Quirky Day

In Agatha’s vision, words started to waltz around the page. That’s when she knew that she needed a break. Sighing, she closed the laptop and glanced toward the window. A black inkiness of night permeates everything outside.

With a creaking protest, she stood up from the table and got ready for bed. She put in a lot of time for work for what was to be her vacation time. Her plan to be in the woods would have been ideally peaceful and void of thoughts of work. Unfortunately, the newest member of her committee, who was supposed to draft the grant request so they could get the money, was incompetent. They had spent an entire month not doing anything about it and pushed it onto her since ‘My equipment is incomparable with the grant submission method’ the whiny bint. That person would have known if they had bothered to do their due diligence.

Well, she finished with the proposal. Good riddance. Agatha could now enjoy herself for the remaining two days. She checked that her dye had set. Confirming it had done so, Agatha took her tie-dye shirt off and looked at her PJs. It has been years since she started it. At the time, it was a show of support for some cause. However, she discovered that she liked having the top of her head in outrageous colors. It was much better than the silver and white her hair had turned into.

Feeling the chill in the air, she opted for her flannel nightgown for the warmth. As she put herself to bed, she mused over her hair. Her husband had disapproved of her choice of hair colors. Not that his opinion mattered anymore since he died from cancer several years ago. Still, they had boisterous disagreements over it.

If she had stuck with Thomas, that would be different, but it was what it was. Why did they separate again? She could not get a grip on the answer. Maybe they were more incompatible when they married all that time ago. Their affections drifted away until they were not speaking to each other again. Their marriage was three years old when they divorced.

‘Maybe if I stuck it out …’

Shaking the thoughts spinning around, she grabbed the book and skimmed through it. After several pages, she frowned and flipped back to the cover. This book was not her copy of ‘They Do It With Mirrors‘. In her hand laid a thick tome stating it was Harem Hotel Rules. She checked the rest of the book. Less than half of it had words printed on it. The rest of it was blank. Irritated, for a moment, it occurred to her that someone must have replaced her book with this lunacy.

Warily, she stood up from the bed. She eyed any place that could hide an intruder. There seem to be none. Wait a minute, what the heck was going on with the mirror? It should be showing the inside of the cabin, but its surface was pitch black. Curiosity took over her, and she carefully approached the mirror. While focusing on the mirror, she could see color slowly fade in. Her mirror had turned into a screen, and it showed something. Nervously, she stretched her hand. It touched the surface of the mirror. It felt clammy. She attempted to move her hand away. It stuck fast to the glass like a glue trap. She spent a few moments struggling with no visible progress. She suddenly felt a push from behind, and she went tumbling forward. Instead of crashing through the glass, she went into the mirror as if it were a door. The mirror flickered for a moment before showing the cabin as before.

The butler wheeled in a mirror onto the stage. Justine snapped her fingers, and the mirror turned black for a moment. As the black faded away, the mirror reflected someone. Thomas sighed at the sight presented. Of all the people brought in, they would have to bring her.

He examined her closely. She had dyed her short hair a robin blue, matching that night dress she wore. Her gentle hazel eyes shone with concern. She seems to struggle for a few seconds before abruptly falling out of the mirror.

She took a few staggering steps forward. She might have fallen if the butler had not gone and steadied her on her feet. Making sure she was not collapsing, the butler let her go and moved away.

She stood a moment and looked around before settling her eyes on Thomas. A gentle smile flickered across her face. It turned into a scowl as she stared directly at Justine.

“So you are the person who replaced my book with that nonsense. That nonsense happens to be where I am right now. I presume what I read in that is true, is it not? You are a real bitch bringing Thomas here. Why put an elderly gentleman, no offense, Thomas, to this trash? And here, I would have picked a much more sexy ‘Master’ for this. Are you that incompetent? Are you compensating me for the book you took from me? For …”

Justine threw up her hands, “Slow your rolls, hon. That is just a bit too fast for me to reply. Your book is in the room we allotted you, along with clothes. They will not suit you now, but they will soon. That ‘ drivel’ is this shows rules, I have you know. Please refrain from insulting the show more.”

Justine combed through her hair, “Moving on, I’ll ask you for your introduction. We’re live. Name, profession, age, how you know Thomas and…”

Thomas coughed, “Agatha, why is it our marriage fell apart? I would not ask except for where we’re at.”

Agatha glared at Justine, “Well, I read your little booklet. With the evidence of how I got here, I must conclude the punishments mentioned in it are true. I’ll comply with your dogshit request. I am Agatha Quirke. I am a professor at the University of Deneri. I was married to Thomas for three years. To hell with you on what my age is. Tom, if I knew that, I think we would not be here in the first place. If you are satisfied, I want to hit the sack.”

Justine’s hands clenched the sofa tightly, “Mrs. Quirke, we are not done yet. There are still people to introduce. Now, if you would kindly sit down.”

Agatha, not liking the look in Justine’s eyes, hobbled her way over to the seat next to Tatiana.

“Hey Ana. You made those pierogi, I see. Mind if I have the last one.” Said Agatha, gingerly lowering herself on the deck chair.

Tatiana said, passing over the plate, “Agatha, you did not need to ask.”

Agatha’s eyes focused on Julie as she bit into a pierogi, “Ms. Hase, was it? Are you feeling ok? Who is that sleeping next to you?”

Finished munching on her pierogi, Julie murmured, “I’m fine now, Dr. Quirke. I believe she is a Mia Tang.”

Agatha’s attention wandered over to the other two contestants. Both of them were eating pierogi as well. Before she could ask her companions any more questions, she felt the weight of Justine’s hand on her shoulders.

“Isn’t that a humdinger? Leave the questioning for now, Dr. Quirke. We have more people to introduce. Our next contestant will happily shake and stir you into something strong. Welcome …”