✅ Potty Genius [NaNoWriMo 2022]

Thirty-One

¿Did Dr Abbott comment on the outfit?

She didn't say a word. And I think I might have noticed then, even with the hypnosis clouding my mind. Because when I came out of Burger Lord and took a sharp right to push open the little door, my worries evaporated. All the nerves that had left me pacing back and forth that morning, and the dizzy excitement that had occupied my attention for the other half, immediately evaporated. In stark contrast to the trepidation I had felt the first time I sidled down those stairs, I found that I felt at home the instant I passed through the door. And it wasn't something I could properly measure, but I felt like my thoughts were getting clearer with every step I descended.

Had Theo put something in my mind to give me a break from the Potty Genius hypnosis when I walked into her office? If she could do that, I would have hoped that she could just make me break free of those suggestions the whole time. But maybe it was easier to give me a temporary reprieve or something. Or maybe it was all in my mind, feeling safer just because I was in the home of someone I trusted with all the details of my predicament. Whichever was the case, I was sure that I felt better now.

"Hey Adrica!" Britney waved as I came in. She was watching TV on the big screen in the reception area again, but had apparently learned to pay attention to the door behind her at the same time. For a second I wondered how she had known it was me without turning around; but then I saw that there was a picture of me in the corner of the TV screen, presumably coming from a webcam connected to that computer. A cheap bodge, so that Britney could see the entrance even when she was facing the other way.

"Hey," I said, ignoring the action on her screen. "Is Dr Theo ready for me?"

Then Britney paused the video and turned around. I wondered if I'd said something wrong, or if I had somehow managed to turn up on the wrong day or something. With how scrambled my thoughts had been over the last couple of days, I wouldn't have put it past myself. She stared at me, looking me up and down for several seconds before she spoke.

"Are you regressing?" she asked eventually.

"Am I what?"

"Regressing. Feeling and acting like a child. Just a thought. 'Dr Abbott' is formal, 'Theo' is informal. 'Dr Theo' is something a little kid would normally say, before they learn about the different roles of forenames and family names. Not to mention you didn't have a lisp the last time you were here."

"I haven't got–" I started, and then replayed the conversation so far in my head. When I thought about how I had actually sounded, it was easy to believe that there was a lisp in my voice. I'd been speaking like a little kid for half a week, and this must be the first time that anyone had actually called me out on it. How could that have happened?

"I guess so," I said, after a moment to collect my thoughts. And then I made an extra effort to speak normally as I continued: "I didn't even realise I was talking funny. This is harder than I thought. I mean, I can fight the suggestions, but they keep sneaking in without me noticing, and unless somebody says something to me, I could be doing any number of weird things that I don't even know about. Please tell me she's going to be able to fix it today?"

"I can't promise that. But she'll do her best, and if you can tell her what the problem is, I'm sure she will be able to help you." She came out from behind the reception desk then, and took my hand like I was a little kid. I knew it was weird, but somehow it felt reassuring, so I didn't have any reason to complain. "Now come on, baby. Let's go see Dr Theo."

¿What did Dr Abbott say about that?

She was a little surprised when Britney told her that she thought I was 'regressing', but she didn't judge me. She listened while I told her about the badges. I told her that a challenge had said I must equip a badge if I get it, and how I wanted to know what the badges were beforehand, so it wasn't a complete surprise. About choosing the teddy because it sounded like the safest option, and the pages of instructions for it that made me feel all floaty until I couldn't remember what they said. I should probably have used a longer word for that, and I was sure that I knew one, but just in that moment I couldn't remember what it was. And then I told her about the discovery that I couldn't take the badge off again, and had to keep swapping between them.