You and your family got out of the car.
You opened the trunk and hauled your baggage into the house. Jessica waited at the front door, and smiling as you made your way inside, held the door open. You decided as a kindness not to mess with Jessica’s mind any more, not until you tested your power out some more. The last thing you wanted was to accidentally hurt Jessica in some way.
You decided to test your power on Britney.
Britney was your typical bitchy sister. You never got along with Britney, and since you both finished high school, the two of you mostly tried to ignore each other.
You approached Britney while she was in the kitchen.
“Are you getting takeout now?” you asked.
“What?” Britney was surprised by your abruptness. She frowned.
“How long until you get takeout?”
Britney shrugged, clearly your questions were annoying her.
You tried to use your power to make Britney want to leave right away. The result was instantaneous, as Britney’s eyes glazed over for a moment. She blinked a couple times. “I am just about to leave now,” she said, oblivious to her change in attitude. You forced the idea that she should invite you along for a ride, something that Britney would never normally consider. She blinked a couple more times and picked her car keys up from the kitchen table.
“You want to come for a ride, Shrimp?” she asked. “You could probably use the fresh air.”
Your mother entered the kitchen and overheard Britney’s offer. She looked happy. “I think that’s a great idea!” she exclaimed, surprised that her two eldest were suddenly getting along. Britney seemed unfussed.
You followed Britney into the garage and jumped into her pink Volkswagen Beetle. Britney got the car for her eighteenth birthday. You sat in the passenger seat. She sat in the driver’s seat. She pulled down the visor and touched up her lipstick in the mirror. You wondered, given the opportunity, if you could make Britney do things without her noticing. You imagined Britney using her lipstick to put a dot on her forehead, and without missing a beat, Britney acted on your mental instruction. She lifted the lipstick away from her lips and painted a red dot on her forehead. Britney remained unaware of her actions, even as she went back to applying lipstick to her lips.
“You ready to go, Shrimp?” asked Britney between the last two strokes of lipstick.
“Yeah,” you answered, barely containing a chuckle, “whenever you’re ready.” |