A Bet with a Hypnotist

Is it real?

The whole thing started when I was having burgers in the student union with a bunch of people from my math class. Some girl was going on and on about the show she'd been to the night before.

"My friend Amber got hypnotized without even meaning to! It was like she fell asleep in her chair. The guy saw her sitting there with her eyes closed, and he called her up on stage and had her sing like Taylor Swift. Then she--"

"Bullshit!" I said. Usually I wouldn't have interrupted like that. But I was in a bad mood after bombing yet another midterm.

I didn't even remember the name of the girl who was telling the story. But she remembered me. She gave me a nasty look and said, "You don't believe much of anything, Jordan. You're that sort of guy."

"Some things you have to be skeptical about," I said.

"I promise, it's all true. She didn't even remember anything afterwards."

"She was playing along," I said.

"No, she wasn't! Why would she lie about something like that?"

"Maybe she liked the attention."

"She doesn't like attention! She's shy!" The girl, whatever her name might be, was really starting to get mad now.

I should have let it go, but it was rubbing me the wrong way. "Come on," I said. "A hypnosis show? You don't believe that guy was making people do things, do you?"

"How the hell do you know what he could do?"

"It's just some stupid show. People like having an excuse to act silly."

The girl glared at me like she couldn't think of what else to say. That basically meant she'd lost the argument.

"My friend Megan is a hypnotist," said another girl. I didn't know her at all, and she talked so quietly I could barely hear her. "She's good. She helped me get over my fear of flying."

"What is this?" I said. "Hypnotists all over the place these days?"

"She doesn't do shows," said the girl I didn't know. "She only does it to help people."

"So maybe she does help people. Maybe she tells them everything will be all right and they get cheered up. That doesn't mean they're really hypnotized."

"Why don't you give it a try?" she said.

I just stared at her.

"Once you get hypnotized yourself, you know it's real." She sounded convinced.

"Well, even if it is real I bet she couldn't hypnotize me."

"I bet she could! Give it a fair try. She owns this place called the Singularity Store down on Green Street. That's where to find her. "

"So what is she, a hypnotist or a junk dealer?"

"She does hypnosis part time. Let her know I told you about her. My name's Holly."

I gave her a look like the subject was too stupid to talk about any more. The table went quiet for a second or two, and then people started talking about the math test. That was the last thing I needed to be reminded of, so I headed out.

I should have sensed trouble on its way.