Karyn's face lit up as she opened Sarah's duffel bag. The skirt was short. The top was flouncy. The sandals had straps for days. "It's perfect!" her mouth said, even as her mind thought precisely the opposite.
With an enthusiasm that Karyn did not feel, she kicked off her sneakers, pulled off her socks, and shunked off her jeans before greedily pulling the skirt over her hips. She turned to pose in the mirror and let out a contented sigh. Even paired with the frumpy green sweater, she already felt better. Already felt more herself.
No. That wasn't right. This wasn't her. This wasn't Karyn.
On went the sandals and off went the sweater, followed by the lime green T-shirt that she wore beneath it.
Karyn felt a sense of loss for a moment, standing there in skirt and bra, looking at the pile of discarded clothing on the girls room floor. Like it was a person there on the floor, and not a set of inanimate objects. Like she was losing something important with each item of clothing she'd removed. Karyn wondered briefly where that thought was coming from.
And then she donned the pink blouse with the ruffled collar, the one that cinched just below her bust. And the thought was gone. The pile of discarded clothes was just that: discarded. Karyn didn't need them anymore. They weren't her anymore.
She approached the sink and looked in the mirror. "Jewelry," she gasped. "How did I leave home without any jewelry?"
"Oh, you think this is my first rodeo?" Sarah quickly joined Karyn at the mirror and strung a silver necklace with a heart pendant around Karyn's neck, clasping it shut in the back, then offered a set of silver bangles. "Now turn around, let me fix your makeup."
"Sarah," Karyn grinned, "You're the best!"
And very shortly, two girls wearing pretty outfits and pretty faces, heads topped with identical blonde locks, carelessly picked up a pile of clothes from the floor and deposited them in the waste bin, then strode arm-in-arm towards their first class of the day.
