Read Secrets of the Sisterhood (The Cinderella Society, Episode 1) Online
Authors: Kay Cassidy
Secrets of the Sisterhood (The Cinderella Society, Episode 1) (19 page)
Kyra and Gwen unrolled a gorgeous geometric-patterned rug over the tabletop now sunken into the floor, and they had us move our chairs into the lounge to make more room. We spread out in a large circle, and Sarah Jane slipped in next to me. It was the first time all of the Cindys had been in the same place at the same time. Girl power pulsed off the walls.
Paige stepped inside the circle. “I’d like to formally welcome our new Alpha members and welcome back all of our returning Sisters. Apologies for my absence since initiation. I just graduated”—a chorus of snaps went up around the room—“and I’m staffing at Worthington Estates this summer.”
More snaps followed. Part of the secrecy thing, I decided. If almost thirty girls started whooping and cheering, there’d be no way for us to stay a secret in the Grind.
“As part of our tradition, we elect a new leader every two years,” Paige explained. She held up a single purple taper like the ones our big Sisters had used at initiation. “Your new leader will be the last one to hold the candle when we blow it out.”
“The incoming leader is usually identified during freshman year and trains for her new position during sophomore year,” Paige said. “She officially takes office when school starts her junior year.”
I looked around at our Alpha class, all soon-to-be sophomores except for me, the sole junior. Kat had a total go-getter vibe. Mel was thoughtful and sweet, the kind of person you knew you could trust. Chandi was our voice of reason. Not that the other Alphas weren’t awesome, but I was putting my money on one of those three.
“The Cinderella Society is deeply rooted in tradition,” Paige said. “But sometimes doing what’s best for the Sisterhood means forging a new path. We have bigger challenges to face and tougher battles to fight than we’ve ever seen in our history. I trust you’ll join me in welcoming and supporting our new leader as we witness a historic event in our Sisterhood.”
Paige nodded at Gaby, who turned out the lights. But I didn’t miss the tiny flicker of a smile Paige shared with Sarah Jane in the split second before the room went dark.
Bigger challenges and tougher battles with the Wickeds. A historic event for the Cindys. A secret smile shared by Paige and my awesome-socks big Sister.
Now wasn’t the time to tap an Alpha for the job. Not with the Wickeds ramping up their forces. Our new leader had to be Sarah Jane. She was the strongest Cindy we had.
Paige lit the candle, illuminating her face. I felt a rush of pride having Sarah Jane at my side. I already knew she was the rootin’-tootin’-est. She was everything a big Sister should be and more. There was no one I trusted more to lead the Cindys against whatever the Wickeds had up their sleeves.
Being the new leader would definitely take her away from her big Sister duties, though. At least in part. Maybe even completely. Would I get reassigned to a new big Sister?
The thought made my stomach pinch.
I had never had someone like Sarah Jane in my life before. Someone who looked out for me no matter what. I needed that more than ever with Lexy’s latest threat looming. And my first date hanging in the balance.
But with Lexy firmly on the side of the Wickeds, I would breathe a lot easier knowing we’d have Sarah Jane leading the charge. Even though it was a little vindictive on my part. Because I knew there was nothing—
nothing
—Lexy could dish out that Sarah Jane couldn’t handle. I couldn’t wait to watch Lexy go down in flames.
I said a silent prayer in the semi-darkness that Sarah Jane would still have time for me when I needed her most.
Paige stepped back with the glowing candle and handed it to Gaby on her right. The candle started to move around the circle, passing from Sister to Sister, as the Cindys quietly began to sing:
Oh, Sister dear, we join thee here,
To cheer your grand occasion.
When the time has come, our battles won,
We’ll join you in celebration.
The candle made its way around the circle. Past Kat, past Mel—
Oh, Sister dear, we join thee here,
To cheer your grand occasion.
The candle inched closer and closer. Pride in my amazing big Sis crowded out any misgivings I had about losing her. Best of all, I would get to be the one to hand her the candle. Proof that I was finally the insider I had always dreamed of being.
Two away, one away—
When the time has come, our battles won,
Finally, it was in my hand. I turned toward Sarah Jane, my face aglow with respect as I reached out to present her with the candle in her honor.
We’ll join you in celebration.
SJ beamed at me, her look of joy a mirror of mine, as she leaned forward and blew out the candle.
While it was still between my fingers.
Chapter Thirty-One
“How can I
possibly
be the new leader?”
I was pacing in Paige’s office.
Our
office. Or at least mine for the sharing until Paige handed over the reins for good. “I thought you were talking about Sarah Jane!”
SJ looked confused. “Why would you . . . oh, you saw Paige look at me? No, the new leader never knows until the candle’s blown out. It’s usually done by her big Sister, but not always.”
I flopped down in the chair beside her. “This can’t be right.”
As soon as Sarah Jane had blown out the candle and the lights had come up, I’d been ambushed. Girls rushed forward to hug me; other Sisters snapped like crazy. The entire time, my mind could only process two words. The only two that mattered right now.
