Free The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy Page A

it in for her?”
    “Lexy and Morgan used to do pageants,” Mel said. “Lexy was runner-up for Miss Teen Blue Ridge and ‘retired’ right after she lost to Alyssa.”
    “Looks like she’s coming out of retirement.”
    “Looks like.”
    I thought about the way Lexy had launched a steaming drink on me when I dared to ignore her. How far would she go to get revenge when she felt wronged? Had I been a Cindy long enough that they’d always have my back if she stepped up her attack on me?
    “I hope she doesn’t come after us that way.” I shuddered. “My reputation’s already taken a beating. One more blow and I’ll be back to loser status.”
    “No Wicked chatter out here,” Gaby said, striding toward us. “Do you two want to order up a late breakfast? I’ve been going on muffins all morning, and I’m craving a pesto egg sandwich. Snacks and drinks are on the house, but we usually pay Audrey for meals. Any takers?”
    My stomach rumbled. I couldn’t get within a hundred feet of The Grind without hunger setting in. This was notgoing to bode well for my cheer uniform future.
    “Sure,” I said. “What’s Wicked chatter?”
    Mel and I followed Gaby into the lounge to grab our wallets as she elaborated. “Any kind of general negativity. Swearing, gossiping, putting people down. Including ourselves.” She gave me a pointed look at the last part. “Even Wicked chatter that goes on in your head.”
    Mel looked amused as she handed Gaby a five. “You monitor our thoughts?”
    “Haven’t gotten the patent on it yet, but give us time.”
    Sarah Jane had said that the higher up you went in the Cindys, the more independent study you did. The way Gaby joked about the patent gave me the sneaking suspicion she’d love to have a crack at that project. There seemed to be very little a Cindy couldn’t do if she set her mind to it. Myself excluded, of course.
    Ah. That kind of Wicked chatter in your head.
    Good thing the patent was just a joke. (Probably.)
    *   *   *
    After all the Alphas had arrived and were eagerly seated around the table, Gaby got us rolling.
    “Welcome to your first Alpha class,” Gaby said. “We’ll be covering a lot of ground today, but here’s the main thing you need to know: Alpha training is all about making you stronger. Remember, our goal is to prepare you to go head-to-head with a Wicked and win.”
    She passed out an outline of the Alpha program. “The Wickeds prey on weakness. If they can hone in on your insecurities, they’ll knock you off your game nine times out of ten. Your Alpha work is designed to help you get over your insecurities and focus on your strengths. If the Wickeds don’t have anything on you that’ll hit a sore spot, that puts you inthe power position. To win against the Wickeds, you have to keep the power on your side.”
    I craved the win. Especially if it meant Lexy was the loser. Lexy and all her Wicked minions.
    Gaby slid aside the bulletin board to expose the whiteboard again. Yesterday’s commandments were still printed in bold capital letters.
    She pointed to PROTECT THE REGGIES . “We’ll cover more about this part of the mission later. For right now, our focus is on this,” she said, drawing a giant red circle around PROTECT YOURSELF .
    “If you want to beat the Wickeds, you’ve got to keep them from getting inside your head. You already know the Wickeds prey on weakness, but the tricky thing is that they know exactly where to look for it. They go straight for the three areas most likely to let them take advantage.”
    Gaby picked up a purple marker from the tray and wrote an equation on the board.
Power = Personality + Appearance + Strengths
    “To become truly powerful, you have to be completely comfortable with what makes you you . You have to be confident about who you are as a person.” She put a check mark above Personality . “You need to be comfortable in your own skin.” She made a check above Appearance . “And you have to