A Rock and Family Vacation

[25]

Lacy immediately froze before taking her next step and leaned back in concern.

“….Krystal? Why?” She understood that was a peculiar question, but this girl presented a peculiar notion by stating that she be called this name rather than it being her actual name. Lacy had no idea what to think, but she was sure that someone was trying to mess with her.

The strange girl cocked her head and peered at Lacy as though she were an interesting decorative plant. “Would you prefer a different name?” If this were a normal situation, she imagined the girl would crack a smile to show that she was just joking. Instead, her face was like a mannequin’s or a robot's.

“I would prefer to leave”, Lacy firmly resolved. She rushed over to the nearest sink, splashed her hands quickly with water, and then tore off a section of paper as she dashed around the weird girl and towards the door. She turned to face Lacy at each interval but didn’t motion toward her or do anything else.

Pushing urgently on the door, Lacy expected to enter out into the hallway. Instead, she found herself having entered the bathroom again as if two identical women’s restrooms in mirrored positions were attached to one another through the doorway. Glancing behind and over at the girl, Lacy squeezed a tight breath into her lungs and shook her head. The doorway actually revealed a sliver of the hallway as it rattled back and forth and settled closed.

She pushed again and again through the opening, just winding up dizzy. Panting and confused, Lacy plopped down against the wall next to the trashcan.

“Why? What do you want? What is this?” Lacy endeavored to try and tuck everything into her meager clothes. But it was even less fruitless than her effort on the beach. The robe may have had its concerns, but at least there was enough material to hide behind.

Glancing at the sinks and over at the towel dispenser, the girl methodically mimicked what Lacy had done with a quarter of the speed. When she finished with the paper, she tossed the crunched-up ball at the waste bin but missed the opening. This was the first thing that brought any level of expression from her, a frown. Retrieving the paper, she held it over the opening and turned her hand to let it drop. Lacy had no idea what was going on and why this psychic-powered head case decided to pick on her. She already had enough nonsense going on.

Slowly, the girl crouched in front of her and looked her over. With careful effort, she reproduced the position Lacy was in. “I’m strong enough now. I want you to be happy. Here…boop.”

Lacy made a faint puff of confusion, which turned into a gasp as the strange girl touched a finger to her nose. The contact felt like a pop of static electricity. Internally, Lacy flinched. Tyler used to do this. He would find the closest shag carpet and poke an electric shock in whatever place hurt the worst. One time he even got him around the eye. It hurt so much for several days. Even now, when he sometimes rubbed his eye, the skin around there felt sensitive. She…

Blinked. A weird moment passed. It felt like when she sometimes nodded off while watching something on her phone and woke up an instant later, feeling as though she slept for much longer. Gradually, Lacy got to her feet. She scanned around with quick concern. The weird girl who claimed to be Krystal or whatever was absolutely gone. Opening up all the stalls revealed no one hiding and the only window was too small and high up to do anything but cast a frail warmth against the frigid toilets.

Bewildered, she checked herself in the mirror. She thought her hair looked too severe in a tight bun. Too much like a crusty old librarian. It would look soo much cuter either down or braided into a clean ponytail. Unfortunately, she didn’t have anything with her to provide the TLC it needed. She brushed off her polo and fixed the collar. The shirts were fine but she kind of wished that a pretty skirt was among the clothes they preferred. Didn’t movies that Blair enjoyed, like Caddyshack, have big fluffy skirts on the girls? That was the 1980s though.

Before she could put any more thought into it, a knock came at the door and vibrated it back and forth gently. “Miss? Just checking, I need to walk you back. Are you alright in there?” Lacy blushed and smoothed out her clothes again before offering, “Ready! Sorry!”

She hastily emerged through the door with her hands firmly at her sides. She wasn’t fond of this mustachioed weirdo. He wore a skeptical look and she retorted, “Girl issues. Very important.” That flustered him and earned a nervous wave. “Of course, sorry. Apologies. Immense apologies. I was only thinking about your safety. If you would, the gentleman won’t detain you for much longer, I’m sure.”

Lacy kept as much irritated distance from the host as possible while following his directions. All around her were people coming and going from the lockers to the sports areas to the bar to actually setting out on the green for a round. It was intensely frustrating to be led around like a horse. She huffed her displeasure and made sure to dawdle as much as possible along the way. Whatever interesting adornments on the walls, curious happenings with club members, and tidying up after the brunch, received plenty of her distracted attention.

When Lacy inquired as to where their parents were, the host speculated about a variety of options offered, including a massage parlor. In response, Lacy gently and covertly massaged her shoulder near her bra and scowled.

Back in the room, Blair had taken what time between her turns to widely speculate about the nature of the rings that all three of their ‘guests’ wore. The possibility of coincidence strained Blair’s reasoning. They all just so happened to be wearing rings that appeared to nullify the effects of the rock or at the very least had a grounding effect. Although, she remembered from their dad’s efforts several years ago to construct his own PC, partially as research for his writings and otherwise to have a better home for those works, that the wrist strap required a clip. It seemed highly unlikely that a simple ring could absorb electrostatic discharge without an outlet for that energy.

