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
Isn’t it What if the glass slipper had happened to fit another woman before the prince even got to Cinderella He might’ve married the wrong person Maddie groaned She wanted to shut him down but to her horror Mrs Greenberg was nodding her head at him now Was she actually agreeing with that little creep One more thing Holden said How did Cinderella get home from the ball Maddie smirked He thought he was so clever that he could make her fall for a trick question like this If she didn’t know the story so well she might’ve said that Cinderella rode home in her coach but of course that wouldn’t have been possible Well her coach changed back into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight Maddie replied So obviously she walked Nice try Holden Satisfied that she had answered the question correctly Maddie began to gather her things so she could sit back down at last Unfortunately Holden wasn’t finished With one shoe he asked Why not Wasn’t this before roads were paved Weren’t villages many miles away from the palace That must’ve been agony It was Maddie said feeling much like Cinderella at that moment It was absolute agony Well it’s a lovely story Mrs Greenberg said Even if it is flawed Maddie flopped back down into her seat Flawed How could anyone think that Cinderella was flawed She was furious with Holden for ruining her report What she didn’t realize yet was that her stepbrother had ruined a lot more than that
Chapter 2 Maddie stayed up late that night wondering how to get her dad to divorce Carol She imagined how good it would feel to see Holden packing all his Star Wars and Avengers figures into boxes and rounding up all his video games She’d even help him load the truck and cheerily wave goodbye as he pulled away forever As comforting as the thought was though she couldn’t help but feel bad for her father He’d been so much happier since he met Carol Maddie had to admit she was a really nice woman even if she had raised a troll for a son Once Maddie had ruled out the thought of breaking up her father’s marriage she comforted herself by calculating the exact number of days between now and when she and Holden both left for college As good as she was at math multiplying by 365 was exhausting and that’s how she finally fell asleep It wasn’t much later that there was a soft but urgent knock on her bedroom door At first the knock didn’t wake her but then came another louder knock And another even louder one Maddie rolled over groggily and looked at her clock She couldn’t figure out why someone would possibly be bothering her at 12 04 a m As for who was doing it that was a much easier question to answer Holden go away It’s like a million o’clock Open your door Maddie Holden demanded from the hallway This isn’t funny There was no way Maddie was going to open the door She was convinced he was planning some cruel trick that could only be pulled off in the middle of the night Go back to bed Holden I’m not opening my Maddie stopped short as something across the room caught her eye The thin slivers of light that fell through her blinds shined on her diorama and something about it looked very different Not believing her eyes Maddie rose from her bed to examine it
