After a long wait, it became clear Karyn wasn't coming. Maybe she'd gone straight home. That wasn't an encouraging sign. I left, deep in thought. Rounding the corner I bumped into something soft, fragrant, and indignant.
"Ugh! Watch where you're going, idiot!"
It was Karyn's voice, and it wasn't. The cadence was off, and the tone held a contempt that had never before been directed at me. But there were subtler changes as well, down to particulars of enunciation. It was as if Karyn was trying her hardest to do a Sarah impersonation. And looking at her, she was succeeding admirably. I was speechless. I'd seen her in girlier get ups recently, of course. The school's obsession with its templates had made it unavoidable. The old green jumper violated a Sarah's dress-code. But before, Karyn had never seemed to fit. She was always still just Karyn dressed in an incongruous girly-girl outfit, and visibly unhappy in it to boot. This Karyn...well, she looked whole. Straight, silky, well cared for blonde hair, kept out of her bright blue eyes with a cute pink headband. Her outfit was the school's cheerleader uniform, albeit modified to be more risqué than the one we'd had before the stone; and accessorized with a no-doubt designer purse that I was shocked she could afford. Long toned limbs held her in graceful, proud posture. Her arched back thrust out a bust revealed by a tantalizingly low neckline that was beginning to make my pants uncomfortable. Even her face had changed. Besides the heavy yet tasteful make up, she now sported a full, bronzed tan that made every smooth contour of her body seem ever so slightly off from the frumpy pale ginger I remembered. (It had to be spray on. The Karyn I knew only burned in the sun.) But above all, the snooty, up-held nose and lip curled in disgust was what made her seem like a different person.
"Karyn?" I choked out. Somehow, I hadn't quite expected this. She hesitated, seeming about to say something before-
"Let's go Kare-bear. No reason to waste time on this loser." The near identical voice of Sarah McMillan interjected. Seeing them side by side was even more eerie. They looked like sisters. Sure, Karyn was somewhat shorter, with a more oval face lacking Sarah's high cheekbones. But with their absolutely identical hair, skin-tones, and clothing, they could almost be fraternal twins.
Karyn sniffed haughtily, turned, and followed Sarah without a further word. I watched them go, their hips swaying in near perfect rhythm beneath their pleated skirts.
Yet despite my shock, I managed to notice the piece of crumpled paper Karyn had dropped when she bumped into me.
