I couldn’t tell Sophia that I’d lost my phone. The first thing she’d ask was where I lost it. Then I’d have to tell her the truth, and I literally couldn’t afford to do that.

My life after high school depended on Sophia, as much as I hated to admit it. And I knew she’d keep her promise about not giving me money to go to college.

So, on Monday morning, when she came down for breakfast, I didn’t say a word about my phone. Maybe it was still where I’d left it, on the bench of the balcony of that venue downtown.

I made up my mind as I grabbed my backpack. I’d ask someone for a ride after school, maybe Lena. One of the girls would help me figure it out. I’d get there, and I’d look for my phone.

Maybe someone had turned it in, and they were waiting for the owner to come claim it.

Yeah.

I exhaled, feeling reassured as I walked into school that morning.

Sophia would never find out, and things could go back to normal.

I’d wondered all day yesterday if Baller929, or Jesse, had messaged me after I’d left. What he must have thought of me running off like that.

But it’s not like I could check my messages to see.

It was all on my phone.

At first, we’d messaged through the student forums, but then we’d started instant messaging through our phones. The only way I could possibly contact him was through email in computer class. Or at home from my laptop, and I wasn’t sure if he checked his email.

At breakfast, I filled in my friends about my cell phone ordeal. Lena said her cousin could give us a ride after school. That he could pick us up after he got off work. Harper felt bad that I hadn’t been able to tell them about my phone right away.

The first bell rang, and we scurried to first period. The hours seemed to drag on at school. I counted down the minutes until the end of each class, but the clock hands moved slower than ever.

At lunch, Rey and Harper came right up to me.

“You have to see this,” Harper said as she set her tray down. She seemed pretty excited about something.

“What is it?” I asked, not really paying attention.

“It’s all over Twitter,” Rey said next to me.

Something about her tone made me look up.

Rey tapped at her phone and handed it to me. “I don’t think your phone is where you think it is.”

It was a tweet. A very popular tweet from the looks of it. It had been retweeted over a hundred times, and it had been sent out by Jesse Contreras. His handle was his name plus his jersey number, but he had changed his displayed name to Jesse aka Baller929.

I blinked several times, reading over his tweet.

Hey #TheRealCinderella, about HC last night: I had a great time. So happy I finally got to meet you in person.

P.S. You left your phone behind. Email me? Can’t wait to see you again. Maybe without the mask this time? :) #YourPrinceCharming

Lena sat down next to me with a look of approval. “So, Jesse Contreras, huh?”

Rey said she thought it was just like a fairy tale, except that instead of leaving behind a glass slipper, I’d left behind my phone.

I didn’t quite see the romance in that.

Harper lay a hand on her chest. “Are you kidding? It’s incredibly romantic.”

Rey chimed in. “The definition of romantic.”

“You should totally reply to his tweet,” Lena said.

She saw the look on my face.

“At least direct message him?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my hands covering my face. “I can’t even believe he has my phone.”

I thought back to last night, playing the events in my mind again. I’d shown him the pictures. Then I’d put my phone on the bench. I ran away without remembering to grab it. What an idiot.

“I still can’t believe Baller929 is Jesse Contreras,” Lena said. “He’s in my math class, and I do have to say, he’s like the one jock in there who doesn’t act like the rest of the class is there to worship him.”

She was right from what I’d seen of him.

“And he is pretty cute,” she said, nudging me playfully.

Yeah, he was. But I didn’t say that out loud. Just thinking about him was making me blush.

Rey’s face lit up. “He’s in our chem class!”

“You have to talk to him,” Lena demanded.

I shook my head. “Are you crazy? No way.”

Lena looked like she was ready to argue, but Harper piped up with a question.

“So, did he…kiss you?” Harper asked. “On Saturday night?”

Everyone leaned in to hear my answer.

I sighed. “No,” I said. “But we slow-danced. He said this project that I’m working on was really cool. He told me his name, but of course, I knew by then. It’s not like he was wearing a mask, too, so I recognized him.”

“He was the cutest Prince Charming,” Rey said, sighing herself. “I can’t believe he chose that costume. Talk about perfect. Cinderella and Prince Charming. Hashtag happily ever after.”

“You two are perfect together,” Harper said, finally taking a bite of her salad.

“I don’t know about perfect,” I said. “I mean, look at us.” I glanced at him then. He was seated at the opposite side of the cafeteria with Tori, Courtney, and Lindsay’s usual crowd. “He’s the most popular guy in school, and I’m…”

I didn’t know how to finish that without sounding like a complete doofus.

Lena rolled her eyes. “Ella, stop saying that. You’re such an amazing person. Kind and pretty and smart.”

