In the picture that popped out of the camera stood a 30-something Latino, with the same confounded expression as Paula. Emily looked up from the picture to confirm how her dad had changed. A chill went down her spine as she regarded the older man, whose brown skin and slicked-back hair bore no resemblance to the man she expected to see.
"I don't get it. You should have changed back!" Emily said, close to panic. She fiddled with the camera's dial some more.
Paula looked herself over in the mirror, shocked. "What the hell did you do to me?" She gingerly touched her carefully combed hair like it was a cactus. "You made me a hot dude?!"
Emily turned her attention back to Paula. "So you can tell you changed?" That was at least something, she figured.
"Uh, yeah," she gave Emily a condescending glance.
"No, no, that's good! But you don't remember being my dad, do you?"
"What is with you and wanting me to look like your dad?"
Emily put up her hand. "Okay, look, never mind. Just don't freak out too much."
"You're the one freaking out over a crazy-ass camera." Paula couldn't stop stealing glances at herself in the mirror. "So, how long you think I'm going to be like this?"
"I'll change you back when we get out of here," Emily answered, trying to think of a plan.
"We're cutting school?" Paula gave the goth a look of shock. Then shrugged. "I'm in."
"Okay... You're an adult now, so you might be able to lead me off the premises. Maybe the camera turned you into a teacher, or..."
"...Or the school resource officer?" Paula interrupted. She'd just realized she was wearing a badge clipped to the lapel of her suit jacket. "That's weird. Our resource officer is a black woman."
Emily snapped her fingers. "Perfect! Don't worry. The camera usually changes reality around you, so to everyone else, you ARE the resource officer. You just have to 'escort' me off the premises and once we're clear, we'll go back home and fix all this."
Paula looked skeptical. She was still trying to wrap her head around being transformed into an adult male. "As long as you change me back after this."
"That's the whole point! Come on." Emily grabbed Paula's arm and pulled her toward the bathroom door.
"Hey, wait!" Paula said, yanking her arm back. Emily turned and looked at her, worried. Paula just smirked. "I'm supposed to be leading YOU, right?" With that, she grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her instead.
"Ack!" Emily gasped as all the loose metal on her body jingled.