Science Ch 2

You follow Piper to the rear of the pantry, utilizing the technique that you have perfected at home of focusing on something just over her left shoulder. That doesn’t consistently stop you from reflexively objectifying and having lewd thoughts, but it keeps them to a minimum. The idea here is that you can’t be looking at Piper’s butt in those shorts. Her baggy T-shirt has protected you so far, although there’s something uncomfortable about how big and clear her eyes are. Lip gloss. The way that she smells.

You’re in danger. But there’s no backing out now.

“Hey, Chica?” Piper says, knocking on the door. “Can you keep an eye on things?”

“Yeah.” Chica Flores emerges, carrying a cardboard box on one hip with her phone against her ear. She’s smaller than Piper, even smaller than Delta. She wears dolphin shorts and a snug tank; you look away.

“Hi, Chica.”

“Flynn.” She bumps past you, speaking into her phone in Spanish. Chica’s a senior. You’ve only run into her a handful of times. You didn’t know that she volunteered here. You wonder if she’s friends with Piper.

Piper takes you into a storeroom with a desk and computer in the corner. There’s only one chair, so she faces you. “OK. What is going on?”

“I, uh, need a little psychology help.”

“You know we have professors. And Google. And AI.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to put this into writing,” you say, scratching your head. “Look, there’s ways to use psychology to make people do stuff, right?”

“You’re talking about emotional manipulation? Social engineering? Sure, but you’re an expert on that. How else would you get so many women to sleep with you, Flynn?”

“Um, being nice to them. And working out a lot.”

“Well—OK, I was starting a joke there, but I won’t.” Piper puts her hair behind her ear. “What are you really asking me, Flynn?”

“You know, like, mind control?”

“Mind control,” she echoes with impressively little judgment.

“Well, no. But putting something in there.”

“Putting something in there.” Her brows rise. “Do you mean something like hypnotic suggestion?” You watch, puzzled, as she holds up two fingers, then makes the shape of an X in front of your eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Is that what you’re asking me about, Flynn? Hypnotic suggestion?”

“OK, what I’m asking is this,” you say, gesturing helplessly with both hands. “What if you had some people who lived together, and all of a sudden, they all started acting weird. All of them.”

Piper sobers. “This is gonna annoy you, Flynn, but weird how?”

“Not like themselves.”

“That tells me nothing.”

“OK, do we have, um…” You move a little closer and lower your voice. “You know?”

She cocks her head. “Flynn, are you asking if we have doctor-patient confidentiality? No. I’m a student. But I’m not gonna blackmail you. Gimme the tea.” She turns her ear toward you and beckons.

“OK, like, hornier than usual.”

“People acting hornier than usual?”

“Yeah.”

The side-eye is brutal. “Flynn, you understand that you are this community’s premier himbo slut, right? It’s like your brand.”

Harsh, but fair.