Wax On/Wax Off

Sandy was amazed at how quickly two weeks of preparation went. Every day after work she'd race home to put together her personas, and then proceeded to test them against an initially extremely amused Megan.

"You look like the Karate Kid." Megan smirked after Sandy had tried an outfit she thought was particularly masculine. She had gotten her hair cut in what she thought was an appropriately short style and wore a T-shirt along with loose fitting jeans.

"So, that's good, right?" Sandy asked expectantly.

"You look ... like the Karate Kid. Which means you look like you're about eighteen." Megan amplified, her eyes roaming up and down over Sandy. "I still think this idea is crazy, and honestly you still kinda look ... well, like a girl trying to look like a guy."

"I'm working on it." Sandy shrugged, "What's giving me away?"

"You look ... too ... too cute. You know, that whole teen pop idol thing." Megan explained.

"So, look ... uglier?" Sandy screwed up her face, twisting her upper lip and lower lip in opposite directions.

"Aaaaand now you look like Elvis." Megan laughed. "I thought you were going to try stubble or something."

"Yeah, the stuff I had just makes my face look dirty." Sandy shrugged. "So I decided to go with the clean shaven, all the time."

"Ok, if you're going to do that, you can't have the messy hair." Megan pointed out.

"Ok, so, slicked?" Sandy suggested.

"Try it."

It was a much better look, Sandy decided after several quick attempts in the bathroom. When she returned to the main room with the change, Megan nodded appreciatively.

"Ok, now ... well, you look like a guy who spends way too much on product. You know, one of those Metro..." Megan struggled momentarily for a word before she settled on, "guys ... I suppose."

"Step in the right direction." Sandy grinned. "Just have to work on looking like I care less."

Looking like she cared less was much harder than Sandy had supposed. Taking less time with her appearance made her look more like a woman, whereas taking too much just amplified the metro look. She took every opportunity to scan the internet for techniques, trying each one in the mirror to varying degrees of success. Eventually, she achieved what she felt was a desirable visage. It looked young, admittedly, but the first thought that someone would have upon seeing her would be "Kid Brother."

She continued to practice, trying for that particular air of social awkwardness that she often saw among gamers. Just enough so that she wouldn't be expected to have any major conversations outside of gaming. That, after all, was what she was aiming for.

Sandy's plans had been finalized months in advance, but it was still a thrill to click and send off a confirmation e-mail to "Nocturne21" who was going to be her ride from the airport. The plan was that they would meet at the airport, since Nocturne21 was a local, and then drive up the lake to the city where BigCon was taking place. The other person splitting the room would meet them there and they'd hit the convention first thing the next day. Overall a nice simple plan, which ensured that she'd have a bed at least two of the three nights they were staying.