McMillan Tech Industries Lake Point Branch, the waiting area near the board meeting room
"The doctors should be here any minute." Rachel McLewis said. "No offense, Elaine."
"None taken." Elaine replied. "When they arrive, I'll help as much as I can, but I'll try to stay out of their way. I don't have my license yet, after all."
"I wish they'd get here sooner." McMillan said. "I hope my daughter doesn't have to see me like this." Richard McMillan was still in the form of an 18 year old young lady dressed in a cheerleader's outfit. "Especially in this outfit. Someone has a sick sense of humor.'
"Why is that?" Dr. Elaine asked.
"Forestville High is the main rival of Mr. McMillan's daughter's school." Rachel said. And McMillan's cheerleader body was dressed in a Forestville High cheerleader outfit.
"They're even going to be playing against my daughter's boyfriend's team in a week." McMillan replied.
"Isn't your daughter dating a football player?" Rachel asked. "And isn't school football season over? We just passed spring break."
"Who told you that?" McMillan asked.
"I heard it from Samantha and Mycroft. Their kids go to the same school as Sarah." Rachel replied.
"Anyway, you're right." McMillan said. "Football season's usually in the fall. But the rivalry between their sports teams runs deep, Sarah told me. She said that this past season, both Lake Point High School and Forestville High's football teams won the same number of games. They arranged for one more game this year, to be played against each other, as a 'tiebreaker'."
"So it's an off-season game where the stakes are bragging rights?" Rachel replied. "These people take their sports rivalries way too seriously."
"It happens at a lot of schools. High schools, colleges, you name it." Elaine added.
"Happened at mine, too." McMillan said, groaning a little. "Uh... 2 4 6 8 ... no, I'm not a cheerleader. I'm not!"
"Still those intrusive thoughts?" Elaine asked.
"Sometimes." McMillan said. "I need to rest..."
"Get some rest, then. The other doctors will be here shortly." Elaine replied.
Rachel hoped these lapses would be a temporary thing. Still, she worried about the possible long term affects of being changed 20 times by the Random Gun in less than three minutes. She didn't want to dwell on the possible psychological trauma McMillan and the others were experiencing.
It was then that the secretary Gloria Galinsky approached. She was dressed surprisingly conservatively, given her reputation for dressing in low-cut outfits and short skirts. But since she had been zapped with the Prude Gun, she was now scolding anyone who dressed how she used to dress. Instead, she wore a business-like blouse and a long skirt.
"Mr. McMillan's daughter has been on the phone with me for the last seven minutes." Gloria said. "She used the most appalling language, and was demanding to hear from her father."
McMillan groaned again. "I can't face my daughter. Not like this. Tell her I'm in an important meeting."
"Is ... is that you?" Gloria asked.
"It's a long story." Rachel said. Rachel didn't want to go into it now. "Are you still speaking to her on your cell phone?"
"She's still on the line. She yelled at me, and said 'Don't you dare hang up on me, you ... female canine.'" Gloria replied. "So I didn't."
"Let me handle it. Can I have your phone?" Rachel asked.
Gloria nodded, and handed Rachel her phone.
"Hello? Hello?" Sarah McMillan's voice said. "You better not have hung up!"
"Sarah? This is Dr. Rachel McLewis, from Research and Development." Rachel said. "I know we met only once, but that was over a year ago. Anyway, I'm with your father. He's being tended to by a doctor."
"Is he?" Sarah asked. "What happened? Is he all right? Give me a straight answer. No bullshit!"
"He's still a bit shaken up." Rachel said. "But he seems physically all right."
"Did he get zapped by a Transformation Gun?" Sarah asked. "Was it the Random Gun? Tell me! TELL ME!"
Rachel was caught completely off guard, not only by Sarah's angry tone but also by the fact that she knew about the Random Gun. She was so surprised that she blurted out "Yes."
There was an angry growl at the other end of the phone. "I knew it! I had this bad feeling it was the Random Gun. The news wasn't saying anything, and no one else I called here told me anything either. Either they didn't know, or they were hiding something. Is he all right? Is he still himself mentally? Did he kill Mr. Dankworth?"
"Whoa, Sarah! Calm down a little, and I'll try to answer you. That's a lot of questions." Rachel said.
Rachel paused before continuing. "First, your father didn't kill Mr. Dankworth. Mr. Dankworth did himself in. It was an accident."
"Not that I care." Sarah said. "I never liked the creep. Was he trying to take over the company? I told my dad not to trust him."
