Chapter 1 Maddie McMatthews was pretty sure she had the worst stepbrother in the entire world True there might be an eleven-year-old girl in Portugal or Tajikistan whose perfectly nice stepmom had a sarcastic prank-pulling punk for a son Maybe that poor girl was also forced to live under the same roof as the terrible troublemaker There was no way though that that girl had to put up with a boy as infuriating as Holden McNeal of Middle Grove New Jersey He was the obnoxious jerk with whom Maddie shared a wall a bathroom and a furious dislike The two stepsiblings even shared a birthday but Maddie was quick to correct anyone who mistakenly thought that they were twins We’re barely even related she’d say with a sigh and an eye-roll When her dad first announced that he was marrying Carol Maddie was thrilled She’d always wanted a brother She offered to show Holden around school and introduce him to everyone she knew Then how did he repay her By getting them all to follow him on Instagram and posting a picture of what Maddie’s hair looks like in the morning The image got shared dozens of times and became so well-known around school that three different girls dressed as Morning Maddie for Halloween Holden became known as the class clown She became known as the girl with clown hair It didn’t end there Holden erased all of Maddie’s favorite shows from the DVR so he could record wrestling matches He left his pet tarantula on her pillow so she would scream when she got into bed None of this even came close to the worst thing he had ever done the thing that put him in the Rotten Weasel Hall of Fame for all eternity and changed Maddie’s life forever Her stepbrother Holden McNeal broke up Cinderella’s wedding forcing her to go back to scrubbing floors for her wicked stepmother
Who even knew a fifth grader could do that It all started with a school assignment Maddie had to give an oral report on her favorite story and she chose Cinderella She had always found it so beautiful and romantic how a poor miserable girl could fall in love with a prince and end up the most envied woman in the kingdom Plus lately she related to the part about having wicked stepsiblings As usual Holden was determined to ruin her report the same way he ruined everything else First he mocked her diorama which she had spent weeks working on It showed Cinderella walking down the aisle to marry the prince looking stunning in a blue and white dress and her glass slippers Maddie made tiny dolls out of old T-shirts to represent Cinderella the prince the wicked stepmother and the two cruel stepsisters who wept watching Cinderella’s happily ever after She couldn’t wait to show her family the finished work The moment the glue dried she carried the shoe box downstairs to present it to them in the living room Ta-dah she announced with a flourish Her dad and Carol were so impressed they actually started clapping Maddie you’ve outdone yourself her dad cheered Carol gave her a giant hug All that hard work paid off she gushed I smell an A plus But her snot of a stepbrother refused to join in the praise He sat with his arms folded and huffed Why would she invite her wicked stepmother to her wedding Holden that’s not nice Dad said to him It’s a beautiful diorama Yeah for a lousy story Maddie was so hurt she responded with the meanest statement she could think of We’ll see if I invite you to my wedding someday Holden sneered as he did often and answered back with what seemed to be the meanest response he could think of Ugh like I’d want to go to your wedding Guys stop it Carol scolded Holden tried to act innocent What I said her diorama was nice It’s just that the
story was written for people who don’t care if it makes sense Okay enough Dad said If you two can’t get along then go to your rooms Fine Fine They both stormed upstairs and slammed their doors Maddie flopped down on her bed wanting to cry All she had tried to do was show her parents something she was very proud of and Holden turned it into a big fight that got them both in trouble He was the worst The next day when Mrs Greenberg called on Maddie to do her presentation she took a deep breath determined not to make eye contact with her annoying stepbrother in the back row When Maddie revealed her diorama Mrs Greenberg let out an impressed Ooh Maddie then gave a five-minute report on everything Cinderella meant to her It was almost as if she’d been preparing this speech since she first read the story as a little girl Cinderella is all about true love but more than that it’s about hope It shows that what matters most is a good heart because as long as you have one of those even a poor sad servant girl can marry a prince She could see Mrs Greenberg nodding approvingly and Maddie couldn’t help glaring at Holden in the back row Not to mention she added she can also triumph over her wicked stepsiblings She knew Holden would figure out this was directed at him but what she didn’t expect was that the entire class would break out laughing and turn to face him Quiet down everyone Mrs Greenberg said Maddie felt a little bad for Holden but it served him right for criticizing her diorama Then as Maddie gathered her notes to go back to her seat Mrs Greenberg turned to the classroom and said the words every student dreads Any questions
There’s an unwritten rule among students that question time will always be met with silence No one wants to ask questions after anyone else’s report because no one wants to have to answer questions after their own report Maddie picked up her diorama to return to her seat when out of the corner of her eye she saw a hand go up in the back of the room I have some questions a very familiar very snotty voice said Maddie turned to see her stepbrother Holden shooting that same smug grin back at her She had a strong urge to hurl her diorama directly at his head Yes Holden Mrs Greenberg said Go ahead Holden took a deep breath Clearly he’d been preparing for this First of all if the prince was so in love with Cinderella why would he have to identify her by her foot Wouldn’t he remember her face Maddie sighed He thought he was so smart Actually fairy tales are full of mistaken identity she said Little Red Riding Hood even mistook a wolf for her grandmother So it makes sense that the prince wouldn’t trust his memory Mrs Greenberg nodded again It was a solid answer Maddie hoped that would get Holden to back off but instead he tilted his questioning head to the other side and launched another attack Tell me something he said loudly What shoe size do you wear Me Maddie asked Yes I’m curious Maddie shook her head What could the rotten monster be up to now I’m a five and a half Thanks Just out of curiosity is anyone else here a five and a half He looked around the room C’mon raise your hands if you wear a size five and a half A few hands shot up One two three four five Holden counted So Maddie you have the same size foot as about half the girls in this class Let me ask you do you think shoe size is a reliable way to identify someone That’s not fair
