Jon's grogginess the next morning evaporated when he passed by his brother's room. Same pink bathrobe as before, now his head was wrapped with a towel. He was sitting at the vanity table in his room (Jon saw it had appeared the night before, in his parents' and Zoe's room too), deftly applying eyeliner. Jon could already see foundation and blush on his brother's face, and countless other cosmetics covered the table before him. Mikey looked up and rolled his eyes.
"What are you staring at?" Jon just sighed and walked away as Mikey moved on to eyeshadow.
Jon was greeted by another new sight at lunch. He saw it on his father first. Beneath his suit jacket he was wearing a t-shirt. But it was no ordinary t-shirt:
His mom wore the same shirt beneath her blazer. And she noticed Jon noticing it.
"Are you staring at my boobs?" she asked incredulously.
"Gawd, Jon," his father said, "Don't be such a perv!" His parents both giggled. Then his father grabbed a big red leather purse from the table, gave a girly wave to his mother and went off to work.
As expected, Jon saw the same shirts and purses everywhere on his way to school. And purple headbands too. He was also surprised to see Karyn and Rob were still waiting for him today, which gave him a bit of hope. He looked at their shirts.
"I see you two are Glamalicious as well," he cracked. They looked down at their shirts.
"Are you making fun of us?" Karyn asked.
"Yeah, you should talk. Look at the ratty t-shirt you're wearing. At least we've got some class," Rob said as he put a hand on his hip. They giggled and walked away. Great. They were just waiting for him so they could mock him.
Jon scanned the crowd in front of the school when he got there. It was getting harder to pick out Sarah, like some twisted version of Where's Waldo. Finally, he did see her, with Biff Meadows and Mike Matthews. She had skinny designer jeans and black flats in addition to the attire and accessories he saw on everyone else. Normally, Biff would have his hands all over her, but now he was just standing there. He gestured to the jeweled bracelet on Sarah's arm, then to his own. Sarah looked depressed by the conversation, and when she saw Jon approaching she turned and scurried into the school, followed closely by Biff and Mike. Jon tried to follow, but quickly lost them in the lavender throng. Jon never saw Sarah the rest of the day. He wondered if she'd skipped class.
Gym was an interesting experience. Instead of basketball or football, they just ran a couple of laps and finished the hour with pilates. Jon noticed all they guys were wearing sports bras, despite not needing the support. The locker room was even weirder. Jon showered and dressed quickly, but as he left, the rest of the class was busy primping and preening at the mirror, in nothing but bras and panties.
He ate lunch alone, when he saw Karyn and Rob sit at another table. Nobody else in the lunchroom even acknowledged him. By the end of the day, he was seeing many individuals pulling a pink cell phone from their purse to text. Everyone's shoes had changed to the ballet flats he'd seen on Sarah. Jon wondered if there was any rhyme or reason to what changed and when.
At home it was more of the same. More judging, more being ignored. His parents got into a fight over a hairbrush. His siblings got into a fight over who had cuter shoes (even though they were both the same). Jon had had enough. He had to go over to Sarah's, consequences be damned.