Rachel did not wait to get McMillan's permission before speaking. "Officially, it's a tragic accident. But the real story -- and you did NOT hear it from me -- is that yes, he tried to take over the company. He stole a Random Gun from someone else who was ALSO trying to take over the company, and zapped Mr. McMillan and the other board members with it before he had his accident. I take it you know about the Random Gun."
"Yes." Sarah said, her tone still filled with anger. "All too well. I didn't get zapped with it but ... I don't want to talk about it. Is my dad all right and will he speak to me?"
Rachel paused. "Physically, your father's fine but I don't think he wants to speak with you right now."
"Why?" Sarah asked. "Did he get turned into some weirdo?"
Rachel realized she hadn't answered one of Sarah's earlier questions. "He's himself now mentally. Mostly. But physically he's different now. And sometimes she... he blurts out things related to his transformation."
McMillan glared at Rachel. "If you tell her, you're fired." McMillan said. "Just tell her I'm okay, I'm resting up, and I'll speak to her when things are sorted out."
"He doesn't want you to know." Rachel told Sarah over the phone. "At least for now. I can't give you any more details unless he changes his mind. He wants you to know that he's resting up and getting better, and will talk to when things settle down."
"Is it THAT bad?" Sarah said, with a tone of suspicion. "Look, there are already a few people I know who got changed by the Random Gun. I can see how he might be embarrassed."
"Don't tell her." McMillan said. "Just say I'll be spending the night over here, I'm okay, and I'll talk with her in the morning. Relax, hang out with your friends, watch a movie, get some sleep."
"Your father just told me he's spending the night over here to recover, and he'll talk with you in the morning. In the meantime, he suggests you do things to relax. Maybe hang out with your friends, see a movie, something." Rachel said. "And get some sleep."
Sarah grumbled. "That sounds like something my dad would say. Is that all you're going to tell me?"
"I think so." Rachel said. "Do you have any other questions? Ones not involving your dad?"
Sarah paused. "Did anyone else get hurt?"
"As far as I know, no." Rachel said. "Some other members of the Board were changed with the Random Gun, and they're recovering along with your father. I think they're going to be all right."
"Mom wants to know what's going on, too." Sarah said.
"Tell her what I just told you." Rachel said. "Anyway, we're busy here. We have to look after your father and the others, and work with the PR Department on how to handle the media coverage. I suggest you do as your father says and try to relax and unwind. It's been a long day for all of us."
Sarah sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll go now." And with that, the call ended.
Rachel handed the phone back to Gloria. McMillan turned to Rachel.
"Your friends better have those Restoration Guns." McMillan said. "And they'd better use them before the morning."
"They'll be here as soon as they can." Rachel said. "Just follow Dr. Elaine's advice and rest."
Still, as Rachel said this, she had the uneasy feeling that given what had happened to Mr. McMillan and the others, things would not be as simple as McMillan believed. She hoped she was wrong.
The McMillan residence
With a sigh, Sarah McMillan ended the call. She turned to her mother, Susan McMillan, who had returned home ahead of her.
"They say Dad's all right." Sarah said. "But he doesn't want to talk to me, not even on the phone. He got zapped with one of the Transformation Guns."
Sarah had already told her mother about the Random Gun, and how it had changed Biff and Reggie. "It was the Random Gun. They had one of those things over there, too. And my dad's too embarrassed to let me know what he got changed into."
"I'll call them later." Susan said. "I'm sure there's a LOT they're not telling us."
"You can try, but I don't think they'll tell you anything." Sarah said. "The woman I was speaking to sounded like she was risking her job telling me as much as she did."
"Just tell me what she told you, then." her mother replied.
And so for the next few minutes, Sarah repeated what Rachel McLewis told her.
"I'll call them later." Susan said. "But I think they're right. You need to relax for a bit. You've had a rough day. For what it's worth, I think your father would be proud of you."
"Proud of me? For what?" Sarah asked.
"You went into that classroom to stop Mrs. Williams even though you were scared of the Random Gun. You overcame your fear because you wanted to help your friends, and the school." Susan said. "You've earned the right to relax for a while. I'll call MTI later to find out more about your father. Let me handle that, at least until morning."
Sarah gave a frustrated but weary sigh. She still was tempted to just go over to MTI herself to find out what was going on, but she doubted she would get past security. Perhaps it was best she did try to relax. Maybe talk with her friends via phone or social media, or see a movie.
She decided she wasn't going to watch the news, though. It would likely not help her relax.
