Annette blinked her eyes rapidly. She must have dozed off, which was strange. She usually loved Dr. Hansen's class. It was only her first semester taking one of his courses, but he'd already become her favorite professor. He really spoke to what interested her the most about art; expressing your creativity, and showing off a part of yourself through your work.

She glanced up at the front of the room, where Dr. Hansen was standing in front of his whiteboard. He was talking about the importance of posing in visual art, and how it was universal across all disciplines.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a sculptor, a painter, or a photographer, keeping your subject's positioning in mind is key to your art."

She listened intently to every word he said, doing her best to absorb the information. He talked about the relationship between the subject and the world around them, about framing them in a way to highlight the features you desire. The lecture was fascinating, and Annette found she couldn't take her mind off of it.

"Now," Dr. Hansen said, having finished his lecture. "Perhaps a practical demonstration?" Annette perked up, her already piqued interest growing even more. Dr. Hansen glanced around the room, before clearing his throat and-

Annette blinked, and glanced up at the clock. To her surprise, the lecture was already over. She must have been so focused on Dr. Hansen's demonstration that she'd lost track of the time. It was an incredible demonstration, the way he highlighted...something. What exactly had the demonstration been about?

Annette spaced out for a second, her mind growing foggy, before shaking her head. No matter, she knew she'd been paying attention. And she definitely felt like she'd learned something new! She always did in this course.

As she gathered her bag and stood, she heard Dr. Hansen's voice address the class.

"Remember, I'll be having my showing in the auditorium at 6:00 tonight. Extra credit will be provided for those who attend!"

Annette made a mental note of that. She was definitely going to check out his exhibit. How could she pass up the opportunity to see his work in person?

Six o'clock had come faster than she'd anticipated, and Annette found herself sprinting through the university's halls, desperately hoping she wouldn't be late. She rounded the corner, and saw the double doors to the auditorium ahead of her. She slowed down, taking a moment to adjust her hair, before pushing them open and walking in.

Plenty of guests were already there, but luckily, the actual showing hasn't begun yet. Good, she thought to herself. There was still time to meet with Dr. Hansen beforehand. She really wanted to talk to him personally, to really pick his brain on his creative process.

She glanced around the room. Most everyone was in pretty typical business casual affair. It was an art exhibit, yes, but nothing exorbitant. By comparison, Annette felt positively overdressed. A strapless red dress cascaded down her body, the slit at the bottom revealing plenty of her left leg. Black high heels complimented her eye-catching dress. She rarely ever dressed up like this, but something in her head had told her she should look nice tonight.

She glanced around the room, and spotted Dr. Hansen talking to a man near the entrance. She quickly walked over to him, having a hard time containing her excitement. He noticed her approaching, and after finishing up his conversation, walked over to meet her.

"Ah, Annette," he said, smiling warmly at her. "Glad you could make it. I was beginning to grow worried."

She grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up writing a paper for another class, and I just totally lost track of time."

"It's no problem," he reassured her. "I assume you're here for the extra credit?"

"I mean, yeah, that's definitely part of it," she replied. "But truth be told, I kinda wanted the chance to speak to you personally. Get a feel for your process, you know?"

He nodded at her.

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to. Why don't we take a walk through the exhibit, and we can chat?"

Her eyes went wide as he said that.

"Are you sure? The floor hasn't opened yet, is that okay?"

He chuckled lightly.

"It's my exhibit, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's true," she replied. "Alright, sure! Lead the way!"

He walked off, and she followed behind him, as he led her towards the door to the show floor. He held it open for her as she walked in.

Instantly she was overwhelmed by the sight of what had to be a dozen statues, maybe more, lined up against the walls. Each one stood in a unique pose, vibrant colors bringing them to life before her eyes. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes darting between each one.

"Holy shit," she whispered. Dr. Hansen chuckled behind her, and she immediately blushed as she realized he had heard her.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. It's just...I mean, wow."

"It's fine, Annette. Not to get too proud, but it's not the first time I've heard that."

Despite his statement, pride was evident in his voice. 

"I've worked hard to perfect my methodology."

She turned to face him.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

He nodded at her, smiling.

"Let's walk further in, and you can take a closer look while I explain."

Dr. Hansen led her through the show floor, stopping at each figure, all the while explaining his process, the way he liked to, as he put it, "get into the mind of the piece". Annette was doing her best to listen, but she couldn't help getting a bit distracted. The statues were just so life-like. Their bodies, the skin tones, the colors of their clothes, even their eyes. Everything about them looked so real.

As they neared the end of the floor, Annette was pulled out of her thoughts by Dr. Hansen's words.

"-and that's why I decided to offer this extra credit."

