Frog Tongue's and Cat Tail's by Charlene Toomey (intellectual books to read .txt) 📖

Part One- The step-sisters

The lights in the NYC night club were flashing brightly in the eyes of the young blonde girl. She had gone there with her two step sisters, hoping to blow off some steam by dancing with random strangers. It usually helped her, but not tonight. Tonight she was stuck getting her sisters drinks, or introducing them to random people she didn’t even know. And to top it off, she had to work that night. Fortunately it was at the club, and whenever the bar was empty, she could go dance. Plus, it would get her away from the Twins of Terror; or, more nicely, her step-sisters.

When it finally came time for her shift, she happily went behind the bar. She threw on her apron and shoved a towel into the pocket. “CINDY!” The blonde groaned at the sound of one of the ToT’s voices. She rolled her eyes before stepping up to the counter, pulling the towel out of her pocket and flung it over her shoulder.

“What do you need Prissy?” Cindy said with a sigh. She looked at her red-headed step-sister with a look of annoyance. Why did her first customer of the day have to be this snotty nosed bitch?

The red-head simply rolled her eyes. “Hmm…Gimme a… Cosmopolitan, slice of apple.” She smirked lightly and Cindy just laughed.

“Good try Prissy. Now get away from the bar before I get Twix to through you out.” She glared before she moved to the next customer. Priscilla did that every, single, time. She always asked for some sort of alcohol when she knew damn well she couldn’t have any. She was only 18 for Christ’s sake!

“Excuse me miss?” Cindy turned her head to the tall male addressing her. It was Mace, the owner of the club. It never ceased to amaze her how he always made her breath stop, and her knees go weak. “Could you get me a scotch on the rocks please?” She nodded and reached under the counter, grabbing a glass.

“Could I see your I.D first?” Of course, she knew who he was, and how old he was, but it was custom. And she was really the only one who I.D’d anyone. He smiled at her and pulled out his wallet, letting her examine the driver’s license. “All right, I was just making sure.” She said with a smile before she scooped ice into the glass, grabbing the bottle of scotch and pouring it in. “There you go. On the house for you Macie.” She said as she pulled a $5 out of her pocket, putting it in the register. Alcohol was getting so expensive these days.
“Hey Cindy…Do you have any plans for Saturday night?” Cindy looked up to him and shook her head. “Good. You’re coming to this fancy ball with me. My folks through it every year, it’s a masquerade. I’d love it if you were my guest.” She smiled and nodded before he poked her nose lightly. “See ya there.” He said finally as he walked away.

“Cynthia!” A shrill, annoying voice called from somewhere at the end of the bar. She turned her head to see her brunette step-sister. She walked over with a groan and stood in front of her, arms crossed.

“What do you want Lilly? And don’t you dare ask for alcohol or Millie will hear about it again.” Lillian was the younger of her step-sisters, a mere 16. And her step-mother, Millie, had a cow the last time Lilly came anywhere close to alcohol.

Lilly gave a little pout as she sighed. “Alright alright, just gimme a coke will ya?” Cindy nodded and grabbed out a glass, filling it with ice and the soda before handing it back. “Will you cover it? Pretty please?” She giggled before walking away. Lil had a tendency to con Cindy out of her money. Cindy rolled her eyes, oh well; she already put $5 into the register…That was enough for both Macie AND Lilly.

“Hey Cindy…” Ugh. Great. Another one! She turned her head to her step-mother. She had a way of popping randomly into places. “Did I see you talking to Mace Winnie just a while ago?” Cindy nodded. “Well. What’d he want?”

“He invited me to some fancy Masque that his parents through.” She said simply as she grabbed a wet cloth and began to scrub down the counter.

“Oh really? Just so happens we got invited too. A lot of people here did. But Cynthia dear…Will you be ready to go? You have absolutely no ball gowns, or mask’s at that.” That made Cindy’s face fall. “I could, of course, lend you one of my old ones, if you work for it that is.” Cindy sighed. It was the same old same old. Frankly, she was getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.

“Alright. Let me guess. Clean up the house, wash Lucifer, wash and wax the Porsche?” She asked with a groan. Millie simply grinned and nodded before she walked away. She gave a low groan. Always the same…Could nothing ever change? Whenever something good happened to her, Millie and the ToT’s made it all horrible. They always gave her something to do so she wouldn’t be able to be ‘oh so fabulous’, as Lilly puts it.

Part Two- Fairy Godmother

The shift ended around midnight, and thankfully, none of her so called family members were there to see her home. So Cindy decided to take her time. She knew that she was going to get her jobs done before the party, she always did, she just usually stayed behind so she wouldn’t mess up their plans to become famous. But this time, it would be different. This time Cindy would go and show them all up. This time she was going for her, not them, and she was going to have the time of her life.

