Beth heard a key in the front door lock downstairs, which could only mean that her mother was home from work. She gasped and slammed her bedroom door behind her, pressing the button to lock it.
She sat on her bed, taking deep breaths to try not to cry, until she heard her mother's footsteps on the stairs. She knew what she'd hear next: "Beth, honey, are you here?"
"Yes!" she yelled, almost without thinking, and then regretted it.
"What's going on? Why is your door closed?"
"Uh, it's kind of a long story," Beth admitted.
"Can I come in so we can talk about it?" The doorknob rattled.
"I'd rather not, Mom," said Beth. "For one thing, I look a lot different, and you're not going to like it."
"What do you mean? You look different? What happened?"
"You're not gonna believe it."
Beth heard a sigh. "You might be surprised," said her mother through the door. "I was your age once, and I did a few stupid things. Nothing can't be fixed."
"I don't know," said Beth. "I tried fixing it, and -- okay, let me start from the beginning, and I want you to know this is all serious." And she told her mother what had happened -- how she was made beautiful, then turned into a frog, then turned back into a human again with the curse that, as she'd wished, men would notice her.
"So now I look like, I don't know, an Amazon punk porn star," Beth finished. "I haven't been able to find this Princess Patience on the Internet, so I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to change back or anything."
She didn't hear anything from the other side of the door, so she finally said, "Mom? "
"I'm here, I'm here," said her mother. "It's just -- I have to admit you're right, I don't believe it. If this is some story you wrote for English class, I'm not sure the subject matter is entirely appropriate --"
"Mom!" Beth interrupted. "Okay, you'll believe it if you see me, or at least most of it, but I told you, I look completely different, and I don't want you to freak out and run away, or call the police because someone's trespassing in your house, or something like that. Can you please try?"
"Oh, of course, honey." Beth could tell through the door that her mother's voice was wavering, though -- she was obviously a little scared, which wasn't making Beth feel any better. Nevertheless, she reached out and slowly turned the knob, which made the lock click as it released. She heard her mother take a deep breath.
Beth opened the door very slowly.
She saw her mother's eyes widen as she looked at the sight that greeted her, and then as she tilted her head back to look up, her mother's jaw slowly dropped open.
For what seemed like an eternity, there was silence, with neither one of the two even breathing.