She snapped back to reality, glancing up at his face, which was grinning at her.

"I see you got a bit distracted."

She looked away, embarrassed.

"Yeah, sorry. They just look so realistic. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were real people."

Dr. Hansen was still smiling, but she caught something in his eyes as she said that. He led her further down, coming to the last display in the hall, which had an empty, circular pedestal fixed into the floor, the exact same as the ones the statues were on.

"You're closer than you might think, Annette."

She looked towards him again, slightly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you actually already know my process. Every bit of it. I've been teaching it to you all semester."

She cocked her head slightly.

"What, did you write out textbook or something?"

"No, not like that," he said. "But I can show you."

She nodded.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. To learn from the master!"

"Perfect."

He leaned close to her ear, and before she could react, whispered to her.

"Statuesque."

She gasped softly, her eyes going wide for a split second. Then, they relaxed, her eyelids drooping slightly over her glassy, empty eyes. Her mouth shut, her lips locked in a straight line. Her body snapped straight and rigid, arms down at her sides, legs firmly pressed together. Like a statue.

At the same time, her mind froze. It was if everything she was simply dissolved in an instant. The surprise she had felt disappeared, as did her excitement, and everything else.  Her mind emptied of everything, all thoughts fading away, save for a singular one. A thought that dominated every part of her.

Stay still.

Those two words echoed over and over in her empty mind, circling back and forth to cover every part of her. She thought of nothing else. All she could do, all she could know or be aware of, was that she was to stay still.

Dr. Hansen smiled at her again, before hooking his arms under hers and lifting her up. She gave no reaction, not even a blink. Her mind didn't notice him touch her, and it didn't notice that she was now being carried. It simply reminded her that she must stay still. And so she did, her body remaining locked, as straight as a board, as he lifted her up. 

He set her down on a pedestal, and then began moving her body into her pose for the night. Each time her moved a part of her, it would once again lock rigidly into place, her mind repeating the command "stay still" over and over. Eventually, he finished, and took a step back to admire her. She stood still, one leg straight down, the other extended forward. Her hands were held together gently behind her back, and her head was tilted slightly to the side, gazing out towards the audience. She had a soft grin on her face, and her eyes stared out into the distance, unmoving.

He nodded, before turning and walking off. Now that his final piece was prepared, it was time to open the exhibit.

Annette had no idea how long it had been. She had no idea where she was, or what she was doing. She had no idea about the hundreds of people who had walked by, looking, pointing, taking pictures. All she knew was that she had to stay still.

And stay still she did. She stood in the exact spot she had been left, in the exact pose she had been placed in. People walked by in front of her, but though her eyes were wide open, she never saw them, nor did she hear their voices as they commented on the incredibly lifelike statue before them. Her eyes didn't blink at the bright flashes as people took pictures of her. Her body never wavered, never felt tired or sore from holding the same pose. She simply stood there, frozen in time and space.

Annette might have deduced, if she could, that the other statues were her classmates from Dr. Hansen's lecture. She might have figured out that he had been hypnotizing them, conditioning them to be able to freeze and hold poses for extended periods of time. She might have even chuckled about his favorite line, "getting into the mind of the piece", finding humor in its double meaning.

But she didn't, and she couldn't, because she was frozen in mind and body. And as the minutes ticked away and the people walked by, and stopped and admired her, she remained as she had been the entire time. She thought nothing except the command to stay still, and she did nothing except obey that command staying in place and holding her pose and being an incredible statue.

The two hour exhibition passed by completely unnoticed by Annette. When the event finally ended, and all the attendees left, Dr. Hansen walked to each statue, each student, one by one, and spoke something to them. When he finally reached Annette, he leaned in and spoke the same words to her. A simple command.

"Return and forget."

Suddenly, Annette could move again, and she did so automatically, her body walking sluggishly to join the rest of her classmates. They walked in a fog, minds still cloudy and blank, with only just enough awareness to make it safely back to their respective dorms. When Annette got to hers, she opened the door and walked in. Her roommate was still up, watching TV, and greeted her.

"Hey! How was the exhibit?"

"It was good," Annette replied dreamily, her mind not really aware of what she was saying. "But I'm really tired. I'm gonna head to bed."

She walked off to her room, not acknowledging the slightly confused response from her roommate. Once there, she immediately laid down and went to sleep.

And when she awoke, she had no memory of the night before. No factual memories, anyways. Instead, she had plenty of wonderful memories of spending the time wandering Dr. Hansen's exhibit, taking in all of his incredible, totally-not-hypnotized-people statues. It had been the most amazing art exhibit she'd ever seen. She was pretty sure Dr. Hansen had another one next month. She was definitely going to go to it.

She just had to.