted.
"Arrrghh…" she groaned, standing up. She stomped over to her classmates with a deep sigh.
"Choose me!" she heard one of their annoying voices yell.
Vicky scanned the crowd.
Who was she supposed to pick?
She hated all of them. Why couldn't they all be her stepsisters?
"Choose me… me…" more voices chimed in.
"I don't know… they're all annoying," she mumbled.
"Don't talk like that," Nathaniel warned.
"Okay, okay… I choose… both of them," she said awkwardly, pointing at Tessy and Jess.
The two girls gasped.
"Why'd you pick us?" Tessy asked, offended.
"Because Cinderella's stepsisters were ugly and wicked," Vicky replied with a straight face before walking away.
"Ouch," someone muttered.
Nathaniel laughed. "Alright, we've got the sisters. Now pick the mother and the queen."
Vicky groaned again and lazily pointed at a couple of girls in the crowd. Brian pointed at Jeff to play the king. Nathaniel took the role of the prince's best friend—the one who secretly liked Alva.
Brian still hadn't told Nathaniel that Alva was married now, and already had a baby who would be over a year old in two months.
"Alright, our cast is set," Nathaniel said. "The rest of you will be background dancers."
He handed out the scripts. "Here's your script. Starting tomorrow, rehearsal begins. Be serious."
And with that, he clapped his hands.
"That's all for today. Cast dismissed."
The room emptied quickly.