That made it impossible. However, that didn’t eliminate all the improbabilities. She took a step back and challenged the assumptions she was making. Just because the discharges from the rock had a feel like an electrostatic shock didn’t necessarily mean they were the same as them. In Blair‘s experience, it felt pretty close. That assumption also required that the rings be something more than a simple electrical grounding agent.

Her best efforts at prying out further details about the jewelry involved laying on the feminine curiosity celebrating their minimalist beauty. She just had to know where you could get something like it. Maybe she put it on a little too thick, as Silas looked notably disappointed in her jewelry preoccupation over the intellectual stimulation of the game and the random riddles he interjected between rounds. She knew well the variation on the fox and the raft but was delighted that it was slightly more restrictive than other iterations, adding a certain amount of time until sunset when moves could be made.

Lacy returned without comment or ceremony, but Blair recognized something was different right off. She waved quite animatedly at them. It was something that she might do in private as a joke, but it felt thoroughly out of character for the moment. Blair’s first assumption was that it might’ve been a coded way of expressing information, but the gesture and the number of waves appeared meaningless. They hadn’t established any codes or signs before all this, so if there was something, then she had to assume it would be glaringly obvious and make perfect sense to someone like Lacy.

Each of them went back to their respective games. Another unusual sign was how boisterous Lacy sounded with reacting to the game on the screen. She practically sounded like an Internet commentator flowing over each thought and shifting to the next. Arthur chuckled and enjoyed returning to the game. Even Clare wore a puzzled expression as she craned an ear and frowned in the direction of their middle sibling.

The answer the old men provided Blair was that no further details were included with the gifts. Just the advice to wear it. No amount of prompting led them to even consider slipping off their rings. They said they felt better than they had in quite a while but weren’t ready to ascribe any more than the aforementioned placebo effect. At one point, Lacy stretched her legs and arms with a yawn and hopped up from the couch to see how everyone else was doing.

Clare immediately showed off the tokens and resources she’d collected which would be translated into victory points. As little more than an offhand note, Blair lightly inquired, “You alright?” This brought on a cluster of giggles from Lacy as she cozied up to Blair. “I am now. After that very frigid and quite necessary shiver-inducing restroom break.” Her eyes crinkled with a warm smile.

Blair had seen odd little quirks and moments from her sister last night. But the striking delineation from before she left to returning now felt like they had to be two different people. Her actual sister and an alien pod person trying to emulate her sibling without knowing any true memories. However, her memory appeared to be perfectly intact as Blair scrutinized it. She recognized the vast array of private references along with particular minutia that could be quietly whispered without embarrassment.

Clare braced herself and kept her eyes wide as her sibling wrapped her arms around her with cheerful delight. No caveats, no grumbles, no threats or promises. It should’ve been a matter of relief instead of intense concern. Clare shivered. The three elderly guests also seemed to notice a shift in Lacy’s mood. She still bristled and warded herself against them. But, instead of frank, honest distaste, Lacy expressed the open veneer of friendliness, like a smiling employee forced to deal with an uncomfortable customer in the politest way possible.

Time passed for the group. It took several hours but the full game of Agricola was completed with Clare desperately surprised that she had the most victory points out of everyone. Arthur was runner-up but appeared even more pleased with her victory. In the video game, Lacy was much more subtle in her commentary and had plenty of deniable moments where she let Chester plunge virtually.

Mercifully, their time ran out. Silas noted that he had some small meetings to conduct on the green, Arthur remarked that his driver would be arriving soon, and Chester sat listlessly in front of the screen with his hands slack and his gaze on the pale controller. The host soon retrieved them and expressed nervous, rambling thanks. Blair wanted to wave to the group but reminded herself that if things had been different, there was no way they were leaving this room as happy and relieved as they were.

Before putting the stone away, Blair swiftly recognized that the muted coloration had shifted back to its previous, shimmering luster. She wasn’t confident when that occurred, but it had to be not too long ago. Considering the changes in the object, she was also nervously curious about whether her closet back at the beach house had been adjusted upon her request. Another detail that evaded her for far too long was that the host had slipped on a pair of snug, white gloves that reminded her of the style of Mickey Mouse. While he seemed particularly attentive about them earlier, now he barely looked back at them to make sure they were following.

Their parents were in a small sitting room off to the side of the original dining hall. They bounded from their seats to greet them. Lacy echoed the sentiment with fervor, giving each parent an adamant embrace. Same as Blair puzzled over this strange returnee, Brooke once again puzzled over this behavior. Eliot held and scrutinized their child as she faintly smiled and snuggled him.

Running through perfunctory comments, the host thanked them for their patience, involvement, and indulgence as well as courtesy. He made it clear they were welcome to a free round of golf but the most anyone wanted to do was snag free stuff from the commissary. Blair wanted to come up with a reason to shake the host’s hand and see if it retained any suspicious secrets, but he was away before any could occur to her.

[I have a question at the end of the chapter again to help with suggestions for where the story should go. I'm a couple chapters ahead but I love seeding ideas from people as much as possible. Feel free to add an idea which doesn't show up in the options. Also, if you see any random typos or uncapitalized starts of sentences, please pass them along. I have to cut down on my editing due to release speed and my programs don't seem to be catching lowercase sentences. Thank you for reading!]

Poll below.