The Reluctant Cinderella

Three weeks have passed since Dawn had to clean the living room and she still had not spent some time with Jason. He had quickly found a job and was spending most of his time there. While he was not at work then his time was spent with friends he had made. At least once a week he can be seen from the Santiago residence getting into a car full of other guys. Though Dawn wished that she could spend some time with him she was happy that Rose wasn’t getting all of his attention.

Her older sister’s grades have started to begin slipping and their mom threatened to take away some of her privileges if she didn’t get to studying. Dawn had quietly laughed from the top of the stairs when she heard Rose trying to weasel her way out of studying. For a whole week Rose pouted but neither their mother nor father had given in. So, ever since Rose was either at school or locked in her room with her books.

Dawn was happy to have some piece and quiet from her annoying sibling and for a while didn’t hesitate to rub it in her face. Of course Rose would always get back at her some way so that had to stop.

During her free time from cleaning (which surprisingly she didn’t have a lot to do) Dawn would hope into her old, blue Honda and drive to Missy’s house. The girls would hang out at the house or at the park nearby just talking or messing around. Finally her summer was actually getting good. No sister making her life hell and no chores. The only thing that didn’t change was the way Sky acted towards her. He was still up in his room and whenever she tried to talk to him he would throw something at her. Usually a textbook. She wondered if he’ll ever be the same big brother he was many years ago.

Today, though, was a lazy day for her. Most of the time consisted of her lying on the couch watching television and eating junk food. Currently a large bag of Hot Cheetos was on the coffee table along with a can of soda, and some cookies. She knew all of these foods will most likely make her sick and gain weight but it was summer. A time to relax and be carefree.

No one else was in the house except for Oso and he was near the couch with his favorite chew toy in his mouth. The St. Bernard’s slobber dripped onto his bed and from her position on the couch she chuckled. “Nice Oso,” she said to him. Even dog drool couldn’t ruin her good mood. With remote in hand she flipped through the channels and finally stopped on the Food Network. The show Paula’s Home Cooking was on and Paula was showing how to make cherry cream cheese pie. Watching with some interest Dawn began to think.

She hadn’t made any dessert in a long time and would like to get back at it. She enjoyed cooking and loved when her parents give her compliments. Suddenly, the sound of the mail slot opening brought her out of her thoughts. Luckily Oso had gotten used to the mail man and didn’t run to the door barking. He didn’t even move when she got off the couch and walked over to the front door.

Looking down she saw a few newspaper ads, which wasn’t anything unordinary, and a few letters. After picking the letters up she began going through them while making her way back to the couch. Most of them were bills addressed to her parents and a few were credit card offers. But one addressed to “Resident” caught her eye. Throwing the other letters onto the messy coffee table she turned that envelope over and opened it. She was a resident in the house after all and had every right to read it.

The envelope contained one paper and after unfolding it began to read. A smile appeared on her face when she read the first few lines. When she finished she squealed with delight causing Oso to look up at her for a moment. Just then the phone rang and she went over to answer it.

“Hello?” she asked.

“DAWN!” Missy’s voice yelled out. Dawn had to move the phone away from her ear or risk becoming deaf. “Tell me you got the letter!”

She cautiously brought the phone back to her ear. “Yes, Missy I just finished reading it. Calm down.”

“Calm down? How can you possibly tell me to calm down? The mayor is throwing a carnival. With three balls. Three!” Missy squealed before continuing. “How cool is that? They’re going to be masquerade balls. We need to brainstorm right away. I’m coming over.” Missy said all of this quickly and before Dawn could reply had hung up.

“Missy we don’t… Missy?” She paused but didn’t hear her best friend’s voice. “Hey are you there?” When she still didn’t get a reply she hung up the phone while muttering, “Great.” She then laughed while putting the phone back into its charger.

“Looks like we're having company Oso.”

The dog gave her a quick look before going back to his bone, completely uninterested in the affairs of human life.