September Short Story Collection

Program

September 10, 2019

I sat in the lobby, waiting for Mr. Roberts to come and get me. I thought back to the steps that had led me here and took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. I should just go.

Just as I'm about to get up to leave, and an older man walks up to me.

"Miss Waters?"

"Yes?"

"Hello, I'm Mr. Roberts. You're here to learn more about our program?"

"Ummm, yes."

"Well, come with me."

Mr. Roberts looked to be in his mid-fifties. He was wearing a black suit with a yellow tie. His dark hair was beginning to grey and his stomach was quite rounded.

I followed his back past the front desk to where there were people busy, moving from room to room. The hall we walked down felt a lot like a doctors office. Everything was white, sterile. I felt out of place in my pink dress.

"So, what exactly do you know about our program?"

"Not much, one of my friends went through it recently and told me it completely changed his life."

"Who's your friend?"

"Matthew Schaffer."

"Oh, yes. Mr. Schaffer has been one of our most successful patients."

We walked all the way to the end of the hall into a small conference room. Mr. Roberts pulled out a chair for me and I sat down.

"Would you like some water?"

"Yes, please," I said looking around the pristine room.

Mr. Roberts handed me a glass of ice-cold water and sits down across from me.

"So, what would you like to know?" Mr. Roberts asked.

"I guess everything. I really don't know much about what you do here."

"Ah yes, well here at Auxilum Group we pride ourselves on helping people. We help you find out exactly what you need help with and help you succeed.

"We use a combination of science and psychology to find your inner self and bring it to the surface. Within just three sessions with us, you will begin to find real, true happiness. The small things of everyday troubles will no longer bother you the way they used to. You'll be able to focus on yourself and become the happiest and best version of yourself."

"How? With hypnosis?" I asked, still very skeptical.

"For some people, perhaps. But we extract a bit of your essence and then inject it back into you with only the bests parts of yourself."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. This all sounded so ridiculous. How could this possibly work? It sounded like something out of a science fiction movie.

"I understand your reaction, Miss Waters, but yourself have seen the results in your friend Mr. Schaffer." Mr. Roberts said. "If I recall, Mr. Schaffer had an issue with his use of recreational drugs. Does he still have those issues?"

That got me to stop smilingly like a fool. It's true, Matthew had stopped using weed recently.

"Yes."

"Then you have the proof right in front of you. Our program works, Miss Waters."

We were quiet for a moment. I wasn't sure what to say. Could this really work? He still hadn't given me that much information. But the changes in Matthew were hard to ignore. What would doing this do for me?

"So, what do you say, Miss Waters. Would you like to try out our Program?"

After a moment of contemplation, I made my decision.

"Yes. When can we start?"

Word count: 579