Not Another Cinderella Story

{Chapter One} ~ Me.

They called her Cinderella, for sitting next to the fireplace

My clock read 5:00 AM when I looked over my shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and brushed my long, hazelnut, hair out of my face. The sun was barely coming through my small window close to the ceiling. I’m lucky I even have a window to see the warm sun since I live in a basement.

I sat up and looked around my room, it’s sort of a morning thing I guess. There was only a small mat on the floor where I slept and a clock next to it. I like to look around my room and imagine it was a beautiful room with a patterned wooden floor and freshly painted walls. But when I face reality, it's a cold, gray room with a stone floor and walls that had dents and cracks in it. The last of the white paint had flaked off last summer.

As I made my way towards the small, cracked mirror loosely hanging on my wall, I stared at my bare feet and the edge of my torn up dress. I'm a mess, and I knew it. It's just, I couldn't do anything about it.

The shattered mirror made my reflection look even worse than what it was. I had dirt on my face and my waist-long hair was all in knots. The only thing that was ‘okay’ about me was my deep blue eyes that reflected my emotions of sadness and despair. In my opinion anyway.

“KYORI! YOU BETTER BE UP IN THIRTY SECONDS TO MAKE BREAKFAST OR I’LL MAKE YOU OUR BREAKFAST!”

I sharply turned my gaze towards my clock that now read 5:30 A.M. That’s odd, why does she want breakfast so early in the morning? Usually, breakfast is served in an hour.

“KYORI, GET UP THIS INSTANT!”

I shook my head and opened my creaking wooden door, climbing up the stairs as fast as I could. As soon as I made it to the top, I saw exactly what I didn’t want to see.

One angry step-mom and two angry step-sisters. They all had their arms crossed across their chests and a permanent scowl etched onto their faces.

“What took you so long? I could’ve died by the time you got here! No matter, make us breakfast, we have a meeting to attend to.”

That’s Naomi, my step-mom. She’s more of an evil witch than an actual person, at least I think so. Her long curly black hair was tousled on her back and shoulders. She wore so much make up, I couldn’t tell what her actual face was. She stood there wearing a silk dress that was covered head-to-toe in ribbons and bright and dark colours that clashed with each other. Quite ugly.

“I know mother, she moves as slow as a turtle.”

“No, as slow as a snail!”

Those two that bicker all the time are what I like to call Dumb-and-Dumber. They’re my step-sisters Lizzy and Lindsey.

Lizzy was beyond chubby, I have no words to describe it. She had short brown hair  She wore a lot of eyeliner and mascara and it made her look 10 years older than what she actually was. She wore a dress that was too short for her and was completely covered in bright colours that didn’t go well together.

Lindsey was so skinny, she was a practically a bone. She had super-long blonde hair that went down to her knees! Her makeup problem is that she wears enough blush to make her look like she’s a tomato! She wears a dark dress that is long enough so it gets dragged behind her.

I shook my head. I need to focus and do what they tell me, or else I’ll be the one that'll be breakfast.

I raced into the kitchen and practically turned the place upside-down while cooking, but what came out was a breakfast made for kings and queens. A little something I learned from dad.

Of course, since I’m sort of a step-daughter-servant-maid-thing, I’m not allowed to eat the food I make. I get one piece of toast with butter. That’s my breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unfair right? But, by now, I’m used to this sort of thing. I mean, it’s been 2 years since my dad passed. That’s when things went South.

“Hello? Earth to Cinder-Kat! I’m talking to you!”

I shook my head and looked over, only to be met by huge, makeup covered, green eyes. My eyes widened.

“We’re leaving now. Behave and do all of your chores before we’re back. I expect the shopping done too!”

I nodded as fast as I could and put on  a fake smile. The She-Devil turned on her heels and marched out with Dumb-and-Dumber, slamming the large wooden door upon their exit. I sighed.

Katsumi Kyori. Cinder-Kat. Rag-Doll Princess. All those names belong to..

Me.