Initially, Jane tried to be a good stepmother and even tried to include me in her and Amy’s nail appointments. But the older we got, the closer they became — shutting me out completely. “Maybe Amy’s just going through something,” my father said when we went for ice cream, and I confessed. “Maybe she just needs extra time with her mom.” I learned to live with it, getting used to the fact that even though Jane called me her daughter, I wasn’t going to be. Then, we entered our final year at school, and prom quickly became the highlight of the social calendar. I didn’t want to admit it to my father, but I was excited for prom — Mason and I were finally dating, and I knew that the day was going to be magical. I also knew that while my father would pay for my dream dress, I wanted to work for it myself. If Dad buys yours, he will have to buy Amy’s too, I thought to myself. So, I took extra shifts at the diner I worked at — anything to add to my dress fund. A few weeks leading up to prom, I added babysitting to my schedule. Finally, I had enough for my dream dress. Dad drove me to the store and waited patiently while I tried it on. When I stepped out, he beamed at me. “Oh, Elsa,” he said. “You look beautiful, darling.” That was all I needed from him. “Are you sure you want to pay for it yourself?” Dad asked when we were at the till. “Because I’ll do it in a heartbeat.” I refused and paid for the dress.

“But you can buy me a waffle,” I grinned. Then, my picture-perfect dream shattered. A few hours later, I walked into the house after my shift at the diner. Amy and Jane were sitting in the living room, wiping my grandmother’s silver teapot. With pieces from my dress. I shrieked. “Honey,” Jane asked, the picture of concern. “What’s wrong?” “That’s my dress!” I said, picking up a piece. Oh!” Jane exclaimed. “It was your prom dress?” “You did this?” I asked, unable to breathe properly. “Well, yes,” Jane said smugly. “But I thought that I was cutting up some secondhand dress. It didn’t look prom-worthy. So, I thought I’d use it to polish the silver and the windows.” I couldn’t take it any longer. I burst out crying — the tears dropping fast onto my clothes. i heard Dad’s heavy footsteps from somewhere in the house, but it was clear that Jane didn’t. Because she stood up, walking closer to me. “Now, now, Elsa,” she said. “You should have known better; you cannot be more beautiful than Amy. Amy is taking prom queen title.