Fairy Tale Revision (Cinderella)

Cinderella – The Extended Remix

There once was a wealthy businessman who was a widower, Mr. Prosper. He had a daughter, Cynthia, or “Cindy”, as he affectionately called her. She grew to be a lovely young woman like her mother. One day, the handsome businessman met what seemed to be a very sweet divorcée, Devila. But she was actually an opportunist, looking for a well-to-do man to take care of her and her two bratty daughters, Coveta and Envya. The couple eventually married and the woman and her daughters moved into Mr. Prosper’s home, which he shared with his lovely daughter, Cindy.

Tough economic times came and Mr. Prosper’s business suffered. Because his wife and stepdaughters had spent so much of his money, living “high on the hog”, there weren’t enough cash reserves to save the company. He had to file for bankruptcy. He had to eventually let the company go and find another job paying much less money. Unfortunately, the job required him to work out of town and he was only able to come home occasionally.

When Mr. Prosper was around, Devila and her daughters put up a front, as if they were all one big, happy family. But when he was away, Devilla, Coveta, and Envya treated the shy, passive Cindy poorly. They yelled at her, made fun of her, and called her names. They said she was ugly, stupid, and dumb. On the contrary, Cindy was beautiful, talented, and smart as a whip! In fact, she was an honors student at the local university. Her evil stepsisters were actually very jealous of her. They had flunked out of college because they partied too much. The stepsisters went as far as cyberbullying, taunting her on Facebook and Twitter. They would even set her up to get in trouble and take the fall for their mischief. They would “borrow” her belongings and return them broken, damaged, or not return them at all, claiming they were “lost” or that the dog ate it.

Cindy didn’t have much of a social life. With the family’s new financial problems, she began working a full-time job, to help make ends meet and to pay for her college education.

Devila and her daughters were lazy and selfish. After Mr. Prosper had to lay off the housekeeper, Devila made Cindy do all the housework and clean up after her and her daughters…those slobs! They even made her run errands for them. Cindy’s parents had always taught her to respect her elders, so she dared not talk back to her stepmother. Besides, that woman was scary!

One day, the CEOs (a husband and wife team) of the company Mr. Prosper worked for announced that they were throwing THE red-carpet charitable event of the year, a three-night Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball! The guest list included some of the biggest names in business, sports, entertainment, and politics. Because Mr. Prosper was a good employee, he received an invitation and asked his family if they would like to go to the ball.

“Are you kidding? Of course we want to go!” Devila and her daughters shouted. “Everybody who’s anybody will be there!”

“What about you, Cindy?” Mr. Prosper asked.

“Well, I-I don’t know,” she replied hesitantly. Cindy thought, I don’t have anything to wear to something like that. Besides, the ball would be held out of town, where her father worked. They would all have to fly or drive a distance to get there. She knew her father really couldn’t afford airfare for all of them, plus pay for a hotel for them.

Devila knew that the billionaire couple sponsoring the event, Mr. and Mrs. Richman, had a very handsome and single son. Hmm...an heir to the empire, she thought. I’ve got to make sure he meets my girls so he can marry one of them and we’ll be set for life!

Devila told Coveta and Envya about the handsome bachelor. The three of them had to figure out a way to snag this eligible bachelor. They googled him to find out all they could about him, even stalking his Facebook page and following him on Twitter. How could they make sure they would outshine all of the other ladies who would be vying for his attention at the ball? Since they had some time to devise a plot before the ball, Coveta and Envya decided to get breast implants, tummy tucks, butt injections, and Botox injections to plump up their lips. “Surely, that will catch his eye! We’ll be the hottest girls at the ball!” So, they maxed out their credit cards, all in an effort to sink their hooks into the most eligible bachelor around. “One of us has got to get that man!” The desperate sisters said. “Maybe he has a brother or a rich cousin, too!”

