Jon strode through the halls, nearly as tall as he used to be. He knew people stared, and regardless of whether that attention was mockery or admiration, it caused her to stand all the higher... Despite the nagging self conscious anxiety in the back of his mind. He felt that this revelation was another one of those things "goth Zoe" wouldn't have acknowledged on her own. She'd simply flaunt and preen with indignance, and serve out verbal takedowns to anyone foolish enough to give her grief. Of course, he could see things more plainly as an outsider... An "Inside Outsider", he mused.
The tall rounded heels felt like he was rowing his way through the halls, long smooth strides like the pull of an oar, and with just as much drift.
"Nice Boots Zoe." a voice cried out through the air. His heart leapt, first in hope, then sharp skepticism. He loaded his mind with comebacks as he turned to face the caller.
"Oh.... Karyn." He realized, but his fury was only slightly abated. "I don't want to hear it, not after what you pulled."
"Don't be like that. You know it's all temporary anyway? have fun with it."
"Maybe you should have to deal with it for a change. See how it feels, and then you could stop living vicariously by complicating my life."
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah! that could be a lot of fun. Do you think your sibling bets could affect me too?" Jon's brow furrowed, but Karyn didn't slow down. "Don't get me wrong, we've got the rock too, I'm just a bit..." She looks down at the new curves filling out her once cozy sweater. "Eh, well permanent wishes could lead to more trouble than its worth."
"They didn't seem to bother you in PE."
"Or, maybe you're just a whiner compared to me." Karyn teased.
"Whiner?! Maybe you'd like an extra 70 lbs to go with those?" He nodded to Karyn's bust and crossed his arms. "Because that can be arranged."
Karyn's eyes narrowed, but a second later she settled into a mischievous smirk. She tosses her hair, and remarks in an haughty tone "Sure. I wouldn't mind being soft and comfy for a few days. Unlike some people here, I don't care about external appearances, maybe this is karma teaching you a lesson." She poked Jon in the arm to punctuate her statement.
Jon scowled. As if Karyn was going to tell him! He rocked back on his heels and wagged his head as he snarked "Uh huh, You don't care about external appearances, which is why you wished to look like Sarah."
"Because you've never wished to change. Certainly not since you lost your bet this afternoon." She titters, and takes on an especially girly tone, "Ohh, My life is over I was turned into a giiirrrl how terrible. And now I'm a big girl, nothing could ever be worse!"
Jon flushed red as the paradox of thought collided once again. He did hate being turning into a big girl, even though she liked who she was and wasn't about to be judged for it. She was just angry at being fooled, and she was furious Karyn would even imply it was for anything else. She liked her life and wasn't about to bend over for anyone else's expectations, even his own fragile ego from that morning. He felt utterly self conscious, in a corset and heels, and he knew those thought's weren't just coming from who he used to be. But she also hated herself for suddenly being a coward in the face of peer pressure. It was Karyn's fault he was in this predicament to begin with, and Karyn had the gall to act like there was something wrong with who she had become. Maybe Karyn was afraid of a bit of cushion but she WASN'T.
Jon fired the verbal rounds he'd chambered a minute earlier, "Well maybe if I didn't have some Barbie bitch wanna-be lay into me all day I could have a bit more fun." He scowled, turned away, and started walking to his next class.
Karyn startled at the sudden shift in tone, and scowled but scurried after him. "H-hey. Hold on. I'm just messing around, You know that. Just like always."
"Well maybe that's 'always' been a problem." Jon fumed. She was just sick of all the fake sluts who teased her over nothing, and if Karyn wanted to join those bitches so badly, she would get treated like one of them.
Karyn scowled. "Get over yourself 'Zoe'. This isn't you." Karyn snarled, emphasizing the name. "Look, I'm sorry. Maybe I took it too far, but you were getting testy too." Karyn chided. Jon remained silent and kept walking. Karyn sighed and called out, "We're still hanging out after school, right?"
Jon flicked Karyn off, and stomped away. Dejavu struck him as he remembered flicking off her brother that morning after losing the coin toss.
Remembering a bet from both perspectives was a bit disconcerting, and just as concerning, but the thought was lost as his rage started reminding him of each and every one of Karyn's transgressions. He knew they were friends, but she hardly even knew Karyn, and that bitch went after her like that. He grit his teeth and huffed. As he slumped into the desk of his next class, some quiet voice in the back of his mind warned him that these internal contradictions were getting out of hand.
