"But you're going about it the wrong way," Jon said while he patted her arm reassuringly.
The worry flooded back through Sharon. "What can I do?" she pleaded in a whisper.
Jon smiled and told her, "You are trying to appear grown up and mature by acting that way. No one can take you seriously like that because it's too straightforward. The best solution is to use reverse psychology."
Sharon nodded, not understanding. "How can reverse psychology make people take me seriously?" She didn't doubt his claim, she just wasn't sure how to follow it.
"Think about it, if you say 'I'm mature so you should take me seriously,' then no one is going to believe you. But if you were subtle about it and tell them something they don't expect to hear then you catch them off guard."
Sharon thought she was starting to understand. She used the tactic on the debate team to confuse her opponent and bring her point out clearer in the end. "Okay, how can I do that though?"
Jon told her to take her hair down. She reached up and unpinned her shoulder length red hair. Jon handed her a couple of rubber bands and told her to put her hair back up in pigtails. Sharon's face scrunched up in even more confusion, but took the bands and within a minute she sported red pigtails.
"That's a great start," Jon said with enthusiasm. "The more you look and act girlish and cute and immature, the more people will realize how serious you are! Get it?"
Sharon got it. She smiled broadly and hugged Jon. "Thank you so much! Wow, I need to change. And I should paint my nails pink...do you think constantly sucking on a lollipop is going too far?"
Jon grinned at her. "Sounds great, you can work sexy into it, and even be a bit slutty. Then everyone will know how serious you are."
Sharon reached across the desk and gave Jon a quick, hot kiss. He did so much to help her, and was really handsome.
Jon walked back to his own desk and focused his concentration on the orange ring. He wasn't sure of all its limitations, but he really wanted some of the work he just did to stay when he took the ring off. After a few seconds there was a faint orange glow from the ring. Jon felt a bit drained from concentrating that hard and slipped the ring off his finger. He glanced over at Sharon and her hair was still up in pigtails. She made no move to to take them out, and when she noticed him looking she twirled one pigtail and smiled at him. Jon smiled, it was a success. He absently wondered if the rings were getting stronger as the bell rang and ended the class.
