The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series) (22 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Five

Snow
White and Cinderella stood on Grandma Johnson’s porch later that evening. 
Belle had gone with Rachel to pick up the twins from dance practice.  She just couldn’t
wait to tell them the good news!  Then the three of them were supposed to meet
Cinderella and Snow White at Grandma Johnson’s house when they got home.

“Try
one more time,” Cinderella said.  “Sometimes she doesn’t hear the bell.”

Snow
White knocked hard on the door, her knuckles hitting against the wood in the
center of a large, bright, flowery wreath.  The deadbolt clicked as it snapped
up and the door slowly opened.

“Well
this is a pleasant surprise!” Grandma Johnson said when she saw her visitors. 
“Come in! Come in!” she added, stepping back so they could enter her home.

Snow
White and Cinderella walked past the old, upright piano where Grandma Johnson
had taught them all to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
when they were
younger.  Atop the piano was an array of pictures in a variety of colored
frames.  Proudly displayed in the center of the arrangement was a photograph of
the Princess sisters that was taken back in third grade.  The old picture,
taken in Grandma Johnson’s backyard, sat side by side with those of her four
grand-daughters and three grand-sons.  It showed five grinning little girls,
mouths dyed bright red and purple from the half eaten popsicles in their hands. 
Cinderella made her way to the couch and plopped down, while Snow White hovered
by the piano.

“I
can’t believe you still have that,” she said, pointing to the photograph.

“Of
course I do!” Grandma Johnson said, taking a seat across from Cinderella.  “It reminds
me of the good old days when my adoptive grand-daughters used to visit me.”

Snow
White sat down next to Cinderella and guiltily looked into Grandma Johnson’s
face.  But Grandma Johnson just grinned back, a teasing twinkle in her eye.

“I
know we don’t visit as much as we used to,” Snow White said.

Grandma
Johnson put up a hand to stop her.  “It’s fine, honey; I completely
understand!”

“You
do?” Snow White asked.

“Of
course!  You girls have gotten so busy, I consider myself lucky to catch an
occasional glimpse of you at all!”

Snow
White and Cinderella both smiled.

“Now
how is that trouble at school going?  Did you get everything all worked out?”
she asked, turning her attention toward Cinderella.

“Actually,
that’s why we’re here.  We need some help,” Cinderella replied.

“Name
it,” Grandma Johnson said.

Cinderella
and Snow White took turns describing the recent developments and goings-on at
school.  They included how they had each taken her advice and tried to
demonstrate more confidence in themselves the last several weeks.  They
described how it seemed to be working, at least a little, until Cynthia
bombarded them in the cafeteria.  Then Cinderella briefly explained their plan
to go to Homecoming.

“The
only problem is we need dresses,” she concluded.

“And
that’s where I come in?” Grandma Johnson asked.

“Well…yeah…”
Snow White said.

“The
thing is, we have very specific dresses in mind,” Cinderella cut in. 
“Otherwise we would just buy them.”

“Alright,”
Grandma Johnson nodded.  “Where do we start?”

“You’re
the best!” Cinderella said.  Both girls jumped to their feet and sandwiched
Grandma Johnson in a hug.

“So
the dance is a week from tomorrow?” she asked, after laughing at the girls’
enthusiasm and once they had all returned to their seats.

“Yeah,”
Snow White said.  “Is that going to be too hard?”

“No,
no,” she said, shaking her head and hand in unison.  “But I will probably need
some help.  I’ll call Gretchen and Ethel,” she said, getting to her feet.  In
response to the girls’ blank looks she added, “Or Grandma Scousen and Grandma
Lice to you.”

   
Cinderella and Snow White both nodded in acknowledgement and followed Grandma
Johnson into her kitchen.  The back wall was painted bright blue with a
wallpaper border of sunflowers along the top.  The curtains that hung neatly
from the small kitchen window were also of sunflowers.  On the kitchen counter,
next to the stove, sat three tall ceramic containers.  They were beautifully
hand-painted with sunflowers winding their way across a blue background.  The
Princess sisters had always loved Grandma Johnson’s kitchen!  It was so bright
and welcoming, especially when the sun shone in through the window, lighting up
the bright blue backdrop.

