Don't You Wish Read Online Free

Averatec on the floor. It’s the only computer I have! It’s completely taken apart, with a circuit board on the floor connected to other tiny electronic gadgetry I suspect was all taken from the discard bin at RadioShack.
    “I had to borrow the motherboard,” Dad says. “I’ll put it back together again.”
    “Yeah, that’s what you said about my flip-flops,” I mutter. “What’s that other stuff?”
    “A solid-state relay, some rectifiers, and a couple of PIN diodes.”
    “And is that Mom’s digital scale?” I shoot a look at Dad. “Do you actually
want
to die?”
    “Just get on the scale, Annie. You’ll see.”
    All I can see is my precious—if cheap and as slow as a diseased turtle—laptop disassembled next to the digital scale that we got Mom for Christmas last year. Still, I step on the scale, because when Dad is in this mood, you have to humor him.
    “Look in the mirror.”
    On the left side of my reflection, a series of red numbers and letters appears:
70 in. 143 lbs. 20.5 bmi
.
    “See?” Dad says. “Height, weight, and body mass index.”
    “Not mine,” I say, doing some quick math. “Unless I gained twenty pounds and grew five inches.”
    “Well, that’s a little glitch,” he admits, coming aroundthe front of the mirror. “I can only get it to register one set of information now, but I have a friend at Process Engineering, and he’s going to help me iron that out. But wait, Annie. Here’s the amazing part. This mirror and scale combination alone would make a very cool product, don’t you think?”
    “Yeah, if you want a full-body view while weighing, that’s a neat idea, Dad.” Not sure it would sell, but then, what invention of his does?
    “Now comes the good part,” he says, kneeling down to the electronics on the floor. “Nobody can touch this contraption but me because it’s so delicate that an ant could ruin it by walking over the top. But …” He takes out something that looks like an iPhone knockoff, obviously used and refurbed by RadioShack, and starts to flick the screen.
    “Watch the mirror, Annie.”
    At first, the change is barely noticeable. My waist narrows. My hips flare. My boobs … whoa.
    “Holy cow, Dad. That is so not my body.”
    “Look at your face.”
    My hair has grown, my eyes have widened, my skin has cleared. Dear God, I got cheekbones.
    “Dad!” And the image moves … as I do. “This is unbelievable! How are you doing that?”
    “I programmed about a hundred faces in here, and I’m just picking the best of the best. I used that iPhone app Famous Faces, where you can put your picture in and replace all your features with celebrities’. Now look at you. Like it?”
    Like it? “It’s perfect!”
    “Then voila!” The phone makes the click of a picture,and he holds up the screen to show me. “Saved on the phone in a new app.”
    I look from the phone to the mirror to my dad. And back to the mirror, because, wow, I am hot.
    “Those numbers will change on the side when we get this thing wired right,” he adds quickly. “So you know what weight you’re shooting for to have that particular body. Doesn’t it just rock?”
    Oh, God, Dad. Please don’t say that. Ever
. “It’s pretty cool,” I say, getting off the scale.
    “Pretty cool?” Theo chokes instead of burping, for once. “Dude, this is, like, the freakiest.”
    The freakiest? Theo is worse than Dad, if that’s even possible. “But why would people buy it?” I ask.
    “Visualization, Annie!” Dad’s eyes are wild. “It is the key to success. Just ask any sports psychologist! Use your mind to picture what you want to be, and you’ll be it. Now you can visualize in full color, and then put it on your iPhone so you can carry your image with you as a constant reminder of how you want to look. Just think what motivation that could be to a dieter!”
    “But I can’t get my eyes to look like that.”
    “Maybe with the right makeup.”
    “Or plastic surgery,” I