The Cinderella Society (6 page)

The girls forming the back row—Sarah Jane, Kyra, and the others—each had a hand on the shoulder of the girl in front of her. The girls in my row seemed lulled by the quiet chirp of crickets and wore peaceful, if curious, expressions of acceptance. I, on the other hand, was holding up the skeptical
end of the bargain. My latent fears of being punked had officially kicked into gear.

On the table in front of Paige sat an elaborate white pillar candle burning on a brass tray, two sets of long taper candles, and a small crystal bowl that twinkled as though it held secrets just beyond our grasp. Paige raised her hands, palms up, and addressed us in a low, melodic voice. “Who enters the Sacred Circle?”

“We, the Sisters of the Society,” said Sarah Jane and the back row.

“What brings you to the Circle?”

“We seek to refill the well of Sisterhood.”

“The Sisterhood accepts your quest.”

The “Sisters” made sure everyone in the front row was seated before they approached Paige. Cassie moved in to assist and handed Paige a long white taper candle. Paige lit it from the elegant pillar as each Sister took a darker taper candle from the table. One by one, Paige lit the tapers—purple, I could see from the glow—and the Sisters quietly returned to their positions behind us.

I tried to scan the yard for Lexy, but everything was obscured by white fabric woven through the lattice around the deck. Pots of tall, bushy plants huddled together where the lattice ended to close us off from the open deck space. It gave our whole area a private, almost secretive feel. I focused on Paige and tried to get my bearings for the upcoming event. Whatever they had planned was not a drive-by affair. They’d spent a lot of time orchestrating our party game.

Paige lifted her white candle, the Sisters raising their purple ones in answer. “We come forth tonight,” she began, “in the name of Sisterhood, to bring new Sisters into our fold. We present to you an opportunity, young Sisters. We are the
new face of women. Our leadership will bring the dawn of a new era.”

A chorus of voices responded behind me. “We celebrate our true strength.”

“Each of you,” Paige continued, nodding at our seated group, “has been selected for your potential to continue our mission in a tradition befitting the beloved Sisterhood. But first, we celebrate the glory of you in the present.”

The standing Sisters moved as one to Paige’s table and took the second group of taper candles. Sarah Jane motioned for me to stand as she approached and handed me a pale candle.

“We celebrate you as you are, young Sisters,” Paige said. “Accept our light as a reflection of your own. Your candle acknowledges the triumphs and challenges that have made you who you are today.”

“I celebrate the glory of you, Jess,” Sarah Jane whispered, lighting my candle with hers.

She stood next to me now, her purple candle and my lavender one casting a warm glow on our faces. Sarah Jane looked so tranquil, completely at odds with my thumping heartbeat. Could anything this serene be evil? My suspicions about Lexy wavered.

Sarah Jane must’ve been reading my thoughts. “Don’t be afraid,” she said softly. “You’re meant to be one of us.”

Again with the
us
. My heart beat a little faster. How many times had I dreamed of being one of the chosen few? To be truly accepted by the in crowd instead of sitting on the sidelines of my own life?

“We come together tonight,” Paige continued, “to honor our Sisterhood, celebrate the glory of you, and embrace you on your mission. Each of you comes to the Sisterhood with a
special purpose and unique gift to share with the world. We seek to help you bring forth those treasures and contribute them to the greater good.”

The chorus of voices sounded. “We embrace our future.”

The Sisters moved to the table again, each reaching into the crystal bowl. Sarah Jane returned to my side, her hand in a loose fist over her heart.

“With loving hearts, we pay tribute to your potential,” Paige said. “We believe in the power of our shared destinies.”

The voices chimed once more. “We shall be extraordinary.”

Paige turned toward the opposite end of the half-moon. “Melanie Davis. You possess an amazing gift of serenity and calm. You bring peace to those around you and settle disputes with a pure heart. We embrace your pursuit of the greater truth.” Kyra placed something in Mel’s palm and whispered in her ear.

Paige called each girl by name as she moved around the arc—Katrina Walker, Chandi Prasad, Hannah Campbell, Nalani Akina, Alicia Gallagher. I was last, my breath coming short and quick.
Please don’t let me be the punch line
.

