Karyn Black felt good. She wasn't sure why, but she'd woken up feeling somehow more confident than usual. Maybe she'd try something different this morning.
At her closet, instead of pulling out a sweater and a pair of jeans, for some reason a skirt caught her eye. Yeah, she wanted to wear a skirt. And a blouse, too. Something nice.
Karyn removed the clothes from the closet and set them by her bed as she went on to her normal morning routine.
####
Jon Gibson picked up his magic stone. "I wish that time outside this room would pause for an hour of time inside this room"
The stone glowed, and Jon put the DVD he'd found into his computer drive.
It was black. Jon fast-forwarded. There! He could see a classroom. Karyn was inside. He pressed play and heard "Young man, I think you're in the wrong room," then the screen went black again. What had happened?
Jon fast-forwarded again until he saw the screen display his bedroom. Sort of. It looked more feminine. Karyn and some other girl were trying on prom dresses. Karyn seemed a little nervous, but other than that, it seemed like a perfectly normal dream, and Jon didn't seem to do anything. The other girl, probably a projected version of a friend of Karyn's that Jon didn't know, seemed to be controlling things. It was kind of nice to see Karyn voluntarily dreaming about feminine things. Jon had been starting to worry about that recently.
But then that dream finished and the rest of the video was black. Jon supposed that Karyn hadn't dreamed very much, but was still confused as to what he'd done. He felt like he dreamt more than that, but he couldn't remember on his own.
####
Sarah McMillan decided to forgo her normal preening that morning. Something was bugging her. She went downstairs to her father's computer and opened up iTunes and typed "Bob Dylan" into the search bar. A few songs turned up. "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blowing in the Wind," "Tambourine Man."
Still in her night gown, Sarah clicked on one of the songs and hit play. It was like the song spoke directly to her soul.
Sarah listened to all of the songs. Then she listened to them again. Then her mom came into the room furious with her, yelling that she would be late for cheerleading. Sarah acquiesced and quickly threw some clothes together and ate breakfast in time to catch the bus.
####
Karyn Black finished adjusting her feet in the 2-inch heels she decided went well with the outfit she'd picked out, then stood up in front of the full length mirror.
Something occurred to her, and she twisted her knee just so, then turned her face towards the mirror and flashed a smile.
The image of Sarah McMillan's face flashed in Karyn's mind, but for some reason it didn't bother her. It was almost a comfort. It felt like Sarah would want to help Karyn. Where had that thought come from?
Karyn put the idea out of her head and did a few more poses in the mirror before making her way down the stairs, grabbing a quick breakfast, and leaving for school. She considered waiting for Jon, but she still felt mad at him.
