Beautiful Curse

Chapter Twenty-Three

If it were possible to give up my beauty, I'd do it in a heartbeat, even though I wouldn't wish my curse on anyone, not even Rachel. "I'll do anything for him."

Rachel morphed into a supermodel before my eyes, and the new Rachel held up a mirror. "That's the real you!" she announced with glee.

I stared at the mirror, horrified. My nose was long and hooked like a Halloween witch, my teeth were crooked and decaying, and my eyes were small and beady. I looked hideous.

"What are the chances that my son will love you now?" Aphrodite whispered in my ear, and my heart turned cold.

When I woke up under the slanted roof in my dark room, I did something that I'd pretty much avoided since my freakish transformation. I turned on the light and rushed to look at myself in the mirror.

Still beautiful. I sagged against the door in relief. I may not have wanted to look the way I did before, but now that I knew who Ross really was, I wondered if he only loved me for my strange beauty. What if I have to give it up to see him again?

Staring at my reflection, I realized that I couldn't answer that question. I'd do anything to win a chance at apologizing to Ross, but what chance would I stand if he saw me again and I was ordinary? He won't care about my looks, a quiet voice in my heart whispered. I mattered to him for more than superficial reasons.

But hadn't I thought the same thing about him? I thought I could love him without seeing him, but I'd proved how shallow I really was. Who was to say he'd be any better? Gritting my teeth, I turned away from the mirror. It was still dark outside, and for a minute I considered going back to bed, but then I remembered Aphrodite's command. I might as well start getting ready for work and see when the earliest bus to the mall was running.

Clutching a cup of coffee, I shivered in the cold autumn air outside the employee entrance to the mall. I'd caught a bus at six o'clock without thinking to check and see when the mall opened, and I couldn't feel my toes by the time a security guard opened the door. I smiled at him gratefully, forgetting for a moment the effect my looks had on people.

He held the door wide open for me, his receding hairline glistening in the early morning light. "Let me know when you get off work, beautiful," he whispered as I walked by.

I shuddered and kept walking. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give up my beauty, I thought as I slipped away from the guard as fast as I could.

Aphrodite was waiting for me at the reception desk. She thrust an empty brown bottle at me impatiently.

"I'm out of the secret ingredient for my personal hair dye. I need you to go get it for me."

I glanced at the bottle, then back at the goddess. "What is it?"

Aphrodite grinned wickedly. "That's a secret. See if you can figure it out."

Before I could even decide if it was worth arguing, the goddess leaned close to me.

"Remember," she whispered, "the only chance you'll ever have at love is by pleasing me."

I swallowed. "Secret ingredient. Right. Any hints?" I asked hopefully.

Aphrodite tapped one neatly manicured finger against her lips. "Well, I suppose a hint won't hurt. It's the ingredient that makes up most shampoos, but a bit more godly than that." The goddess smiled at her riddle and waved to the door. "Better get moving. I need it before I close up tonight."

Tucking the brown bottle carefully in my purse, I sank down on a bench across from a toy store. "What in the world does she mean?" I needed help. An idea dawned on me, and I rose swiftly. I headed for the bus stop, hoping I could sneak into the art room without anyone at school noticing. I probably could have just gone to the grocery store and read shampoo bottles, but I had a feeling it was a bit trickier than that, and I wanted some celestial input.