✅🎊✂️ Hypnosis Won't Take Me There!! [alternative cut]

Chapter 351: Change of Plan

"Well that's what I said," Britney answered almost immediately, rushing to get the words out before laughter cut off her voice. It was such an obvious joke that she was sure everyone else had thought the same, but it wouldn't be complete unless she said it. Lucretia broke out in a fit of giggles at almost the same moment, while Sasha made a valiant effort to keep a straight face. She almost made it too, demonstrating some of the incredible self-control.

"Maybe we should have–" Luci was the first to get her voice back, but before the end of the sentence she changed the subject and pointed across the street. "Looks like we got ourselves a stalker, girls. Hey, what's up, little guy?"

Garfield Spenser just glared at them, and slung his bag up onto his shoulder. A pretty typical response. He made a point of not talking to the goths at school, like it was some test of coolness. Even those in his own class would barely get a word out of him, and his silence went double for his big sister's weird friends.

"I should check on Adi, anyhow." Britney gave a shrug, and the other two nodded.

"You do so much for that girl. You sure you're not secretly falling for her?"

"No. I'm her best friend, you know? I just want her to be happy. You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you? I mean, not that I'd be into that, but if there was something I needed to stay calm–"

"You can always share my stash. We got your back."

"Thanks. I'll catch you later, right?"

There wasn't much else to say; their plans had already been made. Britney just had to relieve Dean today, and make sure that Adi was kept entertained until Nyx got home. It wouldn't take long, and she was sure to be properly dressed up in time to meet her friends at the club later.

She reached the door a couple of steps behind Garfield, and for a change he held it open for her. If he hadn't been there, she would probably have ended up talking to her friends on the path for twenty minutes or more, saying their goodbyes and then finding one more thing to talk about. But when the door was already open, it seemed somehow wrong to put off stepping inside.

"How's she been?" she asked from the doorway. "I've not been round in a few days."

"I didn't see her. Heard her laughing when I went out this morning. Freak."

"But you love her really," Britney answered, and got no more answer than she'd expected as the younger boy stomped off in the direction of his room. Britney walked into the lounge and saw that Dean wasn't there playing with Adi right now. Really, she should have known that already from the lack of music or laughter. It must have been changing time for the babygirl, she thought, and wondered for a second if she should go up to help, or start fixing dinner while she waited for them to come down. But then a little voice in the back of her mind finally managed to get her attention, and she quickly turned back to see the note on the front of the fridge.

"Gon to the park!!"

"You could have told me," she muttered, a little frustrated. If Dean and Nyx had made other plans this evening, she would have appreciated knowing what time she might be needed. She could only guess it had been an improvised thing, maybe Adelaide had really been impatient to go. But she wished he could have found time to send a message before she got there.

* * *

"Where are we?" Adi asked, scrambling out of the car. The first thing she saw was an endless expanse of parked cars to one side, and a high concrete barrier on the other. Then she saw the huge chrome letters set high on the wall, and hoped that they might give her some kind of a clue. It would have been easier if she was feeling grown-up already, because she was struggling to recognise some of the letters. But with a little help from Dean, she managed to read the words.

When she finally got it, she jumped up and down for a second, excited at completing such a difficult task. But then she thought about what those words meant, and it raised new worries in her mind. Dean was checking his watch, but she didn't think he was really rushing now. And she could already see that he'd been lifting bags out from the back of the car while Adi was staring at the wall. Surely he would have time to answer a few questions.

"You said we were going to the park?" she tried to not make it sound too much like an accusation. She didn't want to upset him, certainly not until she'd had a little more time to grow up so that she could use the right words. But she was sure she wanted to know. Or wanted to take a nap, so she could relax again and not worry. She wasn't sure which she wanted more.

"You trust me, don't you Adelaide? You want to be a good girl?" the babysitter asked, and Adi could only nod in excitement. "Then listen carefully. We've been on the road nearly two hours, so I'm sure you'll need a change, and that means we need to hurry. Even if you were a baby, you'd be sure that your Mommy and I have planned a wonderful surprise for you, so you wouldn't want to ask any more questions, and if anybody else asks you what we're doing you'd know what to say so they won't be suspicious. You can do that for me, can't you? And you can hold your bags and make sure we don't lose anything. Can you be a big girl for me, Adelaide?"

Adelaide just nodded, her mind already filled with amazing ideas about all the different possibilities that lay on the other side of that wall.