The person who opened the door was Athena's mother Gillian. And she was dressed in the outfit she intended on wearing to work that morning - a sensible blouse and a pair of capris.
"Gillian, why the fuck did it take you so long to open the door?" Linda asked.
Athena's mother stood there for a moment, not recognizing who this gothic woman was, but then she realized that it was Linda Gibson, the mother of her daughter's friend Zoe. But why was she dressed like ...
"Hey, snap out of it," Linda said, slapping Gillian's arm. The moment she did, Gillian's entire body was engulfed in a silvery glow of light. And when it was gone, Gillian was dressed just like her daughter Athena. The same black gothic dress, dark blue corset, fishnet gloves, and black lace-up boots with 3-inch heels ... except that it was all re-sized to fit her adult body.
Gillian blinked. "What are we just standing around for?" she asked Linda, her friend. "Come on, let's get the fuck out of here."
Linda smiled, then both of them walked down the street and towards another house nearby. This one belonged to ...
