Free The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

ultimate life makeover. It had all the makings of a full-blown fairy tale.
    Except that everything about our mission prickled the hairs on my neck.
    The Cindys might veer onto the path of Makeoverland, but the Sisterhood was a force to be reckoned with. And unlike the movies, they weren’t battling evil villains in a far-off land. Our villains were right here at home.
    I would’ve bet my cherished Kate Spade purse that Lexy was as Wicked as they came. And if she was, this was way more than I’d signed on for.
    How could I ever do battle with Lexy and win?

Chapter 5
    BEING IN THE CLUB for the second time didn’t take away any of the awe factor. Mel and I showed up late morning the next day to get through the rest of our Cinderella Makeover Manual overviews before the first Alpha class that afternoon. Gaby, of course, had been there since the first pot of coffee went on out front. She greeted us in the lounge, sporting a BlackBerry on a lanyard and an apple crumb muffin in one hand.
    Gaby nabbed us each a soda as we stowed our gear in the cute pink lockers. She had David Cook playing on the iPod speakers in the kitchenette, which she promptly turned off. “Sorry,” she said. “I needed a little pick-me-up.”
    I could totally relate. David Cook could pick me up anytime.
    Mel and I grabbed our binders and settled into the yum Study Hall chairs as Sarah Jane and Kyra were coming in the door. They stowed their stuff and joined us at the table. Sarah Jane set down her enormous binder next to mine. Even laying it gently on the table still resulted in a loud thud.
    I eyed the monstrosity, suddenly glad mine only had a few dozen sheets of paper in it, and wondered what hers couldpossibly be filled with. She was a third-level Cindy, I’d found out—a Gamma—so who knew what-all was in there?
    From what I’d learned so far, Alpha stage was mostly about the celebrating your strength part of the creed, and Beta stage got deeper into embracing your future . Clever girl that I am, I reasoned that Gammas were all about being extraordinary . As for Deltas … sheesh, what came after being extraordinary? World domination?
    We all dug into our CMM work—Mel and I on the last few overviews and Sarah Jane and Kyra on their special projects. The air hummed with productivity vibes.
    The door to the Club opened again, and Paige entered, with Audrey trailing her. They both looked serious as they headed for Paige’s office. Our Big Sisters eyed them solemnly and quietly closed up their CMMs . By the time they’d finished putting their binders away, Paige had opened her door. She gave Sarah Jane a silent nod and slipped back inside, while Audrey headed out of the Club without a word.
    Sarah Jane and Kyra keyed into the Gamma office and closed the door behind them.
    Mel and I looked at each other.
    “What was that about?” I asked.
    Mel tapped a staccato rhythm with her pen. “Did you see the news this morning?”
    Mom had The Weather Channel on every morning like clockwork, but something told me that wasn’t what Mel meant. “What about it?”
    “Miss Teen Blue Ridge was stripped of her title last night.” She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “A video of her smoking a joint in the woods behind her school was mailed to a local TV station. Once they identified her, they called the pageant office for an official comment. The pageantcalled her family, confirmed it was her, and took away her crown.”
    Brutal. But who in their right mind would be out behind their school smoking a joint? First of all, I like all my brain cells, thanks. And second, a local teen celebrity doing anything wrong in public is a dumb move. Add illegal to dumb and what did she expect?
    “What does that have to do with us?” Before “with us” was even out of my mouth, I knew the answer. The question wasn’t why she’d been so dumb—it was why the TV station had ended up with a prime-time video of the event.
    The Wickeds strike again. “Who has