“I have no I…de…a” Zoe began, her speech slowing down as her head started to feel foggy. Linda looked over at her and was about to ask if she was ok when she began to feel a bit spaced out too, her whole body seemed to freeze in place as she watched Zoe’s expression glaze over and become trance-like. Linda was surprised to find she wasn’t panicking at her inability to move, and instead was watching with interest as Zoe began to slowly walk towards one of the rack, her eyes locked onto a specific item of clothing.
Linda could only watch as Zoe slowly made her way over one of the racks in a hypnotic trace. She reached for each item as if she knew exactly where to find what she was looking for. A black blazer, a grey blouse, a black pencil skirt. Zoe was completely expressionless as she dropped the towel and began to don underwear, then the blouse, then sitting in front of a nearby vanity mirror to don the skirt. Reaching for a brush, she began to work on her hair, brushing it out and then tying into a professional looking bun, then moving to put on makeup. Considering Zoe's usual makeup looked like to her mother like she had used a trowel, the very subtle makeup made her look serious and mature by comparison.
She got up, and went to the back wall, slipping into a pair of black shoes. As a final touch, she went to the jewelry case and added a small gold watch to her attire. Linda was surprised. She looked mature, put together, and...well, the opposite of Zoe normally.
"Zoe...." Linda called...
And then suddenly, everything went foggy. When the fog lifted, she was on the other side of the room, and Zoe had her hands on her shoulders. "You weren't responding," she said. "You were in some kind of trance," she said.
"I was? No...you were...and...." Linda was confused.
"I'm not sure what that was, but we'd better go to the front desk and find out," Zoe said.
Linda turned toward the mirror. She was wearing some kind of black uniform she didn't remember putting on.
"Stop looking at yourself in the mirror and follow me," Zoe said, sternly.
"Yes, ma'am," Linda said, automatically, and prepared to follow her. Wait, did I just call her ma'am?
"What did you call me?" Zoe demanded.
"Umm...." Linda said. "Ma'am...I think," she said, feeling uncomfortable under the gaze, as if she was a girl in school being scolded by the teacher.
"Elevator...now. We need to sort this out."
