Might as well give it a shot!

So It Begins

Michael Hersh answers the phone like he knew it was you on the other line. "How are things going, Friend? Ah, you wouldn't be calling me if things were going well, now would you?" he thinks aloud. "So you've decided to take me up on my offer?"

You answer in the affirmative.
"Fantastic. You won't regret it. Give me a week, and you'll be on your way to living life the way you deserve to."
"Only a week?" you ask, "That's all it takes? to be like you?"
"Oh, god no! Haha. It'll take you years to be like me. But it'll take a week to get you working on your own. From there, you can train yourself. Meet me tomorrow in the park around 1:30."
"But, I've got class."
"Class? I'm going to give you one week and one week only, so -you'd- better give me one week. One -whole- week. Understood?"
"Yah, understood."
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and get lots of sleep tonight."

Despite being a weekday, there are plenty of people going around the park at 1:30 in the afternoon. One might find himself a little nervous doing things he isn't familiar with in front of strangers. Well you've gotten yourself into this; there's no backing out now.

"Sorry I'm late." Michael Hersch comes to you ten minutes tardy. "I was, uh... enjoying myself," he laughs, "or rather, I was enjoying someone else."

You nod at him. "Sure."

"Okay, let's get started, shall we?" He sits you down at the nearest park bench and leans in. "The truth is that there have been plenty of people like you and me in history. People just don't know it. They keep it a secret, or no one believes. Those old pushers sure showed them, though, right?"

"Like who?"
"Alexander did it. Mao did it. Uh, Hugh Heffner still does it. Heidi Fleice? I'm not sure. I think Jesus did it. Even Hitler did it."
"Hitler did it??"
"Yah, but Hitler was crazy. You don't want this kind of power in the minds of crazy people. I think the Jews had a natural ability to resist him or something, so that really pissed him off. He had a small penis anyway."
"He did?"
"I don't know, I'm just kidding."

Are you really being put in the same category as Hitler and Jesus? It's already strange having the two famous figures together in the same sentence. If this is true, then it's amazing how much responsibility a pusher must have in choosing what he uses his power for. Your head pains as such grand notions sink in.

"Woah there, champ," Michael puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder, "don't get too megalomaniacal already, or you'll hurt yourself. This takes practice. Even I can only push a few people at a time. Three I handle easily. Four I'm okay with. Five is a challenge."

Now that doesn't sound right. The night of the frat party, Hersh had you looking like a fool in front of a whole room of people! There were -at least- twenty people in that room.

"A suggestion is one thing," he explains, "to push into a group of people. It's quite another to actively control and direct a person or persons-- such as my girls-- especially if they're headstrong."

So, what Michael Hersh is saying is that "people can resist you, then, right?"

"Right. Suggesting someone to look over here isn't difficult. Anyone can turn his head to look at something. It's natural. It's normal. Getting a person to do something that she isn't used to or comfortable with is the challenge. Sometimes it takes one instance of forceful, concentrated pushing, and other times it takes weeks of gradual manipulation. I spent two months on my little Ho Bag before she was trained the way I liked her."

"Your -Ho Bag?-"
"That's right. I don't remember what her real name is, actually; she's been using that name for herself for a long time. I guess I was a little immature, but you gotta admit it's pretty funny, right?"
"You made a girl change her name to Ho Bag?"

Hersh smiles with embarassment. "Yah yah... look let's forget about me. We're here for you.