photography

A take on Cinderella that’s inspired by talent and tenacity not beauty and a prince. 

Once upon a time in the small town of Riverview, there lived a high school junior named Ella. She attended Overland High School, where her life was a balancing act between school, work, and a difficult home situation. Since her father passed away, Ella lived with her stepmother, Mrs. Grimsley, and her two spoiled stepsisters, Ashley and Brianna. They never missed an opportunity to remind her that she didn’t belong, insisting she needed to earn her keep.

Despite her hardships, Ella was smart and kind-hearted. She excelled in her classes and always dreamed of getting into a good college to start her own life by her own rules. But that wasn’t easy when her stepmother made her life so difficult. 

In addition to the mountain of chores Mrs. Grimsley gave her, Ella worked part-time helping clean the school after hours to make ends meet. The extra money helped her family, even if Mrs. Grimsley barely acknowledged it. 

Every night after finishing her schoolwork and her shift cleaning classrooms, Ella would sneak into the smaller gym to shoot hoops with an old scuffed basketball she found under the bleachers, practicing alone in her worn-out tennis shoe with frayed laces. 

Ella loved basketball. She dreamed of playing point guard, being crowned a champion, and earning a college scholarship, and being crowned a champion! But despite a talent and passion for the game, she wasn’t on Overland’s basketball team – not because she lacked skill but because her stepmother wouldn’t even allow her to try out. 

What hurt Ella most was that Ashley and Brianna were both starting players on Overland girls’ basketball team. “Basketball is only for athletes with potential” Mrs. Grimsley would say, “not someone like you.”

The only person who ever saw her play was Mr. Jenkins, the kind-hearted school janitor who was often finishing up his rounds at the same time. Mr. Jenkins, a kind, older man who had worked at the school for years, was a long-forgotten high school basketball star himself and saw Ella’s potential. 

“You’ve got something special, kid,” Mr. Jenkins would say, leaning on his mop as he watched her sink another shot from the three-point line. “You should be on that team,” he told her one night as she practiced alone. 

Ella sighed, wiping sweat from her brow, and carefully tucked the tattered basketball back into its hiding place. “My stepmother would never allow it. She only cares about Ashley and Brianna. They’re the stars. I’m just the girl who cleans up after them. Besides, we can’t afford new shoes. I need this job to help out at home.”

Mr. Jenkins shook his head. “Talent like yours doesn’t stay hidden forever.”