Change of Face

For a long time I was so tired of my face that one morning I just took it off. It turned out to be easier than I imagined. There were two hinges, one behind each ear. All I had to do was disengage these hinges and the whole face came off like a plastic mask. Underneath was another plastic mask. Then another and another. As far as I could tell, it was masks all the way down. I stopped when I came to a cute squirrel mask. I’d always wanted to look like a squirrel. I couldn’t wait to debut the new me at work but when I got there no one seemed to notice the change. Peg in accounting asked me if I’d shaved off my mustache. I’ve never worn a mustache in my life, I replied with indignation. Bill, who shared my office, thought I’d gotten a haircut. Someone else wanted to know if I’d lost weight. It was so frustrating I wanted to scream, What’s the matter with you?! I’ve got a new face!! Are you all blind?! But that would have defeated the point. The only ones who noticed were the squirrels in the little park through which I walked every day to and from work. And they’d never accepted me and had made it clear a long time ago that they never would.