Fortunately, the Richmans were very generous and compassionate people. They knew that hard times had fallen on Mr. Prosper and his family. So, they offered to pay for the family’s airfare and hotel stay for the ball.

Devila and her daughters were leaving home to go shopping, to buy the latest in haute couture for the ball. “To get a man of such high caliber, you’ve got to look the part,” she told them. “Not like your Plain Jane stepsister. She’ll never get married, or if she does, she’ll have to settle for some lowly fella.” They laughed and mocked her. Cindy, who had just awakened, after working and studying all night, overheard them. Although she had grown used to their mistreatment, their words were still hurtful. She cried. Then, she remembered something her mother used to tell her to think about when she was sad. “Later, it will be greater! Your day in the sunshine will come!” She often encouraged herself with her mom’s wise sayings. That’s how she managed to stay sane and strong through all of the mistreatment by those three evil females.

The day of the ball was drawing near and Cindy still didn’t have anything to wear. She had been so busy working and studying, the time just seemed to fly by. She had been saving money to buy one outfit to wear, although it was a three-night event. What she didn’t know was that her father had sent enough money for all of them to buy outfits for the ball, but Devila never told Cindy. She selfishly used the extra money that would have bought Cindy’s outfits, to buy something more expensive for herself and her daughters.  By now, they were all prancing around the house, flaunting their expensive dresses, a different one for each night of the ball. Coveta and Envya were walking around like proud peacocks, showing off their new boobs, butts, and lips, and bragging about how they were going to snag a rich man at the ball.

“Well, you can always go to Walmart and get something at the last minute. Ha! Ha! Ha!” They taunted. “You can’t possibly think you would fit in at a high-society event like that anyway! Who do you think you are? Why don’t you just stay here and do what you do best…nothing!”

Their words hurt, but as she left home to go to the mall to try to find something to wear at the last minute, Cindy encouraged herself. “Later, it will be greater! My day in the sunshine will come!” She looked everywhere, trying to find an outfit, but everything in her size was either sold out, too expensive, or too revealing. “What am I going to do?” There were three dresses she really liked that fit her perfectly, but she couldn’t afford them. Oh well, she thought, maybe I’ll just go and hang out in the hotel while everyone else is at the ball and spend some quality time with my dad afterwards. “Later, it will be greater! My day in the sunshine will come!”

The night before they were all supposed to leave to fly out to the ball, Cindy had to work late. She had also been up late the night before that studying for an exam. Fortunately, she had already packed her bags. She came home from work that night exhausted, plopped across the bed and fell asleep right away.

Early the next morning, those three evil ones were up running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to pack at the last minute and get to the airport. “Where is that sorry little stepsister of yours?” Devila asked.

“I don’t know. I guess she’s still sleeping,” one of the stepsisters answered.

“Should we go wake her up?” the other stepsister asked.

“No! Leave her there!” the wicked stepmother said. “If she doesn’t wake up and misses the flight, that’s her problem, not ours.” They laughed and mocked Cindy. When the cab arrived to pick them up, they left her there sound asleep.

Several hours later, Cindy woke up refreshed. She looked at the clock on her cell phone. “OMG! I overslept!” She ran out of her room, looking for her stepmother and stepsisters. They were nowhere to be found. “No they didn’t run out of here and leave me sleeping!” She called Coveta’s and Envya’s cell phones, but both calls went straight to voicemail. Surely, the flight has taken off by now, she thought. She called the airline to see if she could get a later flight, but everything was booked.

She began to cry. “How dare they leave me!” However, their actions were no surprise to her. She had put up with a lot of drama from those three over the years. But now, enough was enough!

She thought about the three beautiful ball gowns she tried on that fit her perfectly and made her look like a princess. “If only I had been able to buy at least one of those beautiful ball gowns. If only I could just get to the ball,” she sighed. “Oh well, later, it will be greater! My day in the sunshine will come!”

