A Lobster's Judgement

Hello, reader. Last week, we looked at a story from the First Nations in Canada about a lobster who turned a girl into a mermaid because she wanted to eat fish. I love how this kind of stuff can happen in folk tales. Read below for my modern version of this sad story.

Would you take a boat out into the water if you couldn't return?

Dinah picked up her fishing pole and tackle box and headed out to the dock. Moving carefully, she stepped into her family's canoe and untied it from the dock. Even if she didn't catch anything, Dinah loved being out on the open water and the sense of peace she had out there.

She paddled until the dock looked small in the distance. No one else fished around this spot, although Dinah wasn't sure why. Probably because there weren't that many fish. Still, that made it even more peaceful. Dinah let go of the oars and started baiting her hook. It was such a beautiful day that Dinah found herself singing. She started with some of the pop songs she loved, but she inevitably found herself singing some folk songs her grandpa had taught her.

A man's head broke the surface of the water near her.

Dinah jumped and had to take a moment to steady her canoe and stop it from tipping over. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

"I was out swimming and I heard your voice. You're a beautiful singer," the man replied.

Dinah felt her face get hot at the compliment. The man didn't look familiar. He must be a tourist. Especially if he was swimming out here. "Thank you," she replied.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Fishing," Dinah replied. "I'm trying to catch dinner for us tonight."

The man looked at her for a moment. "So you want to eat fish?"

"Yes," Dinah answered. He must be a vegetarian or something.

"Oh." The man seemed at a loss. "Goodbye." Then he vanished beneath the water.

Dinah stared at the spot where he had been. "What a strange person," she mumbled to herself. She looked around to see where he had come up, but she didn't see anyone. She looked around again, about as far as she figured he could swim underwater, but she still didn't see anyone surface. What if he was drowning?

Dinah tried to tell herself that he must have a snorkel or something, but she still kicked off her shoes and pulled her phone out of her pocket and dropped it in the bottom of the boat. It wasn't easy to get out of the canoe without tipping it over, but she managed. Dinah took a deep breath and let herself drop underwater.

She opened her eyes and looked around. There was no one. Could she have imagined the man? No. She had talked to someone. He had just disappeared. Dinah surfaced, took a breath, and dove under the water again, just to be sure she didn't miss him. She couldn't see anyone around. She surfaced again, still confused. It was going to be even harder to get back in her canoe and she had done all of this for nothing.

Rolling her eyes, Dinah grabbed onto the side of her canoe and started trying to get herself inside.

"What are you doing out here?"

Dinah looked around. It didn't sound like that man's voice, but maybe he had come back. She looked down in the water next to her and saw a lobster. She jumped and swam away from it. Who ever heard of a lobster coming up to a human in the ocean? Dinah resolved to go straight back to shore once she got in her canoe.

"Didn't you hear me? I asked what you were doing out here."

"Who's asking?" Dinah asked, turning in a circle to try to find the source of the voice.

The voice sighed. "I guess you've never had a lobster talk to you before."

This had to be a prank. Dinah swam around to the other side of the canoe. The best thing to do would probably be to ignore the voice. Besides, she was starting to get tired.

The lobster grabbed onto the edge of Dinah's shirt. "What are you doing out here?"

Dinah freaked out and tried to smack the lobster away, but it had a firm grip on her shirt. She considered taking her shirt off, but she wasn't sure she could do that without the lobster grabbing onto her hands.

"Answer my question!"

"Fishing!" Dinah yelled. Maybe she could grab something from the boat and smack the lobster away.

"I see." The lobster let go of her shirt.

Dinah sighed and heaved herself up into the boat. However, before she could pull her legs in after her, the lobster grabbed her ankle and yanked her back out and into the water.

"We can't have more of you humans killing our fish. I've sworn an oath to protect them."

"Let go!" Dinah yelled, trying to shake the lobster off and kicking it with her other foot. This was beyond a prank. Lobsters never acted this way and it shouldn't be able to hold onto her so tightly without clamping into her leg, but there was no blood in the water.

"I'm afraid not," the lobster said, then it pulled her under the water.

Dinah hadn't had time to get a deep breath of air and as the lobster pulled her further and further down, she felt her lungs burning. As they moved, Dinah felt a splitting pain on the sides of her neck. She wasn't sure which was worse. She was also clenching her jaw shut to keep from inhaling water. The last of the air left Dinah's lungs and she instinctively breathed in. It took her a moment to realize that she hadn't breathed through her mouth and that she wasn't drowning. By this point, she'd taken several more breaths.

