Hi Blogger!
I've decided to do a small series of
500+ entries to do with fairy tales.
Now, Disney has done very well in telling us the fairy tales of the past
centuries, but they haven't really been modernised: it's always that
non-descript Medieval era, (with the exception of "The Princess and The
Frog" which looks like fifties America).
This is all spurred from a lecture I had on Thursday, and we posed the
question of how different the stories would be if you changed elements such as: location,
gender, sexuality, time frame, era, etc.
I'm starting with Cinderella, and will
confess now: all of my fairy tale knowledge derives from Disney.
"Cindy: this is the third time this month you've been caught in
town outside curfew. I won't stand for it any longer.” Rebecca took the girl's
limp hand, and tried to ignore the biting stare from her eyes.
"You need to understand that we have rules here, and now you are a
part of this community-"
"It's not a community; it's a dumping ground for strays."
Cindy pulled back her hand and slumped back in the orange chair. "I
want to go home."
"Cindy, you can't go home. Your step-mother lost the custody plea
after your father... we will help you find a new home. Or you can go for a
foster family? Would you like that?"
"Can I go to my room now?"
"Chores first I'm afraid. And its film night tonight, doesn't that
sound fun?"
"Not really." she looked down at her feet. "What are my
chores?"
"Clean the kitchen floor."
"Fine." The girl stood up to leave, but Rebecca called after
her.
"Cindy? Can I trust this is the end of the anti-social
behaviour?"
"No." Cindy walked out of the office and towards the kitchen.
- - -
Cindy pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled a number. RING RING
RING - "Yo, Prince? It's Cindy. You've got to get me out of here, they're
driving me insane. Twenty minutes? Fine. See you." She put the phone back
in her pocket and carried on mopping the floor.
- - -
Cindy shut her bedroom door behind her. The one good thing about the Far
Far Away Children's Home was that she had her own room, right at the top of the
house, in the attic. She searched for her bag and picked up some of her
clothes. When she found the bag, she stuffed them inside and rummaged around
her room for other things.
"Where's my goddamn lighter?" Cindy patted herself down but
couldn't find the pink flip lighter she had gotten from Prince for her
birthday.
Prince was her best friend, lover and dealer. She literally couldn't do
anything without his say so. Even when she was living with her step-mom and
step-sisters, he was always there to rescue her and take her far away.
That's what a lover/dealer is so good at: they can make your dreams come
true just by adding a little magic dust.
Cindy's phone rang in her jacket pocket, and she answered it through her
headphones. "Sup?"
"I'm outside. Where are you?"
"I'm just grabbing some stuff. I'll be like two minutes." She
hung up with the click of a button and carried on packing.
A knock at the door startles her. "Can I come in, Cindy?"
"Fuck." She whispered. "Yeah one second." She kicked
the bag under the bed and straightened up her covers. She walked over to the
door and opened it. "Hi. What's up?"
"Are you coming down for film night?"
"I have a bit of a headache actually. I think it was the fumes from
the bleach. I'm just going to lie down for a little while." Rebecca looked
at the tall blonde girl in front of her and worried.
"Are you sure? It's the girls' choice tonight. Is there nothing you
want to watch?"
"Honestly, I just want to lie down. But I'll come to the next
one."
Hesitant, Rebecca said her goodbyes and left Cindy alone. Cindy shut the
door, grabbed her bag and climbed out of the window, and ran into the arms of
her Prince.
