Hypnovember - Day Twelve - Stage
(Possible CNC, possible dubious consent)
Agatha paced the floorboards offstage, nervously. The stepped shakily onto center stage. She was trying not to crumple the piece of paper in her hands, but her fingers, her hands, her whole body was shaking. This wasnât working.
It had worked in rehearsals and in previews, but this was opening night... why wasnât it working? âRaise the Curtain,â she whispered to herself, again, more insistently. Nothing happened.
âRaise. The. Curtain.â
She didnât have time to call her roommate, Naomi, who had given her the hypnotic trigger in the first place. The actual curtain was actually going to raise in mere moments and Agatha was actually going to have to actually remember her lines and actually.... act.
Her roommate was out there, probably, just beyond the curtain. This was her idea.
âYouâre an amazing actress.â
âYou are! Whenever you read me a story from the newspaper, or one of the plays from our literature assignments, you really make it come alive.â
âThank you. Thatâs very kind, but I get so flustered talking in public. I tried auditioning once, and I was just so pitiful.â
âI have an idea. But you have to promise not to laugh.â
âWell, you know Iâm taking a class in hypnosis?â
Agatha blinked. âYes.... no. Come on.... does it actually work??â
âIt does. And itâs actually really good for these kind of things, helping you out of your shell.â
Agatha thought briefly that there was a strange look crossing Naomiâs face when she said that.
âCome on.â Naomi gave Agatha one of her crooked smiles. âWhen have I ever steered you wrong?â
Agatha gave a look. âTwo words. Tattoo. Removal.â
Naomi laughed. âOk. Name another time. Besides, college is supposed to be the time you cut loose and experiment. Hereâs a chance to show how talented you are.â
âFine! But no funny business.... no... making me bark like a chicken.â
Naomi smirked. âI promise. I wonât make you bark like a chicken.â
Agatha threw a pillow at her.
But that was it. For that entire weekend, Naomi hypnotized Agatha repeatedly. For Agatha, it seemed like the weekend flew by, and she seemed energized and alive by Monday. Naomi, for her part, also seemed overjoyed, but a little tired.
Still, Agatha felt a brand new sense of confidence: she was participating in classes more, had dumped her pushy boyfriend (what was his name? Derek? Rick? Frederick? Whatever.), and had gone on a wardrobe overhaul with Naomi. They had been spending even more time together, and Naomi was only too happy to donate some of her parentsâ platinum credit limit to Agathaâs sudden interest in ties and bespoke blazers.
Agatha was also so happy to have found herself in rehearsals for a brand new experimental play. It was a mark of how effective the hypnosis had been that she barely remembered auditioning for it.
The play explored interpersonal power dynamics between women, and it was called âLook Into My Eyes.â Each night was a completely different experience, with roles drawn out of a hat from random suggestions. Some nights were extremely risquĂ©, and Agatha always seemed to draw the dominant roles. It wasnât like Agatha to enjoy putting the other cast members in their place on stage. But Naomi had helped her. She said that any time she felt unsure of her role or her place, she could just use the trigger âRaise the Curtain,â and everything would fall into place.
âItâs just a variation on the Stanislasvki method,â She remembered Naomi telling her, âsay that trigger, and your unconscious will make sure that youâre ready for the role thatâs presented to you.â
And it worked. Sheâd say it, and she became the characters she was given. It was as if Agatha was shoved aside, and the character was in her place. And Agatha grew to love the experience.
The first few rehearsals were relatively tame: âhorny woman making the first move,â âexperienced senior teaching virginal sophomore,â and âtherapist/patientâ were some obvious (and clicheâd) suggestions.
Agatha was surprised by how well she took to them. And she hugged Naomi and thanked her after every performance for giving her the confidence.
One night, though, she was given âCEO,â and she remembered the scene ending with her forcing her costar to bend over her desk writing âIâll be a good capitalistic workerâ over and over while Agatha spanked her with a copy of the Wealth of Nations.
Naomi had been there, and said she thought it was unusual but incredibly hot.
Just the night before the opening, Agatha was given âNun/naughty college student at all-girls college,â and before too long had her co-star crawling across the stage on all fours, we Agatha spanked her with a ruler.
But this was tonight. Opening night.
âRaise the Curtain!â Still, nothing. Nothing was happening. Tonightâs role was written on a piece of paper in her hands, but she was too nervous even to look at it.
Finally, she heard a voice- it was Naomiâs voice.
âRaise the Curtain, now.â
Agatha blinked. She suddenly wasnât on a stage. She was in their living room. Naomi was sitting in a chair, looking at Agatha with a look of trepidation.
Agatha looked around, and the memories shifted back to her, of Spring Break, and Naomi and her enjoying role after role in their apartment staycation.
She looked at Naomi again. Naomi was tied to her chair with ropes. Agatha was somehow sure she had tied them, but could barely remember that. There was a pile of plays on the coffee table, and an assortment of sex toys and flogging equipment, including a nunâs habit, as well as a pocket watch and some flashing lights, scattered around the room.
There was a pause. Naomi glanced down at the paper in Agathaâs hand.
Agatha looked down and read it.
âHypnotist,â it said.
Agatha felt a surge pass through her.
âReally.â She said more than asked. She could see Naomiâs breathing and pulse quicken.
Agatha rolled up her sleeves, and grabbed the pocket watch. âWell, then,â she said, âletâs find out whatâs been really going on. And what roles you can play.â
Naomi moaned contentedly, as she felt her mind slip away, and Agatha took another turn on the main stage.