Jacqueline Druga - Reset

Amy lifted her hand to speak. “I remember the explosion. Well, I didn’t feel it. I was at the Astoria as well.” Her eyes shifted about as she spoke. “I wasn’t at an event. I was actually at a conference. My room at a much cheaper hotel had a problem and the management put me up at the Astoria. I remember thinking how I lucked out. How I was going to embrace every moment in this plush hotel away from my children. I was asleep. Two men pounded on my door, they were wearing masks. I don’t know anything after that.”

Jason spoke. “I don’t remember the explosion. I know I was nervous. I got a call to do the prayer and introduction at a big awards ceremony. The whole thing is sketchy. My life before that isn’t. But the event is.”

“That would have been my event,” John said. “I was there for a prestigious writing award. My vision of the future from reality based science fiction. It is up there with the Pulitzer, the event was at the Astoria. So at least four of us remember being there.”

“Five,” Meredith said. “I was there. I was at the awards. My current lecture tour dealt with where the human race would be in fifty years if it follows the current path of economy, population, and so forth. It was frightening and I, too, had just won an award and that’s why I was invited to attend. So that leaves you…” She turned to Nora.

Nora tossed up her hands. “I’m blank. I know my name and that I am from Ohio. I am certain I have a husband and kids. But I don’t remember them any more than if I dreamt them. I don’t feel them. A part of me knows I was in New York, but again, it’s like a dream. Real? Not real? That’s how it feels. It’s frustrating because I was one of the first ones awake. Here’s something odd…” She shuffled in her chair. “I keep thinking I’m funny. Like…” she crinkled her brow. “Like I am a really funny person. I’m remembering myself being full of life… funny.”

John cleared his throat. “Don’t take this as an insult. Based on how you are now, that may be the dream portion of your memory.”

“No,” Malcolm snapped his finger. “No, it’s not. It’s not. You are. You are funny. I knew you looked familiar. You do a feature once a week on Late Night with Johnny Cramer. You do insane dares. That portion is a huge part of your life. You are funny.”

Unexpectedly, Nora heard John’s voice in her head.

“ Aren’t you just funny,” John said.

Nora looked over to John and she saw him, not at that moment, but in the ballroom, wearing a tuxedo.

She heard her own laughter.

“ Pretending not to know the guest of honor,” he said, reaching out, grabbing her arm in a flirtatious way.

Nora stood, her heart raced.

“Nora?” Jason called out.

Instantly, her mind was filled with images, a fast moving pictorial slideshow that played in her head quickly. With each fast beat of her heart, came that sensation of ‘knowing’ and ‘feeling’ that Nora fought to gain.

It was there. She had it. She got it.

Not only was she mentally barreled over, it physically caused her to stumble back and fall to the ground.

Suddenly Nora remembered, she remembered everything.

“You’re crazy, you know that, right?” It was Liza. Her friend of twenty years. Liza always went with Nora when she had her appearance on the late night show.

“This is perfect,” Nora said, placing her outfit neatly on the bed. “I mean, seriously, how often is it that we stay here?”

“Yeah, well there’s that UN Conference in town, so everything affordable is booked, but this is not your excuse to take advantage.”

“Um, hello, yeah it is. Johnny will love it if I pull it off.”

“He knows?” Liza asked.

“Yep. Where do you think I got the dress? Network props.” One arm crossed over her waist, Nora stared at the long black evening dress. It wasn’t what she normally would wear for one of her outrageous dares. Usually she wore everyday clothing. In fact the dare wasn’t even a ‘dare’ submitted to her, Nora thought of it herself, inspired by the sign when she walked into the Astoria lobby.

The Galloway Award Dinner and Ceremony.

She was going to crash it.

“I just have to figure out where to put the camera,” Nora said. “The dress is kind of …”

“Skimpy?”

“Yes.”

“Go. Go make a final pass through, I’ll figure it out and then you need to get dressed.”

It was a good idea. Typically Nora had her ‘dares’ set up in advance, but seeing how it was last minute, she wanted to make another rehearsal pass.

She took the elevator down to the lobby, found her way to the grand ballroom, and did a slow inconspicuous walk by of the table.

Perfect gold name cards were being placed out. Hundreds of them. Nora was certain one of those people wouldn’t up. She just hoped it wasn’t Wallace Hinstrom, one of the names on the cards. Not that she couldn’t pull it off, but it would be tough.

“Are you attending?” A male voice asked.

Busted.

“Yes,” Nora smiled. “I am. I was curious though, what time do they close the doors. I have meeting and I am going to be cutting it close.”

“Doors close at eight PM. That’s when cocktail hours begins.”

“Thank you, I should be here long before that.” In actuality, Nora wouldn’t be there too long before that. To successfully sneak in, she’d have to cut it close.

Her plan was to be some sort of writer, telling a different tale of who she was, to each person she met. See how far she could take it and their reactions to what she said. If it didn’t work or it failed she still had the library prostitute dare she could do.

She got dressed, and planned to arrive their fifteen minutes before the doors closed. She would do a quick scan of the place cards, claim one and go in. However the elevator was taking far too long. When it finally arrived, the doors opened and she was greeted with the loudest yawn she ever heard.

“Oh my Goodness, I’m sorry.” The woman said, stepping off.

Nora giggled. “That was funny. Get some sleep.”

“I will.”

The woman was… an African American woman, still wearing a ‘Hello my name is Amy’ name tag.

No sooner did Nora make it to the first floor, she stepped off and was stopped before she could even get across the lobby.

“Ma’am, just stand here. Please. Thank you.” The man wore a black suit and held out his arm.

“But I need to…”

“One moment,” he said.

Nora looked around. There were many men in suits securing the lobby. Just as she wondered who the ‘big wig’ was, an entourage of people made their way to the exit.

The entourage surrounded the president.

She registered that it was the president, made a mental note of how cool that was and nearly ran across the lobby to the ballroom.

When she arrived they were cleaning up the check in table.

“Miss Rosewood?” The gentleman from early approached her. “Thought you weren’t gonna make it. Talk about cutting it close. You weren’t kidding.”

Nora smiled and accepted the nameplate. “Thank you. I got held up in the lobby.”

He motioned toward the door, “They’ll seat you inside.”

“Thank you again.” Nora stepped into the grand ballroom and was immediately greeted and escorted to a table.