Barbelo nodded to Professor Lupo and swaggered off-stage. A few seconds later, she wheeled out a full-length mirror. She turned it around to show the girls and the audience that it had a reflective surface on both sides.
"Now girls, I sensed as you came up here that you're a little skeptical about our little show," Lupo said jovially. "If seeing Barbelo change back into her human form did not prove the truth about my magic to you, perhaps this will. We've brought out a mirror, but you two don't need one to see what you look like, do you? You simply have to look at each other."
Julie and Joy followed the cue, intentionally or not, and looked at each other. They shrugged. Julie turned to Lupo. "I guess so? Unless one of us changes clothes or something."
Lupo smiled and tipped up his hat with his wand. "Ah, but even then, I bet you everything inside this tent that you could still see yourself reflected in the other. Pick a color."
"Me?" Julie asked timidly. Lupo nodded. "Red."
"Ah, red! A passionate color." His eyes flashed to the audience as he drew his wand back, then pointed it at Julie's lavender shirt. Another beam of light, red this time, shot from the tip and hit her squarely in the chest. The front of the shirt instantly turned red where the light touched it, and the circle slowly spread to the rest of the garment, even wrapping around to her back until the entire thing was red as an apple.
The audience "ooh"ed, but Julie saw only half of them were looking at her. A few savvy ones were peering at the other side of the stage, where Joy's shirt had also changed to match, but the light from the wand wasn't anywhere near her. Joy hadn't noticed, as she was too distracted by the show Lupo was putting on with Julie. It was only after he stopped the wand with a flick of his wrist that she realized people were looking at her. She gasped when she looked down at her new red shirt.
"The hell?" She pulled the cotton top out in front of her to see more of it.
"As I suspected!" Lupo said to the audience. "These sisters have quite a strong link. What happens to one, happens to both!" Genuine applause followed.
"Oh, come on!" Joy said. "You just changed the lighting so anything purplish looks red."
Lupo's head turned to her with an almost sinister smile. "How did I know this still wouldn't convince you?" He gestured with his hand and Barbelo wheeled the mirror in between the girls. "Step up to this mirror, please."
The girls obeyed, but Julie hesitated at first, giving him a suspicious glance. She was beginning to think this really was what it looked like.
Lupo stepped behind Julie while Barbelo took a similar position behind Joy. "Now, Julie. You are Julie, yes?" Lupo asked.
"Yeah..."
"Now you don't see your sister in front of you. Who do you see?"
"I see me. And you."
"Just focus on yourself for now. What color is your top?"
"It's red."
"And what color is your hair?"
"Brown and blond."
"Sounds like you two couldn't make up your minds which would look better on you, hmm? I will admit, it's a lovely compromise." Another chuckle from the audience. Julie rolled her eyes.
"What color is your hair REALLY?" he asked, leaning in close to her ear.
Julie was immensely uncomfortable. She grimaced at him through their reflections. "Brown. Light brown."
"Okay. Now, your sister can't see you, and I don't want you to speak your next answer out loud so that she won't know what is about to happen. So I'd like you to think which single color would look better on you and then just hold up one finger if it's brown and two fingers if it's blond." As he gave his instructions, his wand circled over her head, glowing faintly.
Julie furrowed her brow into the mirror, thinking, and eventually held up two fingers. Lupo tapped the wand gently on her head and the glimmer of light poofed into a tiny cloud of sparkles that disappeared into her two-toned hair. In seconds, the darker strands began to lighten from the roots outward. Before her eyes, Julie watched her hair turn a single tint of bright blond. Her mouth dropped open.
The audience gasped and applauded. Lupo called to his assistant. "How are we doing on the other side, Barbelo?"
"Beautifully, I would say," came the unseen woman's reply. "What color is your hair now, Joy? Your sister is curious."
Julie heard Joy's voice crack before giving a wavering "It's...blond."
Lupo whipped the mirror away, but the sight stayed much the same from Julie's perspective. There stood Joy, mouth similarly stuck open, holding a bright lock of hair in front of her face. Another rousing applause came from the half-dozen onlookers, which Lupo didn't hesitate to play up with a triumphant bow and a spread of his arms.
"Thank you, thank you all. I think our twins are looking better and better, wouldn't you say, folks? But!" He paused for effect, and the applause and any murmuring among the audience stopped sharply. Lupo raised a gloved finger. "Hair and clothing are small matters, and my job is to dazzle you with sights you could never see anywhere else. Let's give these girls a truly life-changing experience. What do you say?"
The crowd cheered again as the blondes eyed each other warily.