Beca let out a small huff as she picked up what felt like the 17th dirty dish off the kitchen table. As delighted as she was to see her sister, Carol, having her around the apartment brought back memories of another life: a life of having to be the responsible one while the wicked step-mother ignored every one of Carol’s bad behaviours.

”Swear to god, some people just never grow up,” Beca mused to herself as she scraped yet another dish into the trash.

Spray cleaner and rag in hand, she stooped over the finally-exposed table in order to wipe down its sugar-encrusted surface.

”How does anyone live like this…?”

As the brunette stood up to carry on with cleaning, she glanced over at the bookshelf. Chloe’s books, typically in perfectly austere condition, had been disturbed. Beca was acutely aware that Chloe prided herself on the proper sorting of her books: two shelves, one for fiction and one for non-fiction, the latter sorted via the Dewey-Decimal system and further by author. Not only was a book left on top of the row, but the spine had been cracked!

Chloe never cracks the spines of her books.

Beca quickly moved to the bookshelf to restore the book to its rightful place. She glanced down to look at the title: Mark Wiseman’s Mind Play Study Guide.

A shiver ran down Beca’s spine.

Not only did Carol discover Beca and Chloe’s little… extracurricular, but Carol also left evidence behind that couldn’t just be explained away.

”Now I have to explain to Chloe that Carol touched her books, AND we’ll have to answer some awkward questions…”

At that very moment, a Cheshire Cat smile formed on Beca’s face as she formed a devilish plan.

Beca pulled out her phone to check the time. 11:57 AM. Carol would be home any moment. Beca didn’t have much time.

Her fingers flew across the screen with a frenzied intensity, setting everything up before Carol got home. She only had a minute or so to set an alarm for 12:03 PM, with the alarm tone replaced by her default ringer. No sooner had Beca finished her scheme, locked the screen and pocketed her phone before she heard the deadbolt click open.

Beca did her best to steady her breath as she did her best to act normal as Carol walked through the front door.

“Sup, girl!” Carol said, before quickly gasping, noticing the tidy apartment. “Wow, it looks so great! I said I was gonna get the dishes, you didn’t have to do that.”

Beca flashed a polite smile at the tall, skinny blonde in the svelte jacket before replying, “Whatever, I was home, and I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible.”

Carol glanced at the floor. “Yeah, about that… Peter’s gig with the art gallery kinda fell through… afterhepunchedoutthecurator… so, yeah: can I extend my stay? It wouldn’t be more than a couple of months!”

Carol cut Beca off before she (Beca) could respond.

“Besides, I kinda feel like I’m needed here. I kind of, um, noticed a little something on the bookshelf this morning, and I’m worried about my little sister. Has Chloe been hypnotizing you??”

Beca, unsure how to respond to such a question, was grateful when her alarm went off right on schedule. She tried her best to look flustered as she fished her phone out of her pocket.

“Speak of the hypnotist,” Beca said with a half-chuckle as she silenced the alarm and brought her idle phone up to her ear.

“Hey, Chlo,” Beca said into her phone, trying her best to sound convincing. “Yeah, just doing a little cleaning, no biggie. Pretty chill day.”

Carol took her coat off and hung it up in the closet as she curiously watched her sister on the phone.

“So I was thinking for dinner tonight, we could… what…?” Beca did her best to let her voice become distant as she continued the ruse.

Carol eyed Beca suspiciously, curious as to what was happening.

“We… we could…” Beca allowed her jaw to slacken slightly as she relaxed her eyelids and began to speak in a dull monotone.

“I am deeply in trance now. I hear, and I obey…”

Carol froze in place, eyes wide as she took in what was happening before her.

“Chloe is my Master. I must follow her every command.”

Carol’s eyes went wide as her jaw hit the floor. Completely dumbstruck, she wasn’t sure what to do. Carol cautiously advanced towards Beca, slowly, her mind desperately trying to make a decision. After all, she’d never had to depgrogram a hypnotized sister before…!

The bewildered sister waved a hand before Beca’s blank eyes as Carol’s brain tried to figure out what to do.

“I must find more women to fall under Master’s spell. All must serve Master…”

Carol turned white as a ghost when Beca’s eyes began to focus on Carol’s face.

Beca did her best to retain her composure.

It’s working! Ok, time to bring it home.

“Yes, Master… I understand…” Beca pocketed her phone and stretched her arms out before her, hands in a gripping posture as she began to slowly walk towards her sister, gait clumsy and awkward.

Carol, somehow, turned even paler as her pupils dilated like saucers. She plucked her boots and jacket from the closet and sprinted out the door, not bothering to close it behind her.

It took every iota of restraint Beca had before she burst out in a fit of cackling laughter. She fell to the floor, gripping her sides, unable to stop herself from laughing as happy tears formed in her eyes. Her sides began to ache and she fell short of breath as she moved to a kneeling position, leaning to one side.

”I guess she isn’t the only one who hasn’t grown up,” she mused to herself…