Shrinking Cin: After Tales Series

By Erin Lee and EL George

Fairytales are a lie.

Cindy knew it the day her father married her stepmother, forced her to change schools, move across the country and to share classes with her evil stepsisters.

She still knows it.

No prince charming will ever come to rescue her. Now, with a secret, all she can count on is the social worker who steps into her messed up home. But Leena Johnson is no fairy godmother either.

What will it take for Cin to save herself?

Shrinking Cin is based on actual, real life events – where happy endings are never sealed with a prince's kiss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Nov 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201871130

Erin Lee

Erin Lee lives in Queensland, Australia and has been working with children for over 25 years. She has worked in both long day care and primary school settings and has a passion for inclusive education and helping all children find joy in learning. Erin has three children of her own and says they have helped contribute ideas and themes towards her quirky writing style. Her experience working in the classroom has motivated her to write books that bring joy to little readers, but also resource educators to help teach fundamental skills to children, such as being safe, respectful learners.

Book preview

A picture containing text, dress Description automatically generatedA picture containing cake, indoor, seat, decorated Description automatically generated

Fairytales are a lie.

Cindy knew it the day her father married her stepmother, forced her to change schools, move across the country and to share classes with her evil stepsisters.

She still knows it.

No prince charming will ever come to rescue her. Now, with a secret, all she can count on is the social worker who steps into her messed up home. But Leena Johnson is no fairy godmother either.

What will it take for Cin to save herself?

Shrinking Cin is based on actual, real life events – where happy endings are never sealed with a prince’s kiss.

A picture containing cake, indoor, seat, decorated Description automatically generated

Chapter One

Cin

Christmas day. How poetic. I wonder what my mother would think if she could see my three stepsisters surrounding the tree counting presents. My father, apparently oblivious, or a recent lobotomy recipient, is clearly unfazed. My mother would spit is what she would do. Hell, she’d pull the tree straight through the double French doors and light the whole thing up. The entire time, she’d complain about why it’s artificial. My mother hated anything fake. I do too.

The whole thing is a farce. How I’ll get through the next three weeks with my spoiled rotten stepsisters is a mystery to me. I watch them from my usual spot on the tired, most ‘well loved’ couch in the house. Laura spins around, shaking boxes. We were told to wait until our parents came down, but why would she listen? As her triplet, twin, I never know how to think of it, sisters cheer her on, she begins to count the presents.

I don’t need her to count. I am well aware that the triplets will get double what I ever would have gotten with Mom around. And even then, my pile will be twice as big as it was when she was alive. To Mom, Christmas was about giving, not getting. I wonder if Laura, Oliva or Rena have ever given instead of gotten.

Oh my God. This one’s heavy! Feel it! Laura exclaims, holding it out to Rena, the only non-identical of the triplets. Do you think it’s my dress?

Rena frowns. Shaking the box, she tells her sister it’s too heavy. Always the first to rain on any parade, Rena then smiles as Olivia tells Laura to keep looking. There’s a part of me that wants to remind them of their own mother’s rules. But I keep my mouth shut. It’s hard enough sharing a class with them at school.

It hasn’t been a full year and me trying to settle into this whole new routine? Well, the only way to describe it is sheer hell. My stepmother, Marie, who prefers I call her by her first name rather than anything that would somehow denote family, hates me. Yeah, it sounds trite or like I’m some brooding teen. But she really does. When you care for your dying mom long enough, it doesn’t take a ton of time to grow up. I’m there.

Mom always called me an old soul. Cynthia, she’d say, You need to slow down. Life is short.

Too short.

God, how I miss her. She’d hate the girls as much as me; probably more. She’d say Rena cared too much about her hair and that Olivia just had a sour-face pout that someone should scrub off. As for Laura? Heck, there’s no telling what my mother would say about the laziest of them all.

It takes about ten more packages before Laura’s finally sure. Should we take a peek? she asks.

We have to find mine and Olivia’s first, Rena says, pulling the box from her. Then, as long as stupid Cin doesn’t tell, yeah, I say we go for it. They did say they’d be up by six and it’s nearly eight.

We could wake them, Olivia says.

I want to laugh out loud. Instead, I roll my eyes and throw in my ear buds. I can at least catch a nap and listen to some good music while I wait for the parents to come down. There won’t be a dress for me anyway. Marie’s made it good and clear that the party’s only for ‘before’ family. Yet, somehow, my father doesn’t count.

I never asked about that. Before and after aren’t as cut and dry as they