The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series) (23 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Seven

That
afternoon, when the girls arrived home from school, they found Mary and Rachel
waiting for them.

“So?”
Mary asked, eyeing Belle expectedly.

Belle
wanted to toy with her mom and leave her in suspense for a minute or two, but
she just couldn’t hold it in.  “I won!” she shouted.

“Alright!”
Mary exclaimed, giving her a high five.  “That’s my girl!” she added, giving
Belle a huge bear hug.

“That’s
so great!” Rachel said, coming over and squishing Belle in a hug from the other
side.

“Okay...can’t
breathe,” Belle wheezed.

Rachel
released her and looked down at her watch.  “Yikes!  We better get going!”

“Get
in, let’s go!” Mary said, eagerly waving them toward the cars.

“Go
where?” Belle asked.

“We
have some asking to do!” Rachel said, excitedly.

Belle
and Aurora climbed into Mary’s car, while the other three got in Rachel’s.

“Do
you remember how to get there?” Rachel asked, turning in her seat to look at
Cinderella.

“We’re
really going all the way to Logan?” she asked.

Rachel
nodded.  She seemed more excited than any of the girls did!  “You promised you
would, so we’re just making sure you keep that promise.  Plus it sounds fun!”
she said, clapping her hands together.

“Scott
did give me his address,” Cinderella said, looking it up in her phone.  “Yeah,
we should be able to find it.”

“Then
let’s go!” Rachel exclaimed.  She put the car in drive and waved out her
window, for Mary to follow.

***

“Oh
gross!  What’s that smell?” Snow White exclaimed, as they came out of Sardine Canyon.  Cinderella laughed as the three of them sat, plugging their noses.

“It
will go away soon,” Cinderella said.

“You
weren’t kidding!” Ariel said, looking out her window as they drove down Main Street.  “This place is fabulous!  Look at all the cute shops.”

Cinderella
guided them down Main Street, toward campus.  Her stomach was dancing.  Even
though she wasn’t actually going to see Scott, this was where he lived!  He could
be close to her right now!  They went past the older part of town, and were
soon driving past stores and buildings that were much newer.

“This
is where you want to turn,” Cinderella said, pointing to the right.  “Here. 
Right here!” she said loudly, as they drove past the turn.

“We
actually want to go there first,” Rachel said, pointing to the large Wal-Mart
sign ahead.  They pulled into the parking lot, Mary pulling into the stall
beside them.

“Did
you decide how you’re going to ask yet?” Mary asked the girls.

“Ummm...were
we supposed to?” Snow White asked.

“That’s
what we talked about the whole way up,” Belle said.

“We
brought plenty of paper, markers, scissors, glue, that kind of stuff.  So all
we need to get now are the specific things, depending on how you’re asking.” 
Mary popped the trunk of her car, so the girls could see.  Sure enough, it was
full with boxes of art supplies.

The
girls stood quietly for a moment, trying to come up with something brilliant. 
“Why don’t we go inside and walk around so you can get some ideas,” Rachel
said.

“What
did you decide?” Cinderella asked Belle, as they walked toward the building.

“I’m
getting a fish!”

“A
fish?” Cinderella asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yeah! 
Then with it I’m going to say: Out of all the fish in the sea, I choose you to
go to the dance with me.  Then I think I’ll tape my name to the bottom of the
fish bowl.”

“That’s
cute!”

Belle
beamed.  “I can’t take all the credit though, my mom helped come up with that
one.”

“You
could just use goldfish crackers or something,” Ariel offered.

“I
know.  But how cool would that be to give him a real fish?!”

“True.” 
Ariel nodded.  “How are you going to ask?” she asked, looking to Aurora.

“Well,
I think I’m going to do a heart-attack to his door.  You know, make a bunch of
paper conversation hearts, and tape them all over the place.  Then, I’ll put a
note that says: I’ll have a heart-attack if you don’t go to the dance with
me.”  She looked at her cousins, waiting for approval.

“That’s
a great idea!” Ariel said.

Snow
White was starting to look nervous.  “I don’t have any idea what to do!”

“We’ll
help you sweetie!” Rachel said, putting an arm around her niece.  “Now where to
start?” she asked aloud, as they entered the large warehouse.

“Fish!”
Belle yelled, excitedly.  She grabbed a cart and started plowing down the
aisles, in search of a pet department.  She picked out a bright blue and purple
Beta, who seemed completely content to swim around his little cup while they
finished their shopping.

