KALICO: 1 Hypnotized, Naked in Hope Springs, Texas

Kalico: [. . . Huh? . . .]

Kalico: Tuesday, with Mr. Coltwright

[NOTE: This chapter is being written during one of those mental blanks I mentioned in the notes for a previous chapter. ]

[If you haven't been keeping up (I know I haven't been), please be reminded about the square brackets we use as a signal between me and Mr. Coltwright to indicate my state of memory for the described event. Square brackets around a chapter title mean I'm writing this chapter but not remembering it, even as I'm writing. Square brackets around a paragraph mean the same, for the paragraph. Unless, of course, there's an . . . at the beginning or end, I'm not sure, in that case I'm writing something which was previously blocked but which I now remember. There's also the situation of the ellipsis inside a set of brackets which means I'm not only not remembering what happened but the dots also indicated I'm not writing it either.]

[Having pretty well botched this explanation about the bracket code, let me just say I'm not supposed to remember what I did in this chapter, nor am I supposed to remember writing the chapter, nor writing this note. Be it on my subconscious, who I'm not real sure I trust any more, if I end up doing something stupid as a result of whatever it is I don't know I'm writing about here. I may not be on speaking terms with my subconscious anyway, depending on what happens tomorrow. The rest of this chapter will not have the brackets around the paragraphs, but suffice to say the brackets around the title are enough to let you know I probably won't remember any of this. I'm taking The Professor's word for it that I'm actually going to forget all this and that I'll be able to remember it later; so this is a set of memories I'll deal with in due time.]

– – –

My Journal Resumes Shortly before the conclusion of the previous chapter.

"Any last questions before you forget all this?" Mr. Coltwright was asking me ominously.

"Yeah, one. What about my clothes?"

"That's a good point," he said. "What about them?"

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm still naked. Am I just going to forget about that?"

"An even better point. Hold that thought – hold that question, we'll get back to it.

"Huh?" I replied.

"That question you just now asked; keep it in mind, and ask it again in a few minutes. We'll get right back to this point with a better understanding for you."

"Okay," I said, puzzled.

"Kalico, since you don't yet realize how proficient you are becoming as a hypnotic subject, you must keep this part of our conversation in a separate chapter so you'll have it available later when you assemble your notes for your term project. We're assuming of course, you and me, that you'll surprise yourself with a major interest in hypnosis. Yes?"

"Okay, yes, I guess so. It's interesting, but do I have to decide on a term project today?"

"No, of course not; any time in the first or second week will be fine. But the sooner you start thinking about it, the sooner you'll have some ideas for an outline of the project; a general idea of the specific area you want to research."

That made sense, and I almost forgot to notice that he had gotten me into a conversation, instead of letting me keep thinking about how naked I was.

Very sneaky of him.

One part of me was still expecting him to send me on my way naked.

"I'm not so sure I know enough about hypnosis to make an outline yet," I said.