"What did you do to me?!" Dinah would have been surprised that she could talk underwater if she wasn't so panicked.

"I'm turning you into a mermaid," the lobster replied. "You wanted to eat fish so badly, now you can become one."

"What?" Dinah tried to kick him off again, but it didn't do any good.

Eventually, the lobster slowed down and let go of Dinah's ankle. Before she could gather herself to swim away, he grabbed her wrist instead. "Now be polite," he hissed at her. He pulled her toward a cave that had plants undulating over the opening.

Dinah tried to grab a rock to beat the lobster with, but he jerked her away so she couldn't reach one.

"Abner, are you home?"

"Yes?" The man Dinah had seen before slid out from the opening. Except she hadn't seen his tail before.

"You're a merman?" Dinah yelled.

"And I thought you were a human," Abner replied, confused.

"She was," the lobster replied. "She was fishing in the forbidden area. You were looking for a wife from the shore, so here she is."

"Wait. I was fishing so you're turning me into something else and making me marry someone?" Dinah was done with this whole thing. "Look, there's got to be a way out of this. I didn't even catch any fish there, anyway."

"But you were trying," the lobster replied, "and that is a crime. Those waters are not to be fished."

Dinah wished her grandpa were here, but he had been dead for years. "Can I apologize? Can I make it up to you somehow?"

"This is how you're making it up to us," the lobster replied. He turned back to Abner. "Would you like her, or should I find somewhere else to put her?"

"I'll take her," Abner replied.

"Excellent." The lobster let Dinah go. "This may be painful," he cautioned.

"What?" she asked. Suddenly, her legs were burning. It felt like her skin was being split open and bones were bending and moving in ways they shouldn't. Dimly, Dinah realized Abner was pulling her into the cave and that there was nothing she could do to stop him. Once he got her inside, he left her alone to her pain.

Eventually, the pain stopped and Dinah lay panting above the cave floor. Gingerly, she reached her hand down to her legs. And felt scales. Trying not to move too fast, Dinah leaned forward to look at her legs.

For a moment, it didn't register that her legs were gone and there was now a tail attached to her. She kicked her legs, and the tail jerked upward, trailing a big fin behind. Dinah poked the tail and realized it was hers. She screamed.

Abner came rushing over. "It's all right."

"How can it be all right? My legs are gone! How can I go home like this?" Dinah's mind raced between a wheelchair and a fish bowl and strange combinations of the two.

"You can't go home," Abner replied quietly.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, but the Lobster's word is final."

"The lobster? What is he? A king?"

"More like a god," Abner replied. "You saw what he can do."

Dinah had to admit he had a point. "That doesn't mean he's right just because he's powerful."

"Even if he's wrong, no one else can change you back."

Dinah stared at him. Then she began to cry.

"Please don't cry. I'll be a good husband."

"Then get me changed back," Dinah sobbed.

"I can't," Abner replied, sadly. "I'm sorry. This is who you are now."

*

When Dinah didn't come home that night, her dad called all of her friends and, eventually, the police. They found her canoe, floating far out to sea with her cell phone and her shoes inside, with a fishing pole and tackle box. There was nothing for it but to assume that she had left the canoe, for some reason, and not returned. She had probably drowned. Dinah's father was inconsolable and her mother and siblings weren't much better.

Dinah's father blamed himself for teaching her how to fish. The town started to whisper that his grief was affecting his mind. When he started talking about seeing Dinah floating out in the sea, or sitting on a rock, people began to wonder if something had happened to Dinah and she was still alive. However, if you asked Dinah's father about these sightings, he would start talking about her mermaid tail, and soon enough no one believed him at all. "Tragic," they would say. "He's unhinged." Dinah's father learned to keep his stories to himself, but you could see him looking out at the ocean at night, looking for a glimpse of his daughter.

The Mermaid of Magdalenes

A lobster: the sneakiest bug of the sea

Hello, reader. This week, our story comes from one of the First Nations in Canada. The Mermaid of Magdalenes is about a woman's love of fish leading to a transformative experience. Literally. Click the link above to read the story and then dive into it with me below.

