INTERLUDE:
That morning, 25-year-old Laurie got out of bed. She always slept nude, and she love to gaze at herself 1st thing in the morning, her long , blonde hair cascading down her shoulders to her smallish B-cup breasts. She lamented how skinny she looked, especially her legs -- in her job as a nurse, she was one of the youngest, and she was really pushing herself to get ahead.
When she dressed, it was in a little thong, because she liked to feel sexy at work, despite the discomfort and impracticality. She didn't like the fact that she was so skinny that even with her tightest pushup bra, it was hard to push her modest boobs together. She pulled her bright hair back and began to prepare for another day at work....
***
That afternoon, 32-year-old Laurie was feeling exhausted. It felt like she had been at work for YEARS. Worse, her clothes made her feel completely uncomfortable. She couldn't figure out why she had worn old scrubs. Luckily one of her co-workers lent her a bigger pair she could wear the rest of the day, so she went to the changing area.
As the 33-year-old pulled off her scrubs, she looked at the rolls of body fat squishing out from her too small bra, which pushed her modest B-cup breasts together with a nice line of cleavage. She unhooked her bra and breathed a sigh of relief...she would go the rest of the day without it.
She studied the other things she didn't like about herself. Her stomach wasn't as flat as it used to be, probably from years of working too hard and eating bad food. She hated the way her thighs rubbed together. And her but was a little flabby. Gosh, how had she gotten up to be 160 pounds? She was a healthcare professional, she should be more careful.
***
Joanne the 30-year-old doctor put 40-year-old Matt through several tests. Dana, now 26, took it all in. She couldn't help but notice how bad MAtt was starting to look....overweight...balding...and when did he grow that cheesey mustache? She unconciously fingered the ring she had found, not realizing the source of her problems. If she were aware, she easily could have stopped her friend from aging or the doctor from youthening, as the ring had repaired itself since Katie's mishap last week (to be fair however, aside from her increasingly bubbly personality, Dana did not yet suspect that Joanne was regressing).
"OK sir, have a seat and I'll take a look at what we've found," Joanne said. Full of energy, she smiled as she almost half skipped out of the room.
In the hallway, the 29-year-old was stopped by nurse Laurie. She had changed her scrubs apparently since the last time she had seen her.
"Excuse me, doctor," the 36-year-old nurse said, "you may want to take a look at this. This insurance info says he's 25 years old when he is clearly over 40.