We've all heard the classic fairy tales. Cinderella's evil stepsisters, Red Riding Hood's unfortunate experience with a wolf and Snow White's deadly bite of an apple are all too familiar to us. But what would a fairy tale sound like if it took place in the 21st century?
ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a girl named Isabella. Isabella was a fun, spunky girl who enjoyed Starbucks, traveling, going out with friends and playing Pokemon Go. She'd had one serious boyfriend, but he'd broken her heart, and she quite frankly was sick of trying to find a potential suitor. She wanted a boyfriend so badly, but she never met anyone in her everyday life that was worth her time. She was wondering where her Prince Charming was, and if he was even coming. Finally, Isabella downloaded Tinder and set up an account. She chose the most flattering picture of herself and thought of a bio that was witty and just slightly flirtatious. And then she got to swiping away...she swiped right for guys who were attractive and looked normal, and swiped left for guys who had creepy bios or were completely unattractive to her.
A couple days later, she gleefully checked her app to see that she had a match. Jeremy looked clean-cut and nice from the pictures, and his bio mentioned that he liked cats. She couldn't believe it. This could be her chance to find her knight in shining armor, and he only lived ten miles away. Isabella messaged him right away, saying "Hey :)." She wanted to keep it casual but friendly. She sat by the phone for an hour, eagerly awaiting his response.
He messaged back, "Hey! How are you?"
From there, the conversation blossomed. She got his number and they texted all night. They found out they had a lot in common. They even had the same Starbucks order and were both Hufflepuffs. Isabella couldn't help but think that it was fate. The way their texting conversation flowed so naturally...he seemed like a true gentleman.
After they talked all night, Isabella and Jeremy decided to go on a date. They planned to meet and have dinner at an Olive Garden in between their houses the next night.
Isabella could hardly wait. The next evening, she started getting ready an hour early. She curled her hair, put on makeup and dressed in a way that said, "I'm trying to look nice, but not trying too hard."
She showed up at Olive Garden a few minutes early. She kept an eye out for Jeremy, but the guy coming toward her looked only slightly similar to the picture she'd seen on Tinder. The pictures must not have been recent, Isabella thought to herself with slight uneasiness. Jeremy had some facial hair and looked older than in the pictures. He was dressed in worn jeans and a t-shirt - nothing like his khakis-and-polo look from the photo.
Isabella was disappointed, but she did her best to hide it and give him a chance. She greeted him in a friendly manner and they went and sat at a table.
After they ordered food, Isabella asked Jeremy how his week had gone. But he interrupted her with a question of his own.
"Hey, so when are we going to...you know?" he asked.
Isabella was confused. "Going to what?"
He looked at her as if it should be obvious. "You're looking for a hookup, right?"
She stared at him, speechless. She couldn't believe her ears. Jeremy didn't like her because of what was inside; he just wanted to use her. He probably just saw the date as a courtesy, or something to do in order to get what he wanted. This wasn't Isabella's Prince Charming; this was a f***boy!
Isabella politely told Jeremy that no, she did not just want a hookup, and left the restaurant. She deleted her Tinder profile, got rid of the app and sat to sulk in her loneliness and misery. How could she have been so stupid?
Her phone rang a few minutes later, and she managed a miserable "Hello?" through a mouthful of cookie dough ice cream.
"Hey, it's Daniel."
"Oh, hey Daniel," she answered casually. Dan was her friend from her school that she'd hung out with a few times. "Whats up?"
"Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me."
The container of ice cream dropped out of her hands. Her brain momentarily stopped working, and it wasn't because of a brain freeze. "Dan! Yes, yes I will go on a date with you!"
How could Isabella be so blind? That date led to many more, which eventually led to the high school sweethearts marrying in a beautiful ceremony. The two lived happily ever after, and Isabella never had to deal with another f***boy again.