The doorbell rang. She went downstairs, looked through the peephole to see who it was. Were her eyes fooling her? She slowly opened the door and peeped around. There stood a woman who looked just like Patti LaBelle, smiling and dressed in an elegant gown and jewels. She was holding a blinged-out microphone. The woman said, “Hey Honey! Why are you just sitting around here moping? You’ve got a Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball to go to!”

“What? Huh?” Cindy looked behind the Patti look-alike and there were a stretched limo and a chauffeur in front of the house. “Hey, what’s all this? Are you Patti LaBelle?”

“I’m your Fairy Godmother, Honey, but you can call me GiGi,” the woman said. “You did say you wanted to go to the ball, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but...”

“But what? You’ve got a flight to catch!” GiGi said, as she invited herself in through the front door. “But first, we’ve got to do something about your wardrobe. And that hair, child! That hair!” (Cindy had fallen asleep the night before without doing anything to her hair and woke up with a major case of “bedhead”.) GiGi waved her magic blinged-out microphone and sang a beautiful, high-pitched note that only a singer among the ranks of Patti LaBelle could belt out.

Cindy felt a tingle all over her body. She was startled to realize that her clothes had been transformed into one of the beautiful ball gowns she’d tried on at the mall, but couldn’t afford. “What the?” Cindy walked over to the mirror stunned. Her hair was beautifully styled, makeup perfectly applied, and accessories perfectly matched. And on her feet were the most gorgeous blinged-out stilettos. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“No time to say anything, honey.” GiGi said. “Your limo and your flight await you. Now get goin’!”

Cindy jumped in the limo, which whisked her away to the airport, where she boarded a private jet. While on board, she received a phone call from GiGi. “I forgot to tell you, Honey, make sure you leave the ball before 2:00 a.m. so the limo can take you to your hotel,” she warned. “At 2:00, everything changes back. Okay?” Cindy promised to leave the ball before 2:00.

Meanwhile, at their hotel, when Devila and her daughters arrived, Mr. Prosper asked, “Where is Cindy?”

“Oh, she decided not to come,” Devila quickly replied. “She had other plans. You know how flaky those college kids can be. She doesn’t have time for a silly little masquerade ball.”

“Are you sure about that?” Mr. Prosper asked suspiciously. “The last time we talked, she told me she was coming. I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with my daughter.” He tried calling Cindy’s cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail.

“No need to worry about her. She’ll be fine,” said Devila. “We don’t want to be late for the ball.”

Cindy’s jet landed and another stretched limo was waiting to take her to the ball. Meanwhile, at the ball, the Richmans’ son, Richie, was becoming annoyed by all of the other women trying to throw themselves at him, including Coveta and Envya, who were flaunting in their revealing dresses and flirting with every rich single man in the place, while Devila schmoozed with the rich and famous, including Mr. and Mrs. Richman, in her desperate effort to hook one of her daughters up with their son.

When Cindy arrived, no one knew who she was, including her family. After all, they were all wearing masks, although her father thought there was something familiar about her. Everyone was in awe of her beauty, grace, and style, including the paparazzi outside. The young Richman noticed Cindy almost as soon as she walked in the door. He was so enamored by her. He immediately approached her. They danced, talked, and laughed all night. He was all smiles and didn’t notice anyone else the remainder of the night. Coveta and Envya weren’t too pleased with being ignored, but they couldn’t help but wonder who this lovely young lady was and what her secret was in holding Richie’s attention all night.

When Cindy noticed that it was 1:30 a.m. she told Richie that she was tired and ready to leave. He escorted her to her limo. He later realized that in all of their fun together he forgot to ask for her name and phone number.

As soon as Cindy returned to her hotel room, her beautiful ball gown turned back to jeans and a pink hoodie. She could barely sleep, thinking about the evening’s events. When she awoke the next day, she found herself back at home in her own bed. Soon after, her dad called to check on her. “Good morning, Cindy. Are you okay?” He asked. “I thought you were flying here for the ball. What happened?”

