Oh, for a conveniently placed mirror.
One of the things that puts me off in fiction is when the writer drops everything to describe what their main character looks like. Now, I understand that it's difficult to make it through an entire novel without giving any hint of what the character looks like, so I can understand mentioning what they're wearing (because they might be dressed inappropriately for their station or the place where we first see them), or even their facial features (as they could identify siblings). But this is just stupid. Granted, it's not quite "main character looks in a mirror as if she'd never seen herself before", but it's almost as ridiculous.
The guard admired Susan as she began her walk down the cement causeway. He noticed that her strong hazel eyes seemed distant today, but her cheeks had a flushed freshness, and her shoulder-length, auburn hair looked newly blown dry. Trailing her was the faint scent of Johnson's Baby Powder. His eyes fell the length of her slender torso - to her white blouse with the bra barely visible beneath, to her knee-length khaki skirt, and finally to her legs... Susan Fletcher's legs.
Hard to imagine they support a 170 IQ, he mused to himself.
At least mirrors don't do convenient intelligence tests.
The guard admired Susan as she began her walk down the cement causeway. He noticed that her strong hazel eyes seemed distant today, but her cheeks had a flushed freshness, and her shoulder-length, auburn hair looked newly blown dry. Trailing her was the faint scent of Johnson's Baby Powder. His eyes fell the length of her slender torso - to her white blouse with the bra barely visible beneath, to her knee-length khaki skirt, and finally to her legs... Susan Fletcher's legs.
Hard to imagine they support a 170 IQ, he mused to himself.
At least mirrors don't do convenient intelligence tests.