Page 45 of The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back

Per her dictatorial instructions, I put on a purple one next. I pushed the curtain aside and Ella clapped her hands together. "You look amazing! Try on some more!"

I didn't know it was possible to hate clothes this much. The grumpier I got, the more excited Ella got. She loved every dress and every dress looked "so awesome" on me.

Finally I tried on the last one. It was an emerald green color with skinny straps and a low back. The fabric was silky and soft, and it made a whispering sound when I put it on. The dress came in tight at the waist, and the skirt flounced out around me. It was so girly looking. I hurried up to get it on so Ella could tell me which one I should buy and I could be done.

But when I walked out, Ella fell silent. She got up and walked around me in a circle. "Oh Tilly, that is the one." I had stopped looking at my reflection about eleven dresses ago. Ella stepped aside and I could see myself in the three-way mirror. And I looked…wow. I didn't look fat. Or Goth. It even went with my fuchsia hair. It tucked me in at all the right places and the twirly skirt hid everything else.

She was right. This was the one. I actually felt sort of pretty in it. And I had never felt that way before.

So, I burst into tears.

Ella put her arms around me, and sat me down on the bench in the dressing room. She turned my head so that my tears wouldn't fall on my dress. "What's wrong?"

I ignored my policy on not discussing Jake with Ella, but in between sobs I told her everything Mercedes had told me.

"That evil, little….oh, I don't even know anything bad enough to call her! She's so obviously lying just to upset you. You can't believe anything she said. Jake asked you out on a date. He asked you to meet him at the ball tonight! And where will Mercedes Bentley be? At home. Feeling jealous of you and sorry for herself."

"But what if she was right? What if he is using me to get to you?" I just couldn't let it go.

Ella sat quietly for a minute before saying, "I know exactly how to prove that she was wrong. I can prove to you that Jake wants you and not anybody else."

"How in Buddha's name are you going to do that?"

She flashed her credit card. "I am going to do a total makeover on you." I started to protest but she held a hand up. "I know how you feel about it, but listen. I am going to make you unrecognizable. Best of all, it's a masquerade ball. You'll be this gorgeous mystery girl, but he will blow you off because he will still want Mattie."

Despite what I always told Ella, secretly I wanted a makeover. What '80s movie heroine would be complete without a fantastic makeover? Andie making a prom dress out of her mom's old dress inPretty in Pink. Clair making over Allison inThe Breakfast Club.

Truth be told, I was a little afraid I'd look the same. That there would be no difference between "before" and "after." It was easier on my ego to just say no.

But if my life could be like the movies, the makeover would let the hot guy realize how awesome I am inside and out, and he would fall for me (although he had already secretly fallen for me and just couldn't admit it yet).

"Okay, fine, you win" I finally mumbled, while Ella squealed. She ripped the tag off of my dress. "I promise you, you will not regret this!" Holy Buddha, now she was Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother all rolled into one.

Ella had her credit card out and had already paid for the dress before I even changed back. I sort of didn't want to take the dress off, which felt strange.

Then something even stranger happened. I got a message notification on my phone. Jake had posted to my Facebook page. All he said was, "Looking forward to tonight." It made my heart do little flips.Jake Kingston wrote on my Facebook wall! It was out there for anyone to see. Not that I had many friends, but it felt…so…public. It made the heartache and hurt that I had just been feeling slip away.

Before I could tell Ella about what happened, she dragged me to an accessories type store, because they had specially ordered masks for our ball. Ella picked out a green one that matched my dress, with black and silver feathers on the edges. The mask itself covered not only my forehead and nose, but most of my face. Only my mouth and eyes were visible. "So he won't recognize you," Ella said.

"Isn't this fun?" she asked as the clerk handed her the bag. It was the opposite of fun, actually. I felt so totally stressed out. My head throbbed. This had become a very bad idea. Maybe I should skip the dance. Even if Jake was looking forward to it.

At the shoe store, I tried to stop her. "I'm pretty sure they don't make high heels in a size ten."

"Sure they do. They make heels big enough for Paris Hilton's huge feet." Her eyes got big. "Not that I'm saying you have big feet!"

Of course I had big feet. It was part of the ugly stepsister/way too tall thing. But Ella couldn't be convinced that high heels were a Bad Idea. I'd spent my whole life trying to be shorter, and now she wanted me to add a good three inches?

"Here," she handed me a pair of black shoes. We didn't have much color or style selection, but they seemed okay. I slipped them on, and the pounding in my head got worse.

"Stand up."

"I can't. I can't walk in these. I'm going to permanently maim myself."

"You will be fine."

"I'm going to break both of my ankles." I tried to take a few tentative steps and had to grab onto Ella to stay upright. "No way."

"We'll practice when you get home. It's not that hard."

---