Dear Diary,
"What kind of world do you even want?" Alice asked me and Fairy this afternoon out of nowhere.
"Well, if it's me…" Fairy tilted her head up, eyebrows raised like she was solving world hunger. "I want a world full of flowers. Like, a huge garden. Endless grass. Trees everywhere. I'd just lie down all day, be lazy, watch the clouds drift across a bright blue sky."
Alice burst out laughing. "That suits you perfectly, Fae. A professional slacker's paradise. Seriously."
Fairy crossing her arms. "Fine. Then what kind of world do you want?"
"The world I want…" Alice grinned, spreading her arms wide like she was presenting a kingdom. "A palace. A luxurious life. Sparkling things everywhere. A world that worships me like a queen...."
Fairy snorted before she could even finish. "In your dreams."
Pouting, Alice turned away from Fairy and looked at me instead. "What about you, Ella? What's your ideal world?"
Honestly? I had no idea what to say. The word 'world' feels too big.
"I just want a house," I finally said. "A house with my real family in it. A family that actually loves me. Not like my stepmother, who pretends to be nice just to get attention from Dad. And not like Anastasia, who acts sweet only because she wants to be spoiled."
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People are saying Anastasia's getting close to Prince.
Is that true?
It's probably just gossip.
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Why would Prince even like Anastasia?
She's so whiny. Crying over every little thing. Seriously, breathe wrong near her and she'll start tearing up.
I mean, yeah, she's smart, but….
Wait. Maybe I get it.
Maybe Prince is just… using her.
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This is insane. Prince came to my classroom today.
He was furious. He said Anastasia was in tears and blamed me, Alice, and Fairy for it.
Okay, fine. We do mess with Anastasia sometimes, but it's just jokes. She never even gets mad about it. So why is he the one acting like the hero of some tragic drama?
Then out of nowhere, Alice said, "This is Anastasia's own fault. She used to bully Ella at home first." She turned to me and winked. "Right, Ella?"
I didn't even understand what she was doing. I looked at Fairy. She nodded at me, like, Just say yes.
In front of Prince, I lowered my head. I couldn't hold his gaze for long. "Y-Yeah."
And only after I said it did I realize I had just lied.
"So Anastasia started it?" he asked.
"She didn't just tease her," Alice added quickly. "She tortured Ella. She and her mom used to lock her in the storage room."
"Drizella too!" Fairy chimed in. "Drizella always steals Ella's dinner and breakfast."
Then they both looked at me again.
"Right?"
And all I could do… was nod.
And I went along with the lie.
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