Mission Pretty Possible Chapter 17.11 (Patreon)

“Okay!” Tanya chirped. “Blow-dry is done. Styling is done. Open your eyes, sweetie.”

Ethan opened his eyes.

The air left his lungs in a sharp, audible gasp.

The person in the mirror wasn't Ethan. It wasn't even the "Elena" he had played during the pageant. That Elena had been a boy in a costume. This… this was a girl.

The hair was blonde, falling in a high, voluminous half-ponytail that cascaded past his shoulders. It framed his face aggressively, softening his jawline, highlighting his large eyes. The color was so bright, so artificial yet perfectly executed, that it erased every trace of his masculine features.

“Oh my god,” Ethan whispered, his hand rising to touch the hair. It felt soft. Real. “I look… I look like a…”

“Like a bombshell,” Sam interrupted, grinning like a shark.

“I look like a lightbulb!” Ethan stared, wide-eyed. “It’s so… it’s so blonde. Sam, I look ridiculous. I look like I belong on a reality show, not in a sterile lab. People are going to stare. They’re going to look at me more, not less!”

“They’re going to look at the hair” Claire pointed out. “They’ll see the blonde, Elena. It’s a distractor. It works.”