“Hi Dad,” she replied sleepily. “Everything’s ok. I’ve been working and studying a lot. No need to worry about me.” After their phone call ended, she thought about the evening and how she wished she could go back to the ball again.

A little while later, the doorbell rang. It was GiGi, all smiles, dressed as elegantly as the day before, carrying the blinged-out microphone.

“GiGi! What are you doing here?”

“You do wanna go back to the ball, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“But nothin’!” GiGi waived her blinged-out microphone and sang a beautiful, high-pitched note.

Cindy felt a tingle all over her body and her clothes had been transformed into a different and more beautiful, expensive gown she had tried on at the mall. Again her hair, makeup, and accessories were perfect. And those gorgeous blinged-out stilettos reappeared on her feet. She was stunned.

“Your limo and flight await,” GiGi smiled. “Toodles! And remember…2:00 a.m.”

Cindy nodded and smiled as she entered the limo. Like the night before, when she arrived, the paparazzi and everyone else was captivated by her beauty, grace, and style. After another night of desperate women, including Coveta and Envya, flaunting and flirting with him, Richie was thrilled to see the mysterious beauty again. They danced, talked, and laughed all night. Cindy’s stepsisters and stepmother were still trying to figure out what her secret was in keeping Richie’s attention, while her father tried to figure out why this young woman looked so familiar. She reminds me so much of Cindy, he thought.

At 1:30 a.m., she told Richie that she was tired and ready to leave. He escorted her to her limo. He again realized that in all of their fun, he’d forgotten to ask for her name and phone number. He hoped she’d come back the next night. He would definitely get her name and number then.

When Cindy returned to her hotel room, her beautiful ball gown turned back to jeans and a pink hoodie. She could barely sleep, thinking about the evening’s events. When she awoke the next day, she found herself back at home in her own bed. Soon after, her dad called to check on her. “Good morning, Cindy. Is everything okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, Dad,” she replied sleepily. “Everything’s fine.” After their phone call ended, she thought about the evening and how she wished she could go back to the ball for the last and final night.

Later, the doorbell rang. There was GiGi, all smiles, elegant, with her magic blinged-out microphone.

“GiGi! You’re back!”

“Well, yes, child,” she replied. “If we’re gonna do this thing, we’re gonna do it right!”

“Well, alrighty then!” Cindy exclaimed. “Let’s do this!”

GiGi waived her blinged-out microphone and sang a beautiful, high-pitched note. Cindy felt a tingle all over her body and her clothes were transformed into the third beautiful gown she had tried on at the mall. Her hair, makeup, accessories were all in place, along with the gorgeous blinged-out stilettos.

“Your limo and flight await,” GiGi smiled and off they went. Cindy was so excited as she boarded the jet for the final night of the ball, she had butterflies in her stomach. She had never been so happy as she had been the last two nights.

As she walked the red carpet, the paparazzi was all over her, asking who she was. Her father thought, if I hadn’t talked to her earlier today, I’d swear that was Cindy. Again annoyed with the aggressive, desperate women throwing themselves at him, Richie waited near the door for Cindy to arrive. By now, Coveta and Enyva realized they weren’t getting anywhere with Richie, so they decided to target the other rich bachelors at the ball.

Richie was ecstatic to see Cindy. They both had the time of their lives, dancing, talking, and laughing all night. So much so that Cindy lost track of the time. Now, 2:00 a.m. was only a few minutes away. Richie had stepped away to get some water for both of them. When he returned, Cindy was gone and he couldn’t find her anywhere in the building. He ran outside to see if her limo was still there, but all he saw was an old, rusty, noisy hooptie speeding off. Nobody he asked had seen her. All they saw was a girl in a pink hoodie and jeans speed off in an old, noisy, rusty hooptie.