“I
got it!” Cinderella said, as they were walking down the candy aisle.  She
picked out a bag of
Red Hots
, then hurried toward the gardening center
without saying a word.  The others had to walk swiftly, just to keep up.

“I’ll
fill this pot with
Red Hots
,” she explained, holding up a small, brown
terracotta pot.  She added the pot to their shopping cart, then moved forward
again, talking as they went.  “Then I’ll put two fake rose buds in the pot. 
The
Red Hots
are to help the flowers stand up.  On the pot I’ll write:
It would be hot if a couple of buds like us went to the dance.”

“Genius!”
Ariel exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.  She placed a hand on her chin,
and tapped it slowly.  Her eyes narrowed as she searched for the perfect idea.

“Why
buds?” Snow White asked, when the others started moving forward again.

“Because
I don’t want him to think I’m using this dance as an excuse to go out with
him.”

“Well,
aren’t you?” Snow White whispered.

“I
guess, kind of, but it’s more about proving a point to Cynthia and her stupid friends.”

Snow
White smiled at her, obviously not convinced.

“I
mean it!” Cinderella defended herself.  I want Scott to know I’d rather be buds
than never see him again.  Honest!” she added, at the skeptical look on Snow
White’s face.

After
another ten minutes of searching, Ariel came running toward the group.  “I’ve
got it!” she said, holding up a box of Jell-O.  I’ll put a stapler in some Jell-O
and say: Let’s wiggle and jiggle on the dance floor, this Saturday night!”

The
girls all stared at Ariel for a second, then everyone burst out laughing. 
“That is so brilliant!” Aurora said, having to wipe her eyes.

“You
are just too much,” Rachel said, laughing.

“Only
one problem,” Mary said.  “We don’t have the place or the time to make Jell-O.”

“I
can just get some Jell-O cups then,” Ariel said.  “Although, what am I going to
do about a stapler?”

“Why
do you need a stapler?” Snow White asked.

“Because
it would be funny!” Ariel exclaimed, and she bounded away again in search of
some Jell-O cups.

They
continued to walk up and down the food aisles, hoping something would strike an
idea for Snow White.  Several suggestions were made, but she finally settled on
a box of fortune cookies.  She liked Belle’s idea of removing a fortune and
replacing it with her name.  Then saying: I’d consider myself very fortunate if
you’d go to the dance with me.

After
paying for all their supplies, the Princess sisters made their way out to the
cars to put everything together.  They blasted music from both car radios, while
they worked on finding the perfect place to hide each of their names.  Rachel
and Mary helped by writing out the signs that would go with each one.  After
much collaborated creativity, they were all done and ready to go.

“Do
you know which one of you is going with which guy?” Mary asked.

“We
don’t even know any of the guys’ names yet!” Ariel said.

“You
better figure that out before we go anywhere.”  Mary shut her car off and
everyone looked to Cinderella.

“I’ll
text Scott,” she said.

Scott
told Cinderella to give him ten minutes, and he would have all the guys over at
his apartment.  That way they wouldn’t have to go all over Logan, trying to
find where they all lived.  So the girls resumed their music blasting, and had
a dance party in the parking lot while they waited.  Several college students
shook their heads and laughed when they walked by, and a couple even stopped to
applaud.

“Who
wants to go first?” Cinderella asked, as they crept up the stairs to Scott’s
apartment.

“I
will!” Belle got to her feet carefully, so she wouldn’t spill any water.  She
placed the fish and fish bowl in front of Scott’s door.  Then she knocked and
took off running back down the stairs.  There was a wall at the top of the
stairs that stuck out just far enough, so you couldn’t see down them unless you
turned the corner, making the stairwell a perfect hiding spot.  Belle peered
around the corner and watched for the door to open.  She didn’t have to wait
long.  Two hands reached out the door and scooped up the fish bowl.  The girls
squealed, while Mary and Rachel put a finger to their lips to keep them quiet.

“Next?”
Cinderella asked, looking around.  No one moved.  “Well don’t all jump up at
once.”  She got to her feet and set the flower pot in the same spot where the
fish bowl had been.  Then she knocked and ran.  This went on three more times,
with Aurora going last.  She taped hearts all over the door, and then they all
ran out to the cars.

They
stopped for a quick bite to eat, before heading home again.  The girls talked
and laughed the whole drive, still pumped up from the adrenaline of doorbell
ditching.

“That
was so fun!” Ariel kept saying.  In the end, she wasn’t able to use a stapler. 
But she was quite pleased with her final result.  She had wrapped the small
piece of paper with her name on it in packing tape, and put it right in the
middle of the Jell-O.

