麻麻张开腿让我躁

If I was going to be in this play, then I wanted to be one of the mice, for sure.

I raised my hand, voicing my opinion to the teacher.

"Your classmates have already voted for you to be one of the evil stepsisters," the teacher said with a calm smile. "Don\'t worry, they only have a few lines, unlike Cinderella herself, the Evil Stepmother, and the Prince."

"It\'s only fitting that she\'s one of the evil stepsisters. She was stealing Sophie\'s role, right? Even though she was adopted but she acted like the real lady of the Rosette. Its disgusting." I heard one of my classmates mutter under her breath.

When I looked over at her, she quickly clamped her mouth shut and avoided my gaze.

"Idiot, don\'t harass her in the open! Didn\'t you hear what happened to Jessica?" someone else whispered sharply.

I chose to ignore them and turned back to the teacher. "But what about what I want?"

The teacher let out a long sigh, her expression patient but firm. "This is a democratic process, Eve. The majority have already cast their votes."

I realized there wasn\'t much I could do. Further arguing would only draw more attention, and that was the last thing I needed.

Of course, the role of Cinderella went to Sophie, and the Prince\'s part was given to none other than Daniel.

Lucky me.

As for the role of the other stepsister, it fell to Riri Mashima. She was half-Japanese and half-Irish, and apparently the illegitimate daughter of some tycoon. Because of that, people often looked down on her.

Riri wasn\'t exactly welcomed in high society, either. She wasn\'t ugly by any means, but she wasn\'t the kind of beautiful that turned heads.

Her slightly slanted eyes gave away her heritage, and most people automatically dismissed her because of it, giving her those sideways glances filled with judgment.

Yet, Riri must have been one of the most optimistic girls I\'d ever met. She accepted the role with open arms and great enthusiasm, like it was the most exciting thing ever.

Didn\'t she realize that playing one of the evil stepsisters was basically being cast as the outcast?

I sighed to myself. Well, at least I didn\'t end up as the Evil Stepmother, or—worse—a talking pumpkin carriage or the fairy godmother. Now

that

would\'ve been tragic.

The real downside to this whole thing? It was a colossal waste of time. Instead of doing something productive, like managing my investments, here I was, stuck rehearsing a play.

I had to remind myself that school was over in less than five months, so all I needed was a little patience. Not that it was making this any less of a chore.

"This is such a drag," I heard Daniel mumble from the side.

"You\'re the Prince; you should be honored," I replied, tone teasing.

He frowned. "I didn\'t sign up for after-school rehearsals. I wanted to be on the props team if I was going to be in this play."

I almost laughed at his disgruntled expression, seeing him crack for the first time from his usual poker face. "Can\'t act?"

"It\'s not that." He shrugged. "I just don\'t want to be on stage."

"Relax; the Prince barely has any lines anyway. I think I\'ve got more screen time than you."

Just then, Riri strolled over with a cheery wave. "Hello, fellow evil sister!" she said brightly, plopping herself down at the table.

"Let\'s work together and make this play a success!" she added, extending her hand with such enthusiasm it was almost dizzying.

Enjoy new adventures from empire

I shook her hand, surprised by her genuine friendliness. She wasn\'t exactly subtle, but I didn\'t feel any malice from her either.

As she started talking excitedly about the play, I just let her go on, figuring her optimism would fade eventually.

Riri glanced around and lowered her voice conspiratorially, "Our class president\'s leading this, so we\'ll probably have after-school practices and maybe even a weekend or two. Let\'s give it our best, and—of course—bully Cinderella!"

I forced a smile. If nothing else, this meant I\'d get to make Sophie miserable under the guise of acting. Not too bad, honestly.

The class president clapped her hands and called out, "Hey, you two, the \'

evil

sisters\'

! Pay attention while we discuss how to proceed with our Cinderella play. I hope you\'re not already plotting ways to torment our Cinderella."

The others snickered as the president\'s gaze focused solely on me and Riri, completely ignoring Daniel, who sat right next to us.

The message was obvious: they were targeting us, but especially me. I could feel their eyes watching for a reaction.

"That\'s right!" Riri piped up, her expression all innocence. "We\'re meeting to plot exactly how to bully Cinderella. Isn\'t that the whole point of the show?"

The class president scoffed, pulling Sophie close like she was a helpless little lamb. "The point," she said, voice crisp and strict, "is that good prevails over evil in the end."

Riri blinked, looking genuinely perplexed. "Yes, but to show how good Cinderella is, she needs someone to stand out against. How would she shine without the villains being

bad

?"

She tilted her head, then nodded to herself as if solving a complex puzzle. "So really, isn\'t the whole point of our role to, well . . . bully her?"

The entire room went silent, unable to respond. Whether they liked it or not, Riri had a point. How would "

good

" ever win without a bit of darkness to set it apart?

I bit back a grin. Was Riri a genius or just blunt?

I wasn\'t sure, but I had to admit it was refreshing to see someone spell things out. After all, without evil, there would be no story to tell.

I smirked when my eyes met Sophie\'s. Maybe she\'d start regretting being Cinderella now that she realized I had free rein to "

bully

" her on practice and on stage.