At first she was sure it was just a bit of dried strawberry juice, br or a fleck of her mother's red nail polish that had flaked off br when she'd patted her daughter to sleep the night before. br But as she scrubbed, Snow felt a bump, something festering br under the surface, like a tapeworm curled up and living br in her left cheek. br Doc the Dwarf was no dermatologist br and besides Snow doesn't get to meet him in this version br because the mint leaves the tall doctor puts over her face br only make matters worse. Snow and the Queen hope br against hope for chicken pox, measles, something br that would be gone quickly and not plague Snow's whole br adolescence. br If only freckles were red, she cried, if only br concealer really worked. Soon came the pus, the yellow dots, br multiplying like pins in a pin cushion. Soon came br the greasy hair. The Queen gave her daughter a razor br for her legs and a stick of underarm deodorant. br Snow br doodled through her teenage years—'Snow + ?' in Magic br Markered hearts all over her notebooks. She was an average br student, a daydreamer who might have been a scholar br if she'd only applied herself. She liked sappy music br and romance novels. She liked pies and cake br instead of fruit. br The Queen remained the fairest in the land. br It was hard on Snow, having such a glamorous mom. br She rebelled by wearing torn shawls and baggy gowns. br Her mother would sometimes say, 'Snow darling, br why don't you pull back your hair? Show those pretty eyes?' br or 'Come on, I'll take you shopping.' br Snow preferred br staying in her safe room, looking out of her window br at the deer leaping across the lawn. Or she'd practice br her dance moves with invisible princes. And the Queen, br busy being Queen, didn't like to push it.