“
Why me?
”
Paige leaned back in her chair. “You’re doing a fantastic job with your
CMM
work, you’re a natural leader in everything you do from work to volunteering to the Sisterhood. Plus, you stepped in to protect Heather from Tina and Morgan without even getting backup from us. That’s when I knew the Powers That Be were right all along. The real question is, why
not
you?”
Of course I helped Heather. Anyone would. But being the new leader defending against a rapidly expanding force of Wickeds was on a totally different level. A much less appealing, far more dangerous level.
I tried to reason with Paige. “But if you were going to break tradition and only give the new leader a couple of months to prepare—instead of a
whole year
like normal—it should be for someone who’s already a Cindy rock star. Someone like, just to be crazy,
Sarah Jane!
”
“Look, I know we’ve caught you off guard. It threw us for a loop too.” Paige held up a hand to flag off my obvious question. “Not because we don’t think you’ll be great, but because we’ve never been in this situation before. Our incoming leader’s mom got an ambassadorship in Europe, so she had to move mid-year. The Powers That Be told us to hold off naming a new incoming until the Alphas were selected. Then you arrived on the scene, the Wickeds’ recruitment surge came into play . . . everything sort of happened at once.”
My inner danger signal was pinging like mad. “Who’s the leader of the Wickeds?”
Sarah Jane shifted in her seat. She looked at Paige. Paige looked at me. They confirmed my suspicions before Paige’s lips ever moved.
“Lexy’s the incoming.”
I dropped my head into my hands.
Sarah Jane gave my elbow a squeeze. Like that helped. “Don’t worry about Lexy. Focus on your job, not hers. You wouldn’t have been chosen if you weren’t the right person for the job.”
“There’s no way I can be the right person, Sarah Jane. No one here even knows me yet, I’m a year late in my Alpha training in the first place—”
“Because you didn’t move here until a few months ago,” SJ clarified.
“What difference does it make? I’m still a year behind where a regular Cindy should be, much less the leader!” But that wasn’t the worst of it, and we both knew it. “How can I lead the Cindys when I can’t even protect myself against Lexy? You know she bullies me too.”
“That’s what makes you so valuable as our leader,” Sarah Jane explained. “It’s not just theory for you. You know what it feels like to be a target. You know first-hand how their mental games play out in the field.”
I still didn’t get it. “How could you know you wanted me when you didn’t even
know
me yet?”
Paige gave me her Cindys-know-all smile. “It’ll all make sense in the end, Jess. Once you adjust—I know it’s a
lot
to adjust to—you’ll understand why you need to be the one. I’ll help you as much as I can. I’m staffing at camp this summer, but I’ll be available by cell or e-mail if I’m not here, and we’ll meet as often as we can. I won’t let you fail, okay?”
I shook my head. Paige couldn’t promise something that was beyond her control. Either I had what it took to be the leader or I didn’t. No amount of training was going to change that in six weeks.
I’d barely started my
CMM
work as an Alpha and didn’t have anywhere near the girl power I needed to be a bona fide Cindy, much less to be the one leading the way. Lexy was already on the warpath from the cheer team stuff and Ryan asking me out. What would she do when she found out we were about to face off on the battlefield of the Cindys versus the Wickeds?
There was only one way I was going to be strong enough to do what Paige was asking, and it wasn’t going to come from any
CMM
assignment. I needed a direct hotline to the Man Upstairs. Right now, all I was getting was a busy signal. What I desperately needed was a sign.
Sarah Jane scooted her chair closer. “All those things Paige said about you at initiation? Every one of them is true, Jess. You have to be the one to do this. I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but it will. Just trust me. Have I ever let you down?”
I silently cursed SJ’s question. She pulled the one trump card she knew I couldn’t deny.
“No,” I said quietly. “You never have.” Sarah Jane was the only person who’d never once let me down.
It wasn’t the sign I wanted. It wasn’t even in the same hemisphere. But I couldn’t seem to drum up any more arguments to sway them.
The weight of my fate settled on my shoulders like a blanket of dread.
What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for reading
Secrets of the Sisterhood.
I hope you enjoyed spending time with Jess and the Cindys (and Ryan, of course)!
If you would like to read the entire Cinderella Society series in order, here are the titles in sequence:
~ EXCLUSIVE
CMM
EXCERPTS! ~
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Cinderella Makeover Manual?
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~ SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK ~
And finally . . . here’s a little sneak peek at Jess and Ryan’s very first date from
Curse of the Wickeds
. Turn the page and read on!
Let the romance begin…
CHAPTER FIVE
“The jambalaya chicken is really good here,” Ryan told me as we slid into the booth for dinner. “I get it every time we come.”
“Yum,” I said, even though I was thinking the heartburn and gas special wasn’t my first choice for date food. I picked up my menu. “I love their chicken Caesar salad.”
“That’s what Lexy always gets,” he said. Our eyes met for a split second over the tops of our menus, and we both looked away. Dating your enemy’s brother was a messy business.
