Spring Cleaning

Chapter 3
Pomp and Circumstance

Chapter Description: As she examined herself in the mirror, its reflection showed an impossible shift in her appearance. She was becoming *younger*; yet she was completely oblivious to the fact, aside from a slight shivering sensation (which she assumed was a draft).

She decided to start her efforts by gathering something easy to find -- outdated magazines, old school textbooks, anything she was positive she’d never be using again. In spite of this decision, Angela found herself becoming increasingly distracted as the minutes rolled by. Every so often she would see something she’d once been fond of, and though she would manage to look away, she couldn’t seem to regain her lost focus.

She’d also been trying to remember what the tune was that the music box, obscured from sight by muss, was playing. It was uncommonly thought-provoking, bringing back memories of her Senior year in high school. As she pondered this, she lifted a fashion magazine and found something eerily ironic.

...My cap from graduation...? Oh yeah!

Now she realized what song the music box was playing: the graduation song, Pomp and Circumstance. A bit odd that a music box would be playing something so sophisticated -- and Angela certainly couldn’t remember ever having a music box designed to play that tune -- but the nostalgia it produced was a good feeling. She gently stroked the tassel of the cap as she reminisced about the graduation ceremony almost three years ago.

She had been an Honor Student, and in fact was studious enough to graduate as Salutatorian. The speech she gave upon earning this title was a real tear-jerker, according to her parents (who were rather biased on the issue), and all of her friends had been very proud, if not a little jealous. She remembered fondly the party that had occurred after the ceremony -- Project Graduation, they called it. The whole Senior class had attended this event, where you could compete in a variety of games to earn Monopoly money, which you could in turn exchange for fabulous prizes (such as the television she used in her college dormitory). It was a blast, and she remembered it all so vividly. There had been some real pride in her heart as she walked that stage and was handed her diploma, and holding the graduation cap in her hands renewed that pride in Angela. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind:

I wonder if it still fits?

Stroking the tassel one more time, she stood up and scanned the room for a mirror, which she found right where it had always been: built into her closet door. She waded through the myriad items on the floor around her and stood in front of the mirror. Using her reflection to guide her hands, she slowly lifted the cap into the air, brought it down gently on her head, and fixed it into place.

At this point, an astonishing transformation began.

Just a few minutes before, there had been rather recent things among all of the archaic artifacts: college textbooks from Freshman year; framed photos from some New Year’s party at Christie’s; a box of love notes from her ex-boyfriend Brent (she couldn’t bear to throw them away); an award she had won for her academic excellence during her first year at the university.

All these, as well as everything signifying Angela’s life beyond her graduation from high school, vanished.

But this was the least of the wonders -- Angela herself was undergoing metamorphosis. As she examined herself in the mirror, its reflection showed an impossible shift in her appearance. She was becoming younger; yet she was completely oblivious to the fact, aside from a slight shivering sensation (which she assumed was a draft).

Much of the tone which she had developed in college, either by sports or otherwise, receded. Her breasts, though they shrank a bit, became pert and pronounced. Her hair grew several inches; she had worn it longer a few years ago. Facial features became softer and more fresh, as did the rest of her regressing physique. Her clothing shifted around her frame, contracting and reforming until the transformation was complete.

Soon the shivers subsided, and it was done: Angela was 18 again, appearing exactly as she did on the day after Project Graduation -- and in her eyes, nothing was amiss.

The high school graduate sighed contentedly and took the cap off. She couldn’t believe high school was over with! Yesterday had been amazing, and so full of memories which she would cherish forever. Knowing that she would soon have the urge to revel in those memories again, 18-year-old Angela trudged through the chaos that was her floor and placed the cap on her dresser, next to a few other reminders of her incredible Senior year: pictures with friends, her class ring, and of course, her diploma.

She turned around and surveyed the room, which pretty much ruined her good mood as she remembered her business therein.

God, I can’t believe my mom! Making me clean my room the day after Project Graduation? I should still be asleep, seriously...

But her mother had made it very clear: Angela could get as much sleep as she wanted later; her room had to be clean by dinnertime, or else it would be meatloaf at home instead of a fancy family outing at Romano’s Place. Angela couldn’t see the logic in this command. In fact, it seemed nonsensical, incongruous, out of place somehow. She even had a vague sense that something was...different. Maybe even wrong.

She really did want that dinner at Romano’s, though. Some time to sleep beforehand would be nice too. A quick scan of the room gave Angela a bit of satisfaction. It was still chaotic, but she’d made a good deal of progress in cleaning up the place -- almost like some of the mess had simply disappeared.

Of course, there was a lot left to do, and only a few hours to do it. So she decided to buckle down and tackle another section of clutter. But since she had made so much headway already, and in such a short amount of time, she didn’t suspect the rest of the cleaning would take very long.

And she was right, naturally. Not very long at all.