Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"We can all do better processing the traumas we've been through,"
My mom pulls me into the gym, "Sorry we're late!" She shouts. She wears a satin light green blouse with khaki bell bottom pants, her dark brown suede heels clicking as she pulls me along. "I couldn't find my jacket." She says, gesturing to the matching suit jacket in her arms.
I walk towards the chair next to Josie. "Hey, babe." I chime. I go to kiss her lips, but at the last moment she turns her head to the side, my lips connecting with her cheek. I furrow my brows in confusion, but assume it's nothing. I run my hand through my ponytail, smiling at Hope before turning to Emma and my mom.
"So, Dr. Saltzman has asked Ophelia and I to conduct a special group lesson today," Emma begins.
MG snaps his head up. Shaking his head. Josie sighs in annoyance. However, Lizzie sits up. "I, for one, could really use this, and I would appreciate everyone's support." She retorts.
I shrug, "I agree." I blurt. Hope frowns. "We've all been through a lot, some things we can't figure out how to word, so this may be good for all of us."
"Very good, Annie." Emma hums.
"Honestly, I don't know why I'm here, but I'm down to help." MG says, his hands gesturing towards Lizzie and I.
My mom smiles. "Don't you worry, you will all have very important roles within the simulation." She explains. We all stare blankly. "Stop looking at me like I'm some vile rabid raccoon, it'll be fun!" Emma chuckles under her breath, pulling a blanket off a wooden box.
"This device is created by Professor Rupert Vardemus."
"Ew." We all day in sync.
Emma looks back at us. "The real Professor Vardemus is quite famous in mystical therapeutic circles." She explains.
My mom leans over. "It's his variation on a Chambre de Chasse.." She hums.
"All your psychological concerns will be transferred inside to form a shared narrative." Emma continues. "Now the world you create together can be anything. From Pirates in the High Sea to spies in the Cold War. But no matter what it ends up looking like, will be designed specifically to help you."
"Out here, you're unconscious. You'll have no awareness that you're in a simulation." My mom follows. "Kind of like, a game," She waves her long acrylic nails, smiling.
Lizzie turns towards my mom. "How do I win?"
Emma answers for her. "Simply reach the end of your story and you'll be given a safe word. Say it aloud and you'll become self-aware again, then wake up here, having discovered something valuable in the process." She looks at all of us. "Any questions?"
