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more original? And what could be more original than a fairy tale on horseback? For that matter, what could be bigger or better?
    Since her treatment would be so original, Stevie decided she might as well choose the most familiar fairy tale of all,
Cinderella
. She would simply do it as it had never been done before. Stevie herself would play Cinderella, of course. Carole and Lisa could be the nasty stepsisters. And who better to act as Prince Charming than her very own Prince Charming, Phil Marsten?
    “It’s brilliant,” Stevie whispered to herself. She scrabbled around on her desk for a pencil and a blank piece of paper and began making notes. Instead of a fairy godmother, her version would have a talking lucky horseshoe. Instead of a royal ball, the couple would fall in love at a dressage exhibition. Instead of cooking and scrubbing, poor Cinderella would have to spend her days mucking out stalls and cleaning tack.
    Soon she had most of it figured out. The only thing that wasn’t absolutely perfect was that she couldn’tthink of anyone to cast as the evil stepmother. She thought about asking Mrs. Reg to play the part, then decided the kindly woman wouldn’t make a convincing villain. And she was pretty sure none of her brothers would agree to dress up as a woman, even for a starring role in her film. Finally, she decided she’d just have to do without. The pair of wicked stepsisters would be enough, and Stevie was sure Carole and Lisa would be up to the parts. After all, Lisa had acted in local plays before, and Carole had perfected an evil cackle when she had dressed up as a witch a few Halloweens ago.
    Stevie grabbed another piece of paper and continued to write. There was so much to think about. She would have to type up a script for her actors and come up with the appropriate props and costumes. She would also have to figure out how to arrange the filming so that she could direct and act in the film at the same time. But she knew she could do it; after all, famous actors in Hollywood did that sort of thing all the time.
    Her mind almost bubbling over with ideas, she dropped her pencil and hurried over to the phone on her bedside table. She just had to tell someone about her brainstorm. She tried Carole’s line, then Lisa’s. Both were busy, and Stevie guessed that they weretalking to each other. She tried Phil’s number. Phil himself answered after three rings.
    “Hi, Stevie,” he said, sounding pleased to hear from her. “How are you? Did Veronica try to get back at you today for that joke you played on her over the weekend?” The couple had talked on the phone Saturday night, and Stevie had told Phil all about her practical joke.
    “Sort of,” Stevie said, twirling the phone cord around one finger. “But I’ll tell you about that in a minute. First, I have an important question to ask you.”
    “Shoot,” Phil said.
    “How would you like to be a movie star?” Stevie asked.
    “Huh?” Phil sounded confused. “You mean when I grow up? I hadn’t really—”
    Stevie interrupted him impatiently. “No, not when you grow up. I mean right now. I have to make another film for my class, and I want you to be one of my stars. This time I’m going to do a horseback version of
Cinderella
.”
    “Another film?” Phil said. “I thought you just handed one in.”
    “I did,” Stevie admitted. “But my teacher handed it right back to me. I have to redo it.” She filled him inon her conversation with Ms. Vogel. “But it was all for the best,” Stevie finished. “She made me realize I was spending too much time on stupid practical jokes. So I decided that’s it. No more pranks for me.”
    Phil laughed. “Yeah, right.”
    “No, I mean it,” Stevie protested. First Carole and Lisa, now Phil. Why didn’t any of her friends believe her?
    “Okay, whatever,” Phil said, still chuckling. “And now you want me to star in some wacky version of
Cinderella
? Let me guess—you want me to play the mean