I need to start this off by looking at the lobster. I thought he was going to punish this girl by snapping at her with his pincers. Instead he kidnaps her and sells her to be a merman's wife! That seems a little extreme to me. Also, I understand this punishes the girl for wanting to eat the sardines, but it does nothing to stop fishermen from catching them.

I'm also confused by the merman. He wanted a shore-wife, but he had to protect the sardines, so he passed on this girl with the beautiful voice. He also didn't think he could punish her, so he let her be. However, when the lobster kidnaps her, he suddenly decides he's okay with marrying her? And that he could keep her with him even if she wanted to leave? That had to be an interesting marriage. What do merfolk eat in this story? She loves to eat fish, so it might be helpful for her if merfolk ate fish. However, the merfolk can talk to fish so that would actually be terrible. But they use underwater plants for clothes. Do they eat the same stuff they use to make clothes? I have many questions.

Finally, we have the girl's father, the fisherman. He is completely absent from this story. Since there was just a huge storm that wrecked a cargo ship, would he be out fishing? Did he know his daughter was out walking on the beach? Did he care when she didn't come home? This story gives us absolutely nothing. I like to assume that he's a good man and he tried to find her. We need more good parents in fairy tales.

I suppose the moral of this story is don't ask sea creatures to help you open a can of fish. Alternatively, if a lobster offers to help you, don't let him get too close.

Thought of a different moral? Annoyed I didn't talk about the girl at all? Have a story you want me to cover? Comment below!

Greedy for a Dream

Hello, reader! Last week, we looked at The Beggar and the Five Muffins, a story from India about how greed can destroy your life. But, because I like to question my own conclusions from time to time, I wrote the modern version of that story this way.

Would you trade it all for a mouthwatering, marvelous muffin?

Katya had always been greedy. Her parents loved to tell stories of how, as a child, she had feasted on muffins and on whatever baked goods she could get her hands on. As Katya grew, she still loved to eat, but she became more concerned about what she was eating. Why eat a mediocre muffin when you could bake one yourself that was marvelous?

Katya found recipes and tweaked them to taste better. Then she began to create her own. Katya often sat at the table at bake sales because everyone knew her desserts were divine and they would buy everything. Katya joined the chemistry club in high school. When they needed money, Katya suggested a bake sale. They made it into the local newspaper, some online articles, and, of course, the yearbook.

"Once you get to college, you can be a chemical engineer," Katya's mom told her. "Then you won't have to raise money. You'll be getting grants."

"But I like bake sales," Katya argued.

Her mom laughed. "Always so greedy for your desserts, huh?"

Katya frowned.

After Katya had settled in a bit at college, she happened to overhear about a club that needed to get more members.

"I can bake some cookies and you can hand them out on the quad," Katya offered.

Her roommate was in the club, and she got the rest of them to agree. Not everyone who tried the cookies came to the club's next meeting, but they hit a new record for attendance.

Katya joined a baking club on campus. Between her club and her classes, Katya was busy, but she found some time to start a baking blog. She wasn't that great at writing, so she asked her roommate, an English major, to help her. With Anya's writing and Katya's recipes, the blog took off and they were able to start making money off of it.

Katya's mom made a point to ask about Katya's stellar grades when they talked. She never mentioned the blog.

Katya graduated and got a job at an R and D lab for a big company. Her mother was thrilled. But Katya kept baking. She would bring plates and plates of desserts to work so someone would eat them.

She kept in contact with her mother. On one of their calls, her mother said, "I guess you're not so greedy anymore. You've settled into a good life and I'm proud of what you've accomplished."

"Thanks, Mom," Katya replied, but she didn't agree. She felt like she could be doing much more. She started blogging again, and she got Anya to agree to write for her. Again, it took off. Almost every comment asked when Katya would open a bakery.

"You want to quit a good job for some muffins?" Katya's mother demanded. "Don't be greedy."

Katya thought long and hard about it. She did have a good job, and she was comfortable. And yet...

Katya hired Anya part time as a publicist and began work to open her bakery, Marvelous Muffins.

"You're giving up everything for those muffins?!" her mother yelled on the phone.

"None of it means anything," Katya told her, unruffled. "I'd much rather have the muffins." And so, that is what she did.

The Beggar and the Five Muffins

If muffins made from this rice wouldn't make you play dead, you're not committed enough.

Salutations, reader! This week's story comes to us from India. The Beggar and the Five Muffins is a story of a super intense competition between a husband and wife. Over muffins. Hey, we've all been there. Click the link above to read the story, and continue below to analyze it with me.