Her words reminded me of my dad.

“Thanks,” I said, blinking back tears. I took off my glasses and pretended to clean them off.

She smiled but didn’t say anything else.

A minute later, Lena popped some grapes in her mouth. “So, what’s this project you were telling him about that you didn’t tell us about?”

I shook my head but laughed out loud at the sight of Lena’s bulging cheeks, glad for the change of topic.

“It’s a project I’ve been working on since summer,” I said and told them all about it. “It’s due on Friday. I’m just about done, and like I said, it’s for a scholarship.”

It was the one way I could start my life at a great school without having to beg Sophia for help the next four years.

“You came up with that?” Harper asked, looking impressed.

I shrugged. “It was just an idea I had. I thought it would be cool.”

“Ella, that’s not cool,” Lena said. “That’s like…beyond cool. You’re like the future Zuckerberg or whatever his name is. The Facebook guy.”

Rey nodded. “Sign me up whenever you build it.”

Harper and Selena nodded.

“Maybe there is something you can help me with,” I said to Rey. “I’ll message you tonight. Anyway, I’d love to start coding it, but I’m still learning how to do that. For now, I’m going to present the idea at the competition in a couple weeks. If a school likes it, they’ll invite me to their computer engineering program. It’s basically an application to get in plus a full ride.”

“Wow,” Lena said. “I wish I was as smart as you. I’ll be happy if I can get into a decent college with a soccer scholarship.”

“From what I hear about your soccer skills, that sounds like a sure thing,” I said.

She bumped into me with a grin, but my mind went back to Jesse’s tweet.

By the time lunch was over, I was feeling anxious about the whole situation.

It was weird to not have my phone. It was even weirder to know that Jesse had it. And I’d have to come face to face with him again to get it back. Seeing him again wouldn’t be nearly as easy as hiding behind a mask and jaw-dropping dress.

On my way to chemistry, Rey walking beside me, it hit me. Something I hadn’t realized until now. Jesse was in my class. He sat just one row over.

Suddenly, I felt like throwing up my lunch.

Thankfully, he wasn’t there when we got to chem, but he walked in just as the bell rang.

The teacher closed the door.

Will nodded at Jesse’s books and binder. “Still carrying that thing around… She didn’t reply?”

Jesse shook his head but didn’t say anything. He found his assigned seat. I vaguely noticed the fact that the teacher started writing notes on the board.

He put his books away but clutched something in his hand. I silently gasped as I saw what it was.

He stuck it in his jacket pocket, but I’d recognize it anywhere. Rey’s wide hazel eyes met my own.

The case was purple and gold. I’d bought it online.

My phone.

Jesse Contreras really did have my phone.

The chemistry teacher handed out a worksheet packet for the chapter on physical versus chemical changes, and half the class groaned.

But all I could think about was the fact that my phone was just a few feet over in Jesse’s pocket.

I had to get it back.

But how?

Not without telling him who I was, and I couldn’t tell him the truth. Not today.

I looked hideous. My hair was up in a messy bun. I wore my big, old-fashioned glasses. No makeup. I mean, I was in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt for goodness’ sake.

No way he’d recognize me, much less believe me, when I told him it was me that night. That I was TheRealCinderella.

He’d laugh in my face. Or walk away, thinking I was some crazy girl. Or worse, a liar. A nobody who wanted to be a somebody.

I tried to focus on the chemistry problems in front of me, but it was useless. I kept looking over at Jesse. His hand kept going to his pocket, like he was making sure my phone was still there. No way he’d just leave it sitting on his desk or in his backpack where I could grab it.

I glanced at Rey again, but she shrugged.

I put my head down on my desk as all these thoughts ran through my mind. It was hopeless. And one thing was for sure. I’d have a lot of homework tonight.

The girl next to Jesse and his friend played with her pencil as she spoke. “I still think it was one of the cheerleaders. She was dressed like the rest of us.”

Jesse shook his head, not looking up from the chemistry packet in front of him. “She wasn’t a cheerleader. I know that much.”

I smiled at that, my face glowing despite the feeling of lava in my stomach.

“Dude,” his friend Will said, “why would you want to go out with anyone else?”

My heart deflated at Will’s comment, but I studied the look on Jesse’s face.

“You wouldn’t understand. All I know is I have to find her. I have her phone, so she has to be looking for it, right?” He took my phone out of his pocket, and I saw the all too familiar screensaver flash in my direction. A small smile reached the corner of his mouth. “Well, like I keep saying, you guys find out someone is missing their phone, you let them know where they can find it.”

And with that, he picked up his pencil and got to work.