Elizabeth wanted to be beautiful and confident. She didn’t want to be the person she was. That was why she spent all her savings to meet with a sorcerer who was well-known for granting wishes. The sorcerer gave her an amulet and told her she had to wear it every day for it to work. The amulet was a shimmering blue stone with an intricate silver frame. Despite its simplicity, Elizabeth felt that it held a mysterious energy.

After the meeting, Elizabeth went home. In front of her house, she saw a few classmates passing by. Her house was modest, with paint chipped in various corners, so normally Elizabeth would be embarrassed to be seen. This time though, the amulet seemed to give her courage. She waved to her classmates with a smile on her face. When Elizabeth went into her room, she looked at herself in the mirror. The person who stared back was glowing, lustrous hair framing a stunning face. Elizabeth was the happiest she had ever been. She could hardly wait to show everyone the new version of her.

The next day, Elizabeth didn’t wear oversized clothes to hide her figure or cover her face with hair. When she ate breakfast, her parents told her she looked gorgeous. At school, Elizabeth chatted with her desk mate. She had always been too scared to start a conversation, but Elizabeth didn’t feel any fear that day. When she told a joke, her desk mate laughed, and Elizabeth silently thanked the sorcerer. Elizabeth raised her hand when the teacher asked a question. When she solved the problem on the board, the thought of how stupid she would look if she got the answer wrong didn’t cross her mind even once. Her teacher was impressed by how quickly she had finished.

“You’ve always been a very gifted student, Elizabeth. I’m so glad you’re finally participating in class,” she said.

[I’d add in another detail here about Elizabeth’s response. See what descriptive language you can use.]

Elizabeth soon became everything she had hoped to be. One day, when she was particularly happy with the person she had become, she looked back on her old self and was startled by how much she had changed. Elizabeth smiled and tried to touch her amulet, only to realize it wasn’t there. Elizabeth panicked. She looked for it everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. As soon as the bell rang, she ran home. There, she found the amulet lying on her desk.

Elizabeth had forgotten to put it on that morning.