Richie was devastated. As he made his way back inside, he saw a sparkly shoe on the red carpet. It was one of the blinged-out stilettos that his mysterious beauty had worn. There’s hope yet, he thought, realizing that in the bliss of the evening, he still hadn’t asked for her name and phone number.

Meanwhile, Cindy’s stretched limo had turned into an old, noisy, rusty hooptie and she once again found herself in jeans and a pink hoodie. Her five-star hotel was no longer in the location the limo had taken her before. All that was there now was a run-down motel. She realized that she would have to drive the noisy, rusty hooptie all the way home.

By the time she arrived at home, her dad called. She assured him that everything was fine. She also texted GiGi to thank her for making such an awesome weekend possible.

A few days later, the media buzz was over a video posted by Richie Richman pleading the owner of the blinged-out stiletto to come forward and that the woman whose foot fit the shoe would become his wife. The video had gone viral. Women all over the world were calling, emailing, and tweeting and posting all over social media that they were the owner of the shoe.

Cindy had been working and studying so much that she didn’t even know about Richie’s video, until she overheard her stepmother and stepsisters talking about it. “Some kind of way, I’m going to make that shoe fit my foot! One of us is going to snag that fine, rich man!” Cindy hadn’t given it much thought, but she remembered that one blinged-out stiletto was her only memento from the ball. She had hidden it under her bed.

By process of elimination, the search was narrowed down to a handful of finalists to try to shoe. Representatives from the Richman’s corporation were sent out to find the one whose foot would fit the shoe. Some kind of way, Coveta and Envya had managed to convince the reps to come to their house to let them try the shoe on. Their stepfather, Mr. Prosper, was there to witness the fitting. Despite how much buttering, filing, wrapping they did to their feet, they could not manage to cram them into the shoe. “Are there any other females here?” the reps asked.

“Nobody!” the stepmother and her daughters said in frustrated unison.

“Wait!” Mr. Prosper said, “My daughter Cindy is here. Why not let her try it on since you’re here.” He thought of how much the young lady at the ball reminded him of his daughter.

“Why would you waste these fine gentlemen’s time with such nonsense?” Devila asked. Mr. Prosper didn’t like her tone and attitude, which he had been taking mental note of for a while.

“Let her try it on!” He demanded. “Just humor me.” He called Cindy downstairs. She came down with the other stiletto hidden behind her back. When she sat down, without saying a word, she whipped out the matching stiletto and slipped it on her foot. She slipped the other stiletto on and it fit perfectly. “I knew it!” Mr. Prosper said with the grin of a proud father.

Devila, Coveta, and Envya were dumbfounded! “What the? You weren’t even at the ball. How could you possibly fit the shoe and have the other one, too? You must have stolen it!”

“I was there,” Cindy said confidently. “And I saw you flaunting around and flirting and throwing yourselves at those rich men all night.” The stepmother and stepsisters were flabbergasted.

The representatives called Richie on Skype to give him the good news, so he could see for himself who the mystery lady was. Despite seeing her in jeans and a pink hoodie, he recognized Cindy immediately. He was beyond thrilled! This time, he made sure he asked her for her name and phone number.

Not only did Richie vow to marry Cindy, but his parents also promised to pay for the remainder of Cindy’s college education. Because her father, was such a good and upstanding man, in addition to being a great employee, they gave him the money to buy back his business and he became wealthy again.

The money-grubbing stepmother and stepsisters were punished for their wicked deeds. The stepsisters were charged with cyberbullying for all the years they had taunted Cindy.  Mr. Prosper had suspected for some time that Devila had only married him for his money (good thing he made her sign a pre-nup before they were married) and that she had been mistreating Cindy. She was charged with larceny, for stealing the money Mr. Prosper sent to Cindy but never received it, and imprisoned for fraud and embezzlement, for stealing money from Mr. Prosper’s business.

Richie and Cindy eventually married and lived happily ever after; and Cindy was finally able to say, “Now everything is greater! My day in the sunshine has finally come!”

The End