She shouldn't have opened the box. The thought flashed through her mind, sitting there in Dr. Cox's office, the den of the beast.
Why did she think avoiding the Career Center would have avoided the magic that was slowly transforming the town? She just wanted to save her friend, and now here she was, acting in a way that was very unlike her. The dust continued to taunt her from the window frame. Maybe if she played along, just a little, she could fix things. But was that too dangerous? How would she know if she was too far gone? What choice did she have?
The top of the box now open, on the ground, Karyn's eyes took in the contents, and she was surprised at how visceral her reaction was. The black dress, folded neatly under a sheet of tissue paper. White apron, headband, layers of petticoat, black choker necklace, fishnet stockings, white knickers, black heels. She shouldn’t have opened that box because now she couldn’t look away. It looked so intriguing, so exotic, but she couldn't figure out why. Why would Dr. Cox give her a French Maid uniform?
The machine beeped a few more times, as Karyn began to put the pieces together. Her cleaning, the black outfits, lack of anger. The etiquette courses, attention to details, French class. Oh God, they were turning her into a French Maid! No, no, no. Her heart was beating through her chest. How had she not seen this coming? She demurred over her options, the ones that were left. To save Jon she'd have to get out of this office. But how? Really, her only option as it stood was to play along. But she'd have to protect herself from the magic, which she knew was already affecting her. She had to talk to Athena, get some kind of protection next.
“Do you want to change clothes Miss Black?”
She didn't. But as she sat there, something shifted a little in her brain. A tiny switch of suggestibility. She wanted to play along, but this was too much. She didn't want to change clothes...but what if she did? She briefly thought of Colleen Camp in Clue, Yvette. "Oui Mousseur, excusez moi." "But I am frightened of ze dark, will anyone go with me?" Yvette was demure, weak, naive, comic relief for the other characters without knowing it. They were all qualities Karyn didn't like, but something was different as she thought about them. They didn't seem so bad. It might be fun to say things like that. It might be fun to try the uniform on.
A high-pitched beep came from the machine, that made her wince.
She couldn’t explain it, but even as her rational mind cautioned against it, her heart was telling her that an outfit like this was what she should be wearing. Every day. Her career. This was some powerful magic. She had never felt so strongly about something in her life. Karyn did want to change. As fast as she could. Even if she knew she didn't. Her pants were nearly off before she was behind the privacy screen.
A few minutes later, Karyn stepped out of the side-room. But this wasn’t the same Karyn. Not visually, anyway. Her energy was different. The skirt swished around her legs with each gentle step, her hands folded at her chest as she made her way toward the door. She smiled at Dr. Cox with a brightness that even took the doctor by surprise. Over-correction indeed.
“Miss Black? I think you’re forgetting something.” Dr. Cox held up a feather duster, which Karyn immediately took to the windowsill, shimmying up to wipe.
Her heels clicked across the floor as she left the career center offices.
“Merci beaucoup, Doctor. See you soon.”