Grandma
Johnson directed them to sit on the two stools tucked neatly beneath the bar. 
Then she reached her hand into a sunflower cookie jar and pulled out several
homemade cookies and placed them in front of the girls.  They sat on their
stools and munched on chocolate chip cookies while she made the phone calls.  When
she was done speaking, she hung the phone back up on the wall and clapped her
hands together.

“They
are both delighted to help,” she said.  Then after pausing for a moment, “But I
think with only a week left to go, we should probably call in all the grandmas
we can get.”

So
Grandma Johnson proceeded to call Grandma Becker and Grandma Hamblin as well. 
She was in the middle of her third phone conversation when there was a knock on
the front door.  Grandma Johnson pointed for one of the girls to go ahead and
answer it.  Snow White jumped up and returned to the kitchen with Belle and the
twins behind her.  Grandma Johnson pointed to her cookie jar and then turned
her back to the girls so she was facing the refrigerator, in order to block out
all distractions and focus on her conversation.  Snow White slinked past her
and carefully removed six more cookies from the jar, giving two each to Belle,
Aurora, and Ariel.   Then she returned to her stool beside Cinderella.  The
other three grabbed chairs from around the kitchen table and dragged them
behind where Cinderella and Snow White were sitting.  Aurora’s chair screeched
along the wood floor, causing the other four girls to jump around and face
her.  Then she picked up her chair to move it the rest of the way.  They sat,
eating their cookies, and waiting for Grandma Johnson to get off the phone.

“Who
is she talking to?” Belle started to whisper.

Snow
White put a finger to her lips and shook her head.

“Sorry,”
Belle mouthed.

They
then sat in silence for the remainder of that conversation, and the next phone
call as well.  After listening for a little while, Belle was able to pretty
much figure out that Grandma Johnson was calling in reinforcements.

When
she finally hung up with Grandma Hamblin, Grandma Johnson looked out and
grinned at the girls’ hopeful expressions.

“You
girls have got yourselves five seamstresses, ready and willing to go!”

The
Princess sisters all leapt up from their seats and jumped up and down, clapping
their hands.  Then they surrounded Grandma Johnson and almost suffocated her
with hugs.

“What
do you say we go to the fabric store tomorrow morning to check out patterns and
fabric?”

This
brought on a whole new wave of excitement and the girls started chattering
enthusiastically about how their dresses were going to look.

“Can
I take that as a yes then?” Grandma Johnson asked, smiling.

They
all nodded.

“Yes!
Perfect!” Belle said.

“That
would be awesome!” Aurora chimed in.

“You
are amazing!” Cinderella said.

“You
might want to hold back compliments until you see how the dresses turn out,”
Grandma Johnson said with a sly grin.

“I
mean it!” Cinderella added with enthusiasm.  “You’re like our fairy godmother!”

“Oh
sweetie,” Grandma Johnson waved the comment aside with a brush of her hand.  “Fairy
godmothers are just grandmas in disguise.”

***

"No!”

“Come
on Mom!” Cinderella said, pleading with her hands.

“No!”
Dana repeated.  She looked defensively at each person in the room.  They had
all gathered together to try and convince her.

“Dana,
the girls are just trying to fit in at school,” Rachel said.

“If
I wanted my daughter to fit in, I wouldn’t have named her Cinderella,” Dana
said stubbornly.

“Okay,
wrong choice of words,” Mary said.  “They are trying to stand up for themselves
and get rid of a bully.  You remember what high school was like, don’t you?”

Dana
gave Mary a hard look.  “There is no way I am allowing my daughter to go to a
dance with a college boy!  Let alone one I have never met!” she said, angry
that no one else seemed to share her opinion.  “If they have to go to the
dance, why can’t they just go with high school boys?”

“We
told you Mom!” Cinderella said, close to tears now.  “None of the boys will
take us, that’s why we have to go!”

Dana
opened her mouth to protest again, but she was cut off sharply.

