Modern Day Cinderella Story
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The day of the party had finally arrived. It was going to be a big bash, with lots and lots of guests in attendance. The whole school would come together for this occasion; it was an event that everyone wanted to attend because they knew how special it could potentially turn out to be.
And so far, all indications were pointing towards just such a possibility. After all, the theme for today’s festivities was ‘A Modern-Day Cinderella Story.’ Everyone seemed excited about dressing up as their favorite Disney Princesses or princes from any fairy tales you might care to name.
There would also be live music playing throughout the evening, along with several dance performances by some of our more talented students. Of course, there would also be plenty of food served at this shindig too… but I digress! For now anyway…
“So what are we supposed to wear?” asked my young friend Ashley over breakfast one morning before classes began. “I’m not sure if I’ll have time to go shopping.” She looked downcast when she said those words, which made me feel bad for her.
But then again, who wouldn’t want to look good on such a special night? Not only did this party mark the end of another academic year, but it was also meant to celebrate each student’s achievements during their years here at St. Mary’s Academy.
In other words, every single person attending tonight’s affair needed to make a very strong impression on their peers. So naturally, most of them would be quite eager to put forth extra effort in order to ensure that they didn’t fall short of expectations. That being said, however, even the best efforts couldn’t always guarantee success. Still, it never hurt to try your hardest right?
“Well,” I replied after giving this matter some thought, “you don’t necessarily need to buy something new. You can probably find whatever you’re looking for in your closet already…”
Ashley perked up immediately. “Really?! Then why haven’t I ever worn these dresses before?!” She held up two different outfits: a blue dress and a red one. Both of them appeared to be old enough to have been purchased back around the early 2000s.
They weren’t really anything fancy either, but they definitely fit Ashley’s personality well enough. As long as she felt comfortable wearing them, then that was all that mattered.
“You know, I think both of those outfits will work perfectly fine!” I told her enthusiastically. “They should do a great job highlighting your natural beauty. Plus, I bet you’d look absolutely stunning in the blue one.” I turned to face the mirror behind me to demonstrate my point.
“And I mean, c’mon… Just look at yourself! You’ve got beautiful blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a killer smile. Those things alone are practically perfect in my book.”
Ashley blushed slightly at hearing my compliment, while simultaneously smiling happily. “Thanks, Miss Emma. I guess I shouldn’t complain about having no money, huh?”
I laughed heartily at this remark. “Not at all! If anything, you should thank me for helping you out like this. Besides, I happen to love both of those dresses myself. Now let me see them again.”
She obliged me by holding up the blue dress once more. This time though, she wore a pair of matching heels instead of flats. Her legs looked impossibly long and slender beneath the hemline of this particular garment. Meanwhile, her arms were covered from shoulder to wrist by a thin layer of fabric that resembled lace.
Finally, she finished off the ensemble with a simple white headband that matched her skin tone almost exactly. With everything considered, I decided that this outfit was indeed worthy of being called a modern-day Cinderella story.
“That looks amazing on you!” I exclaimed with glee. “Now give me a twirl so I can get a better idea of how it feels.”
Ashley obeyed my request without hesitation, spinning herself around in front of the mirror until she came full circle. Once she stopped moving, I took a closer look at her reflection.
“Wow… You’re so pretty! Honestly, I wish I could pull off that color scheme. Maybe someday…”
My young friend smiled shyly at my comment. “Thank you, Miss Emma. But seriously, I think you look way prettier than me. Don’t worry about it, okay?”
I chuckled softly at this response. “Oh please… You’re much too modest to say such a thing. Your confidence is adorable, by the way. And besides, I’m not trying to flatter you. Trust me, I’m actually telling the truth when I tell you that I think you’re beautiful.”
Ashley giggled lightly at this statement, while still maintaining an air of modesty. “Okay, thanks. Anyway, I just wanted to ask if there was any chance that you might lend me a few accessories or jewelry pieces that I could use tonight since I won’t have time to shop for anything else.”
