Free The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy Page B

understand your strengths and know how to use them to your advantage.”
    Gaby put a final check mark above Strengths and recapped her pen. “It sounds simple, but those are the three things most girls are insecure about: how they act, how they look, andwhether they have anything to offer. The Wickeds know that and go after it with a vengeance.”
    She made eye contact with each of us to make sure we got the message. “If you’ve got insecurities in any of those areas, consider yourself a target. It’s just a matter of time before they use your insecurities against you.”
    I thought about how easy it had been for Lexy to hit my sore spots. If she was able to tune into that for everyone, that was a pretty powerful bag of tricks.
    Gaby eased up a bit at our grim faces. “You don’t need to stress,” she said. “The upside is that once you nail all three pieces, you’ve taken away most of the Wickeds’ power over you. And you will nail all three pieces. It’s our job to make sure you do.”
    Our Big Sisters had begun to gather just beyond the doorway to the lounge. Please let that be a sign our makeovers aren’t far off . I was ready to take back my power in a big way.
    “Let me ask you a question,” Gaby said. “How many of you have something you wish you could change about how you look?”
    Every Alpha’s hand went up. Even Mel, the beauty queen.
    “Look around,” she told us. “Ninety-two percent of girls want to change something about the way they look. The Wickeds know that too. That’s why the first thing we’re going to focus on in your Power Plan is your appearance.”
    A cheer went up around the room. Makeovers and shopping sprees, here we come!
    “Just don’t confuse a great appearance with being a fashion diva,” she cautioned, “or feel like you need to spend a ton of money on a new look. It’s about getting comfortable in your own skin.”
    My baby face and I nodded like we believed her.
    “The core of your appearance is what we call your signature style. Your Big Sisters will walk you through what signature style is in more detail, but before I turn you over to them, I want you to remember two things.”
    The room was still abuzz with the news of our impending makeovers, so Gaby waited until she had our full attention.
    “Two things,” she repeated. “First, beauty is not cookie-cutter.”
    I looked around the table at my Alpha sisters. Cookie-cutter was definitely not the first word that came to mind. We weren’t even all from the same part of the world. Chandi had moved here from India a few years earlier, and Nalani was born in Hawaii but lived in Japan until she was nine.
    “Second, there’s no such thing as perfect,” Gaby continued. “Focus on making the most of what you have and making peace with what you can’t change. It’s easier said than done—trust me, I know —but it’s essential to mastering this part of your Power Plan. Confidence equals power.”
    To drive her point home, each of the Big Sisters stepped forward and told the Alphas one thing about herself she would change if she could. Even Gaby shared one. Gaby’s nose was too wide (her glasses balanced it nicely), Cherie wished she could gain weight (she did have a Calista Flockhart thing going on beneath her breezy clothes), Kyra carried too much weight around her hips (her babydoll tops hid it well). The list went on and on.
    The funny thing was, I’d always just thought of them as pretty. But when you stopped and looked hard at the flaws they pointed out, I guess you could kind of see what they meant. That was the thing, though. You didn’t see the flaws. You saw the whole package: positive, polished, confident.
    Still, I couldn’t imagine a time I’d ever stand up in a room full of people and willingly point out my physical flaws. If my makeover gave me a smidgeon of their confidence, it would be a win of mythical proportions.
    Gaby passed around a packet of Power Plan prep work for each of us while