Ryan's room was a mess of empty Monster cans and laundry he kept meaning to do. Leon lay on his back across Ryan's bed, legs hanging off the edge, scrolling with one thumb.
"Dude. Look at this." Leon tilted the phone so Ryan could see. A black screen. A slow-spinning green-white spiral. Low bass pulse, almost sub-audible.
"Paid five hundred bucks for it on some Russian forum. Real hypnosis app. One hundred percent success rate, they said."
Ryan snorted so hard he nearly choked on his chips. "You got scammed so bad."
"Wanna bet?" Leon's eyes glittered.
"Five hundred dollars. Same amount I paid. If it works, you pay me. If it doesn't, I pay you triple."
Ryan opened his mouth to laugh again, then paused. Fifteen hundred dollars was real money. Mom had been stressing about the water heater all week.
"…Fine," he said. "You're on."
Leon rolled off the bed like a cat. "Cool. We need a test subject. Someone who won't just walk away."
Just then the door creaked open and Lauren poked her head in, balancing a wooden tray loaded with chips, little sandwiches, and two tall glasses of orange juice.
"Boys! Thought you could use some fuel," she said, stepping inside with that easy mom-smile. She bent forward to set the tray on the low table.
"Thanks, Mrs. Harper. You're literally the best," Leon said, voice dripping sugar.
His eyes, though, were locked on the curve of her back and lower, gleaming with something dark and brand-new.
Lauren straightened up, cheeks pink from the compliment. "Aw, listen to you. Such a charmer."
She let out a soft laugh, gave them a little wave, and slipped back out, pulling the door until it was only open a crack.
The second her footsteps faded down the hall, Leon was on his feet, grin sharp as broken glass.
"We're testing it on your mom."
"No." Ryan's answer shot out before his brain even caught up. "No way."
"Come on. Your mom's literally right downstairs."
"She'll murder you."
"She'll laugh, nothing will happen, and I'll be out fifteen hundred bucks. Easy money for you." Leon was already at the door. "Let's go."
Ryan followed, heart doing stupid flips. This was dumb. This was the dumbest thing he'd ever agreed to. But fifteen hundred…
They found Lauren in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, hair twisted into a messy bun, stirring marinara. The late-afternoon sun came through the window and made her white blouse slightly see-through. Ryan hated that he noticed.
"Hey, Mrs. Lauren," Leon called, all innocent charm.
Lauren turned, wooden spoon dripping red sauce. "Hey, boys. Lunch in thirty. You staying, Leon?"
"Wouldn't miss it." Leon leaned against the counter. "Actually, Ryan and I have this dumb game we wanna try. Takes forty-five seconds max."
Lauren raised an eyebrow. "I'm kind of in the middle–"
"Please, Mom?" Ryan heard himself say. God, why did he say that? "It's literally half a minute."
She looked at him, soft green eyes, then sighed in that fond, defeated way only moms can. "Fine. Forty-five seconds. Clock's ticking."
Leon stepped forward and held up the phone. The spiral filled the screen, brighter than upstairs, pulsing in time with a low throb that seemed to press against Ryan's eardrums.
"Just look right here, Mrs. Lauren" Leon said, voice suddenly calm, almost gentle. "Don't blink. Don't think. Just watch the center."
Lauren chuckled. "What is this, some hypnotist games?"
"Something like that," Leon answered. "Keep watching."
Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty.
Ryan watched his mom's face change. The amused smile faded. Her lips parted. Her eyes went wide, then half-lidded, then completely blank. The spoon slipped from her fingers and clattered into the sink.
Forty-five seconds exactly. Leon lowered the phone.
Lauren blinked once. Twice. Then smiled like she'd just woken up from a nap. "Well. That was weird. Did I pass your little test?"
Ryan let out a shaky laugh. "See? Told you it was fake."
Leon ignored him completely. He was staring at Lauren with the calm focus of a sniper.
"We need a trigger phrase," he said conversationally, as if discussing what toppings to order. "Something I can say later to put her straight back under."
Ryan shrugged, still riding the high of being right. "Just use her name. Lauren."
Leon shook his head. "Too common. Needs to be unique."
Ryan opened his mouth, closed it. His brain scrambled.
Leon lowered his voice. "How about… 'neighborhood milf'?"
Ryan's stomach dropped through the floor. "Dude. No."
"Come on. It's perfect. Everyone says it. The mailman, the guys on the basketball team, half the dads at the block party last summer. It's literally her brand at this point."
Lauren was already turning back to the stove, humming, oblivious.
To be continued…