A Modern Red Ridinghood

A Story by UlliLlama

after my recent trip to NYC and my love of the movie Red Ridinghood, i decided to put my own twist on the story. It's a first draft so don't be too harsh.

Modern-Day Red Riding Hood

Sandara Shaun was never the type of girl to take risks, but when she graduated high school, she didn't want to go the same route as all her friends. She didn't want to be a teacher or stay-at-home mom or anything as ordinary. She wanted to go stay in New York, New York, and try to get a job on Broadway. Her parents agreed, but only for the summer and only because her grandmother lived there. So, they found her a small, one-bedroom apartment near her.

Everyday for the first week she would go to Broadway and ask if they needed any extras. For six days they said no. But, on the seventh day, she got the opportunity to audition to fill the roll of a back-up dancer who had sprained her ankle the night before. She was so happy should couldn't contain herself. She ran all the way home, and called her grandmother as soon as she walked in the door.

"Grandmother! You'll never guess what happened!"

"What is it Dara? What's wrong?" her grandmother asked through the phone.

"Nothings wrong. Everything's great, better than great! Things are looking up!" Sandara cried, twirling around in the phone cord.

"Tell me what's happened then? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I finally got an audition! They need to replace a dancer who hurt her ankle!"

"Congratulations, dear! We'll celebrate. I'll take you out to eat tonight."

"Thanks, Grandmother, but I need to practice. Auditions are in the morning!" and she went into her bedroom and returned with her iPod and speakers. She was going to the park.

People usually paid no attention to her as she practiced, copying the Broadway dances she had committed to memory, but occasionally some would drop a tip into the coffee can she kept by her speakers. It wasn't until the sun was barely visible through the tall buildings that she called a cab and went home.

The next morning she woke up late. Tugging on dance sweats and pulling her hair back as she jogged to the audition, she made it as the last person wrapped up their dance. She handed her audition paper to the judge closest to her.

"Name?"

"Sandara Shaun," she answered, breathless.

"Go give your music to Mike and go stand on the mark."

Once on the mark, the music started a beat later. She moved effortlessly, smiling and twirling. She was in the park, dancing for tips. As the music ended, she bowed, and then froze, waiting for a response.

"Alright," said one of the judges, finally, "We're going to review all the auditions and then we'll call you by lunch tomorrow to tell you whether or not you made it." She nodded, panting, and went to collect her ipod.

That night, she barely slept. When she did, she had nightmares of falling through the stage, tripping in the middle of her routine, falling on her face as she left an audition.

When she woke up, she was exhausted. She couldn't eat, she thought she might puke. She got her purse and went to the nearest coffee shop, and waited. She was on her fourth cup of coffee when she got the call.

"Sandara Shaun?"

"That's me," she replied uncertainly.

"After reviewing the auditions a second time, we would like you to be our replacement background dancer."

At first she couldn't speak. She played the words in her head again before she formed an answer.

"Of course, yes. Thank you. What do I need to do?" she stammered.

"Be here everyday at 9:00am. You can wear your own dance clothes. You start at $8 an hour the first week and if you do well you get raised to $10 and hour. You start tomorrow."

She arrived everyday on time, perfected every routine, and loved what she was doing. She loved learning new routines and practicing them in her tiny living room.

After three weeks of rehearsing she had been a back-up dancer in several major musicals, but she finally got a big opportunity. They were going to do "Red Riding Hood: the Musical". The director wanted new actors. People who had never had a lead in any of there musicals. This was her big chance. When she got home that night. She called her grandmother, told her the news, and invited her over for dinner to celebrate.

When her grandmother came over that night she was carrying a basket.

"What's that, Grandmother?"

"Your celebration gift," she replied, smiling. "I made it for your audition."

Sandara opened the basket and pulled out a long, red hood.

"Grandmother, you shouldn't have!" she cried, throwing her arms around her neck and hugging her. She draped the hood around her shoulders and tied it around her neck. it hung all the way to the floor. "It's perfect!" she cried, hugging her again.

