The night had passed mercifully fast, and Zoe was now lounging on Zoe's, or rather her, bed. She'd been somewhat surprised to find that their mother had apparently taken on their new darker disposition, foregoing her usual neutral conservative business slacks and blazer for a more striking black blazer with a sultry embroidered burgundy blouse. Her heels had a subtle gothic flair with high ankles, dramatic curves, and pointed toes, where previously she'd worn conservative unremarkable heels. Aside from a slightly dramatic flair in her self expression, her personality seemed largely unchanged. She was grateful for dinner, asked them about their day, and settled in to watch TV and call her friends as she did nearly every night.
There were two things that stood out, however. Firstly she had informed the girls that she had been promoted at the bank. Their financial burdens would be much less, and she would only be working three days out of the week. Zoe was, of course, thrilled for her mother, but the timing of events made her curious. Was her goth mom better at her job? Or had some other Rube Goldberg series of events occurred to reward their family this good fortune? The other change was... Well. It was embarrassing to acknowledge. But her mom was hot. Not model hot, but Anjelica Huston as Morticia hot. Her body moved in a weightless slinking way. The shadows and light framed and accent her every move like she were performing in black and white film. And her body was slender dramatic like an evening shadow. It felt supernatural...
Zoe was browsing pinterest for makeup ideas, finding that she was somewhat jealous of Min's skill with the brush. Not that she WASN'T sexy, but her makeup always felt a bit more severe than her sisters... Zoe rolled her eyes. "Ah yes, Always." she mused. "Always, since this morning." Still, that self reflection didn't stop her from browsing and pinning videos and images. She originally wanted to hop on discord and see if any of her old gaming friends were online... But the idea couldn't hold her interest. She knew that if she just started, she'd be hooked, but she never started. "Oh~ that's super cute..." She mused as she clicked on one of her favorite plus sized models modeling jean shorts with the pockets sticking out the bottom. Her skin was always flawless in the photos. Zoe glanced down to her own legs, curvy and appealing, but crinkled with cellulite. That's why she always wore stockings...
She sighed and settled in to her pillows, setting the laptop on her bedside table. "Maybe if she got the stone she could wish..." Her mind recoiled as she suddenly realized where her thoughts were going. Wish what? To be more sexy? To have smooth skin like the model in the photos? No. She scowled. If she got the stone, she'd with to change back to herself. Back to Regular Zoe ... Her mind blanked again. No... Back to Jon. She huffed and pushed the thought from her mind. This was proving to be a tricky situation.
"Mornin'!" Karyn shouted a little too loud, clearly unable to contain her energy. She put her hands on her wide hips, and chortled, "I've got to be honest, I was almost certain you'd complain last night and end the bet before I even had fun."
"Complain about what?" Zoe quipped in a haughty tone. "I've got a great life. I'm not going to complain just because it's not what I'm used too."
Karyn grabbed Zoe's arm playfully. "Suuuuureee. Because that's what you were saying yesterday!" She snorts a short laugh again. Karyn was wearing light colored jeans, with a hightop canvas shoes. Her mustard yellow sweater and messy blue collared shirt beneath it kept her true to nerd-form though. Karyn looked down. "You're not wearing the super high heels!" She remarked.
"Nope!" Zoe smiled. "They were apparently not mandatory, just part of the bet for that one day."
Karyn walked next to Zoe in silence a few moments, then confessed. "You know they really were super sexy. I wasn't kidding when I said they looked good yesterday."
"Oh, they were totally ridiculous" Zoe's face contorted, pinching to this side, then the other. "but... thanks..." She finally added. "They were a total pain, but I actually kind of like them."
"I know what you mean!" Karyn said with a little too much volume and enthusiasm again. "I'm totally in love with my glasses now too, even though I don't think I would have liked them yesterday." She screws up her face. "It's kind of weird. I'm not really sure where I end and the bet begins."
Zoe shrugs that stiff corseted shrug. "They suit you."
Karyn raises one eyebrow and crosses her arms, still sharp enough to read the possible underhanded compliment. "Oh?"
Zoe looks away. "No I mean. I guess... They're pretty cute. Nerd you really has this whole 'adorkable' thing going on that works. "
Karyn holds her posture a few seconds, then perkily declares "Thanks! I think this will be fun."
Zoe smirks, "Good, because you're going to lose, and get stuck like that for a long time." She turns her nose up. "It's not all moonlight and kittens, and you'll slip up the first time things get tough."
"Whatever you say sweetie. I'm just looking forward to you learning to have fun and complain less."
As the pair continue to walk, Karyn starts fanning herself, and opening her sweater neck.
Zoe presses her. "Why don't you take that thing off while we walk. You look like you're wearing 4 layers."
"I uh..." She pinches her arms to her side, "Nah. I'm fine. We're almost there anyway."
"Ooook." Zoe concedes with flippancy.
"Why don' you take that corset off?"
Zoe shrugs. "Part of the bet."
Karyn continues. "Yeah, but Mina bet to make this the new normal... So... do you still have to wear it, or can you just 'choose' not to wear what you normally wear. "
Zoe responds with impatience. "I doubt it's like that." She leaves the second half unsaid. "-besides, I kind of like it-"
"Never know if you don't try." Karyn shrugs. "Well, we're here now, and you're just a junior," she titters. "So I'll see you after school, I'm going to catch Mina in homeroom."
Zoe says goodbye to her friend, and sighs, wondering what misadventures the day would hold, and wondering how long it might take to beat Karyn and return to normal... "JON normal." She clarified silently in her mind.
