Jon looked himself over in the bathroom mirror after his shower. He definitely needed some color, his tan was fading a bit. Hopefully he could get into the salon after school today. Or maybe it would finally be warm enough to just lay out-
KNOCKNOCKNOCK
"Hurry up Jon!" Zoe yelled. "You're not the only person who has to get ready for school!"
Jon hastily slipped on his bathrobe and scowled at his sister on his way back to his room. He hated being rushed, especially in the morning. He hastily pulled on his usual baggy jeans and a t-shirt, but took a bit of time picking out his accessories. He just had too many rings and bracelets to choose from. He finally settled on one ring with a big pink flower for his left middle finger, which matched the pink on his nails pretty well, and a wide silver band on his right pinky. Then he slipped some silver bangles over his right hand which jingled loosely on his slender wrists.
He glanced at the clock and realized he was running late. He rushed down the stairs and slipped on his ratty tennis shoes, and was out the door in a flash. From the sidewalk he could see Karyn rounding the corner on her way to school. He ran to catch up with her.
"Karyn, wait up!" Jon called out. Her friend's voice and a metallic jangling sound caused Karyn to turn, and her face grew a look of fear and confusion.
"Listen, Karyn," Jon said as he tried to catch his breath. "I want to apologize for blowing up at you last night. I really want you to help me get the stone back from Sarah."
Karyn looked straight into Jon's eyes. Yesterday he'd been at least a head taller, but now they were practically the same height.
"You really don't see it?" She asked.
"See what?"
"You're so... tan."
"You really think so? Thanks. I was thinking I could go a couple shades darker, though, y'know?"
"And you're shorter..."
"You want to make fun of my height now? I swear Karyn, I come to you for help and you just can't keep yourself from criticizing-"
"I'm sorry," Karyn said. "Forget about it." Jon rolled his eyes, but seemed to dismiss the minor spat. She looked him over. The tan, a new nail color, jewelry... even his hands and arms seemed smaller. Whatever was happening, Jon was clearly oblivious. There was no point in mentioning the changes if it made Jon pissy. If she wanted to get him back to normal, she'd have to keep him on her side... and that meant playing along. The two turned and headed for school.
"So, I guess you missed Caprica last night, too?" Jon said after a moment to break the silence.
"Yeah. But I DVR'd it anyway. Maybe you can come over later to watch it?"
Jon shrugged then looked at his tan arms. "Maybe. I might... um, be busy. We'll see." He looked back up at Karyn, who was staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing," she lied, trying to ignore the fact that a pair of big, silver hoop earrings had just materialized on Jon's earlobes.