The next day she wore a floor length beige dress with a dark brown apron she had borrowed from the costumes used at the theater. She carried the hood in the basket while she walked to her audition.

She auditioned in front of a crowd of other Red Riding Hoods. She had the music memorized. Dancing and rushing around the stage. Dashing to Grandmothers house, being chased by the wolf. She was Red Riding Hood. When she finished, the room applauded. She had done perfect. She was the last to audition, so she got the results right away.

"We have decided, to cast for the role of Red Riding Hood...Sandara Shaun."

She almost screamed. She wanted to run up and hug the judge. But she just bowed and said 'Thank you'.

It was dinner time when she left, still in costume. She stopped at a grocery store and got sparkling grape juice and at her favorite vegan bakery and got a cake. She and her grandmother were going to celebrate.She had written down directions to her grandmothers house on a scrap of paper and was reading them when she bumped into something. Actually, someone.

"You look like you jumped out of a fairytale," slurred the man. He reeked of bad beer. "You know it ain't Halloween right?"

She tried to walk past him, but he put his arm up against the wall and tried to touch her hair. She tried the other side and he grabbed her wrist. He wasn't letting go. Without thinking, she kicked him in the crotch and ran as he fell to his knees. In the fuss she she had dropped her directions, but she wasn't going back for them. She stopped a couple blocks down and called her grandmother for directions.

As the man got up from the ground, stumbling, he noticed a piece of paper on the ground in front of him.

"Looks like Little Red Riding Hood is going to her grandmother's house," he said, out loud, to himself, chuckling. "So's the Big Bad Wolf."

He flagged down a cab and gave him the address. When he got there, Sandara was no where in sight. He checked the paper again, then started up the stairs for room 8D. When he arrived he knocked on the door and said, "Ma'am, this is the police, it's about your granddaughter."

More concerned for her granddaughter than anything, she rushed to answer the door. The man pushed past her and into the apartment. her grabbed her by the arm and pushed her into a closet, saying that if she made a sound he would kill her granddaughter. Then he shut the door and propped a chair under the knob. He then found her bedroom. He pulled on a housecoat and got into the bed, covering his face.

A few minutes later, Sandara arrived. She found her grandmothers door open, which she thought was strange. She reached into her basket and grasped the can of pepper spray she bought after encountering the man that night.

"Grandmother?" she called. She stepped into the apartment and heard a cough from the bed room. "Grandmother is that you?"

"Yes," called a scratchy voice, "I think I've caught something, dear. I don't feel well. I'm lying down."

She crept through the living room and set her basket on the table. She peeked into the bedroom.

"Grandmother, what a big shoes you have," she called into the room, stepping forward. The mans feet stuck out from under the blanket.

"The better to walk with, my dear," the scratchy voice called back.

"Grandmother what big hands you have." She took another step closer. She saw the man's hand holding the blanket over his head.

"The better to cook with, my dear."

"Grandmother what big muscles you have." She saw the mans arm tucked under his head.

"The better to grab you with, my dear," and he jumped up out of the bed, but got tangled in the blankets. She ran into the next room and opened the window to the fire escape, then hid behind the door.

The man rushed in and saw the open window and began to climb out. She ran up to him and pushed him. When he turned to look at her, she sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. He fell backwards, clawing at his eyes and fell through the ancient rusty railing, screaming. She watched him fall to the ground. He stopped screaming.

She ran back to the living room and called, "Grandmother? Where are you? The man's gone."

"In the closet, dear," she called, and Sandara moved the chair out from under the doorknob and her grandmother rushed out of the closet and hugged her.

"I was so worried, I thought he had you."

"I'm fine, Grandmother. I saw that guy earlier on the street. He must have found the directions I dropped," she explained, "We should probably call the police." She headed towards the phone and her grandmother headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll cut us some cake. We still need to celebrate," she said, smiling.