Note: Special thanks to Mistress Alexis for inspiring this story. And also, this does take place in the same world as the Goddess Hannah stories.
Stacy Loman had sat in the seat she was in for so long, she'd forgotten why she was there in the first place. A young, business executive, she was professionally dressed in a white jacket, pantsuit and pumps, with her short brown hair and make-up styled perfectly. For a woman put together so well, something important brought her there, but an overly-prolonged wait that led to absent-mindedness robbed the importance of the place or matters that brought her there. Something in her mind told her to give it a few more minutes before she would depart. She looked down to make sure her purse was there for when she was ready to leave, but found a pocket watch lying next to it.
She was surprised to see something so old-fashioned in-public, but admired the pristine look of it. Its silver face was undecorated, but polished, almost reflective; more than anything, it surprised her to see something so antiquated looking brand-new. The watch and Stacy's purse lied between her and the red-headed woman sitting next to her. Sitting patiently seemed to be the only similarity between them, as the redhead wore a rather frilly brown halter top, blue jeans, and black flats. Stoic businesswoman with high-standards that she was, Stacy would've described her as being either too lazy, or too slutty, if it wasn't for the aura the woman was giving off, or something in the way she carried herself; whatever it was, deep inside, "beautiful" was the only classifier that stuck. Stacy had thought about the woman sitting next to her for so long, it took her a moment to realize she was holding the pocket watch in her hand. The redhead turned to meet Stacy's dark brown glance with smiling light-blue eyes, and a single raised eyebrow.
"Planning to hypnotize me with that, are you?"
"Wha-" Stacy looked at her own hand, realizing that the way she held the chain, not too far from the watch itself, almost suggested she was about to swing it. "No, I'm sorry, I was just won-"
Involuntary snickering interrupted Stacy's apology; before the brunette could frown at the prospect of being made a fool, a bright smile curtailed the formation tugging at Stacy's lips.
"I'm sorry, bad joke on my part. The way you were holding it, couldn't help but ask. And I'm so used to ice-breakers like that, didn't mean to put you on the spot."
Lips formed a small smile from the explanation. "I'm guessing this watch is yours."
"It is. I'm Alexis, by the way."
"Stacy," was the even reply.
"Thank you for not stealing my pocket watch, or doing something nefarious with it as well."
Alexis noticed Stacy's puzzled look and expanded on her words. "Not that you would Stacy; it's just...well, the way you hold that watch, I consider that good form, like you'd know what you're doing with it."
"I...I do? I mean, I am?"
"In my experience, yes."
"Your experience as a hypnotist," Stacy finished.
"Indubitably; I doubt any other cool professions are bringing pocket watches back in style," Stacy watched as Alexis seemed to gently, but firmly fixate on the watch she was holding. "How's the weight of it? What do you think of the grip of the chain?"
"Huh?"
Alexis' gaze easily rose to meet Stacy's. "Just a hunch that you're not a hypnotist by trade yourself, Stacy. But another hunch has me thinking it could be a hobby for you."
"No, sorry. I've never hypnotized anyone," Stacy confirmed after a quick second of consideration. "I'm not sure I'd want to."
"Why's that?"
The train of thought heading towards an explanation ran into a haze that paused speech momentarily. "Bad experience with hypnosis before...I think," the haze lowered visibility just enough to blind Stacy of the details that left her ambivalent on the subject, though it was hard to figure out why. Something about Alexis though prevented connections to any past negativity. Left to her own imagination, she envisioned a pushy, domineering guy trying to prove his superiority as opposed to the casual, engaging charm of the woman sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry you had a bad experience before," a genuinely sympathetic tone regarded Stacy's response. "Hopefully you have much better ones if you're inclined later. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one performing it yourself in the future, especially as you might be a natural hidden talent. Take it from me, Stacy - talent recognizes talent."
The ice-breaking tangent Alexis was on might've annoyed or freaked out Stacy a bit if it weren't for the light casual delivery, something that felt highlighted the soft, crooning tone Alexis effortlessly spoke with, serving as evidence of her own possible hypnotic prowess.
"And assuming I'm right, maybe you can use your talent to force whomever is making us wait to hurry it up," the hypnotist laughed and infectious laugh that Stacy contributed to.
"Shouldn't you be the one to do that since you have more experience?"
"You're already holding the watch, Stacy. And better you go, lest the angered hypnotist turn them into clucking chickens for the rest of the day."
Stacy was the one to snicker now, letting her first honest laugh be heard. "If only," she thought, still staring at the silver surface, seeing a fuzzy glimmer of her own reflection as a hypnotist, commanding and empowered. Knowing Alexis was literally both those things as a profession acting on the wills of others, made the redhead rather attractive. The part of Stacy that would've gotten up to ask what the hold-up was seemed content to stay and continue speaking.
"That's one thing you might have over me if you ever get into hypnosis, Stacy - patience."
"I don't know, I could be at a loss for patience myself too."
"If so, you hide it better, Stacy. Even with self-hypnosis trying to enhance that better habit, I come up short compared to others."
Stacy did not expect to learn about the intricacies of hypnosis, let alone find fascination in the idea of a hypnotist inflicting her skill upon herself, loosely making the connection to how she was still holding the pocket watch.
"But without it, I'd probably revert back to times when I could get really annoyed, or my nerves got really frazzled over waiting on pins and needles. Like being back at school, waiting for some peer decision, like 'did I make that team' or 'did I get into that sorority,' where you literally can't wait to know. I'm not sure if that makes much sense though," Alexis admitted, thinking back to an unfortunately memorable time past.
"It does make some sense, Alexis. I was at a sorority in my undergraduate; I can remember that uncertainty of getting in."
It surprised the hypnotist a little to hear that, as Stacy seemed to give off a distinct air of privilege and "who could afford to refuse her entry to whatever and wherever she wanted."
"Hmm. Did yours have one of those old grandfather clocks around the entrance?"
"Yeah, ours did too."
"I hope they didn't make you wait near one of those for decisions like that. I swear it was like a torture session, staring at that thing for what felt like hours; I would've been happy to just walk away to know for sure of something, if it wasn't for my coping mechanism."
"How did you cope," genuine curiosity laced Stacy's tone.
"Knowing a little about hypnosis beforehand. Granted, it would've been so, so satisfying to know enough about it to guarantee my way in to cut down on worrying, but after staring at that grandfather clock so long, or really the swinging pendulum inside it, that mechanism reminded me of hypnosis and the legitimate calming effect it has on the mind, for the giver and the receiver."
Remembering the grandfather clock at Stacy's old sorority, she remembered a time before being a member and passing by it daily, when she could only stand at the entrance and hope, with only objects like the clock to keep her company, counting down unknown seconds.
"Remembering what I learned about hypnosis caused the unbearable wait to become an excuse to let time and focus relax me. Every second ticking away became a second that could pass me by like water under a bridge I stood on. Every swing of that pendulum became a back-and-forth repetition that I could count on, a guarantee I didn't have to wait on, assured of the continued back-and-forth, and the relaxation that would follow."
Everything happening around Stacy that didn't get lost was suddenly becoming very engaging, from what Alexis was saying, to the soothing way she was saying it, to the memories taking her back to her pre-pledge days, to the correlation between the grandfather clock and the pocket watch.
"Back and forth, back and forth, a beautifully-assured back and forth. Beautiful in how shiny the surface of the object is, reflective like any jewel, so worth your time. Beautiful in how that shiny, worthy object swings back and forth, in a slow, practiced arc, allowing eyes and visions to lazily keep up and yet helplessly follow back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth."
