Emotional Manipulation - Freak Week, Chapter 3 #WritingWithGrace

Dear Insanity Journal,

Okay, I get it, I'm being relentlessly indecisive about what name to give you. But I literally have infinite hormones just rushing through my body like leftover Mexican food on a Tuesday night, so I'm SORRY if everything within me right now comes out in a huge disastrous and oddly brown mess, alright???

And believe me IJ, that name change and triple question mark action is certainly justified for me right now, because the rest of Day 2 of Freak Week was utter madness. Freak Week? More like Insanity In-Seven-Days! Dees? Days? Nope, shut it down. Better to leave the word play for Marmie and Harry. Though Harry's repertoire seems to only consist with an obsession over the word "Nuts!" He either has a serious overcompensation problem or he's probably gay. Wait a minute. OH MY GOD! How did I not see that coming? Damn it Lace, he's a freaking LACROSSE player for crying out loud!

Argh! Get to the point Lace, you're better at getting sidetracked than an absent-minded sidewinder on their hungover walk of shame. Anyway, I hear you ask "What happened?" Well first of all, how dare you get sentient on me without my permission, you definitely non-living paper book. And second, allow me to talk about myself in third person once again as I continue from where I left off from this afternoon.

The shattering swell of the cascading chamber organ behind the shadowy silhouette seemed to emphasize her entrance into the otherwise overtly lit room. Her presence would appear quite menacing until Marmie realized who it was. "Oh, it's just you Duckie." She nonchalantly commented. "Wait, really? Is that you Quackers?" Harry's terrified frame lowered into it's usual relaxed elasticity.

"My name is not QUACKERS!" Duckie scowled, her cinnamon skin and long charcoal hair now showing a luminescent glow as she stepped into the light. "Hey Duckie! Where have you been the past few days?" The always emotionally perky Banana asked. "And what's with the elaborate black getup?" Mr. Kevin adds, definitely aging himself by using the word 'getup' in an actual sentence.

Duckie's expression grew more sinister as an electric guitar lick riffs off outside the open door behind her. "Because I have been preparing and waiting for Freak Week to arrive for so long. And now it is here, I'll be able to show you all who is boss!" At that moment, Duckie melodramatically pulls out a medium sized melodica from one of her huge silk sleeves and raises it into the air. Lace could tell that she had been rehearsing that moment for some time.

Harry couldn't help but let out a little smirk at the sight of the plastic vessel. "Really Quackers? The only thing you're going to be the boss of with that is MY NU-" Harry's uninspiring catch phrase was interrupted when Duckie started to blow an Irish folk song on her blow-organ. Her affluent ability of music caused Harry to break out into a elaborate river-dance, uncontrollably tapping his way toward her.

"Harry! What is wrong with you?" Crush started to say, but then he too started to twitch with the impromptu music. Then Banana. Then Mr. Kevin. Soon all but Lace were together performing a perfect kick line. "What's going on?" Banana asked in a panic. "How are you doing this?" Mr. Kevin exclaimed. "Why are you a little too good at doing the river dance, Harry?" Marmie said in a combination of bafflement and slight awe.

Duckie then stopped blowing on her small instrument, and everyone fell to the floor in exhaustion. She was definitely reveling in her current power over everyone. "Oh I am having too much fun. Okay Harry, you seem like the perfect volunteer. Would you mind adjusting the train on my dress? I'm afraid it's gotten a little ruffled on the walk over."

Everyone looks to Harry. "Don't you dare fluff that Duck." Marmie barks. But then Duckie again begins to blow her melodica, this time playing an upbeat gospel song, prompting everyone in the room to ecstatically clap and stamp in time like a choir on Sunday. All but Lace. Harry proceeds to slowly clap his way behind Duckie and begins straightening out her dress. Once he is done, Duckie again stops playing the melodica, resulting in everyone once again collapsing to the floor.

"How on Earth are you able to control everyone?" Lace asked. Duckie grinned as she turned to the sorry sight before her. "I've been studying meteorology ever since Freak Week first began in 2017. And in that time I studied every weather pattern recorded and since, until I was finally able to accurately predict the weather a whole month into the future."

"Which means you knew Freak Week was going to arrive a month early?" Crush exclaims. "Not only that, I know exactly what type of freaky weather is going to appear on each day, and how to properly make use of it to control people's emotions. And in all your cases I'm using the most powerful emotion for my advantage; submission."

"Submission isn't an emotion." Banana points out between breaths. "No, but it's the result of emotional manipulation," Mr. Kevin interjects, "Add a bit of bitterness, a pinch of anxiety and a dash of aggressive sorrow and voila! You have people doing your every whim. Believe me I know. I'm currently going through a divorce."

That depressing note is frayed by Harry blurting out, "So why is Lace not affected?" Lace flinches and shoots daggers at Harry, as she was kind of opting out of mentioning the fact that she is not actually the biggest fan of music so obviously Celtic and Christian music wasn't exactly going to make her leap out of her chair. However, she noticed that Duckie was also still smiling as she pulls her phone and speaker.

"Oh but she do everything I say. I have right here a whole playlist of various love songs from the baroque period to modern smutty pop. Oh and I have something similar for Lace for every freak weather occasion this week. And if she doesn't submit to my commands, she will find out exactly what they are."

Lace knew exactly what she was implying. "Damn it!" She thought, "I was trying to repress all my emotions for this whole week, and now I'm having them being used against me." She started internally screaming when she realized that she was actually considering submitting for such ludicrous rationale such as hiding her Crush crush and her true thoughts of her friends. Never has she ever felt so relatable to every two dimensional character ever invented in a 90's teen romantic comedy movie ever than in this moment.

"Okay, fine. What is it you want me to do?" Lace said in defeat. She couldn't help but notice her friends hang their heads in disappointment. Meanwhile, Duckie seemed empowered. "Oh it's what I need you all to do. Freak Week came a month early this year. You're going to help me find out why, then use it to give Freak Week a little more of a...permanent extension."