A Moment of Hope

"At first glance, you look the same as always; waist-title_length brown hair tied back, red-blonde spanish goatee scraggly as ever, a few studs sticking through each earlobe, and fingernails -- except for the thumbs -- clipped short.

Upon closer examination, however, anyone who knows you well could tell something is up. Your hair has been brushed and neatly braided. The area around your beard is shaved smooth, and your teeth have been brushed recently. You aren't wearing your pajamas.

You try to put her out of your mind and think about something else. It doesn't work." [--blurb from Competition '99]