I shook my head emphatically. “No, I’m afraid not. All of my stuff has already been packed away somewhere safe. But don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll find something nice at the party itself. After all, everyone will be dressed to impress. Even if you don’t own anything suitable for the occasion, odds are someone else nearby does.”
Ashley nodded along with my suggestion. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Thanks anyway, Miss Emma.”
With that said, we agreed to meet up later outside the school grounds. We had roughly three hours left before our departure, which gave us plenty of time to spare. Since neither one of us knew anyone personally going to the event, we ended up spending the rest of our time together talking about random topics. Eventually, the conversation shifted toward the subject of fashion.
“So what kind of clothes did you used to wear back during your high school days, Miss Emma? Did you ever go shopping anywhere special?” Ashley asked curiously.
The question caught me completely off guard. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to answer it, however. Quite the opposite, in fact. The reason I was surprised by her inquiry stemmed from the fact that I hadn’t even realized that I owned any specific clothing items at all.
Sure, I remembered buying some new shirts and pants here and there over the years, but nothing really stood out as memorable. In other words, I couldn’t recall wearing anything particularly unique or noteworthy. That seemed odd to me, considering that I’d always enjoyed dressing up whenever possible.
It wasn’t until Ashley mentioned this topic that I finally recalled owning two pairs of shoes: a pair of black boots and a pair of brown sandals. Unfortunately, these weren’t very useful for attending parties, especially ones held outdoors. As such, they remained stored in their boxes underneath my bed.
They would’ve come in handy now, though. At least I wouldn’t need to borrow anything from Ashley after all. Instead, I planned to simply rent a pair of formal footwear from a local store. However, I needed to wait until I returned home first since I didn’t have time to visit the nearest mall beforehand.
After thinking things through a bit longer, I eventually made my decision. “Well, I do remember visiting a couple different stores every once in a while. One place I went to often was a small boutique located near the edge of town.
Not only did they sell fashionable outfits, but also accessories, makeup, and hair products. Oh yeah, and they sold lingerie too, although I never bought anything from there. Still, I liked browsing through the various options available.”
As far as I could recall, I’d visited this particular establishment several times throughout my teenage years. For whatever reason, the name of its owner escaped me entirely. Regardless, I managed to recall enough details about the place’s interior design to make my point clear.
“This place looked kinda like a little house, except it was filled with racks upon racks of clothes, shoes, and accessories. There were mirrors everywhere, so customers could try everything on before making a purchase. Plus, there was a big table in the middle where people could sit down and relax while waiting for their friends to finish changing into something new.
Overall, it was quite cozy inside.”
Ashley listened intently as I spoke, nodding along with each word. She appeared intrigued by my description, which made sense given the fact that she’d never been there herself.
“Sounds interesting,” Ashley remarked casually. “What kind of styles did you usually buy there?”
I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “Honestly, I can’t really remember. I guess most of them were pretty basic. Nothing fancy or exciting, if you know what I mean.”
That wasn’t exactly true, however. Over the years, I must’ve purchased dozens of different types of apparel, ranging from casual jeans and t-shirts to more formal suits and dresses. Some of those purchases included accessories like hats, sunglasses, scarves, gloves, purses, belts, socks, underwear, etc.
Of course, none of these items fit the bill when it came to evening attire, so I hadn’t bothered trying them out. Besides, I doubted that they’d look good on me regardless.
“Oh, okay. Well, maybe next time you should stop by again sometime then. You never know what you might find!” Ashley suggested cheerfully.
Despite knowing full well that I didn’t intend to return anytime soon, I decided to humor her request nonetheless. “Maybe someday, but don’t expect much.”
We continued chatting for another ten minutes or so before parting ways. Ashley promised to call me later tonight, saying that she wanted to ask me a few more questions regarding my past experiences.
Considering how long ago my high school days actually happened, I figured that she probably just wanted to reminisce about old memories. Either way, I told her not to worry about it. I certainly didn’t mind hearing about them, but I’d rather keep the discussion brief. After all, I still had plenty of preparations to take care of prior to leaving tomorrow morning.
