Section 1
I was spending some quality man-time with my buds Liam and Brad. Average guys with beer bellies and ex-wives. I'd known them for a few years and it was good to be able to hang with them: to break the monotony of seven years of marriage and to offer some mild excitement in the life of a shy guy like me who never takes any chances.
Liam had just taken a course at the park district on hypnotism and we were all debating it when I was distracted.
My smart phone chimed indicating someone had texted me. Looking to see who it was from, I ignored it when the message from an unknown sender said, "3-2-1-snap." Far far off in a dreamland distance I heard a mellow voice, "Ray, lighten up."
Section 2
It was the wild nineties and turning back to my best friends I listened to their argument already in progress. My friends, Grayson and Miles, were in a heated discussion, "No, not if they really don't want to."
Miles responded, "Yes, even if he doesn't want to. It's all suggestion, man."
I'd known Grayson and Miles since grade school. We were all 18 and I was the only one of us with a girlfriend. They said I was whipped but really they were just hard up and jealous. But back then I had all the girls following me around like puppy dogs and I was wild and carefree - reckless even. Those were the days.
They turned to me, "What do you think, R?" That's what everyone called me back then.
"Well, I saw this old detective show once. The killer convinced this lady to take a swan dive off her balcony. Like from really high up. He didn't just hypnotize her and tell her to kill herself...she wouldn't do that of course. See, she was a swimmer and he convinced her to go for a swim in the middle of the night. In her mind she was on a diving board just a few feet up. So it was a suggestion... plus a trick."
They both agreed that with a trick like that it could be done.
Grayson said he should hypnotize me. I just knew I'd be immune, but thought it'd be fun to play with his mind, "Sure, you can do me."
Miles asked, "Can we make you do stuff, like run around the house naked? Or levitate?"
Grayson objected, "No one can levitate. Not even under hypnosis."
I wasn't so sure: "I saw this act once where the hypnotist asked a girl who her favorite singer was. She said it was Barbara Streisand."
"So?"
"So, he told her she WAS Streisand and this girl belted out one of her hits almost flawlessly. I mean this teen girl with no voice training, who was petrified of standing up in front of an audience, was amazing!"
"Yea, but that's just a talent. A hidden talent. But it's not levitation."
I argued back, "What'ya think levitation is? It's just a talent. You use less than 1% of your brain."
Miles asked again, "So we can make you do anything?"
I grinned, "Give it your best shot. If you have enough power you could have me bending steel or moving objects with my mind." Secretly, I knew I was just gonna pretend to be hypnotised. When nothing special happened it would just prove they didn't have the power.
Grayson put in his two cents again, "If you do anything impossible I'll give you a hundred bucks."
I begged off, "Nah, I don't need your money." Then I rethought it, "but if Miles can get me to do anything amazing or against my will. Anything I would never do, then I'll take your moolah."
Grayson pondered the challenge, "Something you would NEVER do?"
I nodded, then we shook. This was either gonna be an easy hundred or just fun.
Miles swung the watch before me like a pendulum. "Sleeeepy, you are getting sleeeepy..."
It wasn't working. I was completely aware of everything. After a bit Grayson said they should give up, but Miles said, "Wait! I didn't try any commands." So he made a suggestion, "R, you want to run around the house naked."