Bets Evergreen (Elizabeth to her parents) rode home on the #16 bus. She noticed that she was attracting a few stares, but paid little attention. After all, Bets was
attractive, and used to people (especially boys) taking a good hard look.
Her parents were not yet home when Bets arrived at the suburban ranch house, so she grabbed a diet soda from the refrigerator and went to her room to listen to
the CDs she'd bought.
The soothing sounds of N'Sync filled the air, and Bets danced a bit before belly-flopping on her bed and opening her copy of Cosmo. She flipped through the
pages, taking time to read through the articles on how to dress sexily, and which lipsticks were in this week.
There was an article on Leonardo DiCaprio, her favorite movie star. Funny, she'd never noticed before how painfully skinny he was. In fact, all the men in the
advertisements and fashion photos looked way underweight.
"Don't any of these guys eat?" Bets wondered. She looked around her room. The boys in the posters on her walls all were skeletal, none of them had any meat on
their bones.
Strangely, though, the little Buddha statue she'd gotten at the county fair, *that* man looked attractive. A nice, rounded belly and chubby face.
"Weird. When did I start liking fat men?"
Bets didn't think about it too long, as she heard the front door opening. She ran out to greet her mother.
"Konnichiwa, Okaa-san!"
Mrs. Evergreen, a conservatively dressed woman, was carrying a sackful of groceries. "Hello, Elizabeth. It's nice to hear you practicing your foreign language. Is
that Spanish?" She set the groceries down, then turned to look at her daughter. The older woman's jaw dropped.
"What have you done!?"
Bets was confused. "Nani? Doshita, Okaa-san?"
Mrs. Evergreen's expression turned to anger. "I specifically forbade you to dye your hair without my permission!"
"Uso! Ch-chigau yo!" Bets ran to the hall mirror and looked in it. She was shocked to discover that her hair had turned a brilliant sky blue, including her eyebrows!
And now that she was looking at her eyes, Bets saw that they seemed much larger and rounder than before, like a cartoon character's.
Mrs. Evergreen crossed her arms over her chest. "You'd better have a good explanation for this, young lady. And in English!"
[But, Mom, I am speaking Engl--] Bets stopped, realizing she was doing nothing of the kind. [What's happening to me?]