***
By the following day, I was already packed and ready to leave. All of my luggage was neatly stacked atop the living room sofa, which meant that I no longer needed to use the spare bedroom as an office space. When Ashley arrived around noon, I invited her inside and offered to show her the rest of my apartment.
We spent the better part of half an hour walking through the entire building together, checking out each floor one by one. By the end of our tour, we’d covered almost every inch of my residence. It felt nice being able to share some personal information with someone who knew me personally.
Although I couldn’t help wondering whether Ashley would be willing to continue helping me out even after I left town, I kept my thoughts to myself. That said, she seemed genuinely interested in learning more about me. Maybe I shouldn’t have worried at all.
Once Ashley finished looking over my belongings, I asked her to accompany me outside and walk to the front door. Then, I proceeded to unlock the deadbolt and pull open the heavy wooden entrance. Once I stepped foot onto the sidewalk, I turned back toward Ashley, placing both hands on either side of her face. As I stared deeply into her eyes, I began speaking softly and slowly.
“Ashley, thank you very much for your help today. I’m sure that you’ll get a lot done now that you’re free to focus solely on work. In addition, I appreciate having you here for the company during such a stressful period in my life. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to go through any of this without you.”
I paused briefly before continuing. “To tell you the truth… I feel bad asking you to spend so much time with me right now. But, I hope you understand why I need to do this. If anything happens to me, I won’t be able to repay the favor…”
My voice trailed off as I let the words sink in. Even though I’d known Ashley for nearly two decades, I found myself struggling to put my feelings into proper sentences. The only thing I truly understood was that I simply wanted to express my gratitude toward her somehow. And so, I took a deep breath and continued.
“In other words, please promise me that you will always stay safe from harm. No matter what comes your way, I beg of you: Please don’t ever hurt yourself! Okay?”
After pausing once again, I finally released Ashley’s cheeks and gave her a firm nod. “Thank you,” I whispered quietly before turning away and stepping outside. With that, the last person in my household departed for good.
***
The remainder of the afternoon passed quickly as I drove to a nearby gas station and bought several cans of gasoline. Along the way, I also stopped by a local grocery store to pick up some food supplies, including bottled water, canned goods, and pre-made sandwiches.
Since I planned to drive directly to my destination, there was no point in bringing along additional luggage. Instead, I chose to bring only the bare essentials.
For example, I brought along a small duffel bag containing toiletries and clothing items; a backpack stuffed with books and notes pertaining to my research project; a large suitcase filled with various electronic devices (laptop, tablet computer, smartphone); and of course, my trusty revolver handgun.
When I returned home, I placed everything down in the kitchen and made quick work of preparing dinner. While waiting for the meal to finish cooking, I sat down at my laptop and started browsing the internet. After spending most of the morning completing paperwork related to my upcoming trip, I was eager to catch up on current events.
Unfortunately, however, news stories were sparse due to the holiday season. Most major publications focused their attention elsewhere, meaning that I could barely find anything worth reading online. Eventually, I decided to give up on searching the web and instead went ahead and watched a couple episodes of my favorite anime series.
Eventually, Ashley called me to inform me that dinner was ready. She’d prepared a simple pasta dish consisting of spaghetti noodles topped with meat sauce. To make things easier, she’d even boiled some frozen vegetables beforehand.
However, since I wasn’t exactly thrilled about eating cold food straight out of the freezer, I insisted that we eat first before heating up the contents. This way, we could avoid wasting electricity while simultaneously saving money on groceries. Besides, it didn’t take long for us to devour the meal anyway.
Afterward, I cleaned up the dishes and helped Ashley pack her remaining belongings. Thankfully, she had little else to carry besides the few clothes and personal effects that remained in her bedroom. Before leaving, I told her to call me if something happened or if she needed any assistance whatsoever. At the same time, I reminded her not to hesitate when calling for help.
The End