The Writers' Circle

Faina touched the ring he'd given her. She wasn't sure exactly what his name was. They shared a class. She never would have noticed him and she was sure he didn't recognize her- at least not for the right reasons. The quiet, fat girl since she was five, Faina knew what to expect from members of the opposite sex.
	They didn't even sit close to each other, but she'd gotten a text message during the class. She checked her phone right after class and read it- mom was still sick, come to the hospital after soon (no thanks, as usual)- so she got up as he was leaving. 
	He noticed it before she had. It was a cheap ring. It probably came out of a vending machine for a quarter, the type that would be a good gift for a five-year-old and grounds for a break-up for anyone else. It was silver with a black strip running through it and so transparent Faina hadn't seen it on the ground. But he had. He picked it up and gave it to her. He hadn't said a word.
	Faina couldn't stop thinking about his face. He hadn't smiled at her. Their eyes met, but only for about five seconds. Each one of her mother's doctors had given her more in terms of contact. But not one of them was that gorgeous. 
	Tall, dark and handsome was the standard for male beauty. In Faina's eyes, he measured up. Some girls thought he wasn't tall enough, but she was only five-two. He was somewhere around five-ten. His racial background both Asian and Caucasian. His dark eyes looked serious and smart. His body was hard and finely-muscled.
	He was probably off at some bar with some girl- tall Asian or tall blonde- drinking beer and shooting pool. She would leave him. He'd use it as an excuse to drink and then replace her. They might be serious, but he'd still replace her. Then he'd take the son he'd had with someone else and say "Back when I was in college, I knew this girl..."
	What would she have to tell her daughter? Not much.
	It was nine o'clock on a Thursday night on a long week-end. While everyone else was out, Faina was in. After listening to her mother harass her for the span of the hospital's visiting hours, having dinner with her father harass her about her weight, and coming home to housework, Faina had crashed. She was in front of the television in her childhood bedroom, watching a made-for-television movie that was intended for ten- year-old girls having a slumber party and eating junk food. But she had company. The dog curled up on her bed. The dog didn't have a name. Her father had insisted on buying it when he got sober.
	"But you don't have time for a dog," Faina said. He didn't have time for anything except his career. He had to make time for his addiction. 
	Her father hired a professional dog walker, a perpetually smiling twenty-something who didn't complain when he also asked her to feed the dog. He also hired a dog groomer to come to the house. For the most part, he seemed to forget about the dog.
	But Faina liked having a living thing around the house. 
	The movie designed for twelve-year-olds featured a lead character who was a college student, like Faina. She was searching for love, like Faina. But she had the perfect body. Her only problem was that she'd rather stay in than head out. A guy with perfect hair and a perfect body was in the process of forcing her out.
	"Is this really how you want things to be?" he asked her. "How you want things to look?"
	Was the ring how she wanted to look?
	She'd probably never see the boy again. If she did, he might think it was weird she was still wearing his ring. She should disguise it.
	"What if I change it into an engagement ring?" Faina asked the dog.
	The dog didn't get up.
	It was a dumb idea. That would be a complicated spell and Faina had no idea how to conjure up a fiancé. A spell to take a few inches off her waistline would be more worthwhile, but the mere thought of casting a spell on herself made Faina queasy. Magic was somewhat unpredictable. So was her body. Mixing them wouldn't work out.
	But she could change the ring. The lead actress with the perfect body- her name was Sam- wore a nice ring- silver, like hers, with an obviously fake plastic red gem in the center. Faina was sure she'd seen it in a few scenes. Sam's hobby was going to coffeehouses and writing in a notebook. Sam was always alone. Her boyfriend wanted that to stop.
	She hadn't met the boy, but she could have the ring.
	Faina held the ring in her hand and made a fist. She clenched and channeled her energy. When she released her palm, an exact duplicate of Sam's ring was on the palm of her hand.