The Reluctant Cinderella

“Missy, I’m not so sure about this,” Dawn said as she stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom. At the moment she was finishing applying her makeup. She put the lipstick away and headed into her room. “It’s too risky,” she continued.

After Missy and Connor had made themselves known, Missy quickly explained her plan to Dawn. She had brought the dresses with her along with anything else they would need and they would get ready in Dawn’s room. Then, when they were all ready, they would hop into Connor’s car and head over to the ball. About an hour before the ball would end they would then leave. It didn’t take long to get Dawn to agree but she still had her doubts. She was already in enough trouble as it is.

“What’s life without a little risk?” was Missy’s reply as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Geez, Aidan asked the same thing. Does no one have any faith in me?” She was already dressed, as was Dawn, and now stood upon her best friend’s entrance. “You look wonderful!” she exclaimed, changing the subject. “But you’re not finished yet.” She grabbed her duffel bag and pulled something out.

“Hey, where is Aidan anyway? Isn’t he coming?” She had just realized that he wasn’t there. Dawn’s hand went to touch her hair, which was still in a ponytail, after Missy’s last sentence. “Yeah, I was thinking of putting it up in a bun. Just something simple.” She looked to see what Missy had in her hand. To her surprise she saw a blonde wig. “A wig?”

Missy held it up so Dawn could get a good look at it. The length was much shorter than Dawn’s hair and looked like it would reach her ears. “Yep, a wig. You can’t go to the ball with your hair.” She walked over to Dawn then guided her back to the bathroom. “And Aidan didn’t want to come. Saying, ‘Dances aren’t my thing’ and went straight to the entertainment room to watch TV.”

Dawn nodded. She knew Missy’s little brother a bit better when she stayed over that one week and found that he wasn’t the type to go out. “Why? What’s wrong with my hair?” Dawn asked as she stood in front of the mirror. She was a little defensive because she loved her hair. She didn’t have anything against blondes but didn’t think the color was right for her.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Missy assured her. “But we still need to hide it.” She placed the wig on the counter and, after taking down the ponytail, began brushing Dawn’s hair. “We’re just going to give it it’s own costume.”

“But why?” Dawn winced when Missy hit a tangle.

Missy sighed. “Because someone might still recognize you. The wig is just insurance that we won’t get caught. Now stop moving your head.” She grabbed Dawn’s head and turned it so her friend was facing forward. In no time at all the wig was on and Missy was beaming proudly at her work.

Dawn took in her new hair-do and found herself liking it. She realized with the mask and wig no one would recognize her. She almost didn’t recognize herself. She turned to the still smiling redhead. “Missy, I have to hand it to you. You are a genius. I bet I can go up to my parents and they would think I was some stranger.”

“Of course I’m a genius,” Missy said matter-of-factly. “But, I’d advise against doing that. We’ll be safer if we kept our distance from everyone. And I mean everyone.” When Dawn looked away Missy knew that she understood.

The girls exited the bathroom and began putting stuff away. The door was slightly ajar to make sure everything was okay with Connor. He was given the task of feeding Oso while the girls were getting ready. Dawn didn’t know how the dog would react and wanted to make sure she kept an ear out for them. So far everything was quiet and she guessed the two were getting along.

“Are you girls ready yet?” came Connor’s slightly annoyed voice from the hall. They could hear his footsteps walking to the door. “We need to get going or we’ll miss the whole ball.”

“Stop your whining. We’re finished,” Missy replied as she opened the door some more and he walked in.

Dawn was putting a hanger back in her closet as he walked in and decided to take a quick peek. The hanger in her hands fell when her eyes landed on him. He was wearing a long sleeved, white, buttoned up shirt with a black leather vest. The first button of his shirt was undone to show some skin. His pants where black slacks and he wore casual but still dressy black shoes that shined in the light. A pinstripe fedora was sitting on top of his beautiful light brown hair, pushing it down to go into his eyes a bit. She noticed that he carried a silver wolf mask in his right hand that would cover his eyes and nose. Wow, she thought before realizing that she was staring and quickly retreated back into the closet.

“Dawn, come out and show Connor what you look like,” Missy said.

After taking a deep breath she walked out and took a few steps towards him. “So, how do I look?” she asked him, a little self-conscious.

Connor stood still for a moment, taking in her appearance. The dress was even more beautiful than he remembered but what had his mouth slightly open was the person wearing it. Wow, he thought and almost said out loud before quickly recovering and saying, “You look good. Though I do prefer your regular hair color. But you do pull off being a blonde.” He gave her a smile that caused a slight blush to appear.

“Thanks. I like your outfit. You clean up good. Tell me,” Dawn continued, “did you pick it out or did your mother need to help you?” She gave a chuckle trying to get rid of her sudden nervousness. He laughed along, as did Missy and the atmosphere in the room became relaxed. “So, are we going to stand here laughing or are we going to a ball?”

The drive to the ball was filled with excited chatter and singing along to the radio as the thrill of the upcoming event was approaching. The music was on loud and seemed to fill the three with energy.

