When Ona's calendar woke her early this morning with the reminder that she would be picking Jewel up from the airport today she knew that it was going to be a long day. Ona had an incessant need to appear 'presentable' as she called it whenever she knew she was going to be out in public for any given time. She'd spent hours showering in steaming hot water, scrubbing her body and her face, then applying a careful regimen of creams and treatments to remove any blemish, pigment, redness, or anything else she viewed as an imperfection. Afterwards she wrapped her body tight in bindings that would hold everything in and perfectly poised. She applied makeup that paled her already porcelain skin even more. Getting dressed was just as taxing... requiring her to try on outfit after outfit only to be annoyed at the way one seemed to show a pudge in her bound stomach, or a made her shoulders too broad, her legs too short, her arms too thick. 

The obsession was eating her alive day after day, but she would never admit it. By the time she was finished she could hardly sit, hadn't eaten, and was still utterly unimpressed with her appearance. She settled on a long black ensemble with wide legged pants and a skin tight top that was nude in color with bold black lines, making it appear as though she were wrapped in thin straps of leather. She placed one of her signature head wraps make of metallic geometric shapes over the hair that she'd changed more often than the seasons and yet still hated, and grabbed a "diet drink" instead of bothering to actually eat anything. Her diet drinks were mainly water and lemon juice, but having something seemed to deter the constant questions from random people. She convinced herself that if she lost just a few more pounds, people would stop staring; just a few more pounds and she'd be beautiful. 

She left her drab apartment that was not nearly as adorned as her wardrobe and headed out to pick up her coworker. In the parking lot she'd become distracted looking at herself in the mirror... her eyebrows looked strange and her cheeks were puffy. A sick feeling welled in her stomach and for a moment she was sure that she would burst through her bindings and her clothes and become exposed for the bloated grotesque creature she was. Her self loathing was abruptly interrupted however when Jewel's wandering form started past the vehicle as though he'd not seen her at all. 

She rolled down the window and pulled up quickly, startling a woman waiting to cross the path of traffic. 

[b][color=92278f]"Jewel! Hey Jewel!"[/color][/b]

She hit the horn twice with her palm, careful to not damage her manicured nails shaped like talons.