“Oh
stop being such a nincompoop!” Grandma Johnson, who had been silent the entire
argument thus far, finally spoke up.  “These girls have come up with a
brilliant plan, and they’ve already approached me about dresses.  Don’t spoil
things for them now!  Not when they are doing so well!”

“But…”
Dana started again, but with less confidence now.  In all the years Dana had
known Grandma Johnson, she never once had spoken to her so forcefully before.

“The
girls need to do this.” Grandma Johnson continued.  “Those boys aren’t that
much older anyway.  They are barely 18, so stop thinking of them as old men
after your little girl.  Besides, it’s just one date.”

Everyone
stood quietly, their eyes darting back and forth between Grandma Johnson and
Dana.

“I’ve
said my peace.”  Grandma Johnson broke the stand-off and opened the front door
in preparation to leave.  “I know this is a family matter so I will leave the
rest up to you.  Just let me know what you decide.”

The
front door clicked shut and everyone turned their attention back to Dana who
stood motionless, contemplating all that was said.

“Alright,”
she finally said quietly.  “But he has to pick you up here so I can meet him
before you leave,” she added, pointing a finger at Cinderella so she would know
that she meant it.

The
Princess sisters all cheered and Cinderella ran to her mom, giving her a big
hug.

“Thanks
Mom!” she said, beaming.

“I’ll
go call Grandma Johnson so we can go shopping tomorrow,” Aurora said, and she
raced from the room before Dana could change her mind.

Chapter
Thirty-Six

Monday,
September 13th

Monday
morning came much quicker than Belle had anticipated.  But the weekend turned
out to be a lot busier than she had thought too, making the time fly right by. 
Saturday was filled with measurements and what felt like hundreds of pattern
books, looking for the perfect dresses, and yards and yards of fabric.  Grandma
Johnson and Grandma Hamblin drove the girls to three different stores until
they each had exactly what they needed.  Each of the Grandmas had taken on the
task of making one dress, so Sunday was spent apart, discussing what they had
in mind with their partnered grandma.  Belle had spent most of her afternoon at
Grandma Lice’s house, chatting and helping her cut out the dress.

She
had been so busy thinking about the dance that the elections had flown right
out of her head.  But now as she walked down the hall toward the student body
officer (SBO) room, her stomach filled with nervous butterflies.  Belle pushed
open the door and looked around the room, hoping this wouldn’t be her one and
only time seeing it.  Several posters covered the walls; a random assortment of
musicians, movies, and school activities from over the years.  There was even a
‘No Parking’ sign, obviously taken from a street corner somewhere.  There were
several couches around the room, where a few candidates had already gathered,
and a large LoveSac lay enticingly in the center.  Belle moved toward the LoveSac
and plopped down on her stomach, feeling the sides enclose around her.  From
this angle, she noticed a mini fridge wedged between two of the couches.

The
door opened and several of the current junior and senior SBO’s, voted in at the
end of last year, entered the room.  A couple of them glanced at Belle, lying
comfortably in the middle of the giant bean bag chair, and snickered.  The door
opened again and Mr. Daniels, the SBO teacher representative, came in the room.

“Everyone
take a seat and make yourselves comfortable,” he said, mostly for the
sophomore’s benefit.  Then looking down at Belle he added, “Although it seems
Ms. Princess already has.”

Belle
swung her legs around so she was sitting now.  The door opened and closed three
more times before Mr. Daniels spoke again.

“Is
everyone here now?” he asked, looking around and counting to himself.

Everyone
in the room did the same and then nodded.  Mr. Daniels pulled out an envelope
and everybody collectively held their breath.  Many of the sophomores clasped
hands with the person sitting next to them, or put their arms around each other
for support.  It reminded Belle of those competitions on TV, when the results
are revealed live.  The competitors are always holding on to each other,
showing support for the other person even though they are secretly hoping the
other person will lose so they can win.  Belle felt like this race had been the
same.  They had all spent a good deal of time together, getting to know each
other through the course of the elections.  So she genuinely wished they could
all win and move forward together.  However, since that wasn’t a possibility, she
was hoping to have trounced them.