“Whew,” Missy said as she finished the last song and lowered the music. “I hope the music at the ball will be good,” she said while turning to Dawn, who was in the back seat. Dawn nodded. The music suddenly became louder and Missy turned to her cousin. “Hey, I’m talking. Keep it lowered.” She reached over to lower the volume but Connor’s hand slapped her own. She quickly drew it back.

“It’s my car so I decide how loud the music is,” he said, and with that he put the music up some more. He began drumming along on the steering wheel, causing Missy to look at Dawn and roll her eyes.

In response Dawn began singing along and soon Connor joined in causing Missy to just about loose her mind. This continued until they reached the parking lot, where Missy immediately turned off the radio. That action drew an “Aww” from both Connor and Dawn.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the bad person,” Missy said as she opened the car door. “But I don’t really care because we’re here!” She stepped out, and soon the other two followed. “Let’s go get our party on!”

“Missy, it’s a ball not a dance club in LA. It’s meant to be formal and classy.” He paused. “But since you’re here I guess all class should be thrown out the window.”

“Hey!” she yelled as he chuckled loudly.

“Will you both be quiet,” Dawn said while looking from one to the other. “Do you want to tell the whole city that we’re here? What happened to our quiet and inconspicuous entrance?”

“Sorry,” they both said in unison.

“Good,” she said then smiled. “Then let’s get going and have some fun.”

The ball was held at the local recreation center and at first glance it looked like a regular one. But when one looked closer they would notice that it was a lot bigger and screamed high scale, from the state-of-the-art gym to the gleaming marble in the bathroom. The trio made their way over to the entrance, a little curious that there didn’t seem to be anyone going in or out of the door.

“Hey, look at this,” Connor said as he walked over to a tree. “There’s a sign here.” They followed and all three read:

Come this way to a wonderful night
Of human and animal delights

There was an arrow pointing up, meaning they should continue forward. “Wow, that’s a pretty crappy rhyme,” Connor said once he finished reading.

“Oh, shut up and just come on,” Missy said as she led the way with Dawn and Connor following behind.

They encountered more signs, each saying the same thing. Soon the trees where lit up with white lights creating a magical atmosphere. They began to sparkle like fireflies and became more abundant as the trio neared the dance site. And what a sight their eyes landed upon as they exited the small forest of trees. A huge tent was set up on what was usually the park area and music could be heard from where they were standing. It was actually good music. Well, what they thought was good music.

A few people where standing outside with cigarettes, just chatting away. The portly man let out a loud laugh at something his skinner companion said. The lone woman of the group laughed as well, but it was more forced. They weren’t wearing their masks Dawn noticed as she, Missy, and Connor walked closer. The man’s laugh caused her some pause. It was the mayor! On top of that he and her father were good friends so he probably knows about her being grounded. Oh, crap! If he recognizes me I’m in deep shit.

Trying to walk as nonchalantly as she could, Dawn followed Missy and Connor inside without another glance in the group’s direction. As soon as she entered she let out a sigh of relief. They had done it. They were in and so far things were going according to plan.

“The mayor spared no expense on this,” Missy said as she took in the grandeur of the tent.

“I bet this came out of his own pocket too,” Dawn added.

“Why would he spend so much though?” Connor asked.

“Elections,” Dawn and Missy answered in unison.

Dawn turned to Connor and looked up at him before continuing. “This November he’s running again and wants to make sure that people will vote for him. He’s using this to get votes basically.”

Connor nodded. “That makes sense.”

“But whether or not we’ll vote for him is still yet to be decided,” Missy said. “Doesn’t mean we won’t take advantage of this though.”

They all laughed and slowly began to integrate themselves into the ball. They remained in their group, not wanting to adventure far and get separated. Part of the plan was to stay together. First, they were by the snack and refreshment table and ate for a while. Then they hit the dance floor and, too Dawn’s surprise, realized that her lessons actually paid off. She wasn’t making a fool of herself! She voiced this, causing both Missy and Connor to roll their eyes.

“Of course you weren’t going to make a fool of yourself,” Connor said. “I am an awesome teacher after all,” he said smugly before grabbing her arm and twirling her once. She laughed as they continued their good time.

Finally, they all needed to stop to catch their breaths and took a quick break. They walked off and retreated to an area that wasn’t crowded, where they talked about the current event and the fun they were having. Connor left to grab all of them some drinks, while Dawn took the time to look for her family. She didn’t spot them at first but finally her eyes caught all of them standing in a group across the tent. The mayor was with them and talking to her father.

Her eyes then continued scanning the area when they stopped on a very familiar figure. Missy caught her staring at someone and asked, “Dawn who are you staring at?”

“Jason,” Dawn simply said before averting her gaze.

Missy’s green eyes widened when they landed on Jason, who wasn’t wearing his mask. “He took off his mask!” Missy hissed. “I can’t believe it! Doesn’t he know the rules?”

“Doesn’t who know the rules?” Connor asked as he arrived with three plastic cups in his hands. Missy nodded towards one direction and he turned his gaze. His eyes narrowed as they landed on the Jason, who was putting his mask back on. “Oh, him,” he said with annoyance. He’s heard about Jason from his cousin and didn’t like the man.

