This is the short story I wrote as an exercise. My brother and sister-in-law started a facebook group where we each write a short story once a week with a different theme. The theme for this short story is Faces. Let me know what you think. We will be writing a new story every week.
"I am Me"
By: Melissa Francisco
“Alteration” as they were called, made her laugh. This was her second alteration in one month
and she was already thinking about another one. She walked to her nightstand and picked up a
photograph. It was of a seventeen year old girl with braces. Her features didn’t resemble Barbera
in the least.
“Can’t believe its only been three years since I was able to have an Alteration for the first
time.” She said aloud. A muffled voice came from the bathroom and Barbara smiled again.
“Can’t hear you Jill” she said. A young woman about Barbera’s age stepped out from their
apartment bathroom. She was actually a year older than Barbera but even though they were
sisters they looked nothing like each other. Jill was flossing her teeth so she stopped to voice her
comment again.
“Have you kept track” She asked. Barbara paused. She hadn’t. She looked back at the
photograph.
“I guess not.” She said. Jill shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter. Who does that anyway? I did for the first few times and then I gave up. I
even stopped looking at my portrait at seventeen.” Barbera frowned slightly as she looked back
at her photograph. Something inside of her was prickling worse than her nose. How often had
she taken that picture and used it to decide her next Alteration. Her original self was thin, which
was nice, but lacked the shapeliness that was so fashionable now. Her eyes were a little too
small, and her upper lip was thin. Those were the first things she had had Altered. She turned to
her mirror. Her body now was quite shapely and her eyes were large with a deep rich royal blue.
Suddenly she felt a twinge of panic. What color were they originally. She turned to the
photograph again. Hazel. A dull hazel. Then she noticed something. The color of her brown hair
made the hazel of her eyes stand out more. Turning back to the mirror she studied her eyes and
long blond hair. They almost mocked each other’s fullness of color. Barbara was frowning
deeply now.
“What’s wrong?” Jill asked as she walked from the bathroom brushing her silky black
hair. Barbara felt her cheeks color slightly and she looked down. Jill seemed to miss the depth of
her look and went on talking.
“I heard on the news today that some of the seventeen year old’s are not even getting
their last photograph. Studies have shown that it can make people a little uneasy at times.” She
paused looking at Barbara. “I guess that’s why I stopped looking at it.
Silence
Jill seemed a bit uneasy now so she spoke a little faster, trying to fill up the empty air.
“They also said that they estimate about 98% of people couldn’t be recognized by
someone who hadn’t seen them since their seventeenth year. Kinda crazy huh?” Barbara was
only half listening to her sister as her thoughts raced. Something inside her was all the sudden
panicking. She had been noticing that the Alterations were getting a little crazy lately. All her
associates at work couldn’t be recognized from week to week. And frequently they all appeared
similar as new trends in body type and look waved through society.
“Barbara…” Jill’s voice brought her back to the present but not out of her panic.
“Jill, have you ever considered a Reset?” Jill’s head snapped up and she frowned, looking
slightly stern.
“No.” She said. “And nor should you. You know what that means don’t you? Of course
you do. Its been drilled into you your entire life. Never get one, Never get one. You're crazy to
even say the word.” Barbara watched as her sister walked out of the room toward the kitchen,
she could hear mumbling something about her crazy sister.
She’s right, she thought, looking at herself again. Her flawless skin snowed no signs of
the acne she had once struggled with. She would be a fool to go back to her original self. Resets
were permanent. Once you got one you could no longer get Alterations. You had to be you, just
as you were, for the rest of your life. And yet…
**********************************************************************
Barbara walked into the Alteration shop with a confident air. She had picked this one
specifically so no one would recognize her. She walked up to the receptionist and smiled.
“What would you like done today?” The gorgeous red head said with a smile. She was
tall and thin. All the latest fashions. Barbara felt her pulse quicken but she ignored it. She had
spent the entire night before coming to this decision and she knew it was right.
“I want a Reset.” She said with more confidence than she felt. The receptionist went pale.
“You do know what that means…” Barbara nodded boldly.
“I do.”
“Let me get my manager”
Ten minutes later Barbara was lying on a white bed being slowly conveyed into a
cylinder shaped machine. She felt calm and resolute. She smiled slightly as she caught one last
glance at the owner of the shop with his, still pale, assistant fanning herself with the paperwork
Barbara had filled out. There had been a lot of it. Barbara closed her eyes as the darkness
engulfed her. They said it would only take a few minutes, less time than she had expected. She
heard the machine start and she let herself relax completely. A moment later she felt the machine
moving again and saw the shop’s lights. She stepped off the machine with a great big (thin upper
lipped) smile and said. “I am me.” Then left the shop.
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