It
seemed as though Mr. Daniels was moving in slow motion as he pulled the
envelope open and took out a piece of paper.

“I
just wanted to say I think everyone did a fantastic job running for office, and
I am honored to work with any one of you.”

Yeah,
yeah, get on with it!
Belle thought.

“This
was a very close race too, so don’t be too disappointed if you didn’t win.  No
one won by a landslide.  Actually in one case, the winner only won by a few
votes.  So you should all be proud of the work you put in.”

This
made Belle freeze in place. 
Only a few votes?
 
That means it could
be anyone!
  Her throat suddenly felt very dry and she wished more than
anything that she had a glass of water.

“Sophomore
class secretary is…Amelia Wall,” Mr. Daniels announced.

Amelia,
a short girl with very short blonde hair smiled and hugged the girls on either
side of her.  She had a look of pure relief on her face.  The intensity of not
knowing was gone and she could now enjoy hearing the rest of the results.

“Sophomore
class vice president is…Craig Jacobs.”

Craig
was good-looking with his shaggy brown hair and chocolaty eyes.  He was also on
the basketball team, so he was slim and fit.  Craig high-fived several of the
kids sitting around him, including a junior who also played basketball.

Belle
shifted in the LoveSac, she straightened up and then froze in place, not
wanting to miss a word.

“And
finally, the sophomore class president is…Belle Princess.”

Belle
could feel warmth enter her cheeks as every head in the room turned toward
her.  Then everyone got to their feet and those who had lost quietly slipped
out the door.  The winners hung around while the junior and senior SBO’s
offered their congratulations.  Amelia ran over to Belle and gave her a big hug
around her middle.

“We’re
going to have so much fun!” she said.

“Yeah,
this year is going to rock!” Craig said, coming up to join them.  “I really
liked your speech, by the way,” he said to Belle.

“Oh,
thanks!” Belle said smiling.

A
couple senior girls walked passed them.  “Congratulations Amelia!  You too
Craig!” they said.  Then they glared at Belle before exiting out the door.

“What
was that all about?” Amelia asked.

“Oh,
they’re probably friends of Cynthia,” Belle said shrugging.  Both Craig and
Amelia nodded.  They knew exactly what that meant.

“Well,
don’t worry about them,” Craig said, putting his long arm around Belle’s
shoulders.

Belle
smiled up at him.  “Thanks,” she said.

Craig
put his other arm around Amelia, which he almost had to stoop to reach her, and
the three of them walked down the hall together to wait for the announcement.

“Attention
students,” came Mr. Daniel’s voice over the loud speakers.

“Here
we go!” Amelia said, clasping Belle’s hand.

“The
results are in from the sophomore class elections and they are as follows:
Amelia Wall, secretary; Craig Jacobs, vice president; and Belle Princess,
president.”

The
three of them stood in the hall, grinning as they listened to little cheers
burst from nearby classrooms.  They all congratulated each other again and then
went their separate ways to first period.

***

“You
did it!” Cinderella squealed when Belle walked into the gym five minutes late. 
She ran up to her cousin and threw her arms around Belle.  The girls bounced a
little in place as they excitedly talked with their hands.

“Congratulations!
This is so exciting!” Cinderella said.

“This
means our reputations aren’t ruined for good!” Belle said, happily.  “You should
have seen her friends after Mr. Daniels told us all who won.”

“Oh
yeah?” Cinderella asked.

“They
looked so pissed!”

“Well
who cares about them!” Cinderella said.

“Cynthia
can suck it!” Belle added vehemently.

Cinderella
stepped back, a little startled by how quickly Belle’s tone had changed from
pure elation to sudden rage.

“Sorry,”
she whispered, much more calmly.

“Princesses?”
Coach Rucker said loudly.

Belle
and Cinderella turned to face his stern reproach.

“Sorry
Coach,” Belle said.

“Yeah,
sorry,” Cinderella added.

Coach
Rucker just shook his head and motioned for them to join the other students who
were forming teams for volleyball.  As Belle walked by, several students
offered their congratulations.  She just smiled and demurely thanked them but
on the inside, Belle felt as though she was going to burst with excitement.