Even
Snow White was all smiles the whole drive home.  Cinderella thought this idea
had seemed weird at first, but she was really glad that Scott had made them do
it!

***

Tuesday,
September 14th

            The next
night, Cinderella was upstairs doing homework when she heard the doorbell ring.

            “No, we didn’t
order any...Oh!” she overheard her mom say.  “Cinderella, come here!” Dana
called up the stairs.

            Cinderella
walked down the stairs to find five pizza boxes sitting on the coffee table. 
“Are we having pizza for dinner?” Cinderella asked.  She looked at her mom,
confused.  There was no way the two of them could eat five whole pizzas!

            “No, I didn’t
order any,” Dana said.  “But they have your names on them.”

            Sure enough,
Cinderella checked the order slips and found a name on each one.  They were
addressed to Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle, and Aurora.  Cinderella
lifted the lid on her box, a warm wave of melted cheese and marinara hitting
her in the face.  She smiled and closed the lid again.  Then she called each of
her cousins and told them to hurry over.  When the five girls were sitting
around the living room, each with a pizza on their lap, Cinderella had them
open the boxes together.  They all smiled.  There, on each pizza, spelled out
with pepperoni was the word: YES!

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

Saturday,
September 18th

Saturday
morning, Cinderella awoke with a big smile on her face.  Today was the day! 
She lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, replaying last night’s phone
conversation with Scott over and over in her head.  Her grin spread even wider
at the thought of Scott.  She glanced at the clock on her nightstand.  She
would get to see him again in nine and a half hours!  Part of her wanted to go
back to sleep, in hopes that it would make the time go faster.  But she knew
there was a lot to be done first.  Cinderella reluctantly rolled out of bed and
sauntered into the bathroom.  She dressed quickly and pulled her hair into a
ponytail, then left the house without breakfast.  She had one final fitting
with Grandma Johnson, with her dance shoes on, so they could determine the
hem.  Cinderella wanted to be sure and give Grandma Johnson plenty of time to
get it finished before tonight.

“Good
morning sweetie!” Grandma Johnson greeted her with a warm smile.

“Morning!”
Cinderella said brightly.

Her
dress was lying across the couch and Cinderella felt her eyes start to water
when she saw it.

“It’s
perfect!” she whispered.

Grandma
Johnson walked over and stood beside her, looking down at the dress.

“Not
bad for a week’s notice, if I do say so myself!” she said.

Cinderella
hugged Grandma Johnson tightly.  “It’s beautiful!” she said.  “Thank you so
much!”

“A
beautiful dress for a beautiful girl.  Inside and out!” Grandma Johnson said. 
“What’s with the waterworks?” she asked, looking at Cinderella’s tear-stained face.

“You’re
just so wonderful!” Cinderella said sniffing.  “I never knew my real grandma,
but I can’t imagine anyone better than you!”

Grandma
Johnson sniffed herself.  “Just look at us!” she exclaimed.  “A couple of
blubber babies!  Now hurry and get that dress on, we’ve still got work to do,
and no mice to help do it.”

Cinderella
nodded and gently picked up the dress and walked in to the other room.  She
returned a few minutes later, dress on and shoes in place.  Grandma Johnson
helped her up onto the stepstool and instructed her to stand tall and straight
while she pinned up the hem.

***

That
evening at half past five, the Princess sisters were all gathered at
Cinderella’s house, dressed in their beautiful gowns.  They frantically went
back and forth from Cinderella’s bedroom to the bathroom, applying hairspray,
touching up makeup, and trying desperately to shake the nerves they each were
feeling.

“Ari,
where’s that dangly bracelet?”

“Will
you hand me those pins?”

“Can
you fix my zipper?”

“Is
this part twisted?”

“I
love that perfume!  Can I use some?”

“Do
you like this lipstick or the darker one?”

“Can
I borrow these earrings?”

Dana
and Mary came walking up the stairs to check on the girls’ progress and
immediately coughed as they entered the cloud of fumes.

“We’re
going to have to call the EPA for all this hairspray!” Dana joked.

The
girls turned and looked at her, but no one responded.  Not even a smile.

“Wow. 
I see we’ve entered the no humor zone,” she said to Mary.

“You
ladies look absolutely gorgeous!” Mary said.  She took Belle by the hands and
led her over to Cinderella’s bed to sit down.  Then she motioned for the others
to join them.

