Jennifer's large ears heard the front door close and someone walking around downstairs. Oh, no! It must be mom. I can't be seen like this!
"Jennifer, have you left yet?" she heard her mom calling. "Jennifer!"
She thought maybe her mother would assume she wasn't home. But then she realized there was no way she could hide, not with such a large body. She heard footsteps on the stairwell and quickly dashed to her room, shutting the door behind her.
"I'm in here, mooom," she called. She locked the door. "I'm not feeling toooo well."
"If you're trying to get out of going to school again, I won't buy it," her mother replied. "Open up."
"But...uh...I'm not wearing anything," she hastily protested.
"But nothing. Open the door."
Jennifer sighed, hoping upon hope that Kyle's instructions about nobody noticing were true. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly.
Her mother didn't even flinch when she saw her. She was holding a bag from a department store. "It's just as well you're not wearing anything," she said as she entered. "I just got you a few new outfits to try out." She started taking clothes out of the bag and laying them out on Jennifer's bed. They looked bigger than the outfits Jennifer was used to wearing.
"Uh...," was all she could say in response.
"I know you like doing your own shopping, but I was at the mall and thought I might as well get you something. You're putting on a few more pounds, after all. You should be almost to your ideal weight any day now. What do you think?"
She was holding up a large light blue shirt with a cartoony picture of a cow on it.
"It's...cute," Jennifer sneered. The last thing on her mind right now was picking out new clothes for her huge body. Okay, so her body wasn't folding over itself with layers of fat or anything--as a matter of fact something told her most of her new mass was pure muscle just to hold up her large frame--but she was certainly not used to carrying this kind of weight.
As she looked at the assortment of shirts her mother was laying out on the bed, something occurred to her. "Didn't you get any pants or skirts?"
Her mother stopped for a moment. "You know you can't wear those kinds of things. Not with that tail and udder of yours." She giggled. "It would probably be nice to wear more things humans do, but you've got that fur to keep you warm. Oh, I thought you might like this."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a large gold earring. "It's 24 carats," she said. "A little color would look good among all that black and white." She held it with its open end up and stood on her toes to reach Jennifer's face.
Jennifer obediently bowed down. She was startled when her mother didn't pin it to her ear, and instead pushed the bracelet up her nostrils. She felt a sharp sting as it was fastened to the cartilage inside. Jennifer's eyes widened when she realized it was actually a nose ring.
"You look nice," her mother smiled. Accessories make the outfit, you know."
Jennifer crossed her eyes to get a glimpse of the metal now piercing her nose. She went to her mirror for a better look. It was an inch in diameter, ending right at her lip. It looked rather ridiculous to her, and she tried to take it off. Unfortunately her hooves were unable to get a grasp on the small ring. Unless she wanted to have an argument with her mother to get her to take it off--an argument which, knowing mom, Jennifer would lose--she was stuck with it.
"Why don't you try this one today?" Jennifer's mother held up a long-sleeve pink turtleneck. A small yellow glittery sun was stitched into the upper right part of the front.
Jennifer shrugged, figuring it was better than nothing. She pulled it over her head. After freeing it from one of her horns, she successfully managed to put it on. At the very least, the shirt would keep her from noticing how flat her chest was. She pulled her hair out from under the collar and used a pink scrunchy to tie it into a ponytail. She was going to make the most out of what little clothing and accessories she could utilize.
"One more thing," her mother said. She had pulled two ribbons out of a vanity drawer; one pink, one black. She put them together and tied them around her tail near its white-haired base. "Now you're set for school," she said. "Let's get going before you get marked late."
Deciding that protests were futile, Jennifer allowed her mom to lead her downstairs.