The Center of Attention

Back at her private college, Odette did her best to stay off the radar. That wasn’t easy with those photos floating online. As she feared, they were everywhere and became the newest trendy gossip. She had to wait for the professors to arrive before taking a seat up front to avoid conversations.

Now that she was being ridiculed online, everybody wanted to talk to her. Her world was a place where people truly knew how to kick someone when they were down. Finding the strength to face everybody with a fake smile was the best she could do. She was also avoiding Beth. Her eagerness to change Odette too quickly and throw her into the belly of the wolf had caused all those problems. Arriving late for classes gave her an excuse not to sit by Beth’s side. Her hurricane bestie had apologized. Keith had sent a few messages, too. Odette needed time to think about what she was going to do since she was resolute on going to the ball with Carl.

The quarterback was the man of her dreams. Perhaps, there was a chance once everybody found something else to gossip about.

If an elf prince found her fascinating, why not a regular mortal? Granted, Carl had dazzling looks and a great future ahead of him in football. There had to be a way into Carl’s life.

She cringed when people pointed at her in hallways and mumbled about how she bumped into the mascot. It was getting ridiculous. A guy as popular as Carl wasn’t going to want to date a joke. As of now, he was better off attending the event dateless than having her on his arm.

Visiting another realm had been fun, but it didn’t fix her need to find the perfect dress. For the next two days, she put the magical slippers on and became an outdated version of a well-dressed royal. Before she was teleported to another realm, Odette removed one of the slippers and put them back in their case. Those slippers had old magic that needed to be upgraded.

She finally came to terms with the idea that putting them on wouldn’t change the fact that she wouldn’t end up with the perfect dress for the Moonlight Ball. Unless she planned to go to a renaissance fair, wearing the fairytale dress would be social suicide. Carl would be too embarrassed to even look at her. She was sure of that.

Besides the hunt for the perfect dress, Odette also wondered why the descendants of Cinderella didn’t stay in that beautiful kingdom. How come the slippers were back on Earth instead of the magical realm where they were created? Was she bold enough to visit the land of the elves once again? Did the prince remember her from time to time or completely forget about her existence? She had enjoyed talking to him.

“Odette!” a girly voice called. “Charming!”

Odette halted and looked back. Beth waved while running to her.

As much as Odette had been trying to avoid her, it was probably best to wait and see what she wanted.

Beth stopped in front of her and gulped down air. “I’ve been calling you for ages. Why are you always so distracted?”

“Sorry. I have important matters to think about,” Odette said. “Are you going to class?” She turned around and continued on her way without waiting for Beth’s reply.

Beth followed her. “Yes. My classroom is next to yours. Remember?”

“I do.”

“You’ve been arriving late and leaving early. Are you done avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

Beth grabbed her arm. “You don’t even look me in the eye. Are you still mad? I said I’m sorry, and I plan to fix this.”

“I’m not interested in any other plans you might come up with.”

Her friend nodded and grinned. “I need help putting up flyers around the campus. We can give some to the football players.”

“I’m busy.”

“Hey, Odette!” A tall, blond guy greeted her.

Odette smiled at him and waved. “Hey, Damien!”

Beth squeezed Odette’s arm. “Damien is getting hotter each year. He is so dreamy. It’s a shame our families aren’t close like yours.”

“We barely see each other anymore. We used to spend our holidays on their private island, though.”

“I know. I’m jealous of that. He’s the captain of the swimming team and a total hottie.”

“Weren’t you dating a guy? What’s his name? Bart?”

“Brian,” Beth corrected. “We’ve been on two dates. We’ve kissed and are going on another date this weekend.”

“I’m glad you have a new boyfriend.”

Beth shook Odette’s arm. “I miss you. Why are you ignoring me?”

“I’m not ignoring you now.”

Beth narrowed her eyes. “What have you been doing without me? Why aren’t you wearing your new clothes? These are nice, but I didn’t choose them for you. Do you have another friend that you went shopping with?”

“No. My aunt gave me these for my birthday two months ago. I decided to put them on.”

“They look nice on you. You’re not wearing your glasses, either.”

“Yes, I’m giving the contact lenses a try.”

Her friend squealed. “Oh! You haven’t given up on Carl. Good girl!”

“We are going to be late for our classes,” Odette reminded her as she glanced around to see if anyone heard Beth. Luckily, the other students were already inside their lecture rooms.

“We can meet for lunch at the cafeteria today. What do you say?”

“Fine.”

“It’s a date, then.” Beth let her go, waved, and rushed down another corridor to attend her class.