There's actually a lot to this story. First, we have the food infatuation. When they were first able to taste these muffins, they were in love. It's clear they've never had this food before. Then, the wife is able to save enough rice to make them some more of those delicious muffins. By this point, I know that what I call muffins and what the characters call muffins are two entirely different foods, but I'm still on board. I even understand that they don't want to tear their beloved fifth muffin into pieces. What I don't understand is their contest.

If they didn't move for three days, they would have a whole host of problems. Let's just say, I would have lost this contest as soon as I needed to use the bathroom. This story is already unreal, but then the police start breaking into their house and still they don't move. It gets downright absurd when the townspeople delcare the beggar and his wife dead and neither of them correct the mob. It's into dangerous mental territory when the beggar only speaks because he is literally about to be burned alive. Over muffins.

Either this is a humorous story that isn't meant to be thought about for too long, or it's a philosophical tale to tell us something about life. Since overanalyzing is what we do here, let's go with the second option.

I see this not as a story about tasty food, but one about greed. The beggar and his wife didn't taste muffins until they went to a fancy party and feast. Since they have nothing, I suppose it's not too hard to give them food they've never had before.

Even when the wife saved food to make the muffins, there is no problem. It seems like they still had enough to eat, more or less, and she was able to ask for what she needed to make the muffins. The only problem comes when they're trying to split the muffins between the two of them.

Neither of them wanted to miss out on the third muffin. They don't even debate about giving the third muffin to someone else, like the neighbor who gave them the black pulse. Instead, they create an extreme contest and go to extreme lengths to try to get that extra muffin for themselves.

In the end, the wife wins the contest, but they both lose. After they are realized to not be dead, they are cast out from the village. They lose everything they had, however little it is, except for their daily supply of muffins. I know the old ladies and young children were trying to be nice by bringing them muffins after that, but I see it as cruel. It's because of those muffins that they lost everything else. They didn't value what they had, so now they have a house in the middle of a meadow and those dang muffins.

I bet the really mean kids brought them five muffins.

The moral of this story is not to let your greed get the better of you. Alternatively, if you made an odd number of baked goods for an even number of people, just cut the last one in half.

Have a different moral? Think the beggar and his wife were absolutely justified? Have another story you want me to talk about? Comment below! And come back next week to see me turn this into a modern story. Because no one has ever written a story about greed in our modern society.

Psych Out

Hello, readers. Last week, we looked at the story of Cupid and Psyche, a romance that was totally fine until Psyche tried to make sure Cupid wasn't a beast of some sort and he booked it out of there. I know Cupid was the god of desire, but it seems like he was also the god of drama. I mean, he was related to Zeus. Anyway, here's my modern take on this classic tale.

A pretty unlikely spot to find a girlfriend, most of the time.

Psyche worked lights for shows at one of the big, local theaters. It wasn't Broadway by any means, but she got to do what she loved and make enough money to get by without having to move every time a show closed. She'd worked hard to get this far and she was happy with her accomplishments, but recently, she'd been looking for something new. Of course, seeing as many shows as she did, Psyche figured it was about time she had a love story.

"Yeah right," she taunted herself. Her last girlfriend hadn't lasted very long. It was hard to date someone who was in the theater, Psyche's weekends were often filled and she kept late hours, but it was even harder when you dated someone else who was also in theater. Not everyone was incredibly dramatic, but Psyche seemed to gravitate towards those girls. "Maybe I'll just get a dog," Psyche thought to herself, cuing up the last set of lights for Act I. Finally, they were taking an intermission on the show. Since it was rehearsal and not a performance, it would be a short intermission. Still, Psyche took the chance to get up and go outside.

She almost regretted it as soon as she left the theater. It was winter and the snow on the ground was pretty, but it was also cold. Still, it was better to get at least a few minutes out here at the alley entrance to the theater than to stay inside for several more hours. Sometimes, Psyche saw people who worked at the nearby bars standing in the alley taking their smoke breaks and tonight was no exception. There was a blonde girl leaning against the wall. She turned to look at Psyche when Psyche came outside and gave a small smile. Psyche's heart jumped up her throat. This girl was gorgeous.