“Jessica Parker. You possess an exceptional gift of leadership. We honor your unwavering determination and your steadfast loyalty. You are a champion of justice and a visionary guardian of the world.”

My mouth dropped as Sarah Jane placed a beautiful silver butterfly charm in my free hand. “Sister Jess,” she whispered, “we celebrate your potential and welcome your gifts to the Sisterhood.”

I was so shocked I could barely keep up with the rest of the ceremony. Me, a champion of justice? A visionary guardian of the world? Had these people even
met
me? I couldn’t even guard myself against Lexy!

I felt ambushed, the fantasy and reality shocking me in equal measure. This was real. I understood that now. It wasn’t some elaborate hoax. They intended for me to be here, wanted me in their secret Sisterhood. And they had no
clue
who I really was. Why had I explained about the volunteering? I was only helping a few puppies, not saving an entire galaxy of them.

Disappointment washed over me. They were gifting me everything I’d ever wanted, everything I’d ever glimpsed on the other side of the glass. Yet no matter how much I ached to belong—to be part of something real and true and special—this was never what I’d imagined.

I might’ve been the queen of worthy causes, but these were the most extraordinary girls at MSH. The best of the best in every facet of high-school life. I wasn’t even in the same league. The Sisters were shining stars, so intent on welcoming others like them that they never realized one exception had slipped through undetected. An exception who was the epitome of ordinary. I was the only one who knew my invitation was nothing more than a case of mistaken identity.

An unwanted tear slipped down my cheek, and Sarah Jane wiped it away with the sleeve of her dress. “I cried too,” she whispered, and I glanced around, surprised to see a tear glistening on Mel’s cheek at the far end. But Mel’s and Sarah Jane’s joyful tears and my miserable ones had nothing in common.

Just like us
.

“Are you sure”—my throat seized up for a second—“you meant to choose me?”

I hated to ask it, dreaded it more than all the Lexy confrontations in the world. But I knew I couldn’t live with it
if they were the ones who realized the mistake later. I couldn’t handle their pity.

Sarah Jane held up a finger to Paige, who paused mid-sentence. Sarah Jane turned to face me square on, her eyes full of compassion and wisdom and a strength I could never match. “You are the guardian, Jess. The truth is inside you if you look for it. Trust that you’re here because you’re destined to be.”

She didn’t know how crazy her request was. Someone like Sarah Jane could never understand. She was asking me to tear down my defenses, walls that kept me protected in my lonely but safe little bubble. A bubble that let me believe I
was
good enough, that people just hadn’t gotten the chance to really know me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, praying for some kind of sign. No lightning bolts appeared in the sky, but a momentary shower of peace rained over me. It came and went so quickly I wondered if I’d imagined it, but in the end, I knew. If ever there was a time to trust, this was it. “Trust the universe and go with God,” as Nan would say. It scared the living heck out of me.
What happens when they realize I’m just me?

“Young Sisters,” Paige continued, “we honor you now and celebrate who you will become. With this charm as a reminder of your greatest potential, the time has come for you to choose.” Paige beckoned us forward to her table. “In every life there is a moment of truth. Will you stand as you are now, or will you accept the call to fulfill your greatest potential?”

Cassie stepped up to place a wide, flat candle in the center of the table. One glance at the shape of the wicks—one at the top and seven more in a half-moon around the bottom—and I
knew it represented us. Paige lit the wick at the top and raised her candle to the Sisters standing tall behind our abandoned chairs. “Long live the Sisterhood,” they said, blowing out their candles as one.

“Each of you must choose your future,” Paige said, turning to Mel. “Sister Melanie, do you accept the call of the Sisterhood?”

Without hesitation, Mel lit the wick on her end of the half-moon. “I accept the call.”

Each girl accepted without showing any flickers of doubt that this was exactly where she belonged. The wicks came to life until every one was lit except mine.

“Sister Jessica, do you accept the call of the Sisterhood?”

Trust warred with fear. Only one thing was worse than being forever on the outside: to feel the magic of belonging only to be banished back behind the glass when the dream came crashing down. Was it ever worth the risk?

Peace swept over me again, stronger this time but just as fleeting, and I steadied myself to quiet the fears. I listened to the small, still voice inside me and lowered my trembling candle to the wick, my voice barely a whisper. “I accept the call.”

“One last thing remains. The candle that burns bright on our table represents each of you as cherished Sisters of the Society. Where one journey begins, another must end. When you are ready to begin your new journey, extinguish your flame and release the fears that bind you to your past.”

One by one, the girls blew out their lavender candles. I looked back at Sarah Jane, who was silently encouraging me as she clutched Gwen’s hand atop my chair. Years of being alone flooded my memory, dragging me toward the safety of my bubble. Palms sweating, I resisted the temptation to
cower from the unknown and did the thing that scared me most. I took a leap of faith.

Wisps of smoke curled from my darkened candle as I gazed up at Paige.

“Namaste
, Sisters,” she said. “Welcome to The Cinderella Society.”

Chapter 4

NINE HOURS LATER
, I was back at The Grind for lunch. Jittery from excitement and lack of sleep and achy from two hours of mural painting with Mom, I trailed Sarah Jane up the same front walk I’d traveled the night before. Same stone pathway, same etched-glass doors with their stylized coffee cups. Everything was the same … and everything was different.

Last night, I’d stood outside those double doors, pondering my fate as a perpetual outcast. In a matter of hours, I’d crossed that elusive threshold of acceptance. Back at the scene of the crime, I was facing the door to my future. I was no longer Jess Parker, persona non grata. I was Jess Parker, newly initiated Sister of the Society. The world was my oyster.

I slowed, feeling the tiniest bit overwhelmed and uncertain. And yes, a little melodramatic.

Sarah Jane glanced over at me. “Are you ready for this?”

“Only one way to find out.” I took a deep breath, pushed through the doors, and boldly stepped into my fabulous new life.

As rites of passage go, it was pretty anticlimactic. No one showered me with confetti or asked for my autograph. No
one knew there was anything different about me at all, save the fact that I’d shown up with Sarah Jane Peterson, resident it girl. The rest was status quo.

Which, on the one hand, was kind of a letdown. Would a little celebration have killed anyone?

“When do we get started?” I asked Sarah Jane as we waited in line. The nerves and anticipation combined to make me sound more like a six-year-old at Christmas than a sixteen-year-old Cinderella, but I couldn’t help it. Ever since Sarah Jane had given me the scoop on our Society and its ultimate life makeovers, visions of fairy godmothers had filled my head.

As far as I was concerned, we could skip lunch and hit the mall on empty stomachs. A new wardrobe was first on my makeover agenda, with shimmery amber highlights a close second.

“Let’s get our drinks first,” Sarah Jane murmured, turning toward the counter. “Hi, Audrey. I’ll have a tall mocha latte.”

“Hey, SJ. Coming right up.”

Audrey London moved with the kind of grace you’d imagine from a top model, though you’d expect to see it on a catwalk instead of behind the counter of an upscale café that was giving Starbucks a run for its money.

I started to ask, “Do you guys hang out here a lot?” but closed my mouth. Because, hello? Audrey London had called Sarah Jane by
name
.

I know! A two-time
Sports Illustrated
cover model who reportedly dated Matthew McConaughey (Sarah Jane says that’s just a rumor) and now owns a chain of super trendy coffee shops chatted with Sarah Jane like they were old friends.

The Grind in Mt. Sterling was Audrey’s first café and,
since she’d become a franchising phenom, her headquarters. I’d read an article where she’d talked about her best friend being some big professor at Montgomery University. That was less than twenty minutes from The Grind. But still, settling in a small town like Mt. Sterling instead of kicking it in New York or Milan or her native Sydney?

Naturally, I thought that was mental. But then, I’d never had a best friend, so what did I know?

Audrey liked to stay visible, so it wasn’t unusual to see her behind the counter talking to customers. Which was part of what made The Grind
the
see-and-be-seen place for the entire MSH student body.

But when she asked about Sarah Jane’s boyfriend by name
and
how she did on her French final, my celeb-o-meter went on overload. I suffer from one of the worst cases of celebrity fright. I’m as much of a watcher as the next girl, but to actually be in the presence of one? Totally different story.