“Cindy? What’re you doing out here this late?” Cindy stopped mid stride and turned to face the owner of the deep voice. Of course, she knew it was Mace. His voice was easy to spot. She ran a hand through her hair, quickly, before she answered.

“I just got done with my shift. I thought I’d take a walk and see if any stores were open. I thought I’d check for some shoes or something for the party.” Mace nodded before his eyes glistened. “

“Come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.” Cindy nodded and followed him down the street. He had taken her hand by then, making the girl go faster. They reached the small salon in no time. “Goddy. I got you a visitor!” Mace shouted before none other than Godiva Gustovic came out of the back room. She was famous for her hair styles and clothing designs back in her homeland of Russia. And to think, Cindy was getting to meet her now!

“Aaah. Macie. ‘Ow good ‘eet is do see you.” She said in a heavy accent. “And ‘oo might ‘dis be?” She asked before she pointed to Cindy.

“This, Goddy, is your newest project. She needs an outfit for my Gala.” He grinned and there was a twinkle in the old woman’s eyes.

“I ‘vill see ‘vat I can do. Bring ‘er back tomorrow. I ‘vill ‘ave and outvit by ‘zen.” Macie nodded and smiled. It seemed she didn’t even need Cindy’s measurements. She was just good like that. So Mace led her out of the salon.

“There. You’re all set now. Knowing her, she’ll design an entire ensemble for you. Which I’m sure will look fabulous.” He gave his number one smile that almost made Cindy want to melt. “Now you get home. I heard your step-mother. You wanna get all those chores done so we can have our night.” He smiled again before he turned and walked off. Could this night be any more perfect…?

Part Three- All work and some play

“CYNTHIA!” Cindy awoke with a groan as her name was shouted through the intercom. “Get up Cindy you have work to do!” One more groan escaped before there was another shout. She glared at the box and pushed the page button, hearing her youngest step-sister shriek from the loud noise. A small, satisfied chuckle escaped as she climbed off of the large bed. Sure, it was big, but it was old. Every time she moved, dust flew into her nose. And sadly, she happened to be allergic to dust. So she had no clue how many epipens she’d gone through in the last year and a half.

“Cindy. Are you awake?” The voice shocked her. What was he doing here? He didn’t belong here. But the voice came again. “Cindy. Open up. I can hear you in there.” She didn’t want him to see her like this, fresh out of bed with the bunny slippers to match. See the way she really lived. Even though it’s probably obvious.

“Just one second Mace.” Cindy said lightly as she threw on an old purple shirt and a pair of ripped up shorts. She brushed my hair quickly and pulled it up into a bun before she went to the door. She opened it and stepped into the hallway, and sure enough, Mace was there, in her house, actually coming to see her.

“Goddy finished your outfit. She said to stop by before you went to the party.” Cindy nodded with a smile. “Well. I would have called, but it’s a tad early. But I have to go now. The club’s getting inspected.” He lifted her hand and kissed it lightly. “Till tonight my fair Cinderella.” He chuckled with a smile while she glared. She hated that nickname. Her step-sisters had come up with it when they were a little younger. What was bugging her…Was how did Mace find out?

“CINDY!” The loud voice was on the intercom again. She groaned a bit before going downstairs.
“What do you want Prissy?” Cindy said with a sigh. She crossed her arms and stared at her sister who was still at the intercom box.

“Mom wants you to get started.” She had to roll her eyes at that. Prissy could be so dumb sometimes.

“Kinda figured. What does she want me to do first?” Prissy gave a large grin.

“You have to give Lucy a bath. Mom said so.” She nodded at that before she added something.

“Uh Prissy. Could you stop calling Lucifer Lucy? He’s a BOY. Get it? B. O. Y. BOY.” She said with an irritated tone. Her step-sister simply glared at her. Why couldn’t she get it through her thick skull that her father’s cat was a BOY? After Cindy’s tiny rant, Prissy stormed out of the room. That left the girl to her search for Lucifer. Of course, She didn’t have to search very far. He was right on his queen sized cat bed where he always was, basking in the sunlight that came through the window. He was always happy to get baths. He liked to be primped and pampered, so when Cindy walked over to him, he stood up on his four legs and waited for her to pick him up.

It didn’t take long, seeing as Lucifer never gave Cindy a struggle, so she was able to start on the car quicker. Since everyone else went out, she did what she usually did to wash the car. She took that raggedy old blue Porsche to the Car Wash downtown.