"Well that was fast," Psyche thought snidely to herself. Still, even though this looked like one of the shows Psyche worked, she would kick herself forever if she didn't at least get this girl's name. So, Psyche wandered over. "Hey. Getting some fresh air?" she asked. "Smooth, Psyche."

The girl smiled. It lit up her face and made her eyes sparkle. Of course. "Yeah. It gets pretty loud in there. I like to come out here where it's quiet when I can."

"I hear ya. I work the lights for this theater, and even when the actors are off stage, they can't stop talking or singing."

"You work the lights?" the girl looked impressed.

"Yeah. You can have the best pit and actors, but there's no show without a spotlight at the right time. You know?" In her mind, Psyche sighed. "Sure, make yourself look like a big shot. Everyone loves that."

"That's true," the girl replied, nodding. "I'm Desiree."

"I'm Psyche," Psyche replied. "Nice to meet you."

"Same." Desiree looked at her watch. "I've got to get back. Are you rehearsing tomorrow night too? Do you think you might take your break outside again?"

"Yeah." Psyche tried not to smile too big. "Even if I have to stand out here with the chain smokers."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Psyche." Desiree smiled again and slipped back into the bar.

"I guess my life really is a play," Psyche thought, heading back inside. Never mind that she had been thinking about how she wanted a girlfriend off and on for weeks. She had thought about it tonight and managed to meet a cute, sweet girl. That's the stuff plays were made of.

Over the next few nights, Psyche and Desiree got to know each other better. Desiree had a younger brother and sister, twins, who seemed to be the more successful ones. "They've got their office jobs and Gayle is going to have a baby soon," Desiree told Psyche. "I don't know. It just seems kind of boring. Not that I love being a bartender, but at least every night is different."

Psyche nodded. She was an only child, but she knew the expectations Desiree was talking about. "Everyone expects you to 'settle down' and find a 'real job', even if you like what you do. I can't imagine sitting behind a desk all day."

Desiree nodded. "I've had a job like that and it was more soulless than this. Plus, I get to meet the most interesting people. Even behind the bar."

Psyche smiled. "Sometimes, I'd rather hang out with the people I meet back here than the ones I meet in there." She pointed to the theater.

"Same," Desiree replied.

This went on for a few more nights. Psyche was trying to figure out if she should ask Desiree out or not. It was obvious that Desiree liked talking to her, even outside in the winter, but Psyche wasn't sure if Desiree would want to date her. That was something she'd always had trouble figuring out.

Then, after their second night of performance, someone suggested they take the cast party to the bar next door. Psyche was torn between wanting Desiree to work that night and not wanting her to. If nothing else, Psyche could get an opinion on Desiree from her friend, Daniel. He didn't see the same since of irony about someone involved in the theater pursuing a romance, but he liked to be helpful and he was a pretty good judge of character, if a little too blunt sometimes.

As everyone pulled on their coats, the stage manager, Daniel, found Psyche. "Isn't this the bar where your...friend works?"

"Yes," Psyche replied. "I'm not sure if she's working tonight."

"Well, if she is, I can see if she's good enough for you."

Psyche laughed. "Right because you can tell that in five minutes."

"Sometimes less," Daniel replied.

Psyche shook her head and they followed the crowd.

It was a Saturday night, so the bar was already busy, but that didn't seem to bother anyone in the cast. Psyche looked through the mass of people to try to find Desiree. She couldn't see her through all of the people, and then Daniel started pulling Psyche over to a table with some of their friends.

"Did you see her?" Daniel asked as they all struggled out of their coats.

"No," Psyche replied, sliding into the edge of the circular booth, "but she might be here."

"Here's your pitcher and glasses. Do you need anything else?"

Psyche looked up at the familiar voice. It was Desiree all right, but Psyche almost didn't recognize her. Desiree had always been wearing a long coat in the alley, so it was a shock to see her in a tight miniskirt and a low cut top. At first Psyche stared at her in shock, and then because she couldn't take her eyes away. She had always wondered what Desiree wore under that coat. Psyche felt decidedly unsexy in her jeans and nice shirt. She took all of this in while Desiree bent over low and set everything on the table, winking at one of the guys. Desiree took a quick look around the table at everyone there and froze when she made eye contact with Psyche. For a moment, they were both speechless. It was like Psyche had shone a light on Desiree when Desiree hadn't expected anyone to see her.

"I think that'll be it," Robert, one of the guys in the cast, replied. "Thanks."