“You
are going to have an amazing time tonight!” she said.  “Even if the date
totally sucks, you will at least get to take home the memory of that wretched
girl’s face when she sees you all enter the dance floor with college guys.”

Dana
flinched slightly, but kept her mouth shut.  But the Princess sisters didn’t
even notice.  They all smiled at that thought and they seemed to breathe a
little easier.

“Especially
looking as good as you all do!” Mary added.  “I mean it!” she said in reaction
to the eye rolls she received.  “Now, does anyone need anything?”

“I
think we’re all pretty much ready Mom,” Belle said.  “Just waiting.”

Dana
and Mary added a few more pins where needed and just finished putting a final
sealing coat of spray in everyone’s hair when the doorbell rang.  The anxiety
that had slowly left the room since Mary’s words zoomed back in and slapped the
girls across their faces.

“Deep
breath everyone,” Mary said.  “Now grab your purses and jackets and I will
answer the door.”

The
girls gathered their belongings and glanced one more time in the mirror before
slowly coming down the stairs.

“Come
on in,” they could hear Mary saying.  “Go ahead and have a seat.”

The
five boys did as they were told, but Scott immediately stood back up at the
sight of Cinderella.

“Wow,
Princess!  You look incredible!” he said, stepping over to her and giving her a
quick hug.

“Down
girl,” Mary whispered to Dana, putting a hand on her arm when she tried to move
forward.

“These
are my cousins,” Cinderella said, her hand outstretched toward the four girls
standing on the stairs behind her.  “Although, I guess you’ve met them before.”

“Briefly,”
Scott said, nodding his hello.  “But I’ll need some help remembering who is
who.  You all look great, by the way!”

“Cinderella
got an ‘incredible’ and we’re all just ‘great’,” Belle whispered sarcastically
to Aurora.  She said it a little louder than she had intended and Scott grinned
in appreciation.

“You
must be Belle,” he said.

Belle
froze briefly and then gave him a warm smile.  “I’m impressed!” she said.

“You’re
exactly as Cinderella described you,” he said.  “Hey Nate,” he motioned toward
one of his friends, who quickly jumped to his feet.

Cinderella
recognized him from her trip with Dave up to Logan.  He was about the same
height as Scott, but skinnier.  He had sandy blonde hair and a perfect smile. 
Cinderella half expected to hear a ‘ding’ and see a bright sparkle, like they
do on cheesy commercials, when he grinned at Belle.

“I
loved the fish!” Nate said, shaking Belle’s hand.  “We named him Big Blue,
after the USU mascot.”

Belle
smiled in return and they stepped aside while the introductions continued.

“And
you are?” Scott asked Snow White.

“Snow
White,” she answered.  “We had a run-in at the fireworks.”

“Ah
yes!”  Scott chuckled at the memory of almost knocking her to the ground.

“Snow
White, this is Bradley,” Scott said, pointing out another of his friends.

The
shortest guy in the bunch stood and shook hands with Snow White.  He had a
darker complexion and dark hair to match.  Snow White smiled shyly at him, and
then they stepped aside.

“And
I know you are Ariel and Aurora, but I’m sorry I do not know which is which,”
Scott said.

“Aurora,” she said pointing to herself.  “And this is Ariel.”

“Now
which one of you loves movie quotes?” he asked.

Ariel
lit up.  “I do!” she said.

“Bobby?”

Bobby
got to his feet.  He was tall and thin, with frosted blonde hair that was
spiked and he wore glasses.

“I
wanted Nate to name the fish Blinky,” he whispered.

Ariel
had to stop and think for a moment, then she smiled in appreciation and the two
quickly became lost in conversation.

“Last
but not least, Aurora, this is Kris.”

Kris
had dark auburn hair, but surprisingly no freckles, like most other redheads. 
He was very muscular and next to Aurora’s slender frame, looked as though he
could break her in half.

“Well,
shall we get to dinner?” Scott asked.

“Burgers
and fries anyone?” Cinderella asked with a sly smile.

“Are
you kidding me?” Scott asked.  “With five gorgeous girls all dressed up, we
have to take you somewhere that will really show you off!”

“You
mean we have to take you,” Belle said.  “We did technically ask you out.”

“What
kind of gentlemen would we be if we let you pay for dinner?” Scott asked.  His
friends all nodded their agreement.

“Definitely
princes,” Cinderella whispered to her cousins.

“I
concur!” Ariel said.

“It’s
refreshing,” added Belle.

Then
each of their dates took a Princess sister by the arm and led them out the
door.