“Maybe I should-” Dawn started, before getting cut off by Missy.

“Listen to me, Dawn,” Missy said while grabbing her best friend’s shoulders. “You will not go over there and talk to him. Got it? You’ll blow our cover. Promise me.”

Dawn sighed and looked down. “Yes, I promise. I will not go over there and talk to him.”

Missy nodded; pretty sure that her best friend wouldn’t break the promise but she still kept an eye out, just in case. That didn’t last long when Connor dragged her away for a moment to talk to her about something and Dawn was left alone.

But not for long.

A moment didn’t even pass by when Dawn heard someone clear his throat from the side. She turned in that direction and slightly jumped when she spotted Jason in his bear mask. He looks so handsome, was the first thought that went through her mind.

“I’m so sorry to scare you,” Jason said while rubbing the back of his head. That gesture was sign that he was nervous, she remembered. “I was just wondering if you wanted to dance… with me.”

Immediately she quickly scanned the area for Missy but when she didn’t see her, Dawn turned her attention back to Jason and, with a small smile, nodded before taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor. I’m not breaking the promise, she thought, as Jason took her hand in his and placed the other lightly on her waist. I didn’t go over to him and I won’t be talking to him at all. They began to dance to the slow song and Dawn felt a tingle from where his hand was touching her waist. Nope, I’m not breaking the promise at all.

Jason had been throwing glances to the woman who was dressed as a lioness as soon as she walked in. He didn’t know why but there was something about her. He had to at least have one dance with her. Maybe even talk to her, but whenever he thought about going over to her Rose would grab his arm and drag him away.

Rose was the last woman he wanted to go with but her constant asking finally got him to agree and now he was stuck with her for three nights. He didn’t expect her to want his attention every single minute and it was infuriating. It wasn’t until she went off with her friends did he take the opportunity to go to the mysterious woman and have enough courage to ask her to dance.

Now that they were dancing he didn’t know what to talk about. Simply saying, “Hey, I’ve been watching you all night and wanted to know more about you,” wouldn’t work and would make him seem like some creep or stalker. The fact that she actually agreed gave him a surprise. So, after a minute of dancing with her finally said, “Nice night.” Immediately he regretted it. He wondered how stupid he sounded. But she didn’t say or do anything but nod.

“Um… I don’t want to seem creepy or anything but have we met before?” he asked. “Because there’s something about you that seems familiar.” She shrugged. “Probably not.”

They moved slowly, neither one of them saying a word. That bothered him a little and said, “You look nice. You’re dress is beautiful.” He was looking down and finally noticed exactly where he was staring. His ears reddened a little as he looked away. “Sorry,” he muttered.

She stifled a laugh then shook her head. He understood and let out a sigh.

More silence. The song suddenly changed into a more upbeat one and they shifted their dance style to match. The silence continued.

“I’m sorry but I can’t stand not talking when I’m dancing,” he told her. “I hope you don’t mind.” She shook her head. He waited for her to say something but when she didn’t he did instead. “Look, if you don’t want to dance with me then say something. Just don’t ignore me,” he snapped. He was a little ticked that she hadn’t said a word then another thought hit him. What if she couldn’t speak? His eyes widened at this thought. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were mute. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m-”

She placed a hand over his mouth to stop him. Then she lightly tapped her throat and nodded, while smiling. Now he was confused. “Wait, you can talk?” She nodded again. “Are you going to talk?” Still smiling, she shook her head. “But you want to dance with me?” She nodded. “O-o-o-kay.” He paused. “Do you mind if I talk instead?” Again she shook her head.

For a little while they stayed like this, on the dance floor with him doing all the talking. He actually liked it, not that he was vain and loved his voice, but because he was able to actually get a chance to talk with someone who didn’t cut in every other second. He loved that someone actually listened to what he had to say. He also loved that they were both anonymous in their masks. He didn’t know who she was and she, in turn, didn’t know who he was. He could practically tell her anything he wanted.

He didn’t get the chance to though when the two people she arrived with took her away. The man, he noticed, was giving him a glare that could be seen even though he was wearing a mask. Her boyfriend maybe? He didn’t know and didn’t care. All he thought about was finding her the next night and dancing with her again.

The trio were in the car and halfway to Dawn’s house before Missy finally spoke. “Dawn, what were you doing with him? You promised that you wouldn’t go over to him. What if he found out who you were!?”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Missy, relax. Breathe. I didn’t break my promise. He came up to me and I didn’t talk to him. I’m pretty sure he didn’t realize who I was.”

Missy’s anger cooled down a bit. “You didn’t talk to him?”

“I didn’t talk to him,” Dawn repeated.

“And you’re sure he didn’t recognize you?”

“I’m one hundred percent sure. With the wig and mask I was a complete stranger. It was actually nice not having to worry what he thought about me because he didn’t know who I was. He seemed to like it too.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Missy turned back to face the front.

Connor hadn’t said anything at all and didn’t until they reached her house, only to say goodbye. If Dawn was paying more attention she would have noticed this but her thoughts were still on the night and Jason. With a smile on her face she flopped onto her bed and looked out the window. Mission accomplished.