"Sure thing, sugar," Desiree replied, seemingly on autopilot. She snapped her gaze away from Psyche and scooted away.

Daniel looked at Psyche. "So, was that her?"

Psyche nodded, still a little in shock.

"Damn, girl. You've got her number, right?"

Psyche looked at Daniel, trying to focus. "Um, yeah."

"Good." Daniel looked at Psyche a bit more closely. "What's wrong?"

"She always wears a coat outside," Psyche replied, searching for the right words.

"Ah. You didn't know she dressed for good tips," Daniel replied sagely.

"What?" Psyche asked, her full attention on Daniel.

"She's a bartender. If she shows a bit more skin, she'll get more tips. Name of the game." Daniel poured himself a beer and took a drink.

"Oh." Psyche tried not to be disappointed. She'd had such great discussions with Desiree and to see her like this was...odd.

"Don't judge her for what she's wearing," Daniel advised. "If you're lucky, she won't judge you for what you're wearing."

Psyche shook her head. "I know it's just... She didn't seem like the type-"

"Will you stop typecasting and go flirt with the girl?" Daniel asked. "I mean, I'm sure she gets flirted with a lot at this job, but you mean something to her so your flirting would actually matter."

"What makes you think you know so much about how someone else's romance should go?"

Daniel shrugged. "Because it's not mine. That's how these things work."

"I'd better not bother her," Psyche said. "She's working."

"All right, coward. It's only going to be harder to talk to her again later."

Psyche stuck out her tongue, but didn't deny the truth of what Daniel was saying. She did her best to enjoy the cast party, but it was the next week before Psyche spent intermission outside in the alley again. She was out there alone, calling herself a fool for thinking Desiree would come out there, or that Desiree would want her the way Psyche wanted Desiree, when the back door to the bar opened.

"Hey," Desiree said, letting the door close behind her. "Guess that kind of startled you the other night, huh?"

"I just wasn't expecting..."

"Me to dress for tips?"

Psyche blushed, annoyed that she used the same phrase Daniel had. "Usually the girls I see dressed like that are... Well, they're not interested in the things I am, I guess."

"And you feel like you saw the true me and I wasn't like you expected," Desiree replied. She shook her head. "That's my outfit for work. That's not how I dress on my time off. And we've already talked a lot about things we're both interested in."

Psyche remembered they both liked some similar music. Desiree had been in a few musicals in school, although she didn't pursue it now, and they both liked some of the same movies for similar reasons. "I know," Psyche replied. "I guess I've gotten used to seeing only part of you and being a little afraid when I saw a different side of you." She looked at the ground. "Well, lack of honesty always hurts relationships in shows. Maybe honesty will help me in real life. Maybe."

"So, I was different than you expected and that scared you?"

Slowly, Psyche nodded.

"You know, there might be some other things about me you don't expect," Desiree said slowly.

Psyche nodded. "I shouldn't have expected you to fit in a stereotype or something."

"I mean, other things that might be...different than what you consider normal," Desiree tried again.

"Oh." "Like what?"

"Well. Haven't you wondered why I'm always out here to meet you?"

Psyche's heart hammered in her chest. "Because you like talking to me?"

"Well, yes, but I was wondering if..." Desiree laughed and shook her head. "I get asked out so many times every night. You'd think I'd have an easier time asking you on a date."

It took a moment for Psyche's brain to process what she'd heard. "What? You want to go on a date with me?"

"Well, yeah," Desiree replied. "I know you might not have thought of me as bi, but-"

"Yes, I'd love to!" Psyche replied. "Sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off."

Desiree laughed. "We're both a little nervous." She stepped a little closer. "So, you really want to go on a date?"

"Yes. I've been trying to figure out how to ask you for a long time."

Desiree smiled self-consciously. "Oh. And I thought I might be rushing you."

Psyche slipped her hand into Desiree's. "Not at all."

Desiree gave her hand a squeeze. "Great. Then you can see me when I'm just being me."

"And you can see me when...well, when I'm putting some more effort into my appearance."

Desiree laughed. "You can come in yoga pants and a t-shirt, as long as you show up."

"I'll try to be a little more dressed up than that," Psyche promised. Next time she shone a light on Desiree, Psyche told herself not to be scared if she learned something new because it would only make this better. The only bad thing was that Daniel was going to say he'd told her so when Psyche told him she had a date with Desiree. He could be kind of a jerk when he was right.