I woke up to some noises coming from my bathroom that sounded like someone had turned the knob on my shower and slammed the door, then stepped in a puddle. I sighed, because I was a light sleeper and I knew I would never go back to sleep until I made whoever was in my shower leave. I heard a giggle, and then I saw Jacqueline try to sneak her way out of my room.
"Jacqueline?! What the hell did you do to my bathroom?"
"Nothing, Cinderella. I just used your shower."
Jacqueline giggled again and splashed water on me, shaking her head around so that the water droplets on her hair sprayed all over the room. I held my hands up in defense, not that it helped.
"I don't believe you."
"Ugh, you are so annoying. I just wanted to use your shower because I wanted a change of scenery. Jesus, lighten up, you uptight little bitch."
Jacqueline left my room with some sort of irritating smirk on her face, and I knew she had been lying to me, but seriously, what was I going to do about it? It's not like I could tell anyone, it's not like Jacqueline would be punished for it. Hell, it was entirely possible that Jacqueline messing with my shower to wake me up was my stepmother's idea. I sighed, knowing that if I wanted to know what she had done, I would just have to go find out for myself. Not liking what I was probably going to see, I stepped into the bathroom, and almost threw up at the sight. There were what looked like mud puddles everywhere, streaked across the walls and the floor, and smeared all over the sink and toilet. They didn't smell, so I figured my guess was correct, at least I really hoped they were mud puddles,. Jacqueline had even written "Little Bitch" on the wall in mud.
I was so incredibly angry at this moment. I clenched my fists and grit my teeth, letting out a maddening scream of frustration. First I was woken up five minutes before my alarm, then I had to talk to Jacqueline, and then I find an apocalyptic sized mess in my bathroom, the one place I can go to get clean after a hard day of work?! Why did this kind of shit have to happen to me?! Why did my stepfamily always work together to piss me off and make my life harder than it already was?! Wasn't me waiting hand and foot on them enough?! I didn't understand why they found so much joy in tormenting me. What the fuck had I ever done to any of them?! Ugh!!
I turned the shower on and let it clean some of the mud off the tiles, knowing that I couldn't deal with the mess in my bathroom until I had finished my morning routine of making my stepsisters' beds, and making breakfast. I groaned in annoyance as I turned off the water and put on another one of my cleaning dresses. This one wasn't as crappy as the one I had worn yesterday, but I was resigning myself to the fact that it becoming shitty was going to be its fate. Oh, how I wished I could go shopping for new clothes. After I changed, I went through the morning routine, and after that, I headed out to the backyard with the seeds I needed to plant for the garden my stepmother was expecting me to start. I had already stalled on it long enough, so I felt like I should plant the seeds today before I got punished. I sighed to myself when I noticed Genevieve was out in the backyard for some reason. I knew she liked nature because she had lots of indoor plants in her room, but I wished that she would go enjoy nature somewhere else.
"Eww... Cynthia... what are you doing out here? I'm meditating and doing my yoga. I don't need your ugly face disturbing my peace."
"Shut up, Genevieve, I'm starting the garden. Believe me when I say I don't even want to talk to you, so you don't have to worry that I will disturb your peace."
I headed to the far part of the backyard, as far away as I could get from Genevieve, and started preparing the ground for the seeds. Most of the dirt here was fine, so I just needed to till the soil a little bit and spread it out. After I planted the seeds, I decided to spruce up the sides of the little garden bed so that it would look decorative and pretty. I had noticed some mulch in the shed when I had gotten the gardening tools out, so I put the tools back in, and traded it for the mulch, making a little well on either side of the plants and then packing it with mulch. I was feeling pretty happy that I had finally started this little garden. Even if I couldn't have any of the fresh vegetables and fruit myself, I got some solace in knowing I would be able to work with them when I prepared my step family's meals. Sadly, my happiness didn't last long when I heard my stepmother's voice behind me.
"What the fuck is that, Cinderella? There's nothing separating the mulch from the rest of the dirt. You have no idea how to garden, do you?"
"I need to get some paving bricks to put as dividers, but I can easily move the mulch and dirt around when I eventually get the bricks."
"Why don't you have the bricks now?"
"There weren't any in the shed."
"Where did you get the mulch? Didn't you pick that up at the store? Why the fuck didn't you get bricks as well?"
"The mulch was in the shed, and there were no bricks."
"You used leftover mulch?! Cinderella! How could you!"
I sighed heavily, which was a mistake, as my stepmother shoved me hard on the shoulder, causing me to fall down on the grass next to the garden, but not before my hand touched the dirt I had just so meticulously worked hard to get to look nice. My stepmother of course, glared at me, as if it was my fault I fell down.
"Now look at what you did, you stupid idiot! Fix this garden, and go get some bricks! I want this cleaned up and looking perfect before you make dinner tonight! DO YOU hear me?!"
"Yes, stepmother."
My stepmother took some money out of her wallet and threw it on my lap, cursing as she walked away. I tried not to lose any of the money as I picked it up, thanking the heavens that it was not a windy day today, which would have been something I didn't need after waking up to see my bathroom streaked with mud. I went to the hardware store after changing, and picked up some light grey bricks for the garden. I came home and quickly fixed up what I had started earlier, then made dinner for my stepfamily. When my chores were done, I went back into my side of the house and wolfed down a package of ramen. I went upstairs to my bathroom, tired, but needing to clean it up because it was driving me crazy that I hadn't been able to touch it since I woke up this morning.
As I scrubbed the floor, I thought about the day my father brought my stepmother home to meet me. I had been reading one of my books in the living room, when he introduced me.
"Cynthia? Can you come over here, sweetheart? I have someone I'd like you to meet."
I put my book down and walked over to my father, hiding behind his leg, but peeking out from his thigh to look at the strange lady I didn't recognize. My father pet the back of my head as he looked down at me, trying to figure out what I was doing. I'm sure he thought I was just shy, which initially, I probably was. My mother had been absent for a while, so my father was the only adult I was really comfortable being around.
"This is Priscilla. We've been jogging together every morning for a month now, and today I asked her if she would be my girlfriend."
I waved at her, smiling a little bit through my shyness. She smiled back at me and pet my hair gently.
"Hello, dear. Aren't you an adorable little girl?"
My father went into the other room for a little bit, and I saw Priscilla's demeanor change instantly when he was gone. Her eyes turned cold, her mouth turned down into an ugly frown, and she twisted her body away from me swiftly, walking away to sit across the room as fast as she could, as if I had some sort of deadly disease. I was shocked and didn't understand what was happening. After Priscilla left that day, I told my father about it, but he told me that Priscilla probably just didn't know me well, so she was unsure how to act around me. I remember trying to believe what my father told me, but not fully thinking it was true.
As I finished thinking about that memory, I realized I had tears running down my face. I sat back against the wall, pulling my knees to my chest, and letting myself cry for wishing my father had never brought my stepmother home that day, because if that had never happened, I would not be in the situation I am today.
