CHOOSE YOUR OWN MINDFUCK: A Night in Eighth Block Tower (B12)
Bedlam Bible fans! Explore the Eighth Block Tower! Choose your fate! New posts every Tuesday and Friday. September '23 through December '23. Don't succumb to the huummmmmmmmm...
You’ve decided to call Sensei…
“It’s ringing,” Gale says, then holds the phone flat on her open palm, simultaneously triggering the speakerphone button so you both can hear the call. After a few tedious rings, someone finally answers.
“Thank you for calling Sensei. He’s not able to come to the phone at the moment, but if I could have your name and number, I’m sure he’ll get back to you as soon as he’s able,” a man says, but it’s so robotic and awkward that you assume it must be a prerecorded message. Gale almost hangs up without saying a word, but the voice speaks up once again just as she hovers her finger over the screen. “Hello? Name and number please.”
“Oh, ah… sorry,” she stammers. “The name’s Gale. I was wondering if I could schedule an appointment to see or maybe just talk to Sensei sometime? I’m a friend of one of his clients… T-Dakk. I’m going through a kind of… rough patch in my life right now and could really benefit from his guidance. Oh, and I have another friend who’d like to speak with Sensei as well…”
She motions for you to speak for yourself, but instead you just freeze and stare at the illuminated screen of the cell phone in total silence. She rolls her eyes, then returns to the call.
“When would be a good time to reach him?” she continues.
“I’m not sure I’m understanding,” the voice says. “Did you say your friend is a client of Sensei’s?”
“Yeah, his name’s T-Dakk. If you mention the name to him, I’m sure he’ll know who I’m referring to.”
“No, no… I know T-Dakk,” the man says, sounding annoyed now. “The confusion comes with the use of the word ‘client.’ Sensei has no clients. Sensei, and all of us under his guidance, are collectively known as The Local Order of Stardust.”
“Ookkaayyy,” Gale says, pushing the word through her lips as if she was purging a wet noodle. “Whatever you all are called—”
“The Local Order of Stardust,” the man interrupts.
“Right,” she says, choosing not to finish her thought. “Is there someone else I can speak with? I’m not sure why you’re giving me such a hard time. I’m just trying to leave a simple message for Sensei.”
“No, there’s no one else you can speak with. This isn’t a business,” the man says, each word darting through the phone like a tiny dagger. “You women are all the same. We try to do everything right, to do everything the way we think you want us to do them—even go out of our way to do nice things for you, and it’s never appreciated! I didn’t have to answer this phone! I did it as a courtesy to you and to Sensei! And now you’re hounding me for not performing a job to your standards, a job that is not my job and never was my job to begin with! You have some nerve!”
“Whoa, now—,” you say, but Gale immediately interrupts.
“Look, I don’t know what woman has you all fucked up right now, that’s your business, but I am not that woman. Women never did anything to you, a woman did. Despite what you might think, we’re not all the same. Just like all genders, some of us are cool, some of us are fucked up. Don’t lump us all together like we’re some amalgamated blob roaming the land, just trying to do everything in our power to fuck up a man’s day. Nobody has time for that, and besides, any man who deserves that kind of treatment, I guarantee, isn’t worth the trouble. Speaking of, I have better things to do with my time that sit here and argue with you. I’ll be calling back later. Don’t be the one who answers.”
Gale begins to hang up, but the man speaks again, however now his voice is so soft and quiet it hardly sounds like the same person we were speaking with only seconds earlier.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I haven’t gotten any sleep. My ex and I went through it last night. It got messy. Real messy. I’m taking my anger out on you and that’s not fair. I may be a member of The Local Order of Stardust, but I’m still a work in progress. That doesn’t excuse my behavior, but it’s the truth. I’ll give Sensei your message. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Wow,” Gale says, seemingly at a loss for words. “Usually my blunt honesty only escalates a confrontation, especially with strangers. You certainly took that well. Kudos.”
The man laughs. “I’ve learned a lot through Sensei’s teachings. I’m like a broken vase, gluing myself together. I’m not sure I’ll ever be where I want to be, but if I keep working on myself every day, I’ll at least be a little closer to it.”
“I’m impressed,” she says. “I really would love to meet this Sensei. Any idea when he’ll be able to get back with me?”
“I’ll tell you what,” the man says, speaking just above a whisper. “If you and your friend could be here an hour from now, Sensei has a cold water meditation that the two of you could join in on. It’d be the perfect introduction. You’d get to meet the group, as well as Sensei. He’s always the most calm and relaxed during these sessions, so there really isn’t a better time to meet him. What do you say? Think you can make it?”
Gale looks over at you as if she wants you to answer the question instead of her. You just shrug your shoulders.
“Sure. We’ll be there,” she says. “Are you located inside the tower?”
“Of course,” he says, speaking like it’s common knowledge. “Sensei’s teachings are meant solely for tower residents. I’m afraid outsiders wouldn’t understand and therefore wouldn’t benefit from his great wisdom. I take it the two of you are both residents of Eighth Block?”
You start to answer, but Gale throws up a fist and gives you a look so incredibly terrifying it convinces you not to say anything at all.
“Yes, we’re both residents. Of course, we are,” she says, still eyeballing you.
“Great! I’ll text you the apartment number so you don’t forget it,” the man says. “My name is Charlie. I’ll meet you at the door in one hour. Try not to be late. Oh, and if you could bring your own towel, that’d be helpful. Not sure we have enough to go around.”
“A towel? Sure. No problem. See you in an hour,” she says, then hangs up the phone and returns it to her purse. She looks up at you and smiles. “I don’t care if you want to or not, you’re going with me.”
“What? You can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do. Nice try, lady,” you say, waving her off. “A towel? What the hell was that about anyway? You know what? I don’t even want to know. There’s no way in hell you’re gonna convince me to go with you. No way.”
“You’re seriously gonna let me walk into this alone?”
“Who’s making you go? If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.” Her phone vibrates audibly and the inside of her purse glows from the illuminated cell phone screen. You’re sure it’s a text message from Charlie.
“Just this once. Please. I need this. I need a change in my life. Just go with me this one time. We can help each other out if we get a bad vibe and want to leave. Please, please, please.”
You’re already getting bad vibes. The towel request especially rubbed you the wrong way. Without Gale, you wouldn’t even consider going, but you know how stubborn she can be. She’ll go without you. And though she’s proven time and again she can take care of herself, you don’t like the idea that she’ll be outnumbered. At least with you, she has a fighting chance against the group if things turn sour.
— To attend the cold